{"id":920518,"date":"2026-07-17T15:12:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T20:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/17\/she-retired-from-engineering-at-58-and-turned-her-creative-hobby-into-a-business-its-made-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-no-regrets\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T15:12:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T20:12:40","slug":"she-retired-from-engineering-at-58-and-turned-her-creative-hobby-into-a-business-its-made-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-no-regrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/17\/she-retired-from-engineering-at-58-and-turned-her-creative-hobby-into-a-business-its-made-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-no-regrets\/","title":{"rendered":"She Retired From Engineering at 58 and Turned Her Creative Hobby Into a Business. It\u2019s Made Tens of Thousands of Dollars: \u2018No Regrets.\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Hudick began to explore her passion for design at a jewelry-making class in 2006. <\/li>\n<li>She honed her craft over the years, and friends suggested she start to sell her pieces.<\/li>\n<li>Now retired as an engineer, she\u2019s focusing on the business and teaching workshops.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2024, Anna Hudick, then 58 years old, retired from a decades-long <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/leadership\/why-the-best-founders-approach-business-like-an-engineer\/501295\">engineering<\/a> career to go all-in on her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/business-news\/americans-are-cashing-in-on-their-hobbies-to-earn-an-average-of-50000-to-100000-a-year\">hobby<\/a> turned business: handmade jewelry line <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidemylocket.com\/\">Inside My Locket.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Anna-Hudick.png\" alt  ><\/figure>\n<p>Hudick, who lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia, always had a creative side, but when she was a young adult considering careers, having a comfortable income was top of mind. <\/p>\n<p>With an aptitude for math, Hudick studied mechanical engineering in college, then launched her career. She was a certified lighting designer and focused on building systems \u2014 from designing homes to small-scale industrial commercial buildings.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, Hudick\u2019s interest in jewelry, which began at eight years old when she tagged along with her mother and a friend to gem and jewelry shows, never waned. In 2006, Hudick reignited the spark during Las Vegas Jewelry Week at a jewelry-making class.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[The instructor] was beading jewelry with freshwater pearls and custom focal beads made of hand-blown glass,\u201d Hudick tells <em>Entrepreneur<\/em>, \u201cso that was my first design.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The next year, Hudick took another class with the same instructor. Then she started taking classes in different mediums. More than a decade into her creative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/leadership\/why-you-need-a-hobby-that-has-nothing-to-do-with-your-job\/498919\">hobby<\/a>, in 2018, Hudick had settled on her favorite design mode: traditional metalsmithing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"795\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Winter-Solstice.png?w=795\" alt  ><figcaption>Image Credit: Anna Hudick. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidemylocket.com\/product-page\/date-night-collection-garnet-tourmalinated-quartz-diamond-ring\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Winter Solstice<\/a>, multi-gemstone cocktail ring from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidemylocket.com\/date-night\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Date Night<\/a> Collection. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-selling-her-jewelry-designs-and-teaching-craft-classes\">Selling her jewelry designs and teaching craft classes<\/h2>\n<p>Along the way, friends encouraged Hudick to sell her jewelry designs. Hudick began selling some of those pieces, and by the time she felt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/leadership\/3-ways-to-start-thinking-about-retirement\/463227\">ready to retire<\/a> as an engineer, she was excited to focus on the business full-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>About a year and a half ago, Hudick also started teaching jewelry-making classes, which she has hosted at a local vineyard and coffee shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u200aThat\u2019s been a lot of fun,\u201d Hudick says, \u201cbecause you get to watch people change. They\u2019re coming in after work, stressed, and they have two hours where they aren\u2019t tied to their phone or email. They just relax. Then by the time they\u2019re done, they\u2019re so happy with what they\u2019ve made. It\u2019s really fulfilling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-cost-of-growing-a-handmade-jewelry-business\">The cost of growing a handmade jewelry business <\/h2>\n<p>When Hudick retired from engineering, her annual salary was $89,900.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u200aI have no regrets about retiring,\u201d Hudick says, \u201cother than having to dip into my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/business-news\/magic-number-for-retirement-americans-northwestern-mutual-survey\">retirement<\/a> account. That\u2019s what it was there for, but being too young to really take advantage and not get penalized [would be] my only regret.\u201d Most retirement accounts allow penalty-free withdrawals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/retirement-plans\/plan-participant-employee\/retirement-topics-exceptions-to-tax-on-early-distributions\">beginning at age 591\u20442<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2025, Hudick\u2019s first year as a full-time artist, her sales were roughly $23,000. She funneled those earnings back into the business to pay for supplies, classes and other expenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most of Hudick\u2019s designs are in sterling silver; she primarily sources from Rio Grande, one of the largest silver suppliers.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/money-finance\/what-is-a-tariff-heres-an-overview-of-the-basics\/453626\">tariffs<\/a> have driven up the cost of materials. In 2024, Hudick recalls paying about $33 per troy ounce for silver. That price crept up last year, reaching the $70 to $80 range \u2014 then hitting $100 this past March, she notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"795\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Mariners-Jewel.png?w=795\" alt  ><figcaption>Image Credit: Anna Hudick. Mariner\u2019s Jewel, ammonite and turquoise earrings from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidemylocket.com\/beach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Longing for the Beach<\/a> Collection. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSo it\u2019s making it a little challenging to buy new materials,\u201d Hudick says. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to work with what I have and reuse a lot of my scraps.