Friends’ Side Hustle Hit 8 Figures: ‘Have to Pinch Ourselves’

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Jen Menchaca, 56, of Los Angeles, California, and Lisa Hickey, 44, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Menchaca and Hickey are the friends and co-founders behind Perfectwhitetee, an apparel brand that’s grown to eight figures within the past three years. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

^{Image Credit: Steck Studios. Jen Menchaca, left, and Lisa Hickey, right.}

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What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
Menchaca: I was working in entertainment, bouncing between being a writer’s assistant and PR at David E. Kelley Productions. It was an awesome experience to get to work with someone like him. I started a small T-shirt line and decided to jump ship from there. I was always busy, but I love brand-building. And tees — I love tees.

Hickey: I run Showroom Delfina, a wholesale sales agency in New York. We help brands get into boutiques, department stores and online spots like Shopbop. What I love most is introducing new brands to the market and helping them grow.

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Menchaca: We started Perfectwhitetee in 2020. The idea was inspired by the need to have a line that led with the simple tee, always in stock and always fitting perfectly.

Hickey: When we started, I also had a retail location and noticed how hard it was to find a brand that consistently stocked its tees for replenishment. Jen and I realized right then that if we could create the best-fitting tees and sweatshirts and keep them reliably in stock, that’s all we really needed to build from.

What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
Menchaca: We started small: seven styles in five colors and partnered with a manufacturing company that specialized in beautiful knits.

Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
Menchaca: Shopify was huge for getting online fast. Klaviyo for email, and Meta ads helped once we started scaling. Canva is my absolute go-to for quick creativity, and honestly, listening to other brands’ experiences gave me more perspective than any business classes I took back at the University of Texas could.

If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
Menchaca: You don’t need to say yes to everything. Learn to say no.

Hickey: Information is everything, but organizing it in a way that actually helps you make quick decisions is always a challenge. Over the past few years, technology has really evolved, and now there are so many SaaS tools that make a difference — not just with Shopify on the retail side, but also with production.

When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
Menchaca: Lisa and I actually started Perfectwhitetee as a wholesale brand only, so our first challenges were the standard long lead times, strict terms and all the cash flow gymnastics that come with that. When we later moved into direct-to-consumer, it was a whole different rhythm: faster, more reactive and constantly shaped by new tech. It feels like every other month there’s some new platform update, algorithm shift or tool we need to learn about. The surprise for me has been just how quickly the rules of the game change. If you’re getting into this space, you have to be ready to adapt and pivot on a moment’s notice.

Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
Menchaca: Early on, we had some inventory management challenges. During one huge Black Friday sale, we discovered our numbers were off on a major portion of our warehouse. Many of our customers purchased things we didn’t have in stock. We all rolled up our sleeves and contacted each and every person to let them know we needed to swap them out of a few things to help secure some great deals for them and, more importantly, give them a personal shopping moment for our brand. They loved it.

How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue?
Menchaca: It stopped being a side hustle from day one for me. Lisa and I showed the brand at the major tradeshow in New York City and did some great business with the people we knew. We started shipping a month later and then had to deal with the pandemic shutdown the day after our first shipping day. We pivoted to making thousands of masks with the beautiful fabrics at our fingertips, and then started getting calls from buyers asking for those tees and sweats we had in our warehouse. The rest is history.

What does growth and revenue look like now?
Menchaca: We started with explosive growth and have continued to stack strong, sustainable gains on top of that foundation year after year. Perfectwhitetee has grown to an eight-figure brand within the past three years. We sometimes have to pinch ourselves when we see it on paper.

What do you enjoy most about running this business?
Menchaca: Seeing someone out in the wild wearing one of our pieces and then, when I tell them it’s my brand, watching the look on their face. It’s still the best feeling.

Hickey: I’m very proud of the team we’ve built; there are some pretty amazing and passionate people on our team who make it all happen. I enjoy working with them daily and learning from them.

What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Menchaca: Don’t scale chaos. Before you grow, get your systems in place. If you don’t know how to do something, hire someone. Even for simple stuff like how you store files or track inventory. Growth without structure and the right people in place will burn you out really quickly.

Hickey: Find people to work on your team that care about the brand (business) as much as you. I saw this once: The best employees act like owners, and the best owners act like employees. Think beyond your title. One small achievement at a time — and don’t forget to celebrate each and every one of them.

This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Jen Menchaca, 56, of Los Angeles, California, and Lisa Hickey, 44, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Menchaca and Hickey are the friends and co-founders behind Perfectwhitetee, an apparel brand that’s grown to eight figures within the past three years. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

^{Image Credit: Steck Studios. Jen Menchaca, left, and Lisa Hickey, right.}

Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.