Key Takeaways
- Yauck found the inspiration for his side hustle during a 2014 trip to Japan.
- He and Glick teamed up on the protein-packed pancake sandwich idea in 2024.
- Now, the side hustle sees $45,000 a month and is expected to grow considerably by year’s end.
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Arizona-based entrepreneurs Jeff Taylor Yauck, 38, and Ben Glick, 36. Yauck and Glick are the co-founders of protein-packed pancake sandwich brand PancakeNow. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
Yauck: I still own and operate a CBD company, Premium Jane, a sub restaurant called Sub Shack and also own and manage many investments.
Glick: I’m the CFO of Honeycomb Wax Company, which provides waxing supplies for professionals.
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When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Yauck: I started the side hustle in June 2024. I got the inspiration for my side hustle brand when I was visiting Japan in 2014. They have a very tasty pancake in convenience stores out there that blew me away.
The idea of bringing something similar to the U.S., but made with only real ingredients and added protein, kept me up at night to the point that back in 2016, when I was running my first startup, Oats Overnight, I bought the PancakeNow domain. I was extremely eager to launch the brand for almost 10 years before I finally did. Years have gone into perfecting every single detail of these ready-to-eat pancakes. Now, seeing our first consumers enjoying our initial four flavors (Classic Maple, Cookies & Cream, Cinnamon Bun and Chocolate Peanut Butter) as much as I do is a dream a decade in the making.
Glick: I started helping in June 2024. Jeff and I were speaking about the idea and how he really wanted to get it going. I thought it was a great idea and encouraged him to get started on it. In October 2024, it became clear that Jeff could use a second person to get this off the ground, and I officially started working heavily on the project in December 2024.
I’m always looking for snacks for my four kids that I feel good giving them, so being such an integral part of PancakeNow has been incredible, as they absolutely love our pancake sandwiches. As PancakeNow truly lives at the intersection of taste and nutrition, I feel great that they go nuts over our pancakes that provide the indulgent flavors and textures they crave while still being a balanced, protein-packed breakfast or snack.
For me, I’ve been a bit of a health nut since high school, and it’s a constant challenge to find good things that really satisfy on all fronts: taste, texture, flavor, convenience, etc., all while helping me hit my protein goals without anything artificial, and PancakeNow does it all.
What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
Yauck: I first found a designer who had a style that fit my vision for the brand. Then I had the branding, packaging and logo designed first thing. I always find this to be the best first step, as it creates a ton of excitement and momentum to get more tasks done. For a good seven months, I spent a few hours a week on the side hustle while working on all my other investments and companies. Next, I invested around $45,000 in a food scientist to work on formulas and flavors for us. Then, soon after that, I put in another $150,000 for a custom machine out of China to make our pancakes.
At this point, the side hustle became my main focus, and I started pouring a lot of money into the company to get a large warehouse (10,500 square feet) and hire a team to operate that and do customer service and marketing. After about a year and a half, I have invested $1.4 million to get where we are today.
Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
Yauck: ChatGPT has been a lifesaver for us, especially when it comes to food science. Our PR agency has also been an amazing paid resource.
Glick: Honestly, AI has been an incredible resource. There were so many things we didn’t understand about shelf-stable formulation with pancakes, and being able to have a resource that could at least guess at the problem and a solution has been a game-changer.
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’d done it differently?
Yauck: I would have definitely waited to hire a large portion of our team. We had tons of issues with machine setup and machine malfunctions. Formula issues caused us a good seven to eight months’ delay on actually having a solid product we were confident with. Had we waited to hire some key team members, we would have a lot more money to grow the company. We underestimated how difficult a ready-to-eat, moist pancake would be to get right.
Glick: I would have gotten the formula done and flown to the manufacturer before ordering the equipment. It was difficult to reformulate because of things that the machine could and couldn’t do. For example, we wanted chocolate chips in our pancakes, but found out that they would get stuck in the machine and prevent us from having the same-sized pancake every time.
When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
Yauck: A CPG food product is a tough industry in general, but being a healthy, moist, ready-to-eat baked good that needs to maintain moisture and have no flavor shift or mold issues is a science and a complete nightmare, it turns out. I didn’t have the experience, and there was really nothing on the market to look at for guidance. We don’t use any synthetic preservatives, antioxidants or sweeteners, which adds even more complexity. If you want to enter the CPG space, be prepared to try hundreds of different formulas and wait for months to get real results and feedback on how your product ages.