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-challenge-of-setting-prices\">The challenge of setting prices<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/growing-a-business\/how-to-set-prices-when-youre-new-in-business\/244426\">Setting prices<\/a> for her designs can be challenging, Hudick says. A traditional formula might include the cost of materials and time, typically an hourly rate applied to how long it takes to create the piece, multiplied by a factor of three or four.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat can be very expensive,\u201d Hudick says. \u201cI can spend eight hours easily on a piece. So am I $50 an hour? I don\u2019t know. But is that what I want to charge somebody? I\u2019m not competing with a big jewelry empire. Everything is handmade, and I do want that quality craftsmanship to show through. But it can be uncomfortable to charge that price.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hudick has charged between $65 and $75 per person for her jewelry-making workshops.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>Hudick used sterling silver in the first classes she taught, then expanded into brass and copper, which allows for a more affordable price point.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"795\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Anna-Hudick-Class-at-Marceline-Vineyards.png?w=795\" alt  ><figcaption>Image Credit: Anna Hudick. Teaching a class at Marceline Vineyards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-building-an-email-list-and-larger-audience\">Building an email list and larger audience <\/h2>\n<p>In the beginning, when Hudick first started selling her pieces, she used a \u201cTupperware party\u201d-style approach to gain traction. Essentially, she gave a host a discount for inviting their friends over to peruse her pieces. That\u2019s also how Hudick built her initial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/growing-a-business\/draw-more-leads-to-your-email-list-with-these-tips\/317229\">email list<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From there, Hudick started attending art shows \u2014 indoor only to avoid the difficulties of unpredictable weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She also has a website and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/building-a-business\/how-do-i-use-social-media-to-grow-my-business\">social media<\/a> pages, though those aren\u2019t primary revenue drivers currently. Hudick hopes her classes will continue to increase awareness for her business and generate more sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Although \u201csales have been a little soft\u201d so far this year, Hudick is adding more events, including a recent pop-up at a gallery, to her rotation to put herself out there and in front of more customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u200aI know my customers are aging at the same rate that I am,\u201d Hudick says. \u201cThey\u2019re going to retire too, and they\u2019re going to say, \u2018But Anna, I don\u2019t wear jewelry anymore.\u2019 And I\u2019m going to be like, \u2018Okay, but what about your daughter or your granddaughter?\u2019 So, yeah, it\u2019s a little difficult. I\u2019m more of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/leadership\/how-to-run-a-business-as-an-introvert-if-you-dont-like\/497368\">introvert<\/a>, maybe from all of the years of engineering.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"1024\" width=\"795\" src=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Skylark-Sally.png?w=795\" alt  ><figcaption>Image Credit: Anna Hudick. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidemylocket.com\/product-page\/asymmetrical-blue-corvette-fordite-earrings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Skylark Sally<\/a>, asymmetrical fordite earrings from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidemylocket.com\/fordite\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Muscle<\/a> Collection. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-applying-engineering-skills-to-jewelry-design-and-business\">Applying engineering skills to jewelry design and business<\/h2>\n<p>But Hudick\u2019s engineering career also instilled her with skills that have come in handy while building the business, she notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hudick learned how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/living\/10-simple-productivity-tips-for-organizing-your-work-life\/299624\">stay organized<\/a> and navigate the jewelry-crafting process, which is not necessarily intuitive. It takes practice and consistency. \u201cLike when you\u2019re building a house, you have to have the foundation, then build the walls, and then you have the decorative things, like painting,\u201d she explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hudick works out of a 500-square-foot studio located on her boyfriend\u2019s farm. Every design starts with a particular gemstone. She creates custom bezels to hold each stone, then solders it to a silver back plate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u200aA lot of times I\u2019ll have sketched out a design ahead of time, but \u2014 and this sounds a little woo-woo \u2014 sometimes it takes a little time for the stone to tell me what it wants to be,\u201d Hudick says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, with her beach-inspired collection, she\u2019s been working with fossils inlaid with mother of pearl. A recent piece features a turquoise stone, which she went back and forth over placing horizontally or vertically, with fused scrap silver around it, a newer technique in her repertoire.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I would have regretted not taking the chance on myself.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Like all entrepreneurs, Hudick has had to face hurdles as they arise and learn on the job.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She cites the example of honing her photography skills; it can take hours to get the right shots, then edit them and list them on the website and social media pages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Through it all, though, Hudick says her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/leadership\/how-to-build-a-support-system-that-actually-helps-you-win\/504489\">support system<\/a> of family and friends, and even former co-workers when Inside My Locket was still a weekend hobby, has helped the business become what it is today.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hudick encourages other retirees who want to make the leap to entrepreneurship to tap into their own support network \u2014 then go for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust do it,\u201d Hudick says. \u201cI would have regretted not taking the chance on myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/building-a-business\/she-retired-from-engineering-at-58-and-turned-her-creative-hobby-into-a-business\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Amanda Breen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Hudick began to explore her passion for design at a jewelry-making class in 2006. She honed her craft over the years, and friends suggested she start to sell her pieces. Now retired as an engineer, she\u2019s focusing on the business and teaching workshops. In 2024, Anna Hudick, then 58 years old, retired from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":920519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30555,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-920518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-engineering","category-retired"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}