This week in the guest chair we have Whitney Gates, an experienced marketing leader turned entrepreneur as co-founder and CEO of Wondry Wine. Her diversified skill set is driven by over 13 years of experience in brand management, shopper marketing and sales across Fortune 200 companies.

Rejecting exclusivity, Wondry presents customers with a more approachable, stronger, semi-sweet wine. Drawing inspiration from her disabled uncle’s wine-making journey, Whitney’s hustled her way into becoming a multi-million dollar company in just a few years. 

In this episode she shares:

• How she went from making wine herself and doing door to door selling to launching Wondry online and expanding onto Target shelves
• What it takes to stand out in a crowded market (and even get a deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank)
• The importance of understanding your customer and adjusting your pitch accordingly

Highlights include:

0:00 – Introduction to Whitney Gates

8:17 – Launching Wondry 

11:20 – Defining Wondry’s category: wine vs. cocktail hybrid

15:00 – Investing in the business

18:40 – Door-to-door sales and proof of concept

31:00 – Whitney’s Shark Tank experience and partnering with Mark Cuban

34:00 – Becoming profitable and managing costs as you scale

41:00 – Tips for entrepreneurs 

Check out episode 443 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• Wondry Wine Website: https://www.drinkwondry.com
• Follow Wondry’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wondrywine
• Side Hustle Pro Website: https://www.sidehustlepro.co

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Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

• Follow Wondry’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wondrywine

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This week in the guest chair we have Melyssa Ford, media personality, actress, and advocate known for her dynamic presence in entertainment. With a career spanning television, film, and radio, she has captivated audiences as a host on the Joe Budden podcast and various TV appearances.

As a seasoned veteran in media and entertainment, Melyssa mastered the art of pivoting and identifying viable opportunities to launch into new and exciting spaces.

In this episode she shares:

• Her new podcast Hot and Bothered that fosters meaningful conversations about women’s wellness, intimacy, and health 
• Overcoming depression, negative self-talk, and finding grace through personal healing
• The many benefits to pivoting several times in her career

Highlights include:

00:00 Intro

02:00 Building a film/TV personality 

06:00 Being an undocumented immigrant

14:00 Creating her own path

19:00 Battling mental health issues

27:00 Navigating perimenopause

40:00 The podcasting landscape

47:00 Living with a brain injury

1:00:00 Tips for entrepreneurs 

Check out episode 442 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• Melyssa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melyssaford/ 
• Melyssa’s Twitter: https://x.com/MissMelyssaFord/ 
• Hot and Bothered Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotnbotheredpodcast/ 
• Melyssa’s Website: https://www.melyssaford.com/ 
• ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ 

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Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

• Melyssa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melyssaford/ 
• Melyssa’s Twitter: https://x.com/MissMelyssaFord/ 

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This week in the guest chair we have Alexis Barber, a lifestyle influencer and founder of Too Collective, a modern wellness and loungewear brand. At just 25 years old, Alexis is the host of the top-rated Too Smart For This Podcast and has worked with brands like Lululemon, Rare Beauty, Microsoft, and Miss Dior as a content creator. 

In this episode she shares: 

• How growing up low-income provided the foundation for having confidence and an ambitious mindset to overcome the limitations of her past
• Her transformative experience as an MBA candidate at The Wharton School at UPenn
• How she makes a living off of content creation and the opportunities being an influencer has provided

Highlights Include:

00:00 Intro 

03:00 Confidence and putting yourself out there

09:55 Becoming a lifestyle influencer

12:04 Navigating side hustling and a corporate role

19:27 Collaboration with Rare Beauty 

20:48 Launching a robe company 

29:09 MBA program at Wharton

39:20 Transparency in content creation

44:07 The importance of building a team

Check out episode 441 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• Too Collective Website: https://toocollective.com/ 
• Too Collective Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/ 
• Alexis’ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_ 
• Alexis’ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/ 
• Alexis’ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber 
• MLT Program: https://mlt.org/
• Harvard Summer Program: https://www.hbs.edu/svmp/Pages/default.aspx 
• Pietra: https://www.pietrastudio.com/ 

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Helena Faustin is a Registered Nurse and content creator from New York City who has garnered an audience of millions by sharing her love and passion for cooking. As a mother of three, Helena inspires people with her massively popular food blog, That Nurse Can Cook, to get comfortable in the kitchen and cook delicious meals for their families.

