Side Hustle Pro

One of the biggest misconceptions I see when it comes to making money is the belief that you need to start from scratch. A new certification, a brand new idea, or a completely different skill set. But the truth is, most of us already have everything we need. The real problem is not a lack of knowledge, it is not knowing how to package and position what we already know.

In this episode, I break down five simple and practical ways to turn your existing skills, experiences, and knowledge into income. Whether you are in between roles, exploring a side hustle, or just trying to make extra money right now, this episode is your reminder that there is value in what you already bring to the table.

I also walk through a key mindset shift. You do not need to be the top expert. You just need to be a few steps ahead of the person you are helping. People are not just paying for information. They are paying for clarity, speed, guidance, and confidence. And that is where your opportunity lies.

• You do not need new skills or certifications to start making money
• There are five core ways to monetize what you already know
• People pay for clarity, speed, and guidance, not just expertise
• Start with one path and keep it simple instead of trying everything

• 00:00 – The biggest misconception about making money
• 01:30 – Why you already have valuable, monetizable knowledge
• 02:00 – The 5 ways to make money with what you know
• 03:00 – The mindset shift you need before starting
• 04:00 – Service and coaching as the fastest path to income
• 06:00 – Done-for-you services and why people pay for convenience
• 08:00 – Creating simple digital products that sell
• 10:30 – Workshops and why people pay for real-time learning
• 13:00 – Why reminders are key when selling anything
• 15:00 – Using content to create opportunities and income
• 18:00 – How to use AI without losing your voice
• 21:00 – Why you should pick ONE path and start now

Watch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustlepro

If you’re ready to build a podcast that becomes your exit plan from your 9-to-5, sign up for my next live class: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan

Save your seat here.

Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro

#SideHustlePro

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This week in the guest chair, Symone’ Austin shares her powerful journey from being laid off to building a thriving YouTube platform.

After recording and posting her layoff conversation, her video went viral and became the turning point in her entrepreneurial journey. In this episode, she breaks down how she built multiple income streams through YouTube ad revenue, brand partnerships, digital products, virtual assistant work, and strategic financial decisions like bringing on a roommate.

If you’ve been navigating uncertainty, considering content creation, or wondering how to turn a setback into leverage, this episode will show you how.

00:00 – Recording the layoff conversation that changed everything

04:30 – Growing from 10K to 60K+ subscribers in one year

08:20 – Making $5,900 in one month from YouTube ad revenue

13:00 – Cutting expenses and surviving without touching savings

18:10 – Turning skills into income: photography, digital products, VA work

24:00 – Why personal finance has one of the highest CPMs on YouTube

29:00 – Replacing a corporate salary through content creation

35:00 – The reality of working 7 days a week as a full-time creator

38:00 – Getting a roommate as a financial reset strategy

43:00 – Navigating job offers after deciding to go all-in

• Watch Symone’s YouTube video “I Got Laid Off From My 6 Figure Tech Job”
• Podcast Moguls: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan
• Read Successful Failure by KevOnStage

Watch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustlepro

If you’re ready to build a podcast that becomes your exit plan, attend my next live class: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan. Save your seat here.

YouTube: Life and Numbers: https://www.youtube.com/lifeandnumbers

Instagram: @lifeandnumbers: http://instagram.com/lifeandnumbers

Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro

#SideHustlePro

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In this episode, I sat down with Jannese Torres, host of the Yo Quiero Dinero podcast, to talk about how she went from a corporate career in engineering, pharmaceuticals, and consumer manufacturing to building a $500K-a-year media business. Jannese shares how getting laid off pushed her to take entrepreneurship seriously and how her food blog, Delish D'Lites, became her first profitable side hustle.

We talk about how she used her blog income to pay off her student loans, why she launched Yo Quiero Dinero in 2019 to create the personal finance show she wanted to hear as a Latina, and how the podcast became the engine behind her book, speaking engagements, brand partnerships, and other income streams.

