This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Brock Giles, 36, of Salt Lake City, Utah. Giles is the founder of small-batch hot sauce and spicy cocktail mixer brand High Mesa Chile Co. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of High Mesa Chile Co. Brock Giles.
What was your day job or primary occupation when you started the side hustle that would become your full-time business?
I was working in finance when we originally started it, but the successful iterations of the company didn’t come until I had moved into analytics and product management at a large ecommerce firm. That is when I really started digging into the side business with the goal of growing it into a full-time gig.
When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
I started High Mesa just as I was graduating college and beginning my job in finance. The initial thought was that it may always remain a relatively small side business, something to add additional income to whatever my corporate job would be and to be somewhat of a creative outlet.
The main inspiration came from a childhood with food, cooking and entertaining being the centerpiece of family life. This extended far beyond my family and included a group of very close family friends from New Mexico. They were a second family to me, and the food and culture of the Southwestern U.S. was very quickly imprinted on me. Harvest seasons during the late summer were always marked with weekend-long parties with our families roasting and peeling and cooking with chiles.
Falling in love with roasted chiles in this familial way, alongside a childhood spent in the deserts of Southern Utah, inspired a lifetime of cooking with these ingredients and, ultimately, the creation of High Mesa Chile Co.
Image Credit: Courtesy of High Mesa Chile Co.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
As a food company, local farmer’s markets are such a valuable resource for launching new brands and products. We relied heavily on the downtown Salt Lake City farmer’s market to launch our retail products and worked our way into local food trade shows to showcase our food service items.
However, prior to showcasing anything to customers for the first time, networking and finding industry mentors were extremely helpful. As a numbers person without direct experience in the food industry, making connections with those who were willing to help by answering questions was invaluable.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building your side hustle, and how did you navigate them?
Unlike some ventures, side businesses often form slowly over time without clear goals or a fully baked launch. This was very much our case, and High Mesa is ultimately the sixth or seventh iteration of a concept we hatched a long time ago.
Because of the long runway period to becoming a full-time endeavor, keeping a clear goal in mind was a very difficult thing to do. When one thing doesn’t immediately work because of your limited time, it is very easy to chase other ideas in hopes of rocketing to success. Knowing when to change things up and when not to was very difficult when capital was tight and we weren’t able to test things at scale.
All of the difficulties tend to center around three things: time, energy and capital. Remaining motivated while something is still a side hustle and not making money requires some naivete and cockiness, traits that you’re expected to leave behind as an experienced corporate employee.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
It seems so long ago, but I want to say it took about a year of flailing without clear direction before we had locked down a decent food service distribution partner. At that point, we started seeing consistent, albeit small, monthly revenue but continued to see the potential to land larger accounts. Because the retail brand didn’t come until later on, we were somewhat insulated from huge swings in monthly revenue, which helped build a base for us to launch into retail. This base is still a key piece of our business.
In the early years, going from $5,000 a month to $10,000 a month seemed like a monumental achievement. But you quickly find out that growth costs money, and due to being mostly self-funded, the idea of having a dual incomes from the day job and side business had to go out the window. Any profit we were able to realize generally turned into new equipment, larger production space and inventory.
Jumping ahead to the past couple of years, when the side business became the day job and revenue went from $50,000 a month to over $100,000 a month, we definitely aren’t home-free yet, but we feel like we finally have legs to run.
Image Credit: Courtesy of High Mesa Chile Co.
What does growth and revenue look like now?
High Mesa doubled last year, and we are on track to double in 2025 as well. We are now in the seven-figure range and are excited to see where we’ll land this year. We have a lot in the works, including launching in new markets and product categories.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
Focusing on and experimenting with food is always a plus. We manufacture everything, and I develop our recipes in-house, so the creative aspect of the business is always a plus. But ultimately it is the challenge and fulfillment from seeing something take shape and actually become successful.
What’s your advice for others hoping to start successful side hustles or full-time businesses of their own?
Whatever your goals are in starting any side business, my advice would be to stay focused and consistently remind yourself of your goals. Are you trying to build a business or trying to build a day job? It is very easy to get lost in the mud when things get tough, even after your side business gets to become your full-time business. Try to remove yourself from the day-to-day mindset and make decisions from 30,000 feet.
