Welcome, and my journey
👋 Hey, you creative genius!
Welcome to Unboxt: Side Hustle Start-Up Guide — and welcome to the start of something really exciting.
I’m Chantelle — cat mom, book gobbler, serial doodler, single boy mom (aka teenager taxi), and your new crafty BFF on this wild ride.
Flashback to 2020: armed with a Cricut, a couple of rolls of vinyl, and an embarrassing amount of tea, I turned my dining room into a crafting command centre. What started as “just a little creative fun” exploded into Unboxt — my thriving small business, where handmade meets heartfelt.
Unboxt has worn a few fabulous hats over the years. It started as “Don’t Disturb” — cosy gift boxes for couples and families to connect. It morphed into full-on personalised gifting magic, celebrating every story, every milestone, every messy beautiful moment.
Beyond the hustle, you’ll find me snuggled up with my cat, inhaling a novel in one sitting, or covered in paint because I “accidentally” started another art project.
This course is my love letter to every dreamer with a cutting machine, a vision, and a stubborn refusal to settle. I’m here to help you skip the guesswork, dodge the face-plants I made, and build something you’re ridiculously proud of.
With love and a truckload of creativity — Chantelle 💛
📋 Who this course is for
This course is perfect for crafty dreamers who’ve dipped their toes into the world of Cricut or Silhouette — and are ready to dive deeper. If you’ve made a few basic projects and are itching to turn your creativity into a real side hustle, you’re in exactly the right place.
This course is not for someone looking for overnight success, someone unwilling to practice, or someone who wants to copy trends without building a brand.
🗺️ How to use this course
To get the best results, follow these four steps:
- Follow the modules in order — they’ve been structured to flow from setup to sales. Each lesson builds on the last.
- Complete the action task at the end of each lesson — this is where real confidence is built. Reading without doing won’t get you there.
- Don’t aim for perfect — aim for progress. Your first products won’t be flawless. Mine weren’t either.
- Revisit sections as your business grows — this guide will mean something different once you have your first 10 orders.
✅ What you’ll be able to do by the end
- ✅ Create sellable vinyl products that don’t peel, bubble, or embarrass you
- ✅ Price confidently without undercharging or apologising
- ✅ Package your products so customers feel something when they open them
- ✅ Sell through WhatsApp, Instagram, and local markets
- ✅ Handle custom orders professionally without the chaos
- ✅ Build a brand that customers come back to
📖 Lessons from 5+ years of building my business
Let’s be real — starting a custom gift business isn’t always smooth sailing. I’ve had vinyl that wouldn’t stick, wasted hours on underpriced orders, customers who ghosted me after requesting a quote, and more late-night crafting sessions than I can count.
But through it all I’ve learned which suppliers to trust, which products sell best (and which to skip), how to create systems that save time and avoid burnout, and how to build a customer base that genuinely loves my work.
This course is your shortcut to all of that — without the expensive lessons.
⚠️ A quick reality check
This isn’t “press once and become rich overnight.” But if you follow the process, practice as you go, and apply what you learn — you absolutely can turn this into a real side hustle. The difference between the people who make it and the people who don’t usually comes down to one thing: they started.
🎯 Your first action task
Before moving to Lesson 2, take 5 minutes to write down:
- Why you want to start this business — your honest reason, even if it’s just “I want extra income”
- One product you’d love to create and sell first
- What success looks like to you in 3 months — even if it’s just R500 extra a month
Save this somewhere. We’ll come back to it. On a hard day, your “why” will matter more than any technique in this course.