Justis Pitt-Goodson, 26, made his side hustle into a business and is now making the equivalent of around £262,000.
Dropping out of college, he launched his clothing business in 2016 after years of working on it on the side.
His clothing company, BrownMill, offers customers bespoke tailoring and streetwear but began as a humble side hustle.
Its sales grew from $20,000 (£16,034.40) in 2019 to around $327,000 (£262,162.44) by 2021.
With the help of his two close friends, Kwaku Agyemang and Taha Shimou, Mr Pitt-Goodson founded his business and hopes to rake millions in sales in the near future.
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Speaking to CNBC: Make it, the side hustler outlined how his passion project turned into the business of his dreams.
He explained: “Even from an early age, I would sell candy, sneakers and clothes. I just loved the idea of selling something and getting value in return.
“I’ve always been a hustler and entrepreneur. My mum says I got it from my father. One day a tutor of mine let me borrow a sowing machine. At that time, I was really into style.
“Looking back at some of the work, it was awful. But the confidence that was instilled in me by the people around me was crucial. Then my other two business partners in high school and I just kept developing it from there.”
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With only a $7,000 (£5,612.04) deposit, the trio opened up the first BrownMill store in Newark, Jersey.
As well as multiple retail outlets, the side hustle-turned-business also has a lucrative online store.
The entrepreneur’s apparel has been recognised, worn and promoted by NBA legends, such as Dwyane Wade.
Thanks to his business’ success, Mr Pitt-Goodsoon has been able to give back to his hometown by sponsoring community basketball games and an urban garden in Newark.
On how he wants his business to grow, he added: “We want to grow the business. We don’t want to grow to be too big because then we lose quality control or a level of coolness.
“In five years, we definitely like to have another store, maybe two, located in growing Black communities.
“For us, we don’t have plans and the fact that we’re doing those numbers direct to the customer, our $2million (£1.6million) dollar goal is feasible.”
Anyone interested in learning more about side hustle success stories can discover more on CNBC’s YouTube channel.
