This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Six-Figure Side Hustle series, where people with lucrative side hustles break down the routines and habits they’ve used to make money on top of their full-time jobs. Got a story to tell? Let us know! Email us at AskMakeIt@cnbc.com.

One of the first quilts Mike O’Dell ever made was for his sons.

He drew a Star Wars stormtrooper on a 5-by-6.5-foot sheet of graph paper on his kitchen floor, cut the pattern into smaller sections and sewed fabric onto the paper. Then, he stitched the pieces together on a sewing machine and discarded the paper remnants, he says.

He started the process in 2018 and finished the quilt 18 months later, says O’Dell, 50, an Oklahoma City-based nurse anesthetist.

But the actual sewing work — quilting on top of the design, a practice called “foundation paper piecing” — was surprisingly straightforward for a beginner, O’Dell says. He figured that if he hired people to streamline the process, he could make and sell quilting kits with licensed images of nature scenes, animals and characters.

He launched his side hustle, called Legit Kits, in 2020. The company brought in more than $1.25 million in sales through Shopify last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It, and an additional $150,000 selling quilt kits at Joann Fabrics and Crafts, O’Dell estimates. (On Feb. 23, Joann announced closures of all of its roughly 800 stores, citing bankruptcy liquidation.)

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O’Dell works at Legit Kits one day per week as its CEO and creative director, and spends four days per week at a hospital. Legit Kits’ seven full-time employees and four freelance designers keep the business running during O’Dell’s nursing hours.

He spends his one Legit Kits day per week largely promoting the company, he says — on social media, particularly Facebook — and networking in professional crafting groups, which helped him land a spot on an episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank” that aired in January.

Legit Kits broke even last year, after accounting for costs of inventory, payroll, hiring and a $4,500 monthly rent for a 4,500-square-foot manufacturing space, O’Dell says. He plans to pay himself $50,000 from Legit Kits this year, on top of his $240,000 nurse anesthetist salary.

Here, O’Dell discusses starting a side hustle without prior experience, how he balances his full-time job with Legit Kits and what he wishes he’d known before jumping into entrepreneurship.

CNBC Make It: Do you think your side hustle is replicable? Can anyone successfully create a crafting business?

O’Dell: Sure. There are so many opportunities out there. I took something that’s generally crafty and I added [artful designs] to it. They seem similar, because they both take skill, but art is what causes an emotional reaction in the observer.

I wasn’t a quilter before I started writing patterns, but my wife was. When she started, I watched her make nine-patch quilts and sew the pieces of fabric together in a grid, like tic-tac-toe.

It reminded me of my first job, when I was still in high school, with a computer company. I did their instruction manual, and drew pictures the same way — pixel by pixel in a computer program.

That’s how I drew the storm trooper. It was 1,260 pixels, and it was easy enough for a beginner like me to do. My ignorance was actually a benefit, because when you’re an expert at something, you tend to make assumptions. When people don’t know stuff, they have to ask a lot of questions. 

How do you balance your full-time job with your side hustle?

I’ve lost sleep. I’ve had a lot of stress. But I don’t know that there’s any sort of burnout that can match medical burnout, and I’ve had that for a long time.

The burnout that I feel at the hospital fuels my energy to do the other thing for myself. Legit Kits is my brain child. I own 100% of it, and I get to control what happens.

It turns the volume down when everybody’s mad at work. I hear it, but I’m just like, “I’m not going to manage my people that way.” [Plus] it’s kind of hard to beat an anesthesia salary. I’ve got three kids, and I want my kids to go to college.

I once read in a book on entrepreneurship that [said] when you start a business, you should expect it to take over your life for the next five to 10 years. I started quilting seven years ago, so I’m coming up for air right on time.

I can clock out at Legit Kits without checking my email or texts all evening. I just go and plug my phone in when I get home, and leave it alone until the next day. I’m finally detaching in a healthy way.

What do you wish you’d known before starting Legit Kits? 

