Surviving the Side Hustle

For 20 years Erica Christ has built FMR Wellness the old fashioned way, with no roadmap and no mentor handing her the playbook, just a commitment to classical Pilates while the rest of the industry chased the next trend. Erica is a registered dietitian, a diabetes educator, and a classically trained Pilates instructor, and she walks Rob through what it takes to build a business around a real mind-body connection and now to hand it to the next generation. She is joined by her daughter Julia, who just finished her own Pilates certification and is stepping into the business her mom started.

The conversation covers why Erica built FMR Wellness on a medically based approach instead of a quick workout, how she grew a full studio entirely through word of mouth, and why she never feared that classical Pilates would fade. Rob, Erica, and Julia also get into building a succession plan on purpose, staying level headed through the highs and lows of ownership, and why a fresh set of eyes from the next generation is a gift rather than a threat.

Topics Covered:

• The early years of FMR Wellness, working sixty hour weeks and bringing a young Julia along to watch her teach
• Why Erica treats classical Pilates as the foundation and scaffolding for every other kind of movement
• What a medically based first session looks like, from medical history to teaching the why behind every exercise
• How Erica built trust and filled a studio through word of mouth rather than marketing
• Julia's decision to get certified and join the business after college, and living and training with scoliosis herself
• The intentional succession plan, including a second studio built for the next generation
• The six month continuing education program Erica designed for Julia in anatomy, physiology, and nutrition
• Why she coaches Julia to not get caught up in the highs or the lows, and how they plan to stay grounded

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:38 Meet Erica Christ and 20 years of FMR Wellness

03:34 The early years: sixty hour weeks and word of mouth growth

06:04 Why Pilates: from her own injury to a healing mission

08:04 Turning to Julia: the moment she knew

09:22 Bringing Julia in and opening a second studio

11:24 Would classical Pilates survive the trends?

14:06 Mentors, and staying balanced through the highs and lows

16:19 What Julia admires most about her mom

18:21 Quick break

18:57 Why continuing education never really ends

19:47 Julia's six month training in anatomy, physiology, and nutrition

21:46 Co-teaching and mentorship: two sets of eyes

23:21 What a medically based Pilates practice looks like

26:05 The worst gym assessment Rob ever had

27:23 Classical Pilates versus the fast paced trend

28:40 Where to find FMR Wellness

30:27 The final question: legacy 20 years from now

Connect with Erica and Julia:

Website: https://fmrwell.com

Instagram: @fmr_wellness

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

Jordan Reeves is not a real person. He is a composite of 53 real business owners I sat down with over one summer of research conversations, and there is a very good chance he is you. Coaches, creatives, real estate operators, wellness practitioners, all of them kept describing the same wall, the same frustration, and almost word for word the same breakthrough. The biggest shift was never a new funnel, a new offer, or a new piece of tech. It was internal. Jordan's business did not change when Jordan changed the offer. It changed when Jordan changed.

In this Friday recap I pull out what stuck with me from those 53 conversations told as one story: the reactive loop where the day happens to you and it is already noon before any needle moving work gets done, the paralysis by analysis that freezes the most capable owners the moment they have to pick a direction, the identity gap between calling yourself CEO and still feeling like the technician doing all the work, and the three things that showed up in every breakthrough, which are momentum as a daily choice, niche clarity, and the personal work nobody talks about on business podcasts. All of it lands on two principles of the Prime Performance process. Clarity, because the reactive loop and the analysis paralysis are both clarity problems. And resilience, because the ability to keep showing up and direct your energy instead of absorbing the chaos is a performance skill, not a strategy skill. You do not upgrade the system until you know what is running it, and what is running it is you.

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro
01:38 The day that happens to you
02:07 Meet Jordan Reeves
02:34 53 owners, the same questions
03:04 A recap told as one story
03:29 How Jordan got here
03:57 The wall every skilled solopreneur hits
04:24 The skill that got you in will not grow it
04:53 Stuck part one: the reactive loop
05:21 At the mercy of the market
05:46 Paralysis by analysis
06:12 The identity gap
06:40 Secret one: momentum is a choice
07:08 Secret two: niche clarity
07:34 Secret three: the personal work
08:02 The secret underneath the secrets
08:28 Know what runs the system first
08:58 Where it maps: clarity and resilience
09:29 A you skill, not a strategy skill
09:55 Stage two: the applied research cohort
10:24 Measuring momentum, before and after
10:54 Who it is for and how to book a call
11:22 Why we run it through the holidays
11:51 One question to sit with
12:17 Share it, and hear the full story

Join the applied research cohort:

If any part of Jordan's story felt too close to home, the founding cohort of the Prime Performance process is taking calls now. Book one at https://survivingthesidehustle.com/freecall

Listen to the full episode with Jordan Reeves in E221.

