Best mates Cat Bloxsom and Morgan Collins\u2018s side hustle blew up so much, they were able to eventually quit their day jobs.<\/p>\n
Cat, 37 and Morgan, 38, both from Melbourne, were working together in corporate marketing when the dreaded C virus (Covid) rocked the world.<\/p>\n
To help kill time, stay connected and keep things creative, the duo took up knitting, showing off their designs to one another through video calls.<\/p>\n
After falling in love with their new hobby and mastering it with a variety of knits to show for it, the pair had a light-bulb moment, sparking the start of something very big.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had always wanted to start a business together and thought \u2018hey, this feels like the right opportunity\u2019,\u201d Cat told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of things that can be modernised and made a lot more accessible for beginners \u2013 and from there Cardigang was born.\u201d<\/p>\n
What started as a side hustle with the girls investing $4000 each has now turned into a global company with a $4 million a year turnover in revenue.<\/p>\n
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The girls\u2019 DIY business sells knitting and crochet kits for beginners and over the past six years since its inception, it has garnered a cult following on social media. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt started as a side hustle, so for the first 18 months, we were still doing our full-time jobs, and working on Cardigang in the evening and on the weekends,\u201d Morgan explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really good timing for us because Melbourne was in full lockdown and there wasn\u2019t much else we could do so it was the perfect time to turn our energies and our creativity into something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morgan said after they\u2019d proven the concept and the product, they gained the confidence to quit their corporate jobs and throw everything into Cardigang full-time.<\/p>\n
They did all the marketing themselves and had a few friends in the graphic design and photography world who also helped out. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the start it was kind of a weird world, launching a business in the grips of lockdown, when travelling wasn\u2019t even an option at the start,\u201d Cat said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen suddenly we were bringing in revenue \u2013 we had a proven product market.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then the boarders opened up and we were like, \u2018Wow, okay, we\u2019ve got an opportunity to improve our product offering, to meet with our suppliers, to build relationships with them\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The business partners self-funded their trips to China to meet with suppliers and manufacturers for yarns, which they say is essential to their business. <\/p>\n
However, with inflation biting, 15 per cent of small businesses have been forced to completely axe their travel budgets \u2013 the girls included.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing to go when you feel the pinch is your travel budget,\u201d Cat said, adding this can have a big impact on e-commerce businesses. <\/p>\n
\u201cMeeting and have a relationship with your suppliers is just as important, if not more important.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crucial to have these face-to-face conversations to negotiate our rates and negotiate our payment terms and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morgan said you miss out on so much that\u2019s only possible when meeting face-to-face. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to go out for lunch or dinner with them and understanding them on a more personal level \u2013 those things you just cannot get through a zoom call. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s absolutely critical for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the co-founders tried to find a solution, they came across pay.com.au<\/a> allowing them to route their international supplier invoices (paid in Chinese Yuan) and overseas Meta Ads bills through the platform.<\/p>\n It\u2019s helped them unlock over 1 million frequent flyer points and travel to meet with suppliers at least twice a year now. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got such good relationships with them now,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cJust being able to see what\u2019s trending and what other people are doing in different markets too \u2013 it\u2019s just totally invaluable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to put as many bills through the platform. If we\u2019re already spending the money, why not try make the most out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The platform has 16 hotel and airline partners but the girls mainly fly with Qantas to build their status.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also the first time they\u2019ve been able to fly on the pointy end, in business.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thought of consolidating all of your payments can be overwhelming but the platform itself was very easy to use and made it very seamless,\u201d Cat said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t realise how much were missing out on until we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also been one less (financial) thing for the girls to worry about as they continue to build and expand their business that has attracted customers from all over the world. <\/p>\n To this day, the ladies find themselves pinching each other when they look back at how far they\u2019ve come and the community they\u2019ve built through their small business. <\/p>\n And as they say on their website<\/a>, it all began after a \u201cwillingness to give it a crack\u201d. <\/p>\n