GoKawiilKey Takeaways Keefe brainstormed her business plan while working in corporate.
She left 70-hour corporate work weeks behind to build her ice cream business, Clementine’s.
Now, fresh off a $6 million fundraising round, Clementine’s continues to expand.
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Tamara Keefe, 50, of St. Louis Missouri. In 2014, burnt out from nonstop travel and 70-hour work weeks in her corporate marketing role at a Fortune 500 company, Keefe made ice cream in her kitchen “as a comfort project.” Keefe’s friend suggested she parlay her passion into a business.
A side hustle was born: Keefe drafted the business plan for Clementine’s Ice Cream that very weekend. The business, however, didn’t stay a side hustle for long. Keefe left her job that same year to go all-in on her artisan, small-batch ice cream brand. Read more about her journey, below. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Chris Ryan. Tamara Keefe.
Where did you find the inspiration for your side hustle?
Ice cream has always been about connection for me. I grew up in a big family, and we didn’t have a lot, but my mom always filled our house with love. We couldn’t afford the classic Sunday ice cream stop that so many families enjoyed after church. I’d see kids excited and laughing with their families and would beg my mom to go. She’d always politely say no, but one day, she found a $2 hand-crank ice cream maker at a garage sale. Suddenly, Sundays in our house became ice cream days. The kitchen turned into a celebration. One neighbor brought the cream, another got the sugar, and we’d make ice cream together. It gave me a real sense of community that I had been missing. Then, as an adult, ice cream would become my passion project and business. So I always say, ice cream saved me twice.
Cashing out her 401(k) to turn a side hustle into a brand
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
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