Zoreen Kabani always assumed that she would enter a traditional career field.

The 37-year-old’s family emigrated from Pakistan to California when she was 14, and these were the roads she knew. In Pakistan, the cultural expectation is: “You’re either in finance, or you’re an engineer, or you’re a doctor,” she says.

And for the first 10 years of her professional life, she did follow one of those paths. Kabani studied both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance and was hired first by Goldman Sachs in 2010 and then by JPMorgan Chase in 2013. “But I never felt fulfilled,” she says.

In April 2022, “I decided to quit my job at JPMorgan overnight,” she says, and find work that fed her soul. In particular, she wanted to do something creative. A few months later, her younger brother introduced her to the auction app Whatnot, where sellers livestream auctions of new and used items from electronics to baseball cards.

Kabani found her way into the women’s clothing department and “became obsessed,” she says. Within a month, she thought, “I can do this.”

Kabani, who now lives in Las Vegas, has since branched out into auctioning on Whatnot through her site zkstyles as well as turning her side hustle into a full-time business, often earning more than $100,000 a month, and has built her online business.

When Kabani decided to get into sales in June 2022, she knew she would focus on women’s fashion. “It was a passion of mine personally,” she says.

That’s partly because she’s always loved shopping. As the child of immigrants, “I grew up very frugal,” she says, adding, “I love finding bargains.” After planning her first stream, she used that skill to find about 50 items to sell at thrift stores and on clearance, she says.

“I probably had a couple of vintage T-shirts,” she says. “A couple of cute women’s clothing items like a Nike hoodie.” Kabani has a darker, gothic aesthetic, she says, “so I had grunge items as well.” She remembers about 50 people tuning in and 20 to 30 people ultimately buying items.

“After working in sales for about 13 years,” she says, “it was a natural progression for me to get in front of the camera and talk about a product.” The difference was that instead of stocks, bonds and investments, she was selling nice shirts and pants.

“And I was absolutely thrilled.”

After booking a few more streams, Kabani started making money. “My goal was not to dip into my savings,” she says, “and I was able to do that with my Whatnot streams.” Within a few months, she decided to dedicate herself full-time to the business.

She made sure some elements of her business stood out on the platform. First, Kabani created a Monday-Friday streaming schedule, not unlike the schedule she was used to in the American business world. For other sellers, “most people streamed twice a week at most,” she says.

Second, while many fashion streamers simply show the items they sell, Kabani gives styling tips. For example, when she shows a black sweater from Macy’s, she says, “You can combine it with jeans and Dr. Martens and it looks really cute,” she says.

In her first month alone, she earned more than $12,000.

According to her profile, Kabani has sold more than 75,000 items on the site to date.

These days, she sticks to a strict schedule of six streaming days a week, usually starting around 7 p.m. Pacific Time. Streams last between two and seven hours, depending on availability and her own energy level. “I have clients who tune in at the same time every night to help me,” she says, recording herself on her iPhone.

After growing her business to the point where “we sometimes ship 2,000 units a week,” she had to improve her sourcing, she says. She now uses websites like Boutique by the Box, where sellers can buy boxes of branded clothing from companies like Madewell and Aerie. She also works directly with suppliers, who notify her of brand liquidations.

Costs associated with running the store include inventory, shipping and shipping supplies. These can vary because the types of clothing she sells also vary. “I can have inventory where my average cost of goods is $5,” she says. “But I can have inventory where my average cost of goods is $25.” These fees can be as high as 11% of the item’s selling price..

Still, the business is doing pretty well. In October 2023, she earned more than $100,000 for the first time. In 2024 alone, she earned more than $900,000. Kabani does not want to reveal her net salary, but says that she transfers money to her personal account when needed and reinvests most of her income in the business.

“I probably work 15-hour days,” she says of the demanding schedule. But she loves what she does.

“It’s my business and I have so much fun playing with clothes.”

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