Latest news with #O'Dell
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
How a 50-year-old nurse's laid-back Friday mornings turned into a six-figure-a-month business?
Oklahoma-based nurse Mike O'Dell transformed his hobby into a high-earning side hustle, raking in over $1.25 million in 2024 from his quilting kit business, Legit Kits. Despite working only one day a week on it, the venture thrives, offering him flexibility and fulfillment. With a full-time job for security, O'Dell continues growing his creative venture while navigating tariff threats. Mike O'Dell, a 50-year-old nurse anesthetist, earns $117,000 a month from his side hustle, Legit Kits, by working just one day a week. What began as a Star Wars quilt project for his kids became a million-dollar quilting business. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads From Star Wars Quilts to Startup Success Running the Business While Staying Employed Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tariff Threats and Market Expansion Stitching a Path Forward Every Friday morning in Oklahoma City, Mike O'Dell sips coffee on his patio, drives his kids to school, and heads to his warehouse—not to clock into another job, but to enjoy the day he built for himself. That single day of work each week now earns him an eye-popping $117,000 a month. By contrast, the rest of O'Dell's week is spent in the high-pressure environment of a hospital operating room. As a nurse anesthetist, he works 10-hour shifts with little time for meals or breaks. But his side hustle, Legit Kits, offers a creative escape—and a profitable to a report from CNBC Make It , O'Dell launched Legit Kits in 2020 after sewing Star Wars-themed quilts for his sons using a method known as foundation paper piecing. Impressed by how approachable and artistic the process was, he realized there was a business opportunity in selling pre-designed quilting hired two graphic designers to create artwork and patterns, and brought on staff to handle production and shipping. The company now has seven full-time employees and four freelance designers. In 2024 alone, it brought in $1.25 million through online sales, with an additional $150,000 generated through in-store sales at Joann Fabrics before the chain closed all its outlets earlier this his booming business, O'Dell has no plans to leave his job at the hospital, which pays him $240,000 annually. That stability gives him freedom to reinvest in Legit Kits without worrying about personal describes his role at the company as creative director and CEO, overseeing product design and marketing during his weekly workday. For his efforts, he plans to pay himself a modest $50,000 salary this year, focusing instead on growing the business and managing Legit Kits grows, O'Dell faces new challenges—most notably, proposed tariff hikes under U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. The company's fabrics are sourced from Indonesia and Vietnam, where tariffs could rise to as much as 46%. For now, a temporary 10% rate is in effect until July 9.'The uncertainty is stressful,' O'Dell admits. He says the company is delaying hiring decisions until there's clarity on pricing. At the same time, he's introducing more affordable 'mini kits' at $99 each to attract casual crafters and protect his customer base from economic pressure.'I don't want to price people out of a hobby,' he says.O'Dell's quilting venture operates in a $5 billion industry, and while it still holds a small market share, he's optimistic about scaling. His advertising efforts now focus on hobbyists beyond the traditional quilting community, hoping to bring fresh interest to the art its success, O'Dell doesn't plan to make Legit Kits his full-time job unless the company reaches eight-figure annual revenues.'I'd have to get it up to $10 million a year … and I want my kids to go to college,' he says.O'Dell's story is a striking reminder that with creativity, planning, and purpose, even a side hustle can become a six-figure success—without quitting your day job.
CNBC
22-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
50-year-old's side hustle brings in $117,000 a month, he works 1 day a week on it: I can 'set my own schedule'
Four days per week, nurse anesthetist Mike O'Dell spends his 10-hour shifts sitting in a swivel chair shoved between pieces of towering, whirring operating equipment. He can't use the bathroom, grab lunch or sip water without asking someone to cover for him, he says. Running his side hustle, Oklahoma City-based quilting company Legit Kits, offers the opposite experience. One day per week, O'Dell enjoys a cup of coffee on his patio and drives his kids to school before starting work, he says. "I can eat breakfast, I can go to the gym. I set my own schedule," says O'Dell, 50. O'Dell launched his side hustle in 2020, after making his two sons Star Wars-themed blankets by drawing a pattern and sewing fabric to the 5-by-6.5-foot paper — like a craftier version of paint-by-numbers. The process, called "foundation paper piecing," made quilting easier than he'd expected, so O'Dell decided to start a business around making and selling quilting kits, he says. Knowing he didn't want to leave his full-time job — which currently pays him $240,000 per year — O'Dell built Legit Kits to run without him most of the time. He hired two graphic designers to create art and quilting patterns, then another employee to cut fabric and ship quilts, he Kits, which now has seven full-time employees and four freelance designers, brought in $1.25 million in online sales in 2024, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The company made an extra $150,000 selling kits at the now-defunct Joann Fabrics and Crafts, O'Dell estimates. (On February 23, Joann announced closures of its roughly 800 stores, citing bankruptcy liquidation.) The business was profitable in 2023, and broke even last year after accounting for the expenses of moving into a new 4,500-square-foot-warehouse, says O'Dell. O'Dell learned to sew two decades ago to make his own Braveheart kilt for Halloween, he says. Now, he spends one day per week testing color