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

Jordan Reeves does not technically exist. He is a composite of 53 real business owners Rob sat down with over one summer of research conversations, rolled into a single story. And there is a very good chance that this person is you. Coaches, consultants, creatives, real estate operators, service providers of every kind kept telling Rob the same story, the same wall, and the same frustration, so he built one character to carry all of it.

In this special solo episode, Rob walks through the wall almost every skill-built business owner hits, and the four secrets those 53 conversations revealed for breaking through it. He gets into the reactive loop where your day happens to you, paralysis by analysis, and the identity trap that makes delegation feel like giving up who you are. Then he lays out the shift that mattered most in every single conversation: the business only grows as far as the person running it has grown.

Topics Covered:

• Why Rob replaced a guest with "the guest," a composite of 53 research conversations
• The reactive loop: reacting to noise until noon before any needle-moving work happens
• Paralysis by analysis, and why the most capable owners freeze on picking a direction
• The identity trap: still feeling like the technician while the title says founder
• Secret 1, momentum is a daily choice you make with directed action, not weather you wait for
• Secret 2, the niche pivot, and how getting smaller makes marketing, sales, and confidence easier
• Secret 3, external accountability as the unlock, and the compounding cost of working in isolation
• Secret 4, personal growth is business growth, proven by the owners who changed themselves first

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:39 A different kind of episode: 50 conversations, one story

02:37 Not a guest, "the guest": a composite of 53 owners

03:27 Inside the research conversations

05:04 Meet Jordan Reeves

06:00 Three years in and stuck, wearing every hat

06:54 The biggest shift is internal

07:44 The reactive loop: my day happens to me

09:31 Paralysis by analysis

10:45 The identity trap

12:19 Secret 1: Momentum is a choice

15:06 Secret 2: The niche pivot changes everything

17:40 Quick break

18:16 Secret 3: External accountability is the unlock

21:10 Secret 4: Personal growth is business growth

23:51 The proof is Jordan

24:53 Stage two: the applied research cohort

26:38 Who it is for and how to join

27:28 Why taps is becoming a strategy firm

28:57 Recap and your next step

Join the applied research cohort:

If Jordan Reeves felt a little too close to home, the six-week founding cohort of the Prime Performance process is now taking calls. Book one at SurvivingtheSideHustle.com/freecall.

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at SurvivingtheSideHustle.com for every episode.

A pivot is not a failure. Sometimes it is the most strategic move you can make. That is what my buddy John Mendez proved, and he is not just any guest. John was the very first interview I ever recorded for Surviving the Side Hustle back in 2023, he came back for our 100th episode, and now he is here for a third time. The world still saw him as the AI guy while his income was taking a nosedive, his expenses were climbing, and the business he bet everything on was barely breathing.

In this Friday recap I pull out what stuck with me from our conversation: the fork in the road where John could either fight to reclaim his AI throne or pivot into what he already knew, why his deepest low point was about identity and not money, how he packaged the digital marketing and webinar skills he already had into a five day challenge that signed clients within weeks, and the five Ps he uses to build a webinar from scratch. All of it lands squarely inside the Optimization principle of the Prime Performance process. Optimization is not about turning your weaknesses into strengths. It is the self awareness to see what is already working inside you, and then building your whole operation around that. You do not grow by becoming someone you are not. You grow by becoming a more focused version of who you already are.

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:38 Picture this: the moment it all caved in

02:06 Why John Mendez is not just any guest

02:33 What John is building now

03:03 2023: the 33K launch that let him quit his job

03:29 2024 into 2025: flat, then falling apart

03:56 The gut punch at speaker school

04:25 A fork in the road: catch up or pivot

04:50 The real struggle was identity

05:15 Money pressure and the deal that got away

05:44 John's secret: stop becoming who you are not

06:13 Packaging the skills he already had

06:40 The five Ps of a successful webinar

07:06 Where this lands: the Optimization principle

07:32 Self awareness is the first move

08:01 Optimization is a decision about your energy

08:28 The five day webinar challenge and how to join

09:25 The one thing to leave you with

Connect with John:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmendezofficial/

Five Day Webinar Challenge: https://stopandstare.media/challenge

Listen to the full conversation with John Mendez in E219.

