Furloughed Leeds pilot turns lockdown hobby into side hustle with thriving jewellery business
After being furloughed from her dream job at Leeds Bradford Airport, a young trainee pilot has turned her passion for fashion into a thriving side hustle.
Rebecca Dickinson, 24, launched icanteven.co.uk in 2020 - selling “quirky and beautiful” jewellery and home accessories.
Rebecca, of Alwoodley, said: “Pre Covid-19 I used to buy and sell vintage clothes, I mainly sold on Depop, but I also did a few pop-up shops locally.
“I really enjoyed receiving the positive feedback and through trial and error I started getting a real feel for what would sell well and what would be popular.”
After making more than 1,000 sales on Etsy, eBay and Facebook Marketplace, Rebecca invested money into an eCommerce website which she designed and branded.
Although Rebecca has returned to work and is now over halfway to achieving her private pilot’s licence, she has no plans to push aside her side-hustle and is looking to expand her product offering to meet high demand.
She plans to employ full-time staff to handle customer deliveries, so she can focus on finding new products and growing the business.
Rebecca added: "I was really disappointed to be unable to continue my flying lessons and buying and selling second-hand clothes due to lockdown. So, I thought about what else I’m interested in, and very quickly I Can’t Even was born.”
“Business started off quite slow, but I found inspiration through TikTok and got help from my sister who works at a PR agency in Leeds, and now the website has frequent traffic and sales which I’m really proud of.”
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