swatches, approving designs and marketing the company to new customers and retailers. He plans to pay himself a $50,000 salary — for serving as the company's creative director and CEO — from Legit Kits this year, he says. "The burnout I feel at the hospital fuels my energy to do the other thing for myself," says O'Dell. "It turns the volume down when everybody's mad at work." Legit Kits has a relatively small amount of market share in a quilting industry that's worth nearly $5 billion, according to the Craft Industry Alliance, a trade association. To grow, O'Dell wants to expand his customer base beyond experienced quilters, he says. His current Facebook advertising campaign targets more casual crafters and Legit Kits has started selling more "mini" kits — $99 for each 15-by-20-inch creation — as easier products to complete. Another reason for selling lower-cost items, O'Dell says: As U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies threaten to raise prices on common consumer goods, Americans could be less likely to spend money on crafts. "I don't want to price people out of a hobby," says O'Dell. But tariffs could also make Legit Kits more expensive to run. The company's fabrics come from Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia and Vietnam, and goods imported from those two countries face 32% and 46% tariff rates, respectively, under policies unveiled by Trump on April 2. Those rates are currently paused until July 9, temporarily replaced by a baseline 10% tariff rate on all foreign imports. "The uncertainty is stressful," says O'Dell, adding that he can't confidently hire new employees until he knows how tariffs will affect Legit Kits' costs. "Optimism is essential these days. Hope mine isn't misplaced." His high-paying, full-time job is his company's safety net. Since O'Dell doesn't have to worry about Legit Kits turning enough profit to pay himself a living wage, he predicts that tariffs — or any other form of economic uncertainty — won't ever force his side hustle's closure. Even pre-tariffs, he didn't expect his side hustle income to surpass his nurse anesthetist salary for another five years, he adds. "I'd have to get Legit Kits up to eight figures in annual sales [to consider making it my full-time job] ... and I want my kids to go to college," says O'Dell. ,
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Poughkeepsie man sentenced jail time in PA after failing to update sex offender registry
BRADFORD COUNTY, Pa. (WETM) — A Poughkeepsie man was sentenced recently to time in the Bradford County Correctional Facility after the district attorney's office said he failed to update his address on the sex offender registry. William Lester O'Dell, 54, was sentenced to a minimum of eight months to a maximum of 23 months in the Bradford County Correctional Facility along with a concurrent term of four years probation for the charge of failure to comply with registration requirements, a felony in the second degree. The charge stems from O'Dell being a registered sex offender after two convictions for sexual abuse in 1993 and sodomy in 1997, both taking place in Dutchess County, NY. Hornell man arrested on theft charges connected to incident of welfare fraud As a result of these convictions, O'Dell was required by law to register on the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act when he moved from New York to Pennsylvania. The Bradford County District Attorney's Office said O'Dell failed to update the registry when he moved back to New York from Pennsylvania. It was learned that O'Dell updated the register in New York, but did not update Pennsylvania in telling the state he left. 'It is very important that law enforcement authorities know the whereabouts of sexual offenders who are required to register,' said Bradford County District Attorney Richard Wilson. 'That is the reason we have this registration requirement. Failing to register puts law enforcement at a disadvantage and therefore puts the community at right,' Wilson said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
11-05-2025
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
Prep sports roundup: Santa Margarita's Teagan O'Dell sets two swimming records
On a day in Southern California when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees in many locations, Teagan O'Dell of Santa Margarita High turned the pool at Mt. San Antonio College into her personal cool sandbox, swimming to two records during the Southern Section Division 1 finals. Bound for Cal and competing in her final section championship, O'Dell set the Division 1 record in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:53.43, only 5 one-hundredths of a second from her national record set when she was a sophomore. She also set a record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.09. She helped Santa Margarita win two relay events. Santa Margarita won the girls' and boys' Division 1 team championships and will be trying to win a state championship next weekend in Clovis. It was so hot on Saturday that a more than three-hour heat delay was imposed in the middle of the Southern Section Division 3 track and field preliminaries at Yorba Linda. Running competition began at noon but was halted 90 minutes later while monitoring the heat index to make sure it was safe to resume. Action resumed at 5 p.m. Servite's 4x100 relay team, the fastest in the state, qualified first in 40.27 before the delay occurred. In Division 2 in Ontario, Newbury Park's Nicholas Durbiano ran 10.54 seconds in the 100 meters to lead qualifiers. Bishop Alemany's Demare Dezeurn cruised to 10.56 at Carpinteria in Division 4. In Division 1 at Trabuco Hills, Julius Johnson ran a wind-aided 10.34 seconds. Journey Cole from Redondo Beach ran the fastest girls' 100 in Division 1 with a qualifying time of 11.49. Jaslene Massey of Aliso Niguel had the second-best mark in the state this year in the girls' discus at the Division 1 prelims at 159-8. The Division 1 200 prelims saw Jack Stadlam of Temecula Valley run 21.03. Loyola has advanced to the Southern Section Division 1 championship match in boys' lacrosse after an 11-9 win over Foothill. Cash Ginberg scored four goals and Tripp King had three goals and one assist.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
