Mom’s ‘No-Brainer’ Side Hustle Hit $7 Million Annually: Date Lady

This Side Hustle Q&A features Colleen Sundlie, 50, of Moscow, Idaho. Sundlie is a mom of five and founder of Date Lady, a line of better-for-you organic date products including syrups, spreads, sauces and sugar. The products are manufactured in a facility based in Springfield, Missouri. Sundlie has grown the business for 15 years. Date Lady exceeded $2 million in annual revenue in 2021, hit $6.8 million within the next four years and is anticipating $10 million this year. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

Discovering the magic of dates abroad

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Years ago, while living overseas in Al Ain, UAE for my husband’s work, I came across a market selling pure date syrup. Dates are very much a part of the culture there. Everywhere you go you are offered dates and Arabic coffee. The malls and local souks were also full of varieties of all kinds, very different from what you see here in the U.S., where most people have only tried the two main date varieties. 

The fateful day I spotted date syrup on a market shelf, I pulled it off to investigate. The Emirati ladies standing around who were admiring my baby in tow started telling me it would be good for my baby and about how their ancestors had used it for many years. I took it home and was blown away by the flavor profile. The more I researched it, the more I realized that it had a really high nutritional value. 

When we moved back to the states, I couldn’t find it anywhere. That was the moment I knew I had to figure out a way to bring the date syrup we loved to the U.S. It seemed like a no-brainer for the American market, and I needed to be able to buy it locally myself! 

Launching a side hustle with about $60,000

What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
First, we researched the market to make sure a brand wasn’t already doing it. The only place I could find it was in obscure import stores, and it often contained sugar, which it did not need. My husband and I flew to Nuremberg, Germany for BioFach (a major natural/organic food show) to meet our first potential supplier and then to Dubai for Gulfood. I think we spent around $5,000 for that trip and around $60,000 to bring our first shipment into the U.S. and create a small space to bottle it.  

Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business? 
Friends, family and our local bank! All were so supportive and backed us not only with enthusiasm, but also with investment — and I’m sure it seemed like a pretty crazy idea to some of them.

Building with no venture capital or exit strategy

If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach to save you time, energy or just a headache, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
We’ve been blessed to take it slow and learn as we go. Sometimes I think we should have taken venture capital or really laid out our exit strategy from the beginning, but the truth is that I’m not sure the market was as ready for us then as they are now, and it was a busy season of life, so I’m not sure we could have handled the pressure anyway.

Growing slowly allowed us to really figure out how to make things work and escape a load of debt. When we made a mistake, there wasn’t as much on the line, and every little mistake we made along the way has played a role in greater success because we’ve learned from it. I’m not sure I’d change a thing.

Entering brick and mortar comes at a cost

When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t? 
Playing in brick and mortar comes at a major cost. It’s true that you can get in front of grocery buyers without hiring a sales person or broker, but when trying to scale, brokers bring relationships and value that come with years in the business that you do not have. You may have the most interesting product in the world, but unless you are willing to put funds towards slotting (placement) fees, marketing promotions and provide a free case of product for each store starting out, your chances are slim. Then once you get into the stores, you must work with distributors, which brings more expense and fees to the table. 

Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong — how did you fix it?
We processed 60,000 pounds of dates in California and ended up with a syrup that was higher in a naturally occurring acid than normal and nothing like the date syrup we knew and loved from the Arabian peninsula. Being a young company, it seemed like a huge loss. It was still an interesting product, high in nutritional value. Instead of going to waste, I started experimenting with it. I ended up with a BBQ sauce that I was really excited about. I was already using date syrup to create recipes for my family, so it was not difficult to create it. And it became one of our hero products. 

Consistent revenue, then a $2 million breakout year

How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? What does growth and revenue look like now? 
We saw consistent revenue within the first year but it took us a handful of years to become profitable. 

By 2021, Date Lady annual revenue had surpassed $2 million. Over the next four years, that grew to almost nearly $7 million. Our goal for this year is $10 million. 

Navigating motherhood and business

How much time do you spend working on your business on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
It depends a lot on what is going on at home for me. We have five kids, and there are school activities, sports, etc. I have always tried to work around that, so probably very unconventional, but it has worked. A typical day lately looks like getting the kids out the door for school, sitting down to catch up on emails, a meeting or two, reading group at the school, walking our Mastiff who is missing the kids at school, hitting some email again, slamming out a series of bench testing for a new product we’re working on and then school pick up. I will usually check email once more in the evening and sometimes do a little more bench testing after everyone’s in bed. 

What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Really dial in on the cost of goods sold (COGS) and lay out your projections and expenses for the next few years. Make sure you see profit in your future. Stay true to who you are. For example, we never used a formula provided by consultants to produce our products; we produced them in my kitchen. Most companies would not consider this even an option, but it has allowed us to create unique products without typical flavors and additives, and that has really become part of our success. 

This Side Hustle Q&A features Colleen Sundlie, 50, of Moscow, Idaho. Sundlie is a mom of five and founder of Date Lady, a line of better-for-you organic date products including syrups, spreads, sauces and sugar. The products are manufactured in a facility based in Springfield, Missouri. Sundlie has grown the business for 15 years. Date Lady exceeded $2 million in annual revenue in 2021, hit $6.8 million within the next four years and is anticipating $10 million this year. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

Discovering the magic of dates abroad

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Years ago, while living overseas in Al Ain, UAE for my husband’s work, I came across a market selling pure date syrup. Dates are very much a part of the culture there. Everywhere you go you are offered dates and Arabic coffee. The malls and local souks were also full of varieties of all kinds, very different from what you see here in the U.S., where most people have only tried the two main date varieties. 

The fateful day I spotted date syrup on a market shelf, I pulled it off to investigate. The Emirati ladies standing around who were admiring my baby in tow started telling me it would be good for my baby and about how their ancestors had used it for many years. I took it home and was blown away by the flavor profile. The more I researched it, the more I realized that it had a really high nutritional value.