Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Keefe brainstormed her business plan while working in corporate. <\/li>\n
- She left 70-hour corporate work weeks behind to build her ice cream business, Clementine\u2019s.<\/li>\n
- Now, fresh off a $6 million fundraising round, Clementine\u2019s continues to expand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Tamara Keefe, 50, of St. Louis Missouri. In 2014, burnt out from nonstop travel and 70-hour work weeks in her corporate marketing role at a Fortune 500 company, Keefe made ice cream in her kitchen \u201cas a comfort project.\u201d Keefe\u2019s friend suggested she parlay her passion into a business.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nA side hustle was born: Keefe drafted the business plan for <\/em>Clementine\u2019s Ice Cream<\/em><\/a> that very weekend. The business, however, didn\u2019t stay a side hustle for long. Keefe left her job that same year to go all-in on her artisan, small-batch ice cream brand.\u00a0Read more about her journey, below. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\nImage Credit: Chris Ryan. Tamara Keefe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhere did you find the inspiration for your side hustle?
<\/strong>Ice cream has always been about connection for me. I grew up in a big family, and we didn\u2019t have a lot, but my mom always filled our house with love. We couldn\u2019t afford the classic Sunday ice cream stop that so many families enjoyed after church. I\u2019d see kids excited and laughing with their families and would beg my mom to go. She\u2019d always politely say no, but one day, she found a $2 hand-crank ice cream maker at a garage sale. Suddenly, Sundays in our house became ice cream days. The kitchen turned into a celebration. One neighbor brought the cream, another got the sugar, and we\u2019d make ice cream together. It gave me a real sense of community that I had been missing. Then, as an adult, ice cream would become my passion project and business. So I always say, ice cream saved me twice.\u00a0<\/p>\nCashing out her 401(k) to turn a side hustle into a brand<\/h2>\n
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
<\/strong>One of the first things that I did was go to ice cream school. Yes, there is a school just to learn how to make ice cream. There, I [learned] the proper techniques, equipment and more that I needed to launch Clementine\u2019s. Also, in the early days, we didn\u2019t just open our first scoop shop on day one. I started by getting our ice cream in the hands of respected chefs and restaurateurs around town. I knew if I could get the stamp of approval from top chefs, we were onto something. And we did. When I left my job, I cashed in my 401(k) and used my personal savings to build the brand. I lived very lean, only paying off basic bills for over three years to fund the business.\u00a0<\/p>\nApplying to Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program<\/h2>\n
Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
<\/strong>I applied and was selected for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses<\/a> program in 2018, which provides education, capital and support resources to small businesses. This was a game-changer that helped me really think through my business and growth plan and forced me to have business rigor early on. It\u2019s free to apply, so I strongly recommend it for any new business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Copy-of-8M1A7321.jpg?w=683\")
Image Credit: Courtesy of Clementine\u2019s Ice Cream<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIf you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you\u2019d done it differently?
