‘My side hustle got rid of our morning tantrums - and is set to make $1 million'

A Brisbane mum was about to fall to pieces from the stress of the morning mental load. Then she came up with a brilliant idea that solved everything. 

When Megan’s eldest daughter, Ella, was three years old, mornings were always the Brisbane mum’s least favourite part of the day.   

“I felt like I was constantly nagging her to do things,” the 40-year-old tells Kidspot.

“I remember brushing her hair one day and she was pulling away from me and I thought, ‘Why do we need to have these tantrums and push back every single day?’ There has to be an easier way to work through these daily steps.”

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Something to help with morning tantrums

Sick and tired of the mental load, Megan searched online for a tool that would streamline her family’s routine, only to find nothing fit what she needed.

Instead of accepting the status quo, the determined mum created laminated tabs on a chart that illustrated each of Ella’s morning duties, such as brushing her teeth and getting dressed.

Once Ella had completed them, she could draw a tick next to the item.

“The nagging was replaced by ‘Go and check your chart,’ and it worked immediately,” Megan recalls.

“I was blown away by how smoother our mornings were and I no longer had to remember what she needed to do or take to kindy.”

When her second child, daughter, Abbie, came along a year later, Megan decided she wouldn’t return to her marketing role after maternity leave but instead, wanted to start her own business. She just didn’t know what it would sell. 

“It was actually my husband who said I should make a business out of all the things I put around the house that makes our lives easier,” she smiles.

That’s when Megan had her lightbulb moment to create a product that was unlike anything else out there in the market at the time. 

Mum Megan found a way to streamline hectic mornings. Image: Supplied / Second Scout

RELATED: ‘My maternity leave side hustle rakes in $20K a month’ 

The wooden routine helper

In 2020 - all while Abbie was under one year old - Megan had her first product, a wooden routine helper for children, which represented each task with words and symbols on timber tiles - on the market in just 10 weeks.

“The laminated one worked, but this wooden version was so much better because Ella could flip the tiles over and it would have a star on the back, so it was much clearer for her to see what she had done,” Megan, who invested close to $15,000 into the product, explains.

“It was also important to me that it was something that looked aesthetically pleasing on display in any room as well as empowering your child to get through their day while reducing a parent’s mental load.”

Need help managing your home routine? Image: Second Scout

With sales from her website not meeting Megan’s expectations despite lots of positive customer feedback - and other similar designs eventually coming onto the scene - the mumpreneur knew she had to stand out somehow in order to fulfil all the interest for wholesale orders she received from other retailers.

A year after launching her side hustle, Second Scout, Megan pivoted to create a new-and-improved routine helper that was completely unique - this time with magnetised timber tiles so it couldn’t be replicated by those with just a laser cutter.

“It took me eight months and another $80,000 to get it up and running, as well as find a factory that was able to manufacture the prototype that I’d stuck together because so many people told me it couldn’t be done,” she says of the product, which retails for $99.

“It turned out to be much harder than expected.” 

That’s when business absolutely boomed. 

“It blew up and went absolutely crazy,” she says proudly.

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A game-changer for non-verbal children 

But just as Megan was riding high on her success and selling out of stock - and had even secured retailers in the US - she was dealt a devastating blow when the factory she used closed down overnight, leading her unable to fulfil any orders for nine months in 2023 as she couldn’t find another manufacturer.

“I couldn’t afford to keep the business going, so I was preparing to shut it all down when I got an email saying I’d won a local business hero award and later that day, a customer emailed me to say, ‘Thank you for making this product,” she says, fighting back tears.

“My son is non verbal and it’s allowed us to communicate with each other’. It was a sign - I knew I had to give it one more shot.”

The kids getting things done in the morning thanks to the routine helper. Images: Supplied / Second Scout

RELATED: How to start your own business on maternity leave 

The side hustle is set to make $1 million

Since Megan worked tirelessly to find a new factory late last year (after five failed to deliver what she needed), sales have skyrocketed once again.

Thousands of routine helpers have been sold, with Second Scout’s total sales in just two years of trading exceeding a whopping $820,000 (with this year’s projected sales expected to tip it over the $1 million mark) - all while Megan remains the company’s sole employee. The range has also expanded to weekly planners, celebration and FIFO parent countdowns and other themed tile sets.

And while she admits that being a business owner is a juggle to say the least, Megan’s invention is still making her own day-to-day life easier than she ever imagined.

“My daughters have their own and use them every weekday morning,” she says happily. “They have accountability for what they need to do and I don’t need to nag them anymore, it’s fantastic.”

Originally published as ‘My side hustle got rid of our morning tantrums - and is set to make $1 million'