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Resume Add-On: How to Present Side Hustles and Micro-Businesses Like Liber & Co. on Your CV

UUnknown

2026-02-06

10 min read

Turn your side hustle into a career asset: templates, CV & LinkedIn examples for listing micro-businesses like Liber & Co. on resumes.

Turn Your Side Hustle Into a Career Asset — Fast

Struggling to fit your small-batch projects, maker ventures, or micro-business onto your CV without sounding amateur? You’re not alone. Students, recent grads, and career changers often hide or downplay entrepreneurial experience because they don’t know how hiring managers read resumes. This guide gives you plug-and-play templates, LinkedIn copy, and portfolio examples so your Liber & Co.-style side hustle shines as professional experience in 2026.

The short answer — what to do first

Lead with impact. Whether you ran a lemonade stand, launched a line of cocktail syrups, or sold artisan candles on weekends, present it like a business: role title, one-sentence scope, and 2–4 bullets with measurable outcomes or clear skills translation.

Title: Founder / Product Developer / Operations Lead (choose the title that matches the job you want)
Scope: What you made, who you sold to, and channels (e.g., DTC, wholesale, online marketplaces)
Impact bullets: Quantify where possible (revenue, units, partners, cost reductions, time saved)

Why side hustles matter more in 2026

By late 2025 the labor market had fully absorbed the creator and microbusiness boom that accelerated earlier in the decade. Employers increasingly value practical, cross-functional experience—especially roles demonstrating product sense, supply-chain problem solving, direct-to-consumer marketing, and data-driven iteration.

What Liber & Co. teaches us — a compact case study

From a single pot on the stove to 1,500-gallon tanks and global buyers: Liber & Co. is a real-world example of how maker culture turns into scalable business. Founders started by learning every step — recipe development, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution — then scaled processes and channels. For your resume, the lesson is clear: document the scope of what you owned and what changed because of your work.

“We didn’t have a big professional network or capital, so if something needed to be done, we learned to do it ourselves.” — Chris Harrison, Liber & Co.

Use that narrative: show ownership, learning-by-doing, and measurable rollouts (first sales, first wholesale account, first batch scale-up).

Resume templates: How to write CV entries for side hustles

Below are modular templates you can drop into your resume depending on space and target role. Use the version that fits your resume length: one-line (compact), short (2–3 bullets), and expanded (3–5 bullets).

1) One-line option (for tight resumes)

Founder, Liber & Co. (side project) — Developed and launched artisan cocktail syrups sold DTC and to 15+ regional bars; managed production, packaging, and wholesale onboarding.

2) Short option (2–3 bullets)

Founder & Product Lead — Liber & Co. (2019–2023)

Launched small-batch beverage line; secured 12 wholesale accounts and grew monthly DTC sales to $X (or: grew first-year orders 10x).
Built end-to-end operations: recipe R&D, production scheduling, packaging compliance, and batch scaling to commercial runs.
Led digital marketing: social ads and partnerships that increased web orders by 60% during peak season.

3) Expanded option (3–5 bullets for experience pages or longer CVs)

Founder & Operations Manager — Liber & Co. (Side Business) — Austin, TX — 2019–2023

Designed and iterated 10+ syrup SKUs; implemented QA protocols that reduced product defects by 25% and supported transition from 5-gallon test batches to 1,500-gallon production tanks.
Negotiated wholesale terms with regional distributors and 20 hospitality accounts, increasing B2B revenue share from 0% to 45% of monthly sales.
Managed end-to-end ecommerce operations: inventory forecasting, order fulfillment, and customer service systems using Shopify and a third-party logistics partner.
Led branding and direct-response campaigns that generated a 3.2x return on ad spend and grew email list to 8,000 subscribers.

Skills-translation cheat sheet — map maker tasks to corporate language

Hiring teams scan for keywords and transferable skills. Translate hands-on tasks into the language of roles you want.

Recipe R&D → Product development, A/B testing, prototyping
Batch scaling → Process optimization, manufacturing scaling
Wholesale outreach → B2B sales, partner management
Shopify store management → E‑commerce operations, conversion optimization
Social media + events → Community building, demand generation
Inventory & fulfillment → Supply chain coordination, logistics planning

ATS & keyword strategy

Applicant Tracking Systems favor clarity. Use role-aligned keywords and a clean format.

Choose a Title Recruiters Expect: Founder, Co‑founder, Product Developer, Operations Lead, or Owner matched to the job.
Include both industry and function keywords: product development, B2B sales, supply chain, ecommerce, wholesale.
Put measurable outcomes in numerals: “Grew DTC revenue 3x” beats “increased sales significantly.”

LinkedIn: convert your hustle into a professional narrative

LinkedIn is more expressive than a one-page resume. Use these parts strategically.

Headline (120 characters or less)

Examples:

Founder • Product Developer • DTC & Wholesale Experience
Product Manager (Former Maker) • Supply Chain & Growth

About / Summary (3–5 short paragraphs)

Sample:

I turn ideas into products customers buy. I founded and scaled a small-batch beverage brand that moved from test batches to commercial production, secured wholesale partnerships, and grew direct-to-consumer sales. I’m looking for roles in product operations or growth where I can apply hands-on product development, cross-functional leadership, and data-driven marketing. Key skills: product development, vendor sourcing, ecommerce ops, and B2B sales.

Experience entry (LinkedIn)

Use the expanded resume entry, add photos, links to press, and a featured product demo. Add metrics and collaborators. LinkedIn allows more storytelling—include process improvements, lessons learned, and a short achievement list.