Back in the day, when I was watching “Shark Tank,” if somebody said they had sold a million bucks’ worth of something, I was like, “Yeah! They’re rich. They’re millionaires.”

Sadly, you don’t really get to keep most of the money that your business makes. It goes right back into it. When we were consistently breaking $100,000 a month in sales, I was like, “Yeah, this is it.” But then you’re spending $100,000 a month, too.

What’s your plan for growing Legit Kits past breakeven and into profitability?

You have to write your goals down, so there’s a 5-foot sign in my office. It says, “World Quilt Domination.”

[I’m investing more in] marketing, hiring someone to do custom work for us. The plan is to start with a $10,000 per month budget, and roll profits from the previous month’s marketing returns into each month’s budget.

Preliminary results: We spent $900 on Facebook and directly sold $6,300 in the first week. I’ve learned that it typically takes three months before you see the full effects of a marketing campaign, so I’m hoping to have profitability in that timeframe.

I want to start getting on [retail] shelves with some smaller projects that still look cool, and spread out to the masses more. I want to be in all of the boutique quilt shops out there, all the little mom-and-pop shops. I’m just now starting to get recognized by some bigger businesses.

For most quilters, designing 20 patterns is a ton. That’s like a life’s work. My goal is to get to 100 patterns. I feel like there’s still room to push this medium, and I think there’s a whole lot of places Legit Kits can go.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”

Want to earn some extra money on the side? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Start a Side Hustle to learn tips to get started and strategies for success from top side hustle experts. Sign up today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $97 (+taxes and fees) through April 1, 2025.

This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which details how people around the world earn, spend and save their money.

Sarah Myers has always loved the outdoors.

Growing up in Vermont and New York, the 33-year-old spent summers camping, canoeing and hiking in the Adirondacks with her family. So when it came time to pick a career, “I knew I wanted to work in land management,” she tells CNBC Make It.

Myers now works as a forester where she ensures the continual growth of forests, works on timber sales and helps manage fires during fire season.

“I love the sense of history you get in the forests,” she says. “I love the idea that these trees have been here for generations and they’ll outlive me.”

In 2024, Myers made $92,100 working in federal land management. She lives in Hot Springs, South Dakota, with her partner. Here’s how she’s built her nature-focused career and how she funds her life in the Midwest.

Getting into forestry was no easy feat.

Myers has a bachelor’s degree in natural resource management from Cornell University and a master’s in geographic information science from Penn State. While she was still at Cornell, a mentor told her that to qualify for a federal position she should expect to do “about six to eight years-worth of seasonal positions,” she says.

That was exactly the path she ended up taking.

Myers held five seasonal positions, each lasting four to six months, between 2013 and 2017. She worked throughout the Northeast and northern Great Plains, as well as a winter in Alaska, earning about $15 an hour, she says. Her duties included measuring tree characteristics like species, age and height.

“Seasonal work is hard because you’re not settled anywhere,” she says. “You’re living out of suitcases and what you can move in your car.”

In January 2018, she landed her first permanent position as a forester in Colorado and moved into her current position as a supervisory forester in September 2022.

Day-to-day, Myers works on project and budget planning for planting trees, helping young trees grow and improve their health, and commercial timber sales. During fire season, she’s mapping out where wildfires, firefighters and supplies are.

She loves it. “It really feels like the perfect position just opened up and took a little bit from all my experience and all my background,” she says.

Myers’ annual income varies. In 2024, her base salary increased to $77,390 per year, plus $14,710 in overtime pay she picked up during fire season, bringing her total to $92,100. She lives with her partner of 10 years, who also works for the federal government and makes a similar salary, she says.

Here’s what Myers’ spending looked like in February.