Glick: They call it food science for a reason. I thought that was more of a fancy way to say “I make food.” We found out that a 1% change to the formula, as small as that might sound, can have dramatic consequences for your final product. Another aspect is processing the ingredients themselves. Some have to be added at specific times rather than just mixed in.
Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
Yauck: We trusted our food scientist, who assured us that after our product is packaged, it’ll lock in the moisture. After making thousands of pancakes to fulfill pre-orders, we realized our formula got hard in days and lost almost all its flavor in a week. We had to email all customers and spend a good four to five months after this trying to reformulate with another 50 iterations of the original formula. Customers were waiting for literally months to get their orders. This is just one of the dozens of major problems we faced. Many pre-orders were from close people who know me or followed my previous success and were expecting something delicious from me. I didn’t want to embarrass myself, so there was a lot of pressure.
Glick: Our machine, when it first turned on, had an issue where it would basically smoke up and fry our controller. We thought maybe the controller was bad, but the next one had the same issue. Our first thought was to have our maintenance tech run through the electrical and make sure everything was plugged in properly. As far as we could tell, it was fine, except for the smoking part. The next thing we did was hire a local company that did work on machinery like this. After their technician came in, we were able to trace back the power to the machine and figured out that two “hot” lines were connected (sent this way from the manufacturer), which caused a short circuit in our control panel. We were so relieved when he figured that out for us.
Related: 8 Creative Side Hustles We Discovered in 2025 — Which One Can Make You Money in 2026?
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
Glick: Honestly, not too long. Jeff and I have both run multiple ecommerce businesses, so we were able to do about $10,000 in month one. Meta has been a great tool for getting new customers. Google has been a hard one to crack because we have such a new, niche product.
Yauck: We have only been really marketing and shipping orders since October. The side hustle has not generated any return yet, as the business is still losing money, but now we are in a position to finally really start growing.
What does growth and revenue look like now?
Yauck: We sold $10,000 our first month and $20,000 our second month, and now in January, we are looking at doing around $45,000. By the end of 2026, we expect to be doing $700,000 monthly.
Glick: Growth is really just getting in front of more eyes as fast as we can. We are using Meta primarily with some TikTok and some Google. Revenue should hit the $45,000 mark this month, which will be amazing.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
Yauck: I enjoy the challenge most. Bringing an idea that I’ve envisioned for almost 10 years to life with an amazing partner and team is priceless. Also, doing something that doesn’t exist currently on the market brings me a lot of excitement.
Glick: The team we have is incredible. Everyone is willing to help and do whatever it takes to help get the job done for the day.
What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
Yauck: The number one piece of advice I have is to create a great product and focus 100% on making sure your product is stellar. If it’s anything less, you won’t have a sustainable business or any returning customers. Nothing else matters if you don’t have a product that people love. If you do, the growth process becomes so much easier. This is true for both a product or service company.
Glick: Analyze what KPIs drive your success and create projections, but be cautious about them. They are only a tool — and they are mostly incorrect. You might think you’ll do nothing, or you might think you’ll blow up. It’s best to be prepared for either case.