Jannese also breaks down the team and systems behind the business, why niching down helped her grow brand deals from $125 to more than $50,000, and how she separates the offers that pay the bills from the offers that let her experiment. This is an honest look at what it takes to build a profitable media brand without depending on one platform, one offer, or one source of income.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How a layoff gave Jannese the push to test entrepreneurship before she felt fully ready
• Why she treated her food blog like a non-negotiable commitment and learned SEO and brand partnerships
• How blog income helped her pay off her student loans and become debt-free in February 2020
• Why Yo Quiero Dinero centers Latinas and the power of building for a specific audience
• How the podcast became the foundation for her book, speaking, brand deals, and other revenue streams
• Why a podcast team, online business manager, and talent agent are essential to the way she works now
• How she separates reliable 'pay the bills' offers from 'fun money' offers that give her room to experiment

01:07 - Being the first in her family to graduate from college and beginning her career in pharmaceuticals and medical devices

04:10 - How getting laid off became the catalyst for testing entrepreneurship

08:32 - Building the Delish D'Lites food blog and treating it like a non-negotiable commitment

09:52 - Learning SEO and brand partnerships through a food blogging course

11:33 - Using blog income to become debt-free in February 2020

16:32 - Why owning your platform matters more than building entirely on someone else's platform

17:32 - Moving from blogging to launching Yo Quiero Dinero in 2019

19:42 - Why the podcast intentionally centers the Latina community

26:01 - How the podcast became the engine behind her media business

36:51 - The team behind the business: a podcast team, an online business manager, and a talent agent

40:20 - Growing brand deals from $125 to more than $50,000 by niching down

48:07 - Managing cash flow with 'pay the bills' offers and 'fun money' offers

Yo Quiero Dinero: https://yoquierodineropodcast.com

Instagram: @yoquierodineropodcast

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If this resonated with you, here are additional resources:

⭐ APPLY TO SHIFT: https://sidehustlepro.co/shift

You do not need a million dollars to change your life, you need your first $1,000.

In this solo episode, I’m breaking down why the first $1K is such a pivotal milestone for side hustlers and how it shifts everything from theory to proof. I walk you through the exact decisions and actions that turn preparation into income without overbuilding, overthinking, or waiting until things feel perfect.

If you’ve been stuck planning, tweaking, or doubting yourself, this episode will help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and momentum.

In This Episode, I Share:

• Why the first $1,000 changes everything mentally and strategically
• How to choose a simple offer you can confidently deliver right now
• How to identify who your offer is really for and why frustration matters
• Why clarity, consistency, and conversations matter more than perfection

Highlights Include:

• 00:00 – Why you don’t need a million dollars to change your life — you need your first $1,000
• 01:35 – How your mindset shifts after you make your first $1K and why proof matters more than theory
• 02:31 – What actually counts as an offer and why your first one should be useful, not fancy
• 03:52 – Why starting with what you’re already confident in is the fastest way to get paid
• 05:16 – How to decide who your offer is really for and why specificity matters
• 07:27 – The difference between a painkiller and a vitamin offer (and why frustration drives sales)
• 08:55 – How to package your offer simply without a website, logo, or brand
• 11:22 – Why offering your service is the most important step people delay
• 12:48 – How confidence and customer focus directly impact whether you make your first $1K
• 14:04 – Why you don’t need a massive audience — just real conversations and feedback
• 15:37 – How to use feedback as information instead of taking it personally
• 17:47 – Why overbuilding and “perfecting” keeps side hustlers stuck
• 19:21 – Breaking down the math behind $1,000 so it feels achievable
• 20:45 – Why fewer clients at a higher price can reduce burnout
• 21:34 – Why most people earn their first $1K from conversations, not content
• 22:19 – How I made my first $1,000 and what actually worked
• 26:03 – When to start building your email list and why simple free resources convert better
• 28:54 – How to use a 12-week sprint to stay focused on your first $1K
• 29:38 – What to do when your first offer feels slow or doesn’t land immediately
• 31:08 – What changes after you hit your first $1,000 — and the mistake to avoid next
• 31:49 – Final action steps to start building your first $1K offer

• Side Hustle Pro Website: https://sidehustlepro.co/

Watch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustlepro

Check out episode 530 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss

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If this resonated with you, here are additional resources:

⭐ APPLY TO SHIFT: https://sidehustlepro.co/shift

This week in the guest chair is Chanel Tyler, a strategist, creator, and self-described “contentpreneur” who has worked across investment banking, luxury marketing, and

YouTube before stepping fully into entrepreneurship.

Chanel built her reputation online by sharing trusted product recommendations and insights from her background in beauty marketing. But after years of consulting with a creator commerce platform that generated over 80% of her income, everything changed when the company suddenly shut down.

