Brit makes £2.4 million a year after giving up job to pursue side hustle
A man who gave up his day job to enter the football card trading business and now makes millions has urged others to follow their passions and not get 'stuck' in the 9-5.
Aaron Pearce, 38, was an accomplished personal trainer and an area manager of several gyms but began to explore his side hustle when the Covid-19 pandemic put his job on ice.
Aaron, who is from Suffolk but lives in Essex, began reselling items like trainers, clothes and even football cards during lockdown to earn a bit of extra cash, but it was the cards that he honed in on.
He had grown up collecting football stickers with his father and selling the cards stuck, selling individual items for up to £20 on social media.
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But things all changed in 2023 when a friend suggested he streamed his own 'unboxing' of football card packets.
That's when he made a massive gamble by dipping into his savings to spend £4,800 on a case of football cards, containing 12 boxes with 150 cards each.
But here is where he found a niche.
Instead of just hoping to earn money through ad revenue from the stream or selling the cards individually, he sold 'spots' to collectors who then got to claim any card associated with that team.
If a Liverpool fan bought that spot for £100, they'd claim every Liverpool card Aaron opened.
He was 'nervous' before that first stream, but it ended up generating £6,324 in revenue, instantly earning back his initial 'heavy investment' and setting him on a brand-new path.
The rarest cards Aaron has helped collectors find
Over the coming years, Aaron would livestream practically every day, often when only getting home from his job at 9pm, as he strived to grow the business. Even if just 20 people were watching.
"Across a two-and-a-half year period, I think I had 10 days off from streaming," he said. “So it was really just driving the consistency.”
Aaron has helped secure extremely rare cards for customers. One dual Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho autograph card that sold at auction for £35,000 was snagged by two people who paid £10 each for a spot.
“One of the biggest cards we’ve had is a Lamine Yamal rookie card, which was a one of one, meaning there’s only one of them in the world," Aaron explained.
“Someone bought that spot in a case break for about £15 to £20… the card itself now is probably worth over £100,000.
“It’s a crazy feeling.
“Because we open so much product, we’re very lucky with quite a lot of big hits, which could change quite a lot of people’s lives.”
Aaron now earns millions
Aaron made £700,000 in his first full year between July 2023 and 2024, followed by £1.2m and then £2.4m in the year just gone. It's safe to say his bet has paid off big time.
The remarkable growth meant he could finally quit his day job in March 2025 to focus solely on his new venture.
He now has a dedicated office, instead of working from the spare room, with a team of seven people, including a packaging team, operation manager and additional live streamers.
He said: “It just came to a point where it didn’t make sense to continue the full-time job day to day.
“We had an unlimited potential earning in this side hustle and it was a no-brainer.”
He has urged anyone who has a passion that could earn them money to pursue them as it could change their life completely.
Aaron added: “A lot of people get stuck in their nine to five, but they have a passion that they want to follow.
“I think it’s important to try and pursue that.
“If you’ve got something that you really enjoy and you can put your full focus into that, you can grow something that’s going to change your life.”
Daniel Murphy