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要点总结
- Yauck 在 2014 年的一次日本之旅中找到了副业的灵感。
- 2024年，他和格里克联手推出了富含蛋白质的煎饼三明治。
- 现在，这项副业每月能带来 45,000 美元的收入，预计到年底还会大幅增长。
本期“副业聚焦”问答采访了两位来自亚利桑那州的创业者：38岁的杰夫·泰勒·尧克和36岁的本·格里克。尧克和格里克是高蛋白煎饼三明治品牌PancakeNow的联合创始人。为了篇幅和清晰度，部分回答已进行编辑。
你开始副业时，你的正职工作或主要职业是什么？
Yauck：我仍然拥有并经营一家CBD公司Premium Jane，一家名为Sub Shack的三明治餐厅，同时还拥有并管理着许多投资项目。
格里克：我是 Honeycomb Wax 公司的首席财务官，该公司为专业人士提供打蜡用品。
想阅读更多类似的故事吗？订阅我们的免费电子报 《赚钱秘笈》， 获取丰富的创意副业点子和成功策略。 点击此处注册。
你是什么时候开始做副业的？灵感来自哪里？
Yauck：我的副业是从2024年6月开始的。我的副业品牌灵感来源于2014年我去日本旅行的时候。那里的便利店里有一种非常美味的煎饼，让我惊艳不已。
我一直梦想着能把类似的产品带到美国，但只用真材实料，并添加蛋白质。这个想法让我夜不能寐，以至于早在2016年，当我还在运营我的第一家创业公司Oats Overnight时，我就买下了PancakeNow的域名。在最终推出这个品牌之前，我渴望了将近十年。这些年来，我们不断完善这些即食煎饼的每一个细节。如今，看到我们的第一批消费者和我一样喜欢我们最初的四种口味（经典枫糖味、曲奇奶油味、肉桂卷味和巧克力花生酱味），这真是一个酝酿了十年的梦想。
相关报道：这位63岁的老人在奶牛场里开始了一项“非常有趣”的副业，去年收入约50万美元
格里克：我从2024年6月开始帮忙。我和杰夫聊起这个想法，他非常想把它付诸实践。我觉得这个想法很棒，就鼓励他开始着手。到了2024年10月，很明显杰夫需要第二个人来启动这个项目，于是我正式在2024年12月开始全身心投入到这个项目中。
我一直在寻找适合我四个孩子的零食，既要美味又要健康，所以能成为 PancakeNow 的一份子真是太棒了，孩子们超级爱吃我们的煎饼三明治。PancakeNow 真正做到了美味与营养的完美结合，孩子们对我们的煎饼赞不绝口，我感到非常欣慰。我们的煎饼既能满足他们对美味和口感的渴望，又富含蛋白质，是营养均衡的早餐或零食。
我从高中起就有点注重健康，找到真正能满足我所有需求的优质食品一直是个挑战：口味、质地、风味、便利性等等，同时还能帮助我达到蛋白质摄入目标，而且不含任何人工成分，而 PancakeNow 做到了这一切。
你最初是如何启动你的副业的？启动资金/投资是多少？
Yauck：我首先找到了一位设计师，他的风格符合我对品牌的设想。然后我立即着手设计品牌、包装和标志。我一直认为这是最好的第一步，因为它能激发极大的热情和动力，促使我完成更多工作。在接下来的七个月里，我每周花几个小时经营这个副业，同时还要兼顾其他投资和公司。接下来，我投资了大约4.5万美元聘请了一位食品科学家，为我们研发配方和口味。之后不久，我又投入了15万美元，从中国定制了一台煎饼机。
这时，副业成了我的重心，我开始向公司投入大量资金，租下一个大型仓库（10,500平方英尺），并组建团队负责运营、客户服务和市场营销。大约一年半后，我累计投资了140万美元，才有了今天的成就。
在创业和运营过程中，有哪些免费或付费资源对您特别有帮助？
Yauck： ChatGPT对我们来说简直是救星，尤其是在食品科学方面。我们的公关公司也是一个非常棒的付费资源。
格里克：说实话，人工智能真是个了不起的资源。关于保质期长的煎饼配方，我们有很多不了解的地方，而能够拥有一个至少可以猜测问题并给出解决方案的资源，彻底改变了游戏规则。
相关报道：这位28岁的小伙子原本在SoFi体育场做场地管理员，后来开始了一份副业，平均每月收入6500美元。
如果可以回到创业初期，改变某个流程或方法，你会选择改变什么？你希望当初能做出哪些不同的选择？
Yauck：我肯定会等一段时间再招聘大部分团队成员。我们遇到了很多机器设置和故障问题。配方问题导致我们花了七八个月的时间才最终研发出一款我们真正满意的产品。如果我们当时能等到那时再招聘一些关键的团队成员，我们就能有更多的资金来发展公司。我们低估了制作一款即食、口感湿润的煎饼的难度。
