Side Hustle Pro: Women Entrepreneurs | Black Women Business Owners | Solopreneurs

Whether you’re thinking about starting a podcast or already have one, one of the biggest questions that you might have is: “Will I even make money doing this?” And the short answer is: “yes!” After a year of earning consistent revenue with my podcast, I was able to quit my job to focus on Side Hustle Pro full-time, all in the name of monetization. I didn’t start out with the mindset of making money off my podcast, but I quickly began to test and see that it was possible. Trust me, I secured a $4,000 multi-month sponsorship contract on my first try. In this week’s episode, I help you set realistic expectations when it comes to podcast monetization. I also breakdown how, exactly, to make money podcasting, and how and when I started earning revenue. There are tons of ways to do it, and we’ll focus on the big three: Creating valuable content for future clients Developing products listeners love and need, and  All things sponsorships  Check out this episode and others on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, an

Have you been thinking about starting a podcast? Pondering on if it’s the right move for you? If you’re worried that the industry is too saturated, let me tell you...there’s always going to be competition. If there isn’t any demand, you don’t want to be there. I want to encourage you that what’s in your mind hasn’t yet come into the atmosphere. And that’s okay because podcasting is exponentially growing, and it’s going to grow when you release your show. In this week’s episode, I’m here to help you figure out if it’s time to stop sitting on that idea, press record, and start the podcast you’ve always wanted to. Here’s a hint: you have to start before you’re ready. Check out this episode and others on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher.   This episode is brought to you by: Native Give the gift of Native and get 20% off your first order by going to nativedeo.com/sidehustle or by using the promo code “sidehustle” at the website checkoutComcast