• Food: $1,360 on groceries and dining out
• Housing and utilities: $1,200 for her half of the mortgage, property taxes, home insurance and utilities
• Discretionary: $1,167 for travel, entertainment, home improvement projects, home goods, pet food, clothing, work supplies and music
• Savings and investments: $1,052 into her pension and Thrift Savings Plan
• Insurance: $531 for health, dental, vision, life, car and pet
• Gas: $119
• Phone: $97
• Subscriptions and memberships: $11 for HBO Max

Myers and her boyfriend bought a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom home in 2022 for around $300,000. Myers paid the $65,000 down payment with a combination of her savings and an inheritance.

To cover monthly costs, both contribute to a joint savings account. Myers puts in $1,200 every month — slightly more than her partner because she prefers to leave a buffer in the account just in case utilities are higher than expected.

Otherwise, she generally covers the cost of her own groceries, phone bill, gas and savings. But they’re not sticklers about only using or eating what they paid for. “We’re not nitpicking and we’re not counting pennies,” she says.

One unusual component of her discretionary spending in February was a $440 Apple Music bill. She still uses her iTunes library and bought a lot of new music.

Myers has multiple savings accounts, including an emergency fund worth about $5,900 and a high-yield account with $15,880 in it, which will help her buy her next car. She also makes monthly contributions to her Thrift Savings Plan through her employer, and has about $79,380 in it as of February.

Big picture, Myers and her partner are comfortable. But factors like inflation have taken a toll.

“We can take care of our house, we can pay the mortgage,” she says, “but saving for larger purchases or vacations, it’s those luxuries that aren’t happening.”

And given the recent changes in the federal government, she’s also not sure what they’ll do should they lose their jobs. Even state-oriented and nonprofit land management positions depend on federal funding in some way, she says.

“We don’t have much of a safety net,” she says.

That has given Myers and her boyfriend a chance to think about what they’d want to do next or even in retirement. “The ultimate financial goal is to be able to retire earlier and then pursue a second career starting our own small business,” she says.

“I, as a child, produced maple syrup for fun,” Myers says. “And I’ve sort of always dreamed about moving back to the Northeast to a sugar bush on some land somewhere and producing maple syrup and maybe having a little farm.”

What’s your budget breakdown? Share your story with us for a chance to be featured in a future installment.

Want to earn some extra money on the side? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Start a Side Hustle to learn tips to get started and strategies for success from top side hustle experts. Sign up now and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $97 (+taxes and fees) through April 1, 2025.

Every parent hopes their child will grow up and still want a close relationship with them. But close bonds don’t happen by accident — they are built through small, everyday interactions that make a child feel safe, seen and valued.

As a conscious parenting researcher and coach, I’ve studied over 200 families. I’ve found that the way you respond to your children from the day they’re born determines how strong your relationship with them is when they’re adults.

If you want your kids to always trust, respect and want to be around you, no matter how old they are, start doing these seven things early on.

Children need to feel safe and comfortable sharing their feelings. But when they hear “you’re fine” or “it’s not a big deal,” they start believing that their feelings aren’t important and eventually stop sharing them.

Instead of dismissing emotions, acknowledge them. To help them feel heard, say things like: “That sounds frustrating” or “I see you’re upset.” Emotional safety isn’t about fixing problems — it’s about making sure they feel understood.

Parenting based on fear, punishment or constant correction creates distance. Kids will then learn to hide parts of themselves to avoid disappointing you.

Parents who remain close with their children don’t demand obedience. Instead, they prioritize building trust. Simple moments — laughing together, listening without judgment, showing empathy — help children feel safe.

When kids feel emotionally secure, they continue seeking your support well into adulthood.

When parents make all the decisions, kids start to think: My actions don’t matter anyway, so why have an opinion on anything?

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Instead of deciding everything for them, ask “What do you think?” or “What feels right to you?” Let them make small, age-appropriate choices, like picking their clothes, hobbies or what to eat.

Parents expect respect from their kids, but they don’t always model it themselves.

Apologizing teaches kids that respect goes both ways. Saying, “I overreacted earlier, and I’m sorry” shows them that relationships aren’t about power, but mutual understanding.

