I’m 25 and I started my fashion side hustle with no experience – now it’s raking in millions and I have a mega team
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WITH the cost-of-living crisis putting a huge financial strain on many, it appears that more and more people are pursuing side hustles in an attempt to earn some extra cash.
One woman, Matilda Djerf, 25, decided to start her own side hustle, after she realised that working in a fish shop just wasn’t for her.
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She prepared extensively for her first day of work and spent hours the night before studying YouTube videos on how to slice fish so that when her boss asked if she could fillet one, she could say: "Hell yeah, I can."
But as time on the job went on, Djerf revealed that she became frustrated with what she saw as a lack of innovation from the people above her.
She explained: "They would always want to do everything in such a traditional way.
"Whenever I came up with new ideas, it would always be like, 'No, this is what we usually do.' So I just realised this is not for me."
As a result, Matilda, who was born and raised in Borås, a small town in western Sweden, decided that she wanted to be her own boss.
As her social-media following increased and she received more opportunities to collaborate with brands in Sweden, she had a light-bulb moment in 2019.
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She revealed to Insider that that’s where the idea for her fashion empire came from and she is now the creative director of her fashion brand, , which she started with her boyfriend and high-school sweetheart, Rasmus Johansson.
Djerf Avenue is a Swedish, non-seasonal, ready-to-wear brand selling clothes, accessories, homeware and swimwear.
Matilda initially had doubts prior to the launch of the brand - the couple didn’t have a business plan and saw it as a bit of a gamble.
What started as a side hustle has now hugely expanded and though Matilda did not confirm her income to Insider, the success of Djerf Avenue is well-documented.
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In 2021, Vogue reported the brand was making , and The Tab estimates her income is between £1 and £5 million, or roughly $1.15 and $5.76 million.
Matilda can work up to 14 hour days and manages a staff of 20 employees in Sweden and a staff of six in New York.
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She said: "I know that what I'm doing is so good.
"I know that I sit on so much knowledge and so much passion, and Djerf Avenue is what it is today because I'm such a big part of it."