The Side Hustle a Mom Started in Her NYC Apartment Hit $50K in 3 Days, Then Surpassed $1.7M in Sales: ‘A Power Move’

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Alexandra Rutkay, 43, a New York City-based makeup artist who works on film and television sets. Currently, she is Mariska Hargitay’s personal makeup artist for Law & Order: SVU. Rutkay also runs a side hustle out of her apartment: citymouse, which sells a minimalist crossbody diaper bag for parents. Her side hustle, launched in 2022, hit seven figures within a couple of years — and even surpassed $50,000 in three days over one weekend. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
I launched citymouse at the end of 2022 out of our New York City apartment, and 2023 was our first real year. The night I realized the brand needed to exist was when my husband, son and I were heading to dinner post-pandemic. I reached for a cute small bag and realized I couldn’t fit my son’s sippy cup, diapers, baby wipes and a few of my things inside.

I couldn’t find a diaper bag geared toward those in-between years where you don’t need everything but still need some things. Especially a transitional bag that a woman would want to grab or wear even if they didn’t have kids. The baby gear industry offers what I call “single-serve items” because so many of them never get touched again after a few months. I really wanted to change that.

Investing about $8,500 to start the side hustle: citymouse

What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money did it take to launch?
I invested about $8,500 from my own savings to start the side hustle. I began with a rough sketch of a crossbody-style bag that could hold a drink inside and keep everything organized. Then I sent it to a supplier I found on Alibaba, got a sample made and once that arrived, jumped right on Tiktok (which I had been avoiding until that moment), and it changed everything. Women were very interested, and I launched on preorder, which helped to fund some of the initial run. We are still fully bootstrapped. 

Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
Social media was a must, not an option. I also hired a publicist who worked with my budget right off the bat to help build credibility. I utilize the app Intro, which is an incredible resource — essentially paying for advice and mentorship of established entrepreneurs. Through that, I found out about Newbook, which I’ve used over and over again for models who I can hire within my budget as well.

Set up systems for inventory, fulfillment before you go viral

If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
I’d have set up systems for inventory and order fulfillment before we went viral, not during. When orders spiked, we were scrambling and packing out of our living room and counting stock by hand. We’ve sold out more times than I can count, and every time we do, we have to go back onto preorder, which kills the momentum. 

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?
How fast you get copied. We kicked off the small diaper bag trend in 2022, and now Target has essentially duped us, as well as random Amazon dropshippers. Both large and small brands saw the trend we started and made their own knockoffs. If your product works, assume someone will copy it within a year. Your brand and your relationship with customers are what they can’t copy, so invest and focus there early.

Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong — how did you fix it?
The first version of our bag isn’t what we sell today. We printed a rubber logo onto the regenerated nylon, and it was a disaster from the start: The logos kept peeling off. Luckily, that didn’t affect how the bag worked, but it taught me that a design choice can look great and still not hold up to everyday use. Sometimes you have to make concessions. Now we stitch the logo onto our Classic bags, and honestly, it looks just as cool.

Hitting $50k in 3 days, then $1.7m in total sales

How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
Sales became consistent month to month in 2024. Our first full year, 2023, brought in about $135,000. Then TikTok shop took off in spring 2024, and we had our best three months ever — even a weekend where we sold $50,000 in 3 days. Across our website, TikTok Shop and wholesale, we hit seven figures in revenue within the first 18 to 24 months.

What does growth and revenue look like now?
Tiktok virality isn’t a business model you can bank on, so while the spikes are great, we’ve reached more normal baseline growth. We’ve surpassed $1.7 million in total sales and have over 20,000 customers. My husband left his career to run operations for the business full time, and this year, we launched on both Nordstrom.com and Maisonette.com. We just placed our biggest holiday order yet and are expanding the line with new bag styles.

Keep your day job and bootstrap as long as you can

What do you enjoy most about running this business?
It’s honestly an incredible creative outlet for me, but connecting with other moms has to be the best part. Hearing how it’s given them more confidence and made them feel good in a delicate postpartum period where nothing feels like you. Running into women on the streets of New York City wearing it is the biggest trip ever. I also love that it’s a business I built with and around my family, and even my 6-year-old is very invested in the brand and products.

What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
It’s not a sexy answer, but if I’m being real, it gets old scrolling on social, and every other video is a kid in private equity quitting their cushy job to start a brand. I built mine while working more than 50 hours a week from set. It wasn’t “sexy” or easy, but it let me take risks and try things while still paying my bills. Keep your day job, and don’t take investors until you truly need them. My rule is simple: Don’t scale before you can afford to, and if something isn’t necessary, don’t buy it. It might be slower, but we’ve never answered to anyone, and every decision is still mine. Bootstrapping isn’t the fallback plan. It’s a power move.