In this episode she shares:

• The ways she stayed consistent in content creation, and why it paid off
• How she differentiated her physical cookbook, The Soul of Scotchie, from others on the market
• How she diversified her revenue streams to triple her income and surpass her nursing paycheck 

Highlights include: 

00:00 Intro

05:22 Finding a path in nursing

10:51 The goal of work-life balance

11:52 Cooking as an outlet

15:25 Intentional content creation

19:24 Unlearning the idea of creating perfect content 

27:21 Diversifying revenue streams

33:38 Hiring a team for content creation

41:09 Revenue from YouTube & brand partnerships

43:42 Publishing a unique cookbook

49:59 Take control of your inner voice

52:30 Tips for entrepreneurs 

Check out episode 440 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• Helena’s Website: Https://www.thatnursecooks.com 
• Helena’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatnursecancook/ 
• Helena’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thatnursecancook
• Helena’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThatNurseCanCook 
• Grace Foods: https://www.instagram.com/gracefoods/ 
• Capcut: https://www.capcut.com/ 

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

Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

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This week we have a special student spotlight featuring Hiwote Getaneh, an audio producer curious about human-centered, emotion-driven storytelling. We first met when she joined my Podcast Moguls accelerator program, and it’s been so awesome to follow her journey from working in social policy research, to growing her own podcast, to actually changing her career path to work in podcasting full time, to moving to Portugal to live and work full time, to now launching her Emerging Voices, a podcasting accelerator for aspiring creators who want to start a podcast that is unique to them and build their creative resilience along the way.

In this episode she shares:

• How identifying a niche audience transformed her podcast and entrepreneurial journey
• Her focus on helping first and second-generation immigrant women find confidence in their stories 
• Balancing financial stability after leaving her full time job and moving abroad to Portugal

Highlights include:

00:00 Intro

03:00 From analyst to podcaster

07:45 Mastering storytelling 

13:30 Lessons from Podcast Moguls

18:00 Creating content with purpose

21:00 Becoming an expat in Portugal

28:00 Preparing for full time entrepreneurship 

33:00 Building a platform to monetize

43:00 Defeating self-doubt

47:00 Living in Portugal

54:00 Tips for entrepreneurs

Check out episode 439 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• Hiwote’s website: https://www.depthandcandor.com/ 
• Hiwote’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiwote.getaneh/ 
• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker: https://www.priyaparker.com/book-art-of-gathering 
• Union Docs: https://uniondocs.org/ 
• Podcast Moguls: https://sidehustlepro.co/podcastmoguls/ 

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

Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

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This week in the guest chair we are back for an update episode with Arsha Jones, founder of Capital City- the DC-based company behind the wildly popular Mambo Sauce. Stemming from Arsha's desire to create a product that she could sell multiples of, Arsha describes her journey from starting as a web designer, shifting into e-commerce, and finally venturing into entrepreneurship.

In this episode Arsha shares:

• How starting an income-driven business, Tees In The Trap, helped to fund ventures for Capital City 
• How she got Mambo sauce onto shelves of major businesses like Papa Johns, Walmart, and Target 
• The importance of legacy and how embedding the culture of the community she serves has opened up unique opportunities 

Highlights Include: 

07:07 Leaving The Service Industry

10:44 Launching Multiple Businesses At Once 

17:14 Creating Multiple Revenue Streams

19:50 Being The Face Of Your Brand

29:33 Creating a Premium Product

30:48 Getting Into Retail

35:33 Creating Brand Partnerships

41:11 Selling On Amazon

45:23 Creating Your Own Path

Check out episode 390 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• First Arsha Jones SHP Episode: https://sidehustlepro.co/arshajones/ 
• Capital City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalcityco 
• Capital City Website: https://www.capitalcity.com/ 
• Arsha’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arshajones/ 
• Arsha’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arshajones 
• Tees In The Trap: https://www.teesinthetrap.com/ 
• Amazon Seller Central: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/ 

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

Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

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This week in the guest chair we have fellow podcaster Les Alfred, content creator and host of the Balanced Black Girl podcast. Les shares her journey from blogging to launching her podcast, driven by the realization that there were few Black women discussing wellness on her social feeds. 

Les highlights the importance of relatability and audience connection in content creation, emphasizing that consumers today want to feel a personal connection to the creator behind a brand. By 2021, consistent monetizing and growth led her to partner with an agency, and later a podcast network, allowing her to scale ads and go full time as a podcaster.

