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A WOMAN has revealed that she makes £270,000 a year from a side hustle that she began working on in her lunch break. Maya Portorreal, 27, dreamed of being a fashion designer when she left university, but soon realised that it is expensive to get patterns and samples made. 2 Maya started her side hustle after leaving university Credit: youtube/@CNBCMakeIt 2 She makes £270,00 a year from her jewellery business Credit: youtube/@CNBCMakeIt She took a job as a retail assistant at a luxury label instead, and just a month and a half in, decided she wanted to start a jewellery brand.

Maya said that her colleagues thought she was "insane" but she decided to pursue her business venture, Kitten & Co, regardless. She started the business with just £1,500 back in 2019 and spent a month and a half coming up with the idea. After finding a supplier, she created a ring design, and then turned to social media to promote her work.



Maya soon got noticed by a number of influencers, who started to share her jewellery online. She soon began making sales, at first selling her rings for just £14.75.

As her business began to grow, she upped her prices, and Kitten & Co. was soon making £8,000 a month. Maya began taking classes to help her market her brand, which she said "scaled my company to a point that's unimaginable".

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Maya would work on her jewellery business until 3am and has now hired her mum to help her out. "My mum herself is an entrepreneur, so it was very easy to get her on board", she said. "She's like my assistant, and I piggyback ideas from here".

Maya's jewellery ranges in price from £30, to £270 and her business now brings in £270,00 a year. She makes everything from earrings to necklaces and men's jewellery. Maya has now quit her day job, and works on Kitten & Co.

full time. "A day job gives you the time to step out of your comfort zone", she said. Maya is now in the process of automating her business so that she has more free time.

Read more on the Scottish Sun LOTTO SHOCK Heartbroken Postcode Lottery winner plans new life in Spain with share of £2m 'BEST TIMES' Forgotten Scottish football cult hero spotted at Killie Euro clash "I did the hustle, I did the grind, now I want it to work for me", she said. Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: fabulousdigital@the-sun.

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