Children raised in homes where accountability is the norm don’t fear making mistakes. Instead of hiding their struggles, they trust they can come to you without shame.

A strong relationship isn’t built in one big conversation — it’s created through small, consistent moments.

What shapes your bond isn’t just the time you spend together, but how often your child feels prioritized. Sharing a meal, reading at bedtime or simply checking in about their day strengthens the bond.

Kids who feel valued in small ways will naturally stay close to you later in life.

If a child feels constantly compared or judged, they start shrinking themselves to fit in. Over time, they learn to hide their real thoughts, interests and struggles.

Helping kids accept themselves starts with how you respond to them. Instead of pointing out flaws, celebrate their uniqueness. Encouraging their interests, even when they don’t align with your expectations, lets them know that you love them exactly as they are.

When kids grow up feeling accepted, they won’t have to choose between being themselves and staying close to you.

There will be moments when you and your child don’t see eye to eye. If you always push to be “right” at the cost of connection, they will learn your approval is conditional. They may comply in childhood, but will distance themselves in adulthood.

Instead of proving a point, focus on understanding. If your child disagrees with you, resist the urge to shut them down. Respond with curiosity: “Tell me more about why you feel that way.”

When kids know they can express themselves and still be loved and respected, they grow into adults who trust the relationship rather than fear it.

Reem Raouda is a leading voice in conscious parenting, a certified coach and the creator of BOUND — the groundbreaking parent-child connection journal designed to nurture emotional intelligence, self-worth and lifelong trust. She is widely recognized for her work in children’s emotional safety and strengthening the parent-child bond. Follow her on Instagram.

Want to earn some extra money on the side? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Start a Side Hustle to learn tips to get started and strategies for success from top side hustle experts. Sign up today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $97 (+taxes and fees) through April 1, 2025.

I’ve spent 12 years studying happiness and human nature, and in my new book, “Secrets to Adulthood: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives,” I share concrete and manageable advice that solves common problems and gives immediate results.

Over and over, I’ve been astonished by how a small step can provide a big benefit. Without demanding much time, energy or money, these short rules and timeless truths have made my life happier, successful and uncomplicated:

1. If you don’t know what to do with yourself, go outside or go to sleep.
2. Every to-do list should include one item that can be crossed off in the first five minutes.
3. If you forgot you owned an item, you can probably get rid of it.
4. Sometimes it’s easier to make last-minute plans than to plan in advance.
5. One way to answer a difficult question is strategically to misunderstand it.
6. Don’t buy things until you need them: Store them at the store.
7. Focus on actions, not outcomes. (Don’t try to “learn to play the guitar”; instead, “play the guitar for 20 minutes daily.”)
8. Don’t wait until you have more free time. You may never have more free time.
9. To fall asleep faster, make sure your feet are warm.
10. If there’s something you want to do, make it more convenient; if there’s something you want to resist doing, make it less convenient.
11. To get a quick burst of energy, do 10 jumping jacks.
12. Don’t let yourself fall into “empty”: Keep gas in your car, stash snacks in your bag, charge your phone.
13. Try by age 25: Many lifelong preferences are set by young adulthood, so try new things when you’re young.
14. Before accepting an invitation for the future, imagine that you must show up tonight.
15. If possible, have a challenging conversation while walking.
16. Beware of “procrasti-clearing” — cleaning or organizing as an excuse to delay work.
17. To understand a new city or town, visit the local grocery store.
18. Don’t do something to make yourself feel better if it just ends up making you feel worse.
19. If you’re not sure how to have fun, ask yourself, “What did I do for fun when I was 10 years old?”
20. If you’re buying an item that you’re not sure you’ll use, buy or borrow a cheap one (yoga mat, kitchen knife, tennis racket), and then if you use it regularly, upgrade.
21. Taking advice signals affection or respect: When someone recommends a book, read it; when a person recommends a TV show, watch it.
22. When teaching information or telling a story, highlight what’s interesting to the audience, not what’s fun for you to discuss.
23. Follow the one-minute rule: If you can do a task in less than one minute, do it without delay.
24. If you can’t think of a topic of conversation, ask, “What’s keeping you busy these days?”
25. If someone might not remember your name, re-introduce yourself.

