Mother-in-Law's Etsy Empire

Sam Parr shares how his mother-in-law built a successful pillow business after asking for basic internet advice.

"About 3 years ago, my mother-in-law who loves to sew came to me. She previously sewed wedding dresses for friends, but now that her kids were grown, she wanted to start a business online. She asked if I could drive to the airport and tell her how the internet works.

I gave her the most basic advice ever - just told her about Shopify and explained the concept of a funnel. Three weeks later, she sends me this beautiful website. I asked if they named the company what she was planning, and she says 'That's my website. In fact, I already got my first sale.'

Fast forward 3 years, she's done over $1 million in revenue, doing high 6 figures in 2023. She sells high-end throw pillows on Etsy with about 10,000 sales. She now has a little warehouse in New Jersey with 4 ladies who sew. She's got the UPS guy coming to her office every day picking up pillows - a legit small business.

I tweeted this story recently, and Marcus Lemonis from The Profit, who's on the board of Bed Bath & Beyond, reached out saying he wants to invest in her business and sell her pillows in Bed Bath & Beyond. He wrote 'Dear Smithy, both Bed Bath & Beyond and myself would like to invest in your business. If these are your designs, they are outstanding. And believe me, I know pillows.'"