We’ve turned our love of picnics into a side income – it earns us £11.5k a month
TWO best friends share how they turned their love of picnics into a side hustle that brings in £11,500-a-month.
Jocelyn, 24, and Coco, 25, had an inspiration when their friend’s wedding was cancelled due to the pandemic.
2
2
They wanted to make her feel special, so they organized a lavish picnic for her.
“We’ve had such a nice response from our friends and family,” Jocelyn told CNBC.
“That’s why we decided to give more to our friends and family.”
Eventually they decided to turn their passion for organizing picnics into a business and Picnic ‘N Chill was born.
Read more stories about extra income
When Coco lost her job as an event planner at Facebook, she decided to turn her side hustle into a full-time job.
Jocelyn still works full-time as a social media assistant, but she plans to work on Picnic ‘N Chill full-time.
The duo’s business really took off after a promotional video on their TikTok account went viral.
Jocelyn said: “I picked up my phone and started making little videos of my day and what it’s like to be a luxury picnic planner.
“After about 30 minutes my phone kept ringing and the post was flooded with comments and likes.”
The girls had to quickly learn the basics of running a business and gained their knowledge by watching lots of YouTube videos.
The duo now plan 60 picnics a month and offer three different packages: First Date, from £142, Picnic ‘N Chill, from £218, and Grandeur, from £300.
They also cater for hen parties and baby showers, for larger groups they charge around £1500.
They have now hired five other women to help them with the picnics and plan to expand their business even further.
Jocelyn said: “The events industry is so big and we try to improve our business every day.
How to start your own business?
Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers that aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of self-confidence. You have to believe in your idea — and more than that, be the one to bore your friends to death with it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, the confidence to make decisions is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and act on it if you can. If you can’t, find someone else who can.
- It’s okay not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions has helped build my confidence and made me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media and remember that the internet is an equal opportunity for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
“There is still so much room for growth.
“Every day we try to improve ourselves and learn something new.
“We try to improve our company every day.
“We wouldn’t trade this for anything, this is our baby.”
Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Simply email fabulousdigital@the-sun.co.uk and put EXCLUSIVE in the subject line.