Brief and sharp, these little tips distill big ideas into few words; by saying little, they manage to suggest more. I hope you find them as helpful as I have!

Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential observers of happiness and human nature. She’s the author of many books, including the bestseller ”The Happiness Project.” Her books have sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide, in more than 30 languages. She hosts the award-winning podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, where she explores practical solutions for living a happier life. Her new book, ”Secrets of Adulthood,” is out now.

Want to earn some extra money on the side? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Start a Side Hustle to learn tips to get started and strategies for success from top side hustle experts. Sign up today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $97 (+taxes and fees) through April 1, 2025.

Adapted excerpt from “SECRETS OF ADULTHOOD: Simple Truths for Our Complex Lives.” Copyright © 2025 by Gretchen Rubin. Published in the United States by Crown, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

Sometimes, your first day of a new job sets the tone for the rest of your tenure.

That’s why Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel gives new employees on his design team a very difficult task on their first day, he said on Monday’s podcast episode of “The Diary of a CEO.”

“We have design critiques once a week for a couple hours,” said Spiegel, 34, whose company owns social media app Snapchat. ”[On] your very first day, you have to present something … Of course, on your first day, when you have no context for what the company is working on … How on Earth are you supposed to come up with a good idea? I mean, it’s almost impossible.”

The tactic may seem unfair, but it lays the groundwork for the creativity and critical thinking skills that the employee will need to succeed at the company, Spiegel said. It can also help people quickly get over their fear of failure, encouraging them to take more work-related risks.

“Your worst fear has come true that we’re sitting there all together and we’re looking at an idea that’s not that great. I mean, sometimes they’re pretty good, but ultimately not that great,” he said. “And I think that opens the door to creativity because it already happened. You already failed.”

The exercise helps people build confidence and mental resilience, and acts as a bit of a bonding activity for employees, said Spiegel.

Overcoming a fear of failure — or any other fear, for that matter — can be predictably challenging. Effective strategies can sound silly, like attaching a funny accent to the voice inside your head or giving yourself a hug, but they’re likely to work if they can “disrupt” the pattern inside your brain, phobia specialist Christopher Paul James told CNBC Make It on July 1.

Facing your fears head-on can work too, according to leadership consultant and retired Navy SEAL officer Jocko Willink.

“The first thing you’ve got to realize is that most of the fear that you have isn’t a reality. It’s just built up in your head,” Willink said in February 2019. “So what you need to do to overcome your fear is to go and face it. Go and look at it. Go on the attack.”

Overcoming your fear of failure during your first day on the job probably feels daunting, especially with an audience of your brand-new colleagues. Whether you’re thrown directly into a tough situation or not, you can mitigate your first-day jitters with a little advance preparation.

You can make the biggest, quickest impact as a new hire by understanding your company’s mission and how your role can contribute, Lori Castillo Martinez, executive vice president of talent, growth and development at Salesforce, said in October 2024. So, talk to the hiring manager about expectations and company culture during your job interview process. Talk to a current or former employee on LinkedIn or email before your first day.

That way, when you’re asked to come up with a new, creative idea on the spot, you’ll be more prepared contribute something valuable. “It’s worth experimenting and being curious, leaning into the opportunity to identify your purpose and decide what kind of impact you want to be as a new hire,” Castillo Martinez said.

Even if your idea falls into the 99% category of not-so-good ones, you’ll have gained some useful experience, said Spiegel.

“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas,” he said. “So the team is just constantly generating a number of ideas and products and features … Our job is to try to figure out what the great ones are.”

Want to earn some extra money on the side? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Start a Side Hustle to learn tips to get started and strategies for success from top side hustle experts. Sign up today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $97 (+taxes and fees) through April 1, 2025.

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