Side Hustle Pro

A candid update on rebuilding a business around motherhood, rest, and mental health after burnout. She explains why removing video helped her get unstuck, how experimentation clarified her focus on Podcast Moguls and SHIFT, and why simpler systems, community, therapy, and stronger boundaries are shaping her next chapter.

Turn your existing skills into income without starting over. Explore five practical paths, from coaching and done-for-you services to digital products, workshops, and content. Learn how to package your knowledge, use AI while keeping your authentic voice, and choose one simple way to get started.

Symone’ Austin, the personal finance creator behind Life in Numbers, turned a layoff into a thriving YouTube business. She shares how one viral video sparked rapid channel growth, plus the realities of fluctuating ad revenue, sponsorships, digital products, photography, and virtual assistant work. They also explore cutting expenses, bringing on a roommate, and choosing content creation over returning to corporate life.

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 readyWhy she treated her food blog like a non-negotiable commitment and learned SEO and brand partnershipsHow blog income helped her pay off her student loans and become debt-free in February 2020Why Yo Quiero Dinero centers Latinas and the power of building for a specific audienceHow the podcast became the foundation for her book, speaking, brand deals, and other revenue streamsWhy a podcast team, online business manager, and talent agent are essential to the way she works nowHow she separates reliable 'pay the bills' offers from 'fun money' offers that give her room to experimentHighlights Include01:07 - Being the first in her family to graduate from college and beginning her career in pharmaceuticals and medical devices04:10 - How getting laid off became the catalyst for testing entrepreneurship08:32 - Building the Delish D'Lites food blog and treating it like a non-negotiable commitment09:52 - Learning SEO and brand partnerships through a food blogging course11:33 - Using blog income to become debt-free in February 202016:32 - Why owning your platform matters more than building entirely on someone else's platform17:32 - Moving from blogging to launching Yo Quiero Dinero in 201919:42 - Why the podcast intentionally centers the Latina community26:01 - How the podcast became the engine behind her media business36:51 - The team behind the business: a podcast team, an online business manager, and a talent agent40:20 - Growing brand deals from $125 to more than $50,000 by niching down48:07 - Managing cash flow with 'pay the bills' offers and 'fun money' offersLinks and Resources MentionedYo Quiero Dinero: https://yoquierodineropodcast.comConnect With JanneseInstagram: @yoquierodineropodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does the first $1,000 matter so much? This practical conversation explores how to choose a useful offer, find a specific audience with an urgent problem, and start selling through real conversations. It also covers simple pricing, feedback, avoiding overbuilding, and using a focused 12-week sprint to turn a side hustle into momentum.

