How My Overstuffed Closet Became a Business Plan
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Let me paint you a picture: It's a random Tuesday morning, I'm reviewing social media research for my agency clients from my home office – which doubles as my closet with two towering IKEA wardrobes, and moonlights as a plant jungle that would make any Instagram influencer weep with envy (okay maybe more sadness since some of surviving not thriving).
I'm quite literally surrounded by my clothes while I work, and have been ever since I made the move from suburban closet space to high rise condo limiting living. For over a year my clothes were in piles in multiple rooms before having the IKEA towers installed, even then didn’t fit everything. I had tubs of clothes in our building’s lockers to help with seasonal change outs. And to be honest, I’m a maximalist not a minimalist.
For four years, almost as long as I’ve lived in Chicago, I’ve been trying to figure out how to stop working IN my closet and start working FOR it.
This is but one of many ideas I’ve had over the years. I have notes and saved IG accounts for dozens of interests. I’m professionally squirelly. Welcome to the mind of a serial entrepreneur, where no idea is too random and every problem looks like a business opportunity waiting to happen.
The Confession
Hi, my name is Kayte, and I have multiple business ideas.
"Hi, Kayte."
It started innocently enough. In 2022, I took a leap of faith, quit my job, and founded The Social Question, a social media research agency, because I noticed a gap in how businesses were understanding social media data and consumer behavior. Fast forward to 2024, and here I am super-duper close to launching SoQue Society, an online private consignment clothing business that doubles as a hands-on learning lab for local undergraduate students.
To the outside world, this might look like classic entrepreneur ADHD – "Oh look, shiny new business idea!" But here's the thing: sometimes the best business ideas come from the intersection of your existing expertise and a completely unrelated problem you're trying to solve.
When Your Closet Becomes a Curriculum
Teaching undergraduate business and marketing students since 2021 has been eye-opening. These brilliant minds can recite marketing frameworks and ace exams -- and most either secretly or loudly want a job in social media. It is very likely to have some kind of impact on their future job, if not a main focus. Yet when it comes to actually doing the work? Few have any marketable, ready skills to add to their resumes. I’m personally seeing students less interested in internship work, and even fewer working traditional part time jobs like in the service industry. I thought this was hyperbole until I started teaching and it’s definitely an incoming business threat having weakened students graduating with no coordinating work exposure nor experience.
Meanwhile, my mixed-use home office was staging a revolt. Picture this: my desk where I conduct social media research, flanked by two IKEA wardrobes bursting with clothes, a junk dresser that's seen better days, and enough houseplants to qualify as a small greenhouse. Every day I have to blur my backround to minimize the hanging clothes that don’t fit in my stuffed closet, or the messy jewelry storage just out of frame.
The Real Story Behind Those IKEA Wardrobes
Let's be honest about how I ended up with hundreds of clothing items crammed into a mixed-use room. It's not because I'm a shopaholic (okay, maybe a little) – it's because life happens, and clothes accumulate along the way. Shopping, and new clothes, are a dopamine hit. I’ve fallen for the trap (quite happily if I’m honest) that a new outfit or a new dress will give me the confidence to achieve some obstacle. Excuses such as conferences or speaking engagements are also easy to come by.
Anyone who's lived through a suburban-to-city move knows the pain of realizing your walk-in closet dreams don't fit in a Chicago apartment. Add in the rollercoaster of weight management over the years, and suddenly you have three different wardrobes living in those IKEA towers – the "hopeful" sizes, the "realistic" sizes, and the "comfort" sizes. The “travel” clothes, the “virtual client meeting” tops, the classic “work from home cozy” sweats.
The thing is, when people consistently ask where I got something or compliment my outfit choices, it made me realize these pieces deserve a second life with someone who'll appreciate them. These aren't necessarily fast fashion pieces that fall apart after one wash – they're the kind of clothes that transition from work meetings to weekend brunches to family dinners. Most aren't trendy pieces that'll look dated next season; they're everyday wear that spans different ages and interests, the kind of clothes that actually work for real life.
Which leads me to creation of SoQue Society: the beautiful collision of my overstuffed closet and undergrad students' need for real-world experience. As a private consignment online retail shop, I will be hiring talented students for paid internships where they learn hands-on digital marketing and social selling skills. Each student selects clothes for their collection and we will work together on photography, cataloging, marketing, inventory management, and processing orders from start to finish.
It's not a get-rich-quick scheme (trust me, if you're looking to make big bucks fast, maybe don't start with consignment clothing). It's about creating meaningful work experience for students while solving a very real, very stuffed closet problem.
The Art of the Side Hustle Stack
Here's what I've learned about running multiple businesses: they don't have to compete with each other. In fact, the best ones complement each other in unexpected ways.
My social media research agency gives me insights into consumer behavior and digital trends through data analysis. That knowledge directly benefits how we approach marketing for SoQue Society. Meanwhile, working with students on real campaigns gives me fresh perspectives that I bring back to my research clients.
It's like having multiple labs where you can test different theories and approaches. Sometimes the skills you develop in one business become your secret weapon in another.
Why Chicago Students Deserve Better
Chicago is full of incredibly talented students who are hungry for real experience. They're studying digital marketing, social media strategy, fashion, photography, or e-commerce, but too many of them graduate without having actually run a campaign, managed inventory, or dealt with the chaos that is online retail.
We're not just teaching them to post pretty pictures on Instagram (though we’ll do that too). We're showing them how to analyze data, understand customer personas, manage logistics, handle customer service, and think strategically about brand positioning. These are skills that translate across industries and business models.
The Permission Slip You Didn't Know You Needed
If you're reading this and thinking, "I have this idea, but I already have a business/job/life," consider this your official permission slip to explore it.
You don't have to choose just one thing. You don't have to fit into a neat entrepreneurial box. You can run a social media agency AND a consignment business. You can be a teacher AND a serial entrepreneur. You can turn your personal challenges (hello, overflowing closet) into business solutions.
The key is being honest about why you're doing it. If you're chasing the next shiny object because you're bored or avoiding hard work in your current business, that's different. But if you've identified a genuine problem that aligns with your skills and values? Go for it.
Also – it doesn’t HAVE to be a business, it could be a hobby. I did things the formal way since I knew I wanted to hire interns and would prefer to maximize the tax options available, and provide a legitimate program to local schools for course credit. I chose to register with the state and to collect sales tax and do all the things “above fold” because frankly I am a permission rather than forgiveness personality, but it also just makes sense to treat this endeavor as professional for my purposes. It also allowed me to open a new business bank account to help keep my funds independent and cleaner to document.
What's Next?
Will SoQue Society become the next big thing in fashion retail? Probably not. Will it give Chicago students valuable experience while helping me manage my wardrobe situation? Absolutely.
And honestly, that's enough. Not every business idea has to change the world. Sometimes the best ones just make your corner of it a little better.
One of the highlights of this experience? I had a valid excuse to design a workstation/studio to better leverage both business models and I did so using a storage unit. Read more about that here. (Spoiler, it’s a way more affordable option (‘cough’ cheap ‘cough’) than retail space or office rentals!)