Portfolio & project page template

Create a single project page (or a small portfolio site) to point recruiters to. Each project should include the following sections:

One-line summary: Role + what you shipped
Problem: Market need or user problem you solved
Approach: Processes, tools, partners
Impact: Metrics or qualitative results
Artifacts: Photos, packaging files, media links, invoices, and press mentions
Lessons learned: operational or strategic takeaways

Tip: in 2026, recruiters expect a short video (60–90 seconds) summarizing the project — think of it as a product highlight reel. If you don't produce video yourself, a number of capture kits and services make it easy to create a 60s case study.

Sample CV entries for common job targets

Product / PM roles

Founder & Product Lead — Liber & Co.

Led end-to-end product lifecycle for 10 beverage SKUs, prioritized backlog using customer feedback and sales data, and launched SKUs that drove 35% of first-year revenue.
Introduced QA and batch-testing frameworks that reduced time-to-launch by 20% and improved product consistency.

Operations / Supply Chain roles

Operations Manager — Micro-Batch Beverage

Scaled production from kitchen test batches to contract manufacturer runs; documented SOPs and vendor scorecards, reducing unit cost by 18%.
Implemented inventory forecasting and reorder alerts that lowered stockouts from weekly to near-zero; consider compact labeling and automation to speed packing steps (on-demand labeling & automation).

Marketing / Growth roles

Growth Lead — DTC & Wholesale

Built email and ad funnels that increased repeat purchase rate by 27% and expanded wholesale accounts in three metro markets.
Led influencer and bar partnerships that increased brand awareness and drove a 3.2x ROAS on launch promotions. For promotion and discoverability, pair outreach with a digital PR and social search plan.

How to quantify impact when you don’t have revenue

Not all side hustles generate consistent revenue. Use alternative metrics to show traction:

Units produced, prototypes tested, or production runs completed
Number of wholesale contacts or venues carrying the product
Website visits, social followers, or email subscribers
Time or cost savings created (e.g., reduced fulfillment time)
Press mentions or competition placements

Short cover letter/blurb examples

Insert this into application letters to connect your side hustle to the role.

As founder of a small-batch beverage brand, I ran product development, vendor sourcing, and B2B outreach—skills that mirror the product operations and partner management responsibilities listed for this role. I’d welcome the chance to bring my hands-on scaling experience to your team.

Interview talking points and stories

Prepare 3 stories using the CAR (Context-Action-Result) format. Examples:

Context: Kitchen batches were inconsistent and cost-per-unit was high.
Action: I redesigned the recipe process, established SOPs, and negotiated ingredient pricing.
Result: Batch consistency improved and unit costs fell by 18%—we were able to onboard wholesale partners.

Advanced strategies for 2026 — what will make your micro-business stand out

Use these future-forward tactics to amplify credibility and signal modern skills:

Verifiable artifacts: Upload invoices, partner agreements, and press clippings to your portfolio. Employers appreciate documentation; if you run pop-ups or mobile sales, include receipts and field photos showing point-of-sale setups (mobile POS & barcode scanners).
Micro-credentials & badges: Link verified online courses or badges (manufacturing safety, e‑commerce analytics) to your portfolio.
Short product videos: 60‑90s case studies optimized for mobile viewing — use capture kits or services like the Vouch.Live Kit to make production simple.
Process maps & dashboards: Show your inventory or sales dashboard snapshots to demonstrate data fluency; mobile resellers and pop-up sellers increasingly use compact dashboards described in toolkit guides (mobile reseller toolkits).
AI-assisted summaries: Use generative tools to create succinct product one-pagers — but always check facts and keep human edits.

Common mistakes to avoid

Being vague: avoid phrases like “helped with production” — be explicit about your ownership.
Under-indexing outcomes: use numbers or percentage change where you can.
Using informal titles only: recruiters may not map “Head of Fun” to professional competencies.
Leaving artifacts offline: never claim press or partnerships without links you can show.

Quick checklist before you apply

Pick a clear role title aligned to the job you want.
Write a one-line scope sentence and 2–4 outcome bullets.
Add 1–2 verifiable artifacts (invoice, press, product photo).
Translate maker tasks to corporate skills using the cheat sheet above.
Update LinkedIn headline and add project media to the Featured section.

Examples you can copy & paste

Resume bullet examples (pick one per skill):

Launched and iterated 6 SKUs, implementing QA checks that reduced defects by 25% and supported scale-up to contract manufacturing.
Secured 15 wholesale placements and negotiated favorable payment terms, increasing B2B revenue contribution to 40% of monthly sales.
Built direct-to-consumer funnel (Shopify + Klaviyo) that grew monthly orders by 80% in six months.
Improved fulfillment process, cutting average shipping lead time from 5 to 2 days and lowering shipping errors by 70%.

Final notes — your side hustle is an asset, not a liability

In 2026, the labor market prizes people who have shipped products and solved real-world problems. Framing your Liber & Co.-style project with clarity and metrics turns hobby into evidence of capability. Hiring teams want to see outcomes, ownership, and learning — not perfection.

Actionable takeaways

Choose a recruiter-friendly title and lead with impact.
Quantify outcomes or use alternative traction metrics.
Publish a short project portfolio page with artifacts and a 60s video.
Translate hands-on tasks into corporate skills using the cheat sheet.
Optimize LinkedIn with a clear headline, summary, and Featured artifacts.

Ready-made templates & next steps

If you want the exact copy-ready templates (resume bullets, LinkedIn summary, cover letter blurbs, and a portfolio page layout), download our free 2026 Side-Hustle Resume Pack from thementors.store. For hands-on help, book a 30-minute resume review — we’ll convert your top three side-hustle accomplishments into recruiter-ready bullets and LinkedIn assets.

Turn your maker experience into the competitive edge employers want in 2026. Book a review or grab the templates now and start converting your side hustle into career momentum.

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Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.