Kate Williams knew she was onto something when her gluten-free treats sold out at her local farmers’ markets. She quit her marketing job to focus on building the Nodo brand, which now boasts five café bakeries and kiosks across Brisbane.

How do you know if your side hustle has the potential to turn into a full-time business? Your customers will tell you.

When she launched her donuts at farmers’ markets in 2014, after being diagnosed as a coeliac, Kate Williams realised she wasn’t the only one excited by the concept of wholesome, gluten-free, baked (not fried) donuts.

“Everyone got right behind me from the minute I launched and motivated me to keep going,” she tells Kochie’s Business Builders.

After just six months, Kate left her full-time job in marketing to focus on growing Nodo. Her gluten-free donuts were so popular that she was inundated with wholesale requests from cafés throughout Brisbane, but she quickly realised this wasn’t the right business model as she wanted to stay in control of the high quality and presentation of the products.

Just over a year later, the first Nodo café bakery opened in Newstead, Brisbane. Over the past seven years, she’s opened four more café bakeries as well as roaming kiosks around various shopping malls in greater Brisbane, currently employing a total of 120 staff.

Kate’s product range may have started with donuts (signature donuts include apple and native cinnamon sugar, and caramelised pineapple and milk vegan chocolate), but it now encompasses breads, cakes, breakfast and lunch bowls and a Roasted by Nodo coffee blend.

And it all started as a side hustle.

Kate’s recipe for side hustle success

Kate and her children at one of the Nodo cafes in Brisbane. Image: Supplied.

More Australians than ever are looking to follow in the footsteps of business owners like Kate and turn their side hustles into their main gigs.

According to recent Westpac research, 53 per cent of Australians aged 18-34 are hoping to turn their side hustle into a full-time career.

Taking that first step into the unknown can be daunting, but as Kate tells us, the key is to start slowly and manage your cashflow step by step.

“I kept my overheads low in the beginning,” she explains. “Everything that I made through the business was put back into the business to help it grow. I was very lucky to have a supportive partner who believed in what I was doing. I’ve always been working towards a much larger goal so taking money from the business to support my personal life wasn’t an option.

“You’re running so lean in the beginning stages of starting a new business and I put everything into making Nodo all I had dreamt it could be.”

The money to make it happen

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Opening a store requires upfront capital to cover expenses from rent to staff costs and, in the case of Nodo, equipment to make the donuts. Kate was able to grow the business from the start with the help of a Westpac business banking manager who helped her secure a small business equipment loan and helped her with all the financials along the way.

“We do all our banking with Westpac including our day-to-day operations and financial planning,” she says. “Westpac always make sure opening a new location is a straightforward process.”

The first Nodo café bakery was opened with the help of investors who believed in Kate’s dream after seeing the brand’s popularity grow within the first 12 months of launch. Since then, Kate has steadily opened the additional outlets, using the business’s own cashflow from the existing operating locations.

During COVID-19, Kate’s company incurred a “massive loss” to its cashflow – so she took a customer-centric approach and developed an at-home range of products. Nodo also set up home deliveries, which are still in place for pre-orders, and inspired its 53,000+ social media followers with recipes they could make at home with Nodo’s plain and self-raising flours.

“I actually believe we have come out of it a much stronger business,” she says. “Our pantry sales increased during this time.”

Another trend that was accelerated by COVID has been the rise of cashless payments. For Kate, being a cashless business set her up for a much more convenient experience with digitally savvy customers. Cashless technology is simple and cost-effective to implement (check out Westpac’s guide to online payments for more).

Key advice: Build a brand, not just a business

Nodo Hawthorne in Brisbane. Image: Supplied.

While you may start your side hustle initially to bring in a bit of extra income, Kate’s experience shows what’s possible when you think big. “It was my dream to build not just a business, but a brand and I believe we are well on our way to achieving that,” she says, noting that Nodo plans to continue to expand with new product offerings.

With social media at your fingertips, it’s possible to grow a loyal customer base without spending a huge amount of money on marketing in the beginning. Nodo has used its social channels to successfully launch all of its new products and menu items and keep the company’s followers up to date with latest developments.

If you’re considering starting a side hustle, or have dreams of your current side hustle becoming a full-time income stream, Kate’s advice is to take the leap.

“I’d strongly recommend anyone to follow their dreams,” she says. “Fear of failure held me back so many times but now I understand there’s no such thing as failure; you can only grow and learn from whatever you do in life. There are only positives to come from stepping out of your comfort zone and believing you can create something magical.”

Check out Westpac’s Business Help Hub for a range of solutions and resources to help you start or grow your side hustle.

This content is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Westpac.