50c Drawings and a Tuckshop Empire
The hustle started in bike shorts.
Before Sip & Sass There Was Year 3 and a Very Questionable Pikachu Sketch
I was seven. Armed with pencils, glitter pens, and zero restraint.
Kids would crowd around my desk, placing orders for custom drawings mostly pets,
Powerpuff Girls, or whatever cartoon was trending.
High Art & High Return
I charged 50 cents per masterpiece and reinvested every coin into hash browns and frozen zooper doopers.
“Turns out, long before I knew what it could lead to” 🥞🍴
I was building my passion.
Art That Made People Smile
My drawings weren’t exactly… technically sound. But people loved them.
They’d laugh, show their friends, come back for more. It wasn’t about the detail.
it was about the feeling. That’s when I realised I could create something fun, and people would actually pay for it.
Early Days of Print On Demand
But I also wanted to play at lunch, not sit glued to my sketchpad.
So I got clever. I snuck my drawings into the teachers’ homework notes to get them printed.
Twenty-eight copies, sold out before big lunch. Instant scale. Same art, less labour.
Operations & Delegation
Eventually I started outsourcing coins for kids who could sling my drawings while I stayed cool in the shade.
When the teachers locked the classrooms,
I staged a plan, a few students complained about the heat, the window was cracked, and some boys snuck in to retrieve my desk.
I paid them, of course.
Respect the supply chain.
It Was More Than Just Snacks
Sure, I used the money for tuckshop treats. But I was trading more than drawings.
I was trading joy.
They felt seen.
This wasn’t just a lunchtime hustle.
It was the first time I saw art as a way to connect. A way to mean something.
My First Marketing Funnel? Playground Hype
No social media. No email list. Just one kid whispering,
“She can draw your dog in sunglasses.” Suddenly I was fully booked.
Spoiler I’ve Been Monetising Fun Since Day One
That 50c energy? It still lives in Sip & Sass. Create something fun.
Make people feel something. Get paid. Share snacks. Different scale, same spirit.
