Our marriage problem turned into a $7k a month side hustle

“Wearing my wedding ring was a huge risk at work so I couldn’t wear it,” a Perth dad reveals. “Our solution has made life so much easier.”

As a devoted husband, Aaron wanted to protect his handmade, bespoke wedding band at all costs - which meant not being able to wear it at his job.  

“It could have been caught in a machine, or my hands could swell and the ring would have to be cut to save the finger,” the Perth father, who works at an underground power company, tells Kidspot. 

Not wanting to go without one as he wanted to acknowledge his marriage in his daily life, Aaron purchased a silicone ring from an overseas website in 2018.

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"It was a big leap"

After wearing the makeshift ring for a year with much success, it was Aaron’s wife, Kacey, who suggested they create their own so that Australians would no longer have to order them from overseas and encounter long delivery times and exchanges like they did for Aaron’s.

“None of us had designed any jewellery before, or created a product, so it was a big leap,” Kacey, whose background is in naturopathy, says.  

It took $9,000 of their savings and just three months for the couple - along with their business partner and Kacey’s sister, Fiona - to bring their side hustle idea to fruition in launching TUFF Rings Australia. 

The rings, which retail from $16.50, are available in sizes six to 16, made from 100 per cent medical and food grade silicone, are waterproof, can withstand 240 degrees, and are designed to snap after 20 kilograms of load being pulled onto it. 

While sales were slow in the beginning, word of the product spread, and orders began to flood in. 

“Our first big order was from the police dog squad, who ordered 60 rings, and at first we thought it was a mistake, or that we were being investigated,” Kacey, 42, laughs. 

“But seeing how needed it was really motivated us to put more effort into the business.” 

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"We sell $7000 worth of rings a month"

Within a year, the business broke even, and sales now top more than 5,000 rings in just four years. 

“We sell $7,000 worth of rings a month now and it’s a bit unbelievable,” Kacey says proudly. 

Despite the business’s growth, the couple are still able to run the entire operation from a spare room in their home. 

It’s truly a family affair, with Aaron and Kacey’s eight-year-old daughter, Tilley, chipping in to help. 

“Our daughter is involved - today she earned $5 putting stickers on for gifts with purchase,” Kacey says. 

“It’s nice to see her learning lessons about business and money. She’s starting to sell her own dog treats now and she has incredible confidence about it, which I think came from being around us.” 

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"We are smashing our sales goals, but the feedback is the best"

As for how their first business together has affected their 14-year marriage, the couple - who are proud to say that they have worked on their relationship through therapy - say that acknowledging each other’s strengths has been key. 

“It’s been quite easy and we stick to our own sections and we understand what we are all good at,” 37-year-old Aaron, who even shares his own experience in nurturing a happy marriage on the TUFF Rings Australia website, says. 

For Aaron and Kacey, the most rewarding part of their business is seeing the impact their product makes in people’s lives. 

“We are smashing our sales goals but the biggest thing for us is that we know we’re making a difference by the feedback we get,” the mum-of-one says.

“One lady said she felt safer on FIFO sites wearing one because she wasn’t hit on anymore and that’s what made us open our eyes that this has a place other than for married people to symbolise the love and trust they have for each other.” 

With Kacey also wearing a TUFF ring due to her own wedding band causing eczema, she’s now more appreciative than ever for Aaron’s decision to wear one, even though he didn’t have to. 

“I never worried about Aaron wearing his wedding ring at work, but it’s all the more special that he wants to wear one that we created together.” 

Originally published as Our marriage problem turned into a $7k a month side hustle