She Kept Her Garage Side Hustle a Secret — Then It Hit $10K a Month Using This 'Stealthy' Strategy Hilary Hoffman turned her garage into a gym, her nights into work sessions and her own unmet needs into a successful business.
By Mark Klekas
"If you want to look good in front of thousands, you have to outwork thousands in front of nobody." That Damian Lillard quote is the background on Hilary Hoffman's phone — and the foundation of her business philosophy. When she launched SotoMethod, an omnichannel fitness brand, from her garage in Santa Monica, she wasn't chasing headlines. She was focused on quietly solving a problem she faced herself.
In a recent Q&A with Entrepreneur, Hoffman discussed the transition from side hustle to full-time founder, why she operated in stealth mode for the first eight months and how she navigated feedback and advice without getting derailed. Whether you're in the early stages of building something new or thinking about turning your side hustle into your main focus, her "stealth mode" strategy can help you.
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Why did she take a stealthy approach?
While others were teasing launches and sharing behind-the-scenes clips, Hoffman was intentionally quiet. For eight months, SotoMethod was built in what she calls "a state of creativity and constant feedback." She relied on word-of-mouth and her personal network to iterate the experience before announcing anything broadly. At the time, her business Instagram had only 40 followers.
She wanted to define what Soto was before other people told me what it should be. That choice came from her time at Goldman Sachs, where she got used to direct feedback and learned to separate that from advice. To her:
- Feedback means actionable insight from someone who's experienced your product.
- Advice is more speculative, future-focused.
During Soto's initial phase, she collected both but prioritized feedback to shape the experience. Only when the foundation felt strong did she begin to socialize the brand beyond her inner circle.
Related: Why Creating a Culture of Feedback is Vital to Business Survival
Her first client was herself
Hoffman's mission with SotoMethod wasn't to chase trends — it was to meet her own needs. She was a working professional, on the cusp of starting a family, entering her 30s and not resonating with the fitness options available. "I problem-solved for myself," she says. "My first client was me."
That clarity helped her avoid distraction. Not every piece of feedback was relevant, and not every suggestion aligned with her vision. For example, she once got feedback that they wished the workouts were more gentle, but that wasn't her goal. Instead, she aimed to offer something that felt elevated and efficient, both in language and movement.
The target customer was someone like her: busy, ambitious and looking for a premium experience that respected their lifestyle. SotoMethod was never about mass appeal, it was to appeal to busy professionals who wanted efficient workouts and a luxury feel.
Related: This Strategy Scaled My Business From $5k to $100k a Month
She treated the side hustle like a full-time job
Many people assume side hustles are part-time gigs, but Hoffman disagrees. Side hustles are hard because you have to give both your job and your hustle 100%, she explained. For months, her nights were dedicated to SotoMethod, while days remained tied to her professional responsibilities. Her initial revenue goal was to hit $10,000 in sales per month through a mix of private training, in-person classes and app subscriptions.
She priced her offerings based on industry predecessors, not arbitrary guesswork. "You have to know your value," she says. With her husband as an unofficial co-founder — helping shoulder the risk and offering support — she bootstrapped the business without outside funding. Every step was measured, tested and built on a clear understanding of her product and customer.
Her journey is a reminder that entrepreneurship isn't always loud. Sometimes, the most powerful moves are made when nobody is watching.