In this episode, Chanel opens up about what it really looks like to rebuild after losing the majority of your income overnight. She shares how she pivoted by diversifying her platforms, leaning deeper into affiliate marketing, launching new creator education programs, and embracing the vulnerability of sharing her personal story — including her journey with hearing loss.

If you’ve ever worried about relying on a single income stream or wondered how creators actually make money online, Chanel breaks down the strategy behind building a sustainable creator business.

In this episode, Chanel shares:

• How she built a creator business by combining corporate strategy, content creation, and affiliate marketing
• What happened when the platform responsible for 80% of her income shut down overnight and how she rebuilt
• Why diversification across platforms, income streams, and partnerships is essential for creators and entrepreneurs
• How affiliate marketing works and how creators can use performance data to negotiate higher-paying brand deals

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:10 – Chanel’s career path from investment banking to luxury beauty marketing
• 05:10 – Building an audience through skincare and product recommendations
• 09:00 – Landing a role at YouTube working with top creators
• 15:00 – Saving a year of income before leaving corporate
• 19:00 – The moment she lost 80% of her income overnight
• 24:30 – Why diversification is critical for creators and entrepreneurs
• 27:00 – Building content series that grow an audience
• 32:00 – Affiliate marketing vs. brand partnerships explained
• 37:00 – Sharing her journey with hearing loss and disability
• 40:00 – How statement earrings became part of her empowerment story
• 43:00 – Affiliate income strategies for creators

• Substack: Sensible
• Julia Broome
• Check out the Networth and Chill Podcast;Creator Economy & Brand Deals with Victoria Paris
• ShopMy:https://shopmy.us/home/creators
• MagicLinks:https://www.magiclinks.com/creators
• BrandCycle:https://brandcycle.com/
• LTK: https://company.shopltk.com/en/creator
• Nordstrom Affiliate Program:https://www.nordstromcreators.com/
• Check out Chanel’s Creator Profit Lab’s interest form & course registration
• Save the Date: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan (Friday, March 20)

Watch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustlepro

Instagram: @thecreatorprofitlab

Instagram: @buymechanel

Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro

#SideHustlePro

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I sat down with Karen Young, founder of OUI the People, a fine fragrance and body care brand born out of her own struggle with razor burn and ingrown hairs. Karen walks us through her path from fashion, where she interned at Dolce and Gabbana, to becoming an executive at Estee Lauder, to eventually building a beauty brand now sold in Sephora.

But Karen's story starts before OUI the People, with a lifestyle and home goods brand called Hammocks and High T that she built and ultimately had to close. We talk about the hard lessons on margins and capital that came out of that experience, the unexpected subway encounter that led to her job at Estee Lauder, and how she used her years inside a major beauty conglomerate to build her own brand from the ground up.

Karen also gets honest about the financial rollercoaster of raising venture capital, scaling a team, and chasing growth without profitability for years, and what finally shifted this year. We close things out with her thoughts on consumer psychology, pricing a premium product, and her advice for women weighing whether to leave a steady paycheck for their side hustle.

• Why closing a business is not failure, but tuition in a school of hard knocks that teaches you margins, capital, and scale.
• How to price a premium product by studying who your customer already trusts enough to spend on, not just what they say they need.
• Why visibility does not equal revenue, and how chasing growth without watching profitability can quietly sink a business.
• How building a trusted circle of fellow founders can matter more than any book when the entrepreneurial journey gets lonely.

• 00:20 - How a lifelong struggle with razor burn and ingrown hairs on melanated skin became the idea behind OUI the People
• 05:49 - Why Karen closed her first business, a lifestyle and home goods brand called Hammocks and High T
• 11:19 - Learning the difference between spotting a market gap and finding real money inside of it
• 16:00 - The subway encounter that led to Karen's job offer at Estee Lauder
• 25:37 - What Karen absorbed from watching a major beauty conglomerate acquire and scale brands from the inside
• 34:15 - The origins of OUI the People, which started as a direct to consumer razor brand called We Shave
• 41:14 - How Karen priced her first razor at seventy five dollars, then raised it to eighty five to ninety, by studying who was already buying La Mer
• 43:49 - Why Karen called manufacturers in the UK, Germany, and Japan before choosing a small German razor maker
• 50:39 - How the brand expanded from razors into body care, then into Sephora in 2019, then a full fragrance launch in 2023
• 57:57 - The honest truth about raising venture capital, scaling a team, and finally hitting profitability this year
• 1:12:19 - Lightning round: her go to founder resource, the mentor she admires, her non negotiable evening ritual, and her advice for side hustlers