In this episode she shares:

• How following her curiosity and having the bravery to allow herself to be widely seen set her up for success
• Her methods to creating inspiring, approachable wellness content covering everything from wellness, to productivity, to personal finance, to self-care
• The need for financial stability before quitting her corporate job by budgeting, saving, paying off student loans, and organizing her business finances

Highlights include: 

00:00 Intro

04:30 Breaking into wellness

10:00 Starting a podcast

15:00 Emphasizing relatability to your audience

19:30 First year of full-time podcasting

23:30 The power of financial planning

38:00 Benefits of having a lean team 

45:30 The power of an email list

50:15 Tips for entrepreneurs

Check out episode 437 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• Les’ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancedles/ 
• Balanced Black Girl Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balancedblackgirlpodcast/ 
• Balanced Black Girl Website: https://www.balancedblackgirl.com/ 
• Balanced Black Girl YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BalancedBlackGirl 
• Profit First Book: https://mikemichalowicz.com/profit-first/ 

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

Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

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Jamila Souffrant is the author of the book Your Journey To Financial Freedom, and the host of the Journey To Launch podcast. As a go-to thought leader in the personal finance field, her podcast has amassed over 4+ million total downloads. Starting her journey by saving over $100K in two years, she is now financially free. 

In this episode she shares:

• How she went from aggressive saving to over $400K years and becoming debt-free
• The best and easiest way to traditionally publish your book
• What methods of income-earning have failed her and how she helps others find what works best for them, and more

Highlights include:

00:00 Intro

07:00 Mindset is the key to success 

14:00 Revenue milestones

25:00 Financial freedom

30:15 Understanding life priorities

38:10 Creating wealth for side hustlers

42:30 Silent wealth  

45:30 Tips for entrepreneurs 

Check out episode 436 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Links mentioned in this episode

• Jamila’s 1st Side Hustle Pro episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTM2FyWDOaY 
• Journey To Launch Website: https://journeytolaunch.com/ 
• Journey To Launch Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeytolaunch 
• Jamila’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Journey2launch/ 
• Jamila’s Book: https://yourjourneytofinancialfreedom.com/ 
• Mindset- Carol S. Dweck: https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322 
• The Beautiful Writers Podcast: https://www.beautifulwriterspodcast.com/ 
• Self-Publishing School: https://self-publishingschool.com/podcast/ 

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

Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

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This week we are getting a masterclass in content-based business with Bola Sokunbi. Bola is a finance expert, 4-time bestselling author, and founder of Clever Girl Finance, one of the largest personal finance media/education platforms for women in the U.S.

In this episode she shares:

• Her start as a financial advisor while side hustling Clever Girl Finance 
• How she expanded past 1 to 1 business by creating courses and repeatable content 
• How she was able to financially thrive while making her platforms free and accessible 

Highlights include:

00:00 Intro

07:15 Becoming a financial expert

12:35 Initial business investments

20:30 Determining target audience 

25:18 Building a team

32:40 Making the platform free and accessible

36:53 Benefits and challenges of brand partnerships

44:20 Being a content-first business

57:00 Tips for entrepreneurs

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

This episode is brought to you by: 

Shopify. Go to shopify.com/hustlepro for a free fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features.

Links mentioned in this episode

• Clever Girl Finance Website: https://www.clevergirlfinance.com/ 
• Clever Girl Finance Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clevergirlfinance/ 
• Bola’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clevergirlfinance/ 
• Bola’s Website: https://www.bolasokunbi.com/ 

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

Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

• Bola’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clevergirlfinance/ 
• Bola’s Website: https://www.bolasokunbi.com/

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This week we’re back for a very exciting update episode with Denise Woodard is the Founder and CEO of Partake Foods, the allergy-friendly packaged food company inspired by her daughter’s experience with food allergies. Created in 2016, Denise started the business by self-distributing cookies around NYC, eventually becoming a Certified B Corporation and raising millions of dollars in investment capital. 

In this episode she shares:

• Her strategies to getting investors interested, including big names like HER and Rihanna
• How she became the first Black woman to raise more than $1 Million publicly for a CPG food startup, accumulating more than $20M
• How she is continuing to inspire other entrepreneurs while growing her own business

Highlights include:

00:00 Intro

03:30 Partake’s rise to success

07:15 Raising capital with huge companies

14:50 Partnerships and rapid expansion

23:40 Managing personal finances in the start-up phase

29:06 Aligning with your true passions

38:21 Work-life balance

44:45 Tips for entrepreneurs

Check out episode 434 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube 

Links mentioned in this episode

• Partake’s Website: www.partakefoods.com
• Partake’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partakefoods/
• Denise’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisegwoodard/ 
• Desnise’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisegwoodard/ 
• Marcy Venture Partners: https://www.marcyvp.com/ 

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Join our Facebook Community

If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: http://sidehustlepro.co/facebook

• Denise’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisegwoodard/ 
• Desnise’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisegwoodard/ 

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