32-year-old social services worker hits about $30,000 annually on her bakery side hustle

Maikaila Grossett moonlights as a baker through her Ajax, Ont.-based business, Baking My Feels. Photo by HANDOUT

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Maikaila Grossett works full time as a project management director in the social services field and moonlights as a baker, but her side business is reaching a point where she needs to make a critical decision.

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Grossett, 32, is based in Ajax, Ont. She said she has enjoyed baking since she was in high school, turning to the oven to unload stress during exam season and taking boxes of sweet treats to parties, steadily building a reputation as the family baker.

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After attending a baby shower in October 2022 armed with a box of vanilla cupcakes, Grossett realized she had a real chance at turning her self-care hobby into a monetized business.

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“It wasn’t anything that grandiose in design, but the flavour was really good,” Grossett said. “People were fighting over the leftover cupcakes … and were texting my god-sister,” asking where they could get more.

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She started her dessert business, Baking My Feels, through word of mouth and gradually expanded by growing her social media presence on Instagram. She makes custom confections, such as Oreo-flavoured cupcakes, spiced cinnamon buns and Sailor Moon fondant toppers.

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Her goal was to transition her side gig into her full-time job by October 2027, five years from when she first began monetizing her hobby, but she thinks she might be able to make the transition even earlier, by January 2026.

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Nicholas Hui, an advice-only financial planner at VAVE Financial Planning, based in Markham, Ont., said he has worked with several clients with side hustles, especially young professionals.

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While some take on a side hustle to boost their income and pay off debts, Hui said other people see their side hustle as a way of exploring something they genuinely enjoy and monetizing it.

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“I also have clients that are doing the side hustle with the hopes of having it be their main hustle,” Hui said. “They start off with planting the seed while they’re still working, so that they have (income) to (rely on).”

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Hui recommends these clients build a “runway fund” to plan for how long it will take to get their side hustle producing sustainable income. For example, if they think it will take them a year, they should have a year’s worth of expenses saved to cover their costs in the interim.

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“Once they reach that year, if their business hasn’t reached the level that’s paying for all their expenses, then they might have to pull the plug.”

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Hui has seen side hustle incomes range from $5,000 a year to as high as $50,000 a year.

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For most of the first two years, Grossett said her annual income from her dessert business was less than $30,000. She incorporated her business in September 2024 when she passed the $30,000 threshold, which is when small businesses must register and charge goods and services tax (GST) or harmonized sales tax (HST).