48-year-old turned his side hustle into a business that brings in over $6.6 million a year: ‘I feel like I'm living the dream'During a typical day at Jono Pandolfi's Union City, New Jersey, pottery studio, he and his 30-person team unload over a thousand pieces out of their 13 kilns, and ship the plates, bowls and mugs to restaurants and home chefs around the world.
"I think it's safe to say that it's pretty hard for a ceramic artist or someone who studied clay to build a business that's bringing in over $6 million per year," Pandolfi, 48, says."I feel like I'm living the dream of a ceramic artist."Customers can now buy Pandolfi's products — like four-piece settings, starting at $172 on its website — for themselves.
But growing the business production capacity and revenue took decades. Pandolfi launched the company as a side hustle and personal creative outlet in 2004, while he taught ceramics and worked for larger manufacturers to cover bills, he says. When he lost his manufacturing job six years later, he took it as a sign to grow his company full-time, about 60 hours per week.