• Shop OUI the People: ouithepeople.com

• ouithepeople.com
• OUI the People on Instagram: @ouithepeople https://www.instagram.com/ouithepeople/ 
• OUI The People TikTok: @ouithepeople  https://www.tiktok.com/@ouithepeople 

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In this episode, I sat down with Busayo Olupona, founder and creative director of Busayo, the Brooklyn- and Lagos-based fashion brand known for its bold prints and textiles created with artisans in Nigeria. Busayo shares how she went from corporate finance law to bringing handmade pieces home in suitcases, selling them at scrappy pop-ups, and eventually landing in major retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Shopbop, and Moda Operandi.

But this conversation goes much deeper than fashion. Busayo opens up about returning to a 9-to-5 after years of entrepreneurship, the shame and fear she had to unlearn, and the two serious cardiac events that forced her to confront the cost of constant striving. We talk about what it takes to build a business without losing yourself, why preparation matters before opportunity arrives, and how faith, meditation, and surrender changed the way she leads.

• Why learning a new industry while you still have a paycheck can protect both your savings and your confidence
• How to view returning to a job as reinvesting in your business, not failing at entrepreneurship
• Why Busayo had to separate her worth from her corporate title and other people's opinions
• How years of creating collections before buyers said yes prepared her for the Saks opportunity
• What two serious cardiac events taught her about sleep, stress, self-care, and sustainable ambition
• How wholesale relationships can drive recurring revenue, brand discovery, and direct-to-consumer sales
• Why Busayo believes faith, meditation, and surrender are practical tools for entrepreneurship

• 03:04 - Moving from Nigeria to the United States at age 11 and learning to reject parts of herself to fit in
• 16:44 - How annual trips to Nigeria planted the seed for the Busayo brand
• 19:37 - The first pop-up that pushed her to stop hiding her designs
• 24:05 - Leaving Cleary Gottlieb and unlearning the belief that she was not enough
• 29:16 - Attending her first trade show and returning with only two orders
• 31:36 - Meeting mentor Mercedes Gonzalez and learning how wholesale really works
• 32:36 - Going back to a legal job after burning through her savings
• 34:49 - Returning to the same office building and confronting the shame tied to her old title
• 36:19 - The first cardiac emergency that showed her she was pushing too hard
• 39:49 - Experiencing a second cardiac event and making sleep and self-care non-negotiable
• 47:59 - Why she now sees building a business as a spiritual endeavor
• 55:49 - How years of preparation helped her seize the opportunity that led to Saks
• 1:00:08 - Navigating strong years, lean years, and the impact of the Saks bankruptcy
• 1:06:17 - Why wholesale remains an important revenue and discovery channel
• 1:14:48 - Identifying your fear pockets before leaving a steady paycheck

• Shop Busayo
• The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Gehlhar
• RAISEfashion
• The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
• Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

• Brand Instagram: @busayoworld: https://www.instagram.com/busayoworld/
• Personal Instagram: @busayojournal: https://www.instagram.com/busayojournal/

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After a devastating flood forced Chrishon Lampley to close her Chicago art gallery and wine bar, she turned that loss into the foundation for Love Cork Screw, a nationally distributed wine brand that has sold more than two million bottles.

In this episode, Chrishon shares how she broke into the wine industry with no upfront capital, got her products into major retailers, and navigated the realities of building a consumer brand without millions in marketing dollars.

She also reveals how a wine created in honor of her late father became the official white wine of the Obama Presidential Center, and what it took to rebuild after nearly losing the business again.

• A devastating setback, like losing a business to a flood, can become the foundation for something bigger if you keep moving forward.
• Building relationships and repeatedly asking for the sale, even after rejection, can open doors that money alone cannot.
• Chasing notoriety across too many markets at once can cost more than it earns; focusing on one market at a time builds real traction.
• Consistent, face to camera content can rebuild a business faster than relying on a marketing budget alone.