<\/strong>I\u2019d have hired more senior-level people sooner. I\u2019ve learned to hire people who are more skilled and adept than me, but I wish I had brought those leaders into the operations earlier on instead of shouldering it all myself. I would have also invested more in coaching leadership and management in the early days. We also used to manage the parlor teams (it was a hot mess), but our director of retail, JulieClaire Lane, has helped us shape the culture of our parlor teams and deliver a high level of service to our guests.\u00a0<\/p>\nRunning an ice cream business takes a lot of grit<\/h2>\n
When it comes to this specific business, what is something you\u2019ve found particularly challenging and\/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren\u2019t?\u00a0<\/strong>
Ice cream is incredibly physically laborious. It\u2019s taxing on the body to lift 50-pound dairy buckets all day long! There\u2019s a perception that running an ice cream business is cute and fun, but you have to have a lot of grit. Beyond the physical part, it\u2019s also creatively taxing. You have to keep consumers engaged with new flavors throughout the year, while staying committed to quality. You must understand the food science behind great-tasting ice cream, and the formulation of great ice cream takes a lot of care and precision.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe fragility of a single-source supply chain<\/h2>\n
Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong \u2014 how did you fix it?<\/strong>
One of the most valuable lessons I\u2019ve learned came at the exact moment that\u00a0we couldn\u2019t afford one. We were heading into summer, our busiest season, and waiting on a shipment of coconut cream and milk cream for our non-dairy flavors. Two days before it was supposed to arrive, we got a call from our dairy co-op: the cargo ship carrying our product had been hijacked in the South China Sea. And to make matters worse, they didn\u2019t have a secondary supplier.<\/p>\nIn that moment, it became very clear how fragile a single-source supply chain really is.<\/p>\n
I immediately tapped into my\u00a0Entrepreneurs\u2019 Organization\u00a0and\u00a0Young Presidents\u2019 Organization\u00a0networks and started calling everyone I knew. It was a true \u201cget on the horn\u201d situation. Within days, we were able to source coconut product from Indonesia and Mexico to keep production moving. <\/p>\n
Because the product wasn\u2019t identical to what we originally used, we made the decision not to alter our existing recipes. Instead, we created new flavors specifically designed for those ingredients. It allowed us to maintain our standards without compromising the integrity of what our customers already loved.<\/p>\n
That experience fundamentally changed how we operate. Today, we never rely on a single supplier for any key ingredient.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Salted-Caramel-Cookies-Cream.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Courtesy of Clementine\u2019s Ice Cream<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHitting $300,000 revenue in Clementine\u2019s first year<\/h2>\n
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue?\u00a0<\/strong>
Since we sold wholesale before opening, we saw consistent revenue immediately when we opened our first parlor in 2015 \u2014 about $300,000 from May to December of our first year. We have also learned to forecast revenue shifts throughout the year. Since ice cream is somewhat of a seasonal product, we plan accordingly to weather the changes in season, even though we are open year-round and ship nationally.\u00a0<\/p>\nWhat does growth look like now?\u00a0<\/strong>
We opened a 25,000 square foot production facility in North City in 2022, an underserved area of St. Louis, which has also allowed us to maintain our quality, but also scale. In addition to wholesale, retail, ecommerce and catering channels, we are growing into grocery, co-packing and franchising this year. We currently operate 11 parlors across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and northern Arkansas, and employ 260 team members.\u00a0<\/p>\nMaintaining our parlor experience is crucial to the brand as a majority of our revenue still comes from our retail parlors \u2014 it\u2019s what provides us the stability to expand into other channels. We just recently announced our first round of investor funding, raising $6 million, which I\u2019m incredibly proud of as a woman entrepreneur. Clementine\u2019s has been self-funded up to this point. Women-led startups receive less than 3% of venture capital<\/a> funding. I\u2019m very proud that Clementine\u2019s will contribute to closing that funding gap.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/D7A3333.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Jenna Whitmore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBuilding a sweet business \u2014 with a purpose<\/h2>\n
What do you enjoy most about running this business?<\/strong>
It\u2019s all about the people, both our team and our customers. I get to see the power of ice cream every day. It\u2019s not just about a sweet treat; it has a purpose. We provide opportunities for people, strengthen the communities in which we serve, help create memories and get to see the joy this product brings them daily. How special is that?\u00a0<\/p>\nWhat is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
