<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nearly three years ago, siblings Maddy and Dylan Jarvis invested a few hundred dollars of their personal savings into a quirky business idea.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now Candy Claws, their press-on nail brand, is about to hit $20 million in sales.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's a milestone most Australians who start side hustles never hit.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/aussie-mum-and-dad-investors-are-turning-to-ai-for-financial-advice/b941faa7-75e6-4d53-a8a0-a36ec5d09c1f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Aussie 'mum and dad' investors turn to AI for financial advice</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A 2024 report showed that, of the 55 per cent of Aussies who hoped to start a small business or side hustle by 2030, most were motivated by the idea of a better income.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Maddy, 26, just wanted a way out of her dull corporate job when she and Dylan started Candy Claws.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was my first corporate job out of uni, and I was really young," she told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/side-hustle-success-story-candy-claws-founders-made-20-million/50ed5853-0318-4358-9d86-9eb116821ebb" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'd always wanted to do my own thing, so I was like, 'I'm just going to start it now and see how it goes.'"</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2024/11/26/13/52/top-10-aussie-side-hustles-of-2024"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/-HaMNM-R427_49kajmZez7AFvpU=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7556e26e-fcd6-46d2-9b77-a3790a8ec675" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/-HaMNM-R427_49kajmZez7AFvpU=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7556e26e-fcd6-46d2-9b77-a3790a8ec675 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/CSGqZvuyQLaIuh-lhhVoPMBp60E=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F7556e26e-fcd6-46d2-9b77-a3790a8ec675 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Looking for an extra buck? These are Australia's top side hustles</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2024/11/26/13/52/top-10-aussie-side-hustles-of-2024">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The idea for a press-on nail business struck her in the aisles of her local chemist.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Like many young Aussies, Maddy couldn't afford to get her nails done at a salon every few weeks in a cost-of-living crisis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the press-ons available at her local shopping centre looked cheap, felt flimsy and fell off within a few hours.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was like, what if you could create press-ons that looked and felt like a salon manicure, and lasted weeks rather than days?" she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dylan, 30, was totally on board with the idea.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The siblings started looking into manufacturers right away and pooled a few hundred dollars from their savings accounts to pay for the first batch of Candy Claws nails.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Orders started coming in soon after.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/home-and-contents-insurance-premiums-increase-by-hundreds-of-dollars/f347b68a-9ae4-4850-8620-8f8ea6df521f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Aussie home insurance premiums skyrocketed by up to $700 over the last 12 months</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By that stage, Maddy had quit her corporate job, so she had all stock delivered to her place, where she packed thousands of orders in her living room.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I couldn't even get through my front door some days when we just got a stock order in," she laughed, but the inconvenience quickly paid off.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As soon as the first batch of nails sold out, she and Dylan invested all their earnings into paying for the next batch.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Within the first month, Candy Claws had made $6000 in sales.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By the end of the first year, it had hit $1 million.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now the business is approaching the $20 million mark, has moved into a proper warehouse and office, and Maddy and Dylan are both working on it full-time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The brand has also expanded to New Zealand and the UK, with plans to explore the US market in the future – hopefully once the Trump administration's import tariffs have been lifted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So what made it work when so many side hustles fail?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to Maddy, it was hard work, careful money moves, and investing in social media advertising.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We couldn't really afford to hire content creators at the start," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So I just accepted that I was going to have to be the one to get in front of the camera and talk about the brand [and] we quickly picked up on the fact that that's what people liked."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now they have more than 70,000 Instagram followers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Founder-forward brands can do extremely well on social media, where small business and entrepreneurial content has been booming of late.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Press-on nails have also enjoyed a massive spike in popularity recently, both online and in Aussie shopping carts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/elon-musk-no-longer-richest-man-in-world/bd28e17a-c79f-48aa-9d47-6e84698f5ee8" target="_blank"><strong><span>Elon Musk just lost his title as world's richest person</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The global press-on nail market size was estimated at $US696.6 million ($1 billion) in 2023 and is projected to hit $US1 billion by 2030, according to </span><a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/press-on-nails-market-report" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Grand View Research."><span>Grand View Research.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 2.6 million TikTok videos and 6.5 million Instagram posts are tagged #pressonnails, reflecting a shift towards more cost-effective beauty options amid the cost of living crisis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Many Aussies have been forced to cut back on luxuries like gel or acrylic manicures to prioritise essentials, making press-ons a popular alternative.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's the cost-saving element, but also the time-saving element," Maddy said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Candy Claws' biggest customer groups are Aussie mums who don't have the time or money to get a manicure and pensioners who can no longer afford trips to the salon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And with the cost of living crisis showing no signs of easing, it looks like Candy Claws' business will be booming for some time to come.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter Maddison Leach at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:mleach@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title="mleach@nine.com.au"><strong><em><span>mleach@nine.com.au</span></em></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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