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

The results you are looking for are not in the breadth of your knowledge. They are in the depth of your execution. John Mendez said that about halfway through this conversation and it reframes almost everything people reach for when business gets hard. John was the very first guest ever recorded for Surviving the Side Hustle back in May of 2023, he was the first guest brought back for a second time on the 100th episode, and now he is back for a third. He is a TEDx speaker, the host of the Walk 2 Wealth podcast, and the founder of Stop And Stare Media, where he builds webinar based client acquisition systems for coaches and business owners.

The conversation covers the three years since his last full episode, including the 33K launch that let him quit his job, the year that nearly broke him, and the quarter his business took a complete nosedive. John walks through the decision to stop being the AI guy and pivot into webinars, the internal battle over charging premium prices, and the four Ps he uses to build a webinar from scratch. Rob and John also get into camera anxiety, why a webinar exists to shift beliefs rather than to teach, and why sharpening a strength beats grinding on a weakness.

Topics Covered:

• 2023 was the year he went all in, with a 33K launch that let him quit his job.
• Charging premium prices is an internal battle. You have to believe you are worth it, not just that the offer is worth it.
• Webinars fit people with a teacher's heart and industries where you educate clients before they can buy.
• The greats do not fix weaknesses, they make their strengths impossible to stop.
• People only pay for the payoff. They do not care about your credentials, your accolades, or your process.
• A webinar is a vehicle to shift beliefs. Teach people who to become before you teach them what to do.
• The four Ps are pitch, presentation, pipeline and promotions, plus a bonus P, the presenter.

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:38 Welcome back: the show's very first guest, now on his third visit

04:12 Three years in: a 33K launch, then a nosedive

05:36 Surviving by any means and gutting the business

06:05 The epiphany that started the pivot away from AI

07:45 How he landed on webinars

10:19 Running the first five day webinar challenge

11:27 The call that produced his first high ticket client

12:22 Charging premium is an internal battle

14:09 A mastermind with a done for you front end

16:39 Camera anxiety and the screen share trick

19:19 TEDx versus workshop: two different jobs

21:52 Blending Russell Brunson with keynote craft

23:08 Quick break

23:50 Depth of execution beats breadth of knowledge

24:43 Who webinars are actually good for

27:09 Sharpen your strengths instead of fixing your weaknesses

31:07 The four Ps: start with the pitch

33:03 The Dunning Kruger effect and the false sense of competence

34:26 A webinar shifts beliefs, it does not teach

36:37 The bonus P: becoming a better presenter

40:18 The five day webinar challenge and how to join

Connect with John:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmendezofficial/
• Five Day Webinar Challenge: https://stopandstare.media/challenge

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

You cannot build something meaningful while you are putting out fires. That one line from Joanna Zhang is the thing I could not unhear this week.

In this Friday recap I pull out what stuck with me from the E217 conversation with Joanna Zhang, the operations strategist who basically invented the fractional VA model before anyone had a name for it. I get into her hot potatoes habit, delegating the biggest energy drain first before any system is perfect, why fear sits on top of the decision we have not actually made yet, the soul awakening that taught her to detach from the outcome, and how all of it maps to the clarity principle of the Prime Performance process: you manufacture clarity by removing the noise first.

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:38 The lesson: you cannot build while putting out fires

02:05 Who Joanna is and the fractional VA model

02:34 From a bank and a family restaurant to her own business

03:30 When the operations came rushing in

03:54 The fractional VA model and a Stevie Award

04:19 Self-doubt in the ups and downs seasons

04:39 Fear sits on top of the decision

05:19 A soul awakening and embracing the unknown

05:47 Delegate the hot potato first

06:04 Why so many owners stay firefighters

06:21 Detaching from the outcome

06:48 Clarity and the Prime Performance process

07:18 Self-knowledge is the ignition switch

07:47 What are the hot potatoes in your hands?

07:59 How to connect with Joanna and her free guide

09:03 One hot potato and where to hear the full episode

Connect with Joanna:

LinkedIn: search "Joanna Zhang" (add "operations" if more than one shows up)

Free listener gift: her practical guide on how and where to delegate to get time and energy back.

Listen to the full conversation with Joanna in E217.

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at SurvivingtheSideHustle.com for every episode.

