Dear FoundHer · Episode 327 · January 27, 2026 · 37 min

Growing Side Hustle to 45 Locations with Courtney Claghorn, President and Founder of Sugared + Bronzed

Join us for the FREE Dear FoundHer… Forum Open House + Networking (virtual) Event on January 28th. RSVP HERE we won’t host another Open House until later this spring. This female founded business began as a side hustle in an apartment and grew into a 45-location, company-owned beauty brand by staying grounded in reality. Courtney Claghorn, president and founder of Sugared + Bronzed, a natural sugaring and spray tan company shares how the company took shape while she still worked full-time, learned the service herself, and paid attention to what customers were actually willing to buy. Early decisions focused on cash flow, reinvestment, and keeping costs manageable. Profitability set the pace from the start and made it possible to scale without franchising or giving up ownership. The conversation traces what changes when a side hustle demands more than spare time, how standards hold up as scale increases, and why systems replaced intuition as the business grew. Courtney also talks through choosing when to raise capital, adjusting during COVID, and building something that could keep growing without depending on her presence in every room. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 From Side Hustle To Growth At Scale: The Sugared + Bronzed Story   03:10 Identifying A Market Gap In The Spray Tan Industry   06:00 Early Customer Acquisition Without Social Media   07:00 Leaving A Corporate Job When Demand Takes Over   08:10 Bootstrapping The First Store And Prioritizing Profitability   14:50 Scaling Without Franchising Or Losing Control   16:10 Raising Capital After Proving The Business Model   17:30 Surviving COVID Through Creative Pivots   23:00 Maintaining Quality And Culture At Scale   34:00 Founder Advice On Moving Fast And Avoiding Overplanning  Connect with Courtney Claghorn: Follow Courtney on Instagram Visit the Sugared + Bronzed Website Follow Sugared + Bronzed on Instagram Subscribe to The FoundHer Files  Follow Dear FoundHer... on Instagram Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.