<\/strong>Keep clean books. Many entrepreneurs starting out blur the line between personal and business finances. When living expenses are mixed in with business activity, you lose a clear picture of how the business is actually performing. That lack of clarity can follow you as you grow, making it harder to prove profitability, secure funding or make smart decisions. It might feel easier at the moment, but it\u2019s a shortsighted approach. Clean financial separation isn\u2019t just good bookkeeping \u2014 it\u2019s how you build a business that can scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Keefe brainstormed her business plan while working in corporate. <\/li>\n
- She left 70-hour corporate work weeks behind to build her ice cream business, Clementine\u2019s.<\/li>\n
- Now, fresh off a $6 million fundraising round, Clementine\u2019s continues to expand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Tamara Keefe, 50, of St. Louis Missouri. In 2014, burnt out from nonstop travel and 70-hour work weeks in her corporate marketing role at a Fortune 500 company, Keefe made ice cream in her kitchen \u201cas a comfort project.\u201d Keefe\u2019s friend suggested she parlay her passion into a business.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Tamara Keefe, 50, of St. Louis Missouri. In 2014, burnt out from nonstop travel and 70-hour work weeks in her corporate marketing role at a Fortune 500 company, Keefe made ice cream in her kitchen \u201cas a comfort project.\u201d Keefe\u2019s friend suggested she parlay her passion into a business.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n A side hustle was born: Keefe drafted the business plan for <\/em>Clementine\u2019s Ice Cream<\/em><\/a> that very weekend. The business, however, didn\u2019t stay a side hustle for long. Keefe left her job that same year to go all-in on her artisan, small-batch ice cream brand.\u00a0Read more about her journey, below. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n Where did you find the inspiration for your side hustle? What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business? If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you\u2019d done it differently? When it comes to this specific business, what is something you\u2019ve found particularly challenging and\/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren\u2019t?\u00a0<\/strong> Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong \u2014 how did you fix it?<\/strong> In that moment, it became very clear how fragile a single-source supply chain really is.<\/p>\n I immediately tapped into my\u00a0Entrepreneurs\u2019 Organization\u00a0and\u00a0Young Presidents\u2019 Organization\u00a0networks and started calling everyone I knew. It was a true \u201cget on the horn\u201d situation. Within days, we were able to source coconut product from Indonesia and Mexico to keep production moving. <\/p>\n Because the product wasn\u2019t identical to what we originally used, we made the decision not to alter our existing recipes. Instead, we created new flavors specifically designed for those ingredients. It allowed us to maintain our standards without compromising the integrity of what our customers already loved.<\/p>\n That experience fundamentally changed how we operate. Today, we never rely on a single supplier for any key ingredient.<\/p>\n How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue?\u00a0<\/strong> What does growth look like now?\u00a0<\/strong> Maintaining our parlor experience is crucial to the brand as a majority of our revenue still comes from our retail parlors \u2014 it\u2019s what provides us the stability to expand into other channels. We just recently announced our first round of investor funding, raising $6 million, which I\u2019m incredibly proud of as a woman entrepreneur. Clementine\u2019s has been self-funded up to this point. Women-led startups receive less than 3% of venture capital<\/a> funding. I\u2019m very proud that Clementine\u2019s will contribute to closing that funding gap.\u00a0<\/p>\n What do you enjoy most about running this business?<\/strong> What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice? This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Tamara Keefe, 50, of St. Louis Missouri. In 2014, burnt out from nonstop travel and 70-hour work weeks in her corporate marketing role at a Fortune 500 company, Keefe made ice cream in her kitchen \u201cas a comfort project.\u201d Keefe\u2019s friend suggested she parlay her passion into a business.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/strong>Ice cream has always been about connection for me. I grew up in a big family, and we didn\u2019t have a lot, but my mom always filled our house with love. We couldn\u2019t afford the classic Sunday ice cream stop that so many families enjoyed after church. I\u2019d see kids excited and laughing with their families and would beg my mom to go. She\u2019d always politely say no, but one day, she found a $2 hand-crank ice cream maker at a garage sale. Suddenly, Sundays in our house became ice cream days. The kitchen turned into a celebration. One neighbor brought the cream, another got the sugar, and we\u2019d make ice cream together. It gave me a real sense of community that I had been missing. Then, as an adult, ice cream would become my passion project and business. So I always say, ice cream saved me twice.\u00a0<\/p>\nCashing out her 401(k) to turn a side hustle into a brand<\/h2>\n