When a mentor kept asking Joanna Zhang why she really ran her business, one word finally fell out of her mouth and her tears dropped: unconditional love. That answer dissolved a blockage that years of smart strategy never could. Joanna is the founder of a fractional VA service, a plug and play team that fills the gaps in growing businesses, and an operations strategist whose model was later named "fractional VA service" by international award judges. She walks Rob through how she went from a transactional, proving mode operator to building a business rooted in genuine care.

The conversation covers her family restaurant side hustle while she worked nine to five in a bank, discovering virtual assistants in the Philippines, and the Stevie International Business Award that gave her model its name. Rob and Joanna also get into finding your own creation style, why courage means acting even when you are afraid, and the four stage delegation process she now uses to help other founders scale.

Topics Covered:

- During the day she was working nine to five and after work she had to go to the restaurant to help.

- She started to work with VAs eight years ago and got to know some VAs in the Philippines.

- Her team won a Stevie International Business Award, and the judges named the model fractional VA service.

- Courage is not that we are not afraid of it, it is that we are afraid of it but we still do it anyway.

- When the mentor asked why she does her business, the answer was unconditional love and her tears suddenly dropped.

- She believes energy management is even more powerful than time management.

- She calls the first delegation layer hot potatoes because there are always a few things on a plate giving stress.

- Her model is more like a plug and play team that fills the gaps you are not ready to hire full time for.

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:38 Welcome and meet Joanna Zhang

03:07 A restaurant side hustle while working nine to five

03:58 Starting her own financial planning business

05:07 Discovering virtual assistants in the Philippines

05:45 The fractional VA model and a Stevie Award

06:40 Why great ideas never turn into action

09:20 Courage is acting even when you are afraid

13:02 The moment of doubt and second-guessing

14:32 A breakdown, then meeting a spiritual mentor

15:58 The question: why do you do your business?

16:53 Unconditional love unblocks the business

19:58 Reversing priorities from doing to being

23:09 Energy management over time management

25:07 Quick break

25:59 Stage one: tackling the hot potatoes

27:46 Building momentum and systemizing the business

34:02 Who benefits: solopreneurs, B2B, and startups

36:04 How to connect and a free delegation guide

37:24 What Joanna wants to stand for

Connect with Joanna:

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhang-joanna/

- Free listener gift: her simple guide on how and where to delegate to get more time and energy back. Reach out to Joanna on LinkedIn to grab it.

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

"I'm not just their accountant, I'm their business partner." Justin Warren said that near the end of our conversation this week, and it reframed the whole thing for me. Justin is a partner at PKF O'Connor Davies, one of the top accounting and advisory firms in the country, and he co-leads the Stamford, Connecticut tax practice alongside a team of about 18. If you have ever been around public accounting, you know that making partner is not something that just happens. It is earned over years of long days, hard pivots, and a lot of proving yourself.

In this Friday recap I pull out what stuck with me. The high school guidance counselor who pointed him toward accounting because his dad owned a business. The three days he lasted in college calculus before pivoting back. Five years at a Big Four firm in New York, where he talked about leaving the office as the sun was already coming up. Taking a chance on PKF in Stamford two months before COVID hit, certain he would be the first one cut, and a boss who instead told him he was part of the long term plan. And the part nobody puts on a resume: 12, 13, sometimes 15 hour days for three and a half months straight while his wife holds the house together. In the Prime Performance process, two principles run through all of it. Resilience, which Justin built on wrestling mats and football fields long before he walked into a Big Four office. And influence, which is not about being loud, it is about being someone people actually want in their corner. Underneath both sits self awareness, knowing what you are made of and how you are fueled. That is where looking good, feeling good, and doing great things stop being three separate goals and start being one system.

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:38 I'm not just their accountant, I'm their business partner

02:05 Who Justin is and what making partner actually takes

02:32 Stumbling into accounting through a guidance counselor

02:56 Three days of calculus and the pivot back

03:21 Five years at a Big Four firm in New York

03:47 Leaving the city for PKF, two months before COVID

04:14 The part nobody puts on the resume

04:40 The emotional weight of starting over

05:06 Staying visible while still doing the work

05:28 Where the work ethic came from

05:55 Connecting with people as people

06:20 Bringing it back to the Prime Performance process

06:43 A quick word from GetThePrime

07:26 Resilience built on purpose

07:53 Influence is not about being loud

08:20 Know yourself before you show up for anyone else

08:43 Why Justin is worth a real conversation

09:29 Remembered for how you made people feel

09:56 Skill opens the door, the relationship keeps it open

Connect with Justin Warren:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-warren-cpa-17b85b90/

PKF O'Connor Davies: https://www.pkfod.com/people/justin-warren/

Listen to the full conversation with Justin Warren in E215.