• [00:32] The flood that closed Three P's Art Lounge and led to Love Corkscrew
• [01:26] Becoming one of the first African American women with an on and off premise liquor license in downtown Chicago
• [05:58] Starting the Love Corkscrew blog as a way to heal after losing the gallery
• [11:14] Explaining what a negociant is and pioneering the term in the wine industry
• [17:30] Building Love Corkscrew from nothing through commission and consignment deals
• [24:41] The advice from Barefoot Wine's founders that changed her strategy
• [32:07] Losing her father and creating the Lampley wine line in his honor
• [35:00] Landing the deal to become the official white wine of the Obama Presidential Center
• [39:30] Running the Clink and Sip Festival and the Sipping Empower Foundation
• [44:29] Committing to daily social media consistency to rebuild the business in 2026

• lovecorkscrew.com
• thelampley.com

• Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
• Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323

• Instagram: @lovecorkscrew

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If this resonated with you, here are additional resources:

⭐ APPLY TO SHIFT: https://sidehustlepro.co/shift

In this episode, I'm sharing the seven beliefs I had to unlearn before I could finally leave my corporate job and build Side Hustle Pro full time. I spent decades in corporate America, working at places like HBO, MTV, Google, and NPR, and even though I knew I wanted to leave, I wasn't mentally ready until I confronted the internal beliefs that kept me tied to that life.

• 00:00 - My corporate background and why I'm scratching the record on old habits
• 03:01 - The seven things I had to unlearn to build Side Hustle Pro full time
• 06:48 - Unlearning the need to have my entire future figured out before leaving
• 11:25 - Why other people's opinions could not be my decision making system
• 17:31 - Unlearning that a job or promotion was my only path to more money
• 21:59 - Pay inequity in corporate and why the ceiling is lower than it seems
• 22:49 - Unlearning that I was limited to doing only what I had already done
• 27:33 - Confusing busyness with meaningful progress, and the one hour a day model
• 33:36 - The biggest unlearn: staying employed was not actually the safest option
• 42:21 - Reflection questions to figure out which belief you're still carrying

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323

Instagram: @SideHustlePro 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If this resonated with you, here are additional resources:

⭐ APPLY TO SHIFT: https://sidehustlepro.co/shift

In this episode, I sat down with Dawn Fitch, founder of Pooka Pure and Simple, to talk about the winding road that took her from designing album covers in the music industry to building a natural beauty brand rooted in her own health journey. Dawn opens up about the years it took to get an MS diagnosis, and how healing herself led her to start formulating clean, simple products long before she ever thought of herself as a business owner.

We get into the real, unglamorous parts of entrepreneurship: street teaming outside churches before social media existed, a cease-and-desist letter that almost derailed her Whole Foods deal, and the hard lessons of scaling into big box retail. Dawn also shares how she walked away from a failing retail lease with nowhere to go, only to land in the space that's been home to her production for over a decade.

Finally, Dawn walks me through the newest chapter of her story: a 250,000 dollar grant from Audible's DEI program that brought Pooka into a beautiful new Newark location, and how an activity she almost treated as an afterthought, the Bloom Bar, became the biggest draw of the whole business.

• Protect your business structure early. Trademark your name, keep separate books, and build SOPs before you're forced to by a cease-and-desist letter or a big retail opportunity.
• Don't chase big box retail until your core revenue stream is stable enough to absorb the rules, returns, and thin margins that come with it.
• When a business decision doesn't feel right, it is okay to walk away even without a backup plan. Trust and timing can lead you somewhere better.
• Build a real activation or experience around your product. Community and connection, not just the product itself, is what keeps customers coming back.

• (00:41) Dawn's start as a graphic designer in the music industry, designing album covers
• (01:36) The moment paralysis first hit while she was walking to work
• (03:04) The five-year journey to her eventual MS diagnosis
• (05:15) How the name Pooka came from her mother calling her kids her pooka leaders
• (07:19) Why email marketing became the backbone of the business from day one
• (11:01) The cease-and-desist letter over the brand name right before entering Whole Foods
• (13:49) How putting her pride to the side led to her first 10 Whole Foods stores
• (18:29) Her advice on knowing when a business is truly ready for big box retail
• (26:51) Why Pooka exited all 62 of its Whole Foods stores last year
• (29:04) How the Best Life Tribe Facebook group and a sea moss request from a member helped save the business during the pandemic
• (32:07) Landing the 250,000 dollar Audible DEI grant for the new Newark space
• (35:14) How the Bloom Bar, almost an afterthought, became the biggest draw of the business

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323

Website: pookapureandsimple.com

Instagram: @Pookalita

TikTok: @Pookalita1

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