If this resonated with you, here are additional resources:⭐ APPLY TO SHIFT: https://sidehustlepro.co/shiftThis 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 marketingWhat happened when the platform responsible for 80% of her income shut down overnight and how she rebuiltWhy diversification across platforms, income streams, and partnerships is essential for creators and entrepreneursHow affiliate marketing works and how creators can use performance data to negotiate higher-paying brand dealsHighlights Include00:00 – Introduction02:10 – Chanel’s career path from investment banking to luxury beauty marketing05:10 – Building an audience through skincare and product recommendations09:00 – Landing a role at YouTube working with top creators15:00 – Saving a year of income before leaving corporate19:00 – The moment she lost 80% of her income overnight24:30 – Why diversification is critical for creators and entrepreneurs27:00 – Building content series that grow an audience32:00 – Affiliate marketing vs. brand partnerships explained37:00 – Sharing her journey with hearing loss and disability40:00 – How statement earrings became part of her empowerment story43:00 – Affiliate income strategies for creatorsLinks Mentioned in This EpisodeSubstack: SensibleJulia BroomeCheck out the Networth and Chill Podcast;Creator Economy & Brand Deals with Victoria ParisShopMy:https://shopmy.us/home/creatorsMagicLinks:https://www.magiclinks.com/creatorsBrandCycle:https://brandcycle.com/LTK: https://company.shopltk.com/en/creatorNordstrom Affiliate Program:https://www.nordstromcreators.com/Check out Chanel’s Creator Profit Lab’s interest form & course registrationSave the Date: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan (Friday, March 20)Watch & ListenWatch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8tYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustleproSocial MediaInstagram: @thecreatorprofitlabInstagram: @buymechanelSide 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.Main TakeawaysWhy 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.Highlights Include00:20 - How a lifelong struggle with razor burn and ingrown hairs on melanated skin became the idea behind OUI the People05:49 - Why Karen closed her first business, a lifestyle and home goods brand called Hammocks and High T11:19 - Learning the difference between spotting a market gap and finding real money inside of it16:00 - The subway encounter that led to Karen's job offer at Estee Lauder25:37 - What Karen absorbed from watching a major beauty conglomerate acquire and scale brands from the inside34:15 - The origins of OUI the People, which started as a direct to consumer razor brand called We Shave41:14 - 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 Mer43:49 - Why Karen called manufacturers in the UK, Germany, and Japan before choosing a small German razor maker50:39 - How the brand expanded from razors into body care, then into Sephora in 2019, then a full fragrance launch in 202357:57 - The honest truth about raising venture capital, scaling a team, and finally hitting profitability this year1:12:19 - Lightning round: her go to founder resource, the mentor she admires, her non negotiable evening ritual, and her advice for side hustlersLinks Mentioned in This EpisodeShop OUI the People: ouithepeople.comSocial Mediaouithepeople.comOUI the People on Instagram: @ouithepeople https://www.instagram.com/ouithepeople/ OUI The People TikTok: @ouithepeople  https://www.tiktok.com/@ouithepeople  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.In This Episode, You Will LearnWhy learning a new industry while you still have a paycheck can protect both your savings and your confidenceHow to view returning to a job as reinvesting in your business, not failing at entrepreneurshipWhy Busayo had to separate her worth from her corporate title and other people's opinionsHow years of creating collections before buyers said yes prepared her for the Saks opportunityWhat two serious cardiac events taught her about sleep, stress, self-care, and sustainable ambitionHow wholesale relationships can drive recurring revenue, brand discovery, and direct-to-consumer salesWhy Busayo believes faith, meditation, and surrender are practical tools for entrepreneurshipHighlights Include03:04 - Moving from Nigeria to the United States at age 11 and learning to reject parts of herself to fit in16:44 - How annual trips to Nigeria planted the seed for the Busayo brand19:37 - The first pop-up that pushed her to stop hiding her designs24:05 - Leaving Cleary Gottlieb and unlearning the belief that she was not enough29:16 - Attending her first trade show and returning with only two orders31:36 - Meeting mentor Mercedes Gonzalez and learning how wholesale really works32:36 - Going back to a legal job after burning through her savings34:49 - Returning to the same office building and confronting the shame tied to her old title36:19 - The first cardiac emergency that showed her she was pushing too hard39:49 - Experiencing a second cardiac event and making sleep and self-care non-negotiable47:59 - Why she now sees building a business as a spiritual endeavor55:49 - How years of preparation helped her seize the opportunity that led to Saks1:00:08 - Navigating strong years, lean years, and the impact of the Saks bankruptcy1:06:17 - Why wholesale remains an important revenue and discovery channel1:14:48 - Identifying your fear pockets before leaving a steady paycheckLinks and Resources MentionedShop BusayoThe Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary GehlharRAISEfashionThe Untethered Soul by Michael A. SingerMindset by Carol S. DweckConnect With BusayoBrand Instagram: @busayoworld: https://www.instagram.com/busayoworld/Personal Instagram: @busayojournal: https://www.instagram.com/busayojournal/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Main TakeawaysA 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.Highlights Include[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 2026Links Mentioned in This Episodelovecorkscrew.comthelampley.comWatch & ListenSpotify: open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8tApple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323Social MediaInstagram: @lovecorkscrew Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A candid breakdown of seven beliefs that kept a long corporate career intact. Short, practical takes on detaching identity from titles and testing income before leaping. Clear challenges to trusting others' approval, mistaking busyness for progress, and assuming a paycheck is the safest path. Thought-provoking prompts for weighing flexibility, stability, and next steps.