After escaping an abusive relationship and struggling to survive, one woman found healing and independence through an unlikely passion — sourdough bread.
Challenge
A few years ago, Teresa G. found herself at one of the lowest points in her life. She had just left an abusive marriage and was trying to rebuild from scratch. With little income, she took whatever work she could find — cleaning motel rooms, doing odd jobs, and relying on food stamps to feed her family.
As if that weren’t enough, Teresa was also caring for her autistic son while helping her terminally ill mother. She couldn’t hold a full-time job, and every dollar was stretched thin.
Still, even in those dark days, there was one thing that brought her peace: baking.
Her love for sourdough had started years earlier, when her daughter once teased, “No one can make real sourdough bread, Mom — not even you.”
Teresa took that as a challenge. She became obsessed with perfecting her loaves, experimenting late into the night, and slowly mastering the art of wild yeast. She had no idea that this quiet hobby would one day change her life.
Action
Everything shifted when Teresa attended a local workshop about starting small businesses. It gave her the confidence to explore the idea of earning money online. She signed up for a few Udemy courses — photography, video editing, even how to manage a YouTube channel. Each course cost just $10 on sale, but to her, it was a big investment.
Then an idea hit her: What if she created her own course?
She didn’t have fancy equipment or a professional kitchen — just a garage with a cracked concrete floor and bad lighting. But she had something far more valuable: deep knowledge and genuine passion.
So, using her old camera and a whole lot of determination, Teresa spent four months filming her first course: “Sourdough Bread Baking for Beginners.” She uploaded it to Udemy and crossed her fingers.
In the first month, she earned $1,000 — more than she had ever made from any side job before. Encouraged, she kept going. By the end of the year, her course had brought in $28,000 in income.
She realized she’d found her calling. Over the next two years, Teresa created 10 more courses, all centered around her favorite topic: sourdough. Titles included “Make Your Own Sourdough Starter,” “Extreme Fermentation,” and “Discovering Sourdough: Advanced Level.”
Her courses began reaching people all over the world. Students loved her clear, down-to-earth teaching style, and she soon built an audience of 50,000 followers across social media and 4,000 subscribers on her mailing list.
Result
By 2016, Teresa’s small idea had grown into a full-time income. She earned $86,000 that year from her courses — more than she’d ever imagined possible. The success allowed her to make a down payment on her first home, something she once thought was out of reach.
She didn’t stop there. Teresa expanded her income streams by becoming an affiliate for Udemy and Amazon, selling baking tools and supplies through her links. She also repurposed her content for Skillshare, Etsy, and her own website, which she’s turning into a membership community for passionate bakers.
Her business even inspired her to publish a memoir, Reach for Joy, sharing her journey from hardship to independence.
Lesson
Teresa’s story is a powerful reminder that success doesn’t require cutting-edge tech or a big idea — sometimes, it’s born from simple passions and steady perseverance.
She turned her knowledge into a digital product, her kitchen into a classroom, and her struggle into inspiration.
Her journey proves that you don’t need a perfect setup or a perfect life to start — you just need the courage to begin, even if it’s in a garage with cracked floors and a dream that refuses to die.
Inspired by a true story originally featured on Side Hustle School by Chris Guillebeau. This rewritten version is independently produced and fully original.