2 markets in 1 quarter: Auto-hauling demand volatile for Proficient
With its business tied to the fate of the U.S. automobile market, it is no surprise that Proficent Auto Logistics, the only publicly-traded auto hauler, had a schizophrenic first four months of the year. The bottom-line numbers were not positive. Proficient had a significant weakening of its operating ratio in the first quarter. The company recorded an OR of 98.7%, compared to 93.2% a year ago. Sequentially, it improved by 10 basis points to 98.8%. Proficient (NASDAQ: PAL) reported an operating loss of $2.36 million compared to an operating profit of $6.54 million a year ago. Its operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2024 was $2.4 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $7.8 million was down from $10.9 million a year ago but slightly better than the figure of just under $7 million in the fourth quarter of last year. And Wall Street didn't like what it heard. Its net income loss of 12 cents per share was 4 cents worse than consensus, according to SeekingAlpha. Revenues of $95.2 million were slightly under consensus. At approximately 11:10 a.m., Proficient's stock was down 51 cents a share to $7.61, a drop of 6.3%. But that was an improvement over the day's low of $7.01. In the company's Wednesday earnings call with analysts, CEO Rick O'Dell reviewed Proficient's performance not just for the three months reported in the earnings, but also into April. In an understatement, O'Dell said of the period, 'The first quarter of this year was characterized by two different portions.' O'Dell said January and the first half of February was 'a period of unusually low volume, continuing weak revenue per unit and disruptive weather.' Volume was up just 1% from a year earlier; revenue through mid-February was down more than 17% from a year earlier and about the same sequentially. But O'Dell said March was strong, with unit volume up 17% from March 2024 and revenue up 11%. It was driven by a national annualized sales rate of 17.8 million vehicles sold that month, compared to 15.6 million in January and 16 million in February. The reason for that surge, O'Dell said, was the 'pull-forward' of auto sales prior to the imposition of various tariffs. The discussion on the call went beyond the first quarter and into the second. O'Dell said Proficient had record revenue in April. It was at a level that, if annualized, would be 'materially better than our kind of current breakeven type level, more than a 90%-type operating ratio in a normalized environment,' he said. However, the ability to continue at those rates is questionable. O'Dell said that 'industry data seems to indicate a decelerating sales trend through April which carried into May.' The strong April at Proficient has been followed by 'moderation in transportation volume, especially from imported vehicles.' Although O'Dell talked about a slowdown into May, he said Proficient's current outlook is that the company will have 8% more revenue in the second quarter compared to the first. 'Our OEM customers are dealing with this economic uncertainty and the prospect of significantly increased cost relative to their expectations,' he said. 'In real time, they're making decisions about where their production occurs and whether to curtail imports, both on a near-term and a structural basis. Their decisions on these critical issues will have a significant bearing on the environment that Proficient will navigate over the remainder of 2025.' Amy Rice, president and COO of Proficient, said the company's mix was about 60% domestic auto transport and about 40% imported. She said the strategies of the OEMs Proficient serves have been wide-ranging. 'They have been taking a variety of actions or inactions,' she said. 'Certain importers have just continued business as usual and figure that the landscape for tariffs will become clearer in time, and they will continue to adjust in real time as that occurs. Others have chosen to hold cars in the hopes of getting better information on which to make decisions, and therefore they've stopped the flow of their cars.' The corporate strategy at Proficient since it became a publicly traded company has been one of acquisition. It began the quarter with an acquisition of Brothers Auto Transport. On the call, O'Dell said Brothers is a 'strategic addition [that] increases our presence and density in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions and provides new load-sharing opportunities and other efficiencies to our existing operations.' As far as additional acquisitions, O'Dell said the current 'volatile environment' might slow any deals. 'That being said, we are starting to see some distressed assets come to market, and we'll just be smart about the opportunities that we pursue and those that we would want to pass by.' The demise of major auto hauler Jack Cooper was not mentioned by name on the call, the first focused on a quarter that had occurred since Jack Cooper closed earlier this year. (The most recent call before Wednesday's was to review fourth-quarter performance, though the Jack Cooper closure occurred in the first quarter.) On the call, Rice was asked about industry capacity. She noted that 'the industry overall had a large player exit.' Rice also said that 'most of your players have got some slack capacity.' But referring to the company without mentioning Jack Cooper by name, she said the loss of that capacity means that if 'automotive volumes were to return in a sustainable way, I think the industry would feel a crunch on capacity.' More articles by John Kingston New Jersey, feds take opposite paths on independent contractor rules Leadership at C.H. Robinson celebrates 1-year milestone by posting another strong quarter RXO finds positives in quarter marked by soft market and profit loss The post 2 markets in 1 quarter: Auto-hauling demand volatile for Proficient appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