<\/strong>One of the first things that I did was go to ice cream school. Yes, there is a school just to learn how to make ice cream. There, I [learned] the proper techniques, equipment and more that I needed to launch Clementine\u2019s. Also, in the early days, we didn\u2019t just open our first scoop shop on day one. I started by getting our ice cream in the hands of respected chefs and restaurateurs around town. I knew if I could get the stamp of approval from top chefs, we were onto something. And we did. When I left my job, I cashed in my 401(k) and used my personal savings to build the brand. I lived very lean, only paying off basic bills for over three years to fund the business.\u00a0<\/p>\nApplying to Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program<\/h2>\n
<\/strong>I applied and was selected for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses<\/a> program in 2018, which provides education, capital and support resources to small businesses. This was a game-changer that helped me really think through my business and growth plan and forced me to have business rigor early on. It\u2019s free to apply, so I strongly recommend it for any new business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/strong>I\u2019d have hired more senior-level people sooner. I\u2019ve learned to hire people who are more skilled and adept than me, but I wish I had brought those leaders into the operations earlier on instead of shouldering it all myself. I would have also invested more in coaching leadership and management in the early days. We also used to manage the parlor teams (it was a hot mess), but our director of retail, JulieClaire Lane, has helped us shape the culture of our parlor teams and deliver a high level of service to our guests.\u00a0<\/p>\nRunning an ice cream business takes a lot of grit<\/h2>\n
Ice cream is incredibly physically laborious. It\u2019s taxing on the body to lift 50-pound dairy buckets all day long! There\u2019s a perception that running an ice cream business is cute and fun, but you have to have a lot of grit. Beyond the physical part, it\u2019s also creatively taxing. You have to keep consumers engaged with new flavors throughout the year, while staying committed to quality. You must understand the food science behind great-tasting ice cream, and the formulation of great ice cream takes a lot of care and precision.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe fragility of a single-source supply chain<\/h2>\n
One of the most valuable lessons I\u2019ve learned came at the exact moment that\u00a0we couldn\u2019t afford one. We were heading into summer, our busiest season, and waiting on a shipment of coconut cream and milk cream for our non-dairy flavors. Two days before it was supposed to arrive, we got a call from our dairy co-op: the cargo ship carrying our product had been hijacked in the South China Sea. And to make matters worse, they didn\u2019t have a secondary supplier.<\/p>\nHitting $300,000 revenue in Clementine\u2019s first year<\/h2>\n
Since we sold wholesale before opening, we saw consistent revenue immediately when we opened our first parlor in 2015 \u2014 about $300,000 from May to December of our first year. We have also learned to forecast revenue shifts throughout the year. Since ice cream is somewhat of a seasonal product, we plan accordingly to weather the changes in season, even though we are open year-round and ship nationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We opened a 25,000 square foot production facility in North City in 2022, an underserved area of St. Louis, which has also allowed us to maintain our quality, but also scale. In addition to wholesale, retail, ecommerce and catering channels, we are growing into grocery, co-packing and franchising this year. We currently operate 11 parlors across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and northern Arkansas, and employ 260 team members.\u00a0<\/p>\nBuilding a sweet business \u2014 with a purpose<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s all about the people, both our team and our customers. I get to see the power of ice cream every day. It\u2019s not just about a sweet treat; it has a purpose. We provide opportunities for people, strengthen the communities in which we serve, help create memories and get to see the joy this product brings them daily. How special is that?\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Keep clean books. Many entrepreneurs starting out blur the line between personal and business finances. When living expenses are mixed in with business activity, you lose a clear picture of how the business is actually performing. That lack of clarity can follow you as you grow, making it harder to prove profitability, secure funding or make smart decisions. It might feel easier at the moment, but it\u2019s a shortsighted approach. Clean financial separation isn\u2019t just good bookkeeping \u2014 it\u2019s how you build a business that can scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20240125-Clementines-0175.jpg?w=791\")