A BARISTA has revealed how she’s making over £7,200 a month on a side hustle that only takes eight hours a week.
Morgan Eckroth, 24, has used her coffee-making skills to upload fun videos on her MorganDrinksCoffee social media accounts, and she’s raking in the cash.
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Morgan’s TikTok, Instagram and YouTube accounts show her recreating drink orders and whipping up some delicious-looking frothy brews.
While she never intended to make a living from it, she now earns over £86,000 a year from ads, branding deals and merchandise sales.
And the best part is she only works around eight hours a week doing it.
In the rest of her time, the competitive barista also works as a marketing strategist for coffee brand Onyx Labs, where she makes £35,000 per year.
In total, she rakes in £121,000 a year thanks to her coffee passion.
The idea behind her barista videos is to recreate the “warmness and comfort of a coffee shop”, and she’s racked up six million TikTok followers with this strategy.
She had the idea to launch her page in June 2019, in a bid to hone her social media marketing skills, and was surprised when it took off in such a big way.
Speaking to CNBC, Morgan said: “Social media [as a side hustle] is cool because there’s a pretty low barrier to entry. But I do hesitate to say anyone can do it — or rather, that anyone should do it.
“It’s very easy to lose yourself, your voice, if you’re just online and posting what everyone else is.”
As well as making six figures from her passion, Morgan has also won awards for her coffee-making skills.
She was the 2022 US Barista Champion and the World Barista Runner Up.
Despite her large following and brand deals, she always tries to stay true to herself with her videos.
She added: “I only create content that feels authentic to me — and what I think will connect to other people in the service and hospitality industry — in hopes that people will follow along with it.”
How to start your own business
Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea — even more than that, be the one boring your friends to death about it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it’s the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and deal with it if you can. Failing that, find someone else who can.
- It’s OK not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media, and remember the internet has levelled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
Morgan added that she’s had to put boundaries so she doesn’t “burn out” and she also ensures she does hobbies that aren’t work.
She added: “When I’m not doing my multitude of jobs, I’m usually in vintage bookstores, looking for science fiction and fantasy books.”
Many people have shared their love of her aesthetically-pleasing coffee clips, with one saying: “This video felt like a hug.”
Another added: “I love how passionate you are about coffee, it’s so inspiring.”
Morgan replied: “I try not to wax poetic about coffee too much but it’s something I genuinely care about and I’m grateful to have this space to share it.”