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.

Justin Warren shut his life down for three and a half months a year, running 12 to 15 hour days while his wife held the house together and helped raise their kids. He is a partner at PKF O'Connor Davies, one of the top accounting and advisory firms in the country, and he walks Rob through what climbing to partner actually costs and how he keeps a life while doing it.

The conversation covers how Justin stumbled into accounting in high school, five years of 18 hour days at a Big Four firm, and why he left New York City the same year COVID hit. Rob and Justin also get into protecting one hour a day for the gym, why the hardest part of tax season is the stress and not the hours, and how to tell whether the tax advice you see on social media actually applies to you.

Topics Covered:
- How a high school guidance counselor nudged Justin into accounting because his dad owned a business
- Why he lasted three days in college calculus before committing fully to accounting
- Five years of 16 to 18 hour days at a Big Four firm and what finally made him leave
- Starting a brand new role in November 2019, two months before COVID, and being sure he would be the first one cut
- Why the hardest part of tax season is managing hundreds of clients at once, not the long hours
- How protecting one hour a day for the gym became a non negotiable he would quit a job over
- What to check before you trust tax advice from an influencer or ChatGPT
- How to know whether you actually need an accountant or can handle it yourself

Chapter Timestamps:
00:00 Show intro
01:39 Meet Justin Warren, tax partner at PKF O'Connor Davies
03:20 Stumbling into accounting in high school
04:43 An internship in tax and the road to a Big Four firm
09:44 Five years of 18 hour days, then leaving New York City
10:57 Starting a new role right before COVID hit
12:28 How an athletic background fuels the grind
13:33 Connecting with clients beyond the numbers
15:03 Becoming a thought leader on tax law
17:10 The hardest part is the stress, not the hours
19:12 Front loading to survive busy season
20:48 Building a team at home with his wife
21:51 Role switching and protecting an hour a day
26:00 The truth about tax advice on social media
28:24 How to vet a tax professional
30:32 Is a firm the right fit for you
33:01 When a business actually needs an accountant
34:23 How to connect with Justin
35:34 The legacy he wants to leave

Connect with Justin Warren:
LinkedIn: Justin Warren, Partner at PKF O'Connor Davies

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at SurvivingtheSideHustle.com for every episode.

At twenty five, Maria Garcia had a stroke that left her paralyzed from the nose down and unable to speak, communicating through finger taps and eye movements. It took fifteen years to claw her way back. Stem cells, hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Germany, every legitimate therapy she could reach. The thing that finally moved the needle was nutrition.

In this Friday recap I pull out what stuck with me from my second conversation with Maria. The lesson I keep circling back to is that strategy without self work is just noise. I get into the Meta AI update that quietly blew up her entire ad strategy and forced her to pause and rebuild, her honesty about being in her own way with public speaking, why her flagship three month coaching program opens with food psychology instead of a meal plan, and the line worth writing on your wall: you make changes from awareness instead of willpower. Willpower is a depletable resource. Awareness is not. That maps straight onto the Prime Performance process, where doing your inventory is the prerequisite to everything else. Clarity and optimization both fall apart if the person operating the machine has not done the honest self assessment first.

Chapter Timestamps:

00:00 Show intro

01:38 Strategy without self work is just noise

01:58 Why Maria Garcia is back on the show

02:26 A stroke at twenty five and fifteen years of clawing back

02:55 The arc of Maria's story

03:20 Fully aware, communicating with her eyes

03:47 The thing that finally moved the needle

04:06 Turning survival into Genuinely Maria

04:36 The Meta AI update that broke her ad strategy

05:03 Losing manual targeting and pausing the ads

05:27 I am in my own way

05:45 Awareness, not willpower

06:07 Food psychology before the meal plan

06:31 Why willpower runs out and awareness does not

06:55 Focus on you first, not strategy

07:10 A word from Get The Prime

07:47 How this maps to prime performance

08:17 Inventory before the work

08:37 Clarity and optimization start with self assessment

09:00 Where to find Maria

09:24 Free discovery sessions and The Change

09:52 Thank you, Maria

10:17 Are you running on awareness or willpower

Connect with Maria Garcia:

Website: https://genuinelymaria.com

Free discovery sessions are open through her site

Featured in the upcoming book The Change with Jim Lutz and Jim Britt

Listen to the full conversation with Maria Garcia in E213.

Follow Surviving the Side Hustle at https://survivingthesidehustle.com for every episode.