格里克：我会先把配方搞定，然后飞去厂家那里，再订购设备。重新调整配方很困难，因为机器的功能有限。比如，我们想在煎饼里加巧克力碎，但发现巧克力碎会卡在机器里，导致每次煎出来的煎饼大小都不一样。
就这个行业而言，您认为从事这类工作的人应该做好准备，但却往往忽略了哪些特别具有挑战性或令人惊讶的地方？ Yauck
：消费品食品行业本身就竞争激烈，而要生产一种健康、湿润、即食的烘焙食品，同时还要保持水分，防止口味变化和霉变，这简直是一门科学，也是一场噩梦。我之前没有这方面的经验，市场上也几乎没有可以借鉴的先例。我们不使用任何合成防腐剂、抗氧化剂或甜味剂，这让整个过程更加复杂。如果你想进入消费品行业，就要做好尝试数百种不同配方，并等待数月才能获得产品老化情况的真实结果和反馈的准备。
格里克：食品科学之所以被称为食品科学是有原因的。我以前觉得这不过是“我做食物”的另一种说法罢了。我们发现，配方哪怕只有1%的改动，听起来微不足道，也会对最终产品产生巨大的影响。另一个方面是原料本身的加工。有些原料必须在特定的时间添加，而不是简单地混合在一起。
相关报道：这对夫妇一边在公司全职工作，一边兼职，这个假期每月收入约 1 万美元：“100% 属于我们自己”
你能回忆起某个具体的例子，当时出了大问题吗？你是如何解决的？
Yauck：我们信任我们的食品科学家，他向我们保证，产品包装后就能锁住水分。为了完成预购订单，我们做了成千上万张煎饼，结果发现配方几天内就会变硬，一周内几乎完全失去了风味。我们不得不给所有客户发邮件，之后花了四到五个月的时间，在原配方的基础上又进行了五十多次迭代，试图重新调整配方。客户们足足等了几个月才收到订单。这只是我们面临的几十个重大问题之一。很多预购订单都来自我的亲朋好友，他们要么认识我，要么关注过我之前的成功，都期待着我能做出美味的产品。我不想让自己难堪，所以压力很大。
格里克：我们的机器刚开机时就出了问题，它会冒烟，把控制器都烧坏了。我们一开始以为是控制器坏了，但换了一台之后也出现了同样的问题。我们首先想到的是让维修技师检查一下电路，确保所有插头都插好。就我们当时所见，除了冒烟之外，其他都没问题。接下来，我们找了一家专门维修这类机器的本地公司。他们的技师来之后，我们顺着机器的电源一路追踪，发现是两根火线接在一起了（厂家出厂时就是这样接的），导致控制面板短路。技师找到问题所在后，我们真是松了一口气。
相关阅读：我们在2025年发现了8种创意副业——哪一种能在2026年让你赚钱？
你花了多久才看到稳定的月收入？这个副业赚了多少钱？
格里克：说实话，没过多久。我和杰夫都经营过多家电商企业，所以我们第一个月就赚了大约1万美元。Meta是我们获取新客户的绝佳工具。谷歌搜索一直很难攻克，因为我们的产品非常新颖，而且是小众产品。
Yauck：我们从十月份才真正开始做市场推广和发货（看吧—-他们没有一开始就急着打广告，因为产品不好，即使来了最感兴趣的一批人，也可立刻走的，这反而起到了副作用—因为这些人不该最容易成为顾客的，现在被不好的产品赶走了）。这项副业目前还没有带来任何收益，因为公司仍在亏损，但现在我们终于有机会真正开始发展壮大了。
目前的增长和收入情况如何？
Yauck：我们第一个月销售额为1万美元，第二个月为2万美元，现在1月份，我们预计销售额约为4.5万美元。到2026年底，我们预计月销售额将达到70万美元。
格里克：增长的真正意义在于尽快让更多人看到我们。我们主要使用 Meta，也用到TikTok和 Google。本月营收应该能达到 4.5 万美元，这将会非常棒。
经营这家公司，你最享受的是什么？
Yauck：我最享受的是挑战。能和一位优秀的合作伙伴和团队一起，将我构思了近十年的想法变成现实，这种感觉是无价的。此外，做一些目前市场上还没有的东西，也让我感到非常兴奋。
格里克：我们团队非常棒。每个人都乐于助人，竭尽全力完成当天的工作。
相关报道：这位54岁摇滚歌手的非音乐副业在Kickstarter上筹集了1.2万美元——现在正朝着18万美元的收入迈进：“诺曼·洛克威尔风格”
您最具体、最切实可行的商业建议是什么？
Yauck：我最重要的建议是打造一款优秀的产品，并全力以赴确保产品卓越。如果产品达不到这个标准，你的企业就无法持续发展，也无法获得回头客。如果没有一款深受用户喜爱的产品，其他一切都毫无意义。而有了这样的产品，发展过程就会变得轻松许多。这一点适用于产品型企业和服务型企业。
格里克：分析哪些关键绩效指标 (KPI)能推动你的成功并做出预测，但要谨慎对待。它们只是工具——而且大多都不准确。你可能认为不会有任何结果，也可能认为会彻底失败。最好做好应对两种情况的准备。