By day, Phil Kalas works in development and operations at Horween Leather Company, a 115-year-old tannery in Chicago. Working around leather all day is what inspired him to start a Side Hustle. 

Phil wanted to create something he could use every day. He started making leather wallets and bags out of the most unique styles of leather he came across. His friends admired his handiwork and began ordering items for themselves. Soon, Phil’s friend Dan Cordova joined the enterprise.

Since leather products require specialized tools and materials, there were some substantial startup costs. The pair required leather, hardware, sewing machines, hand tools and books at a cost of approximately $5,000.

They launched a website and soon thereafter a large Asian retailer place a wholesale order of $50,000 worth of wallets and accessories. They decided they needed a marketing angle and began naming their wallets after gangsters, like Bugs Moran and Al Capone. 

They caught a big break when the owner of the tannery they worked for started a specialty leather store in Chicago and stocked their goods. Their company, Ashland Leather has improved their marketing which now includes Shopify, publishing a newsletter announcing weekly deals, and produce daily posts on Social Media.

Today, they had over 500 visitors to their website daily and sell over $350,000 annually.

Start Up Costs:  $5,000

Annual revenue: $350,000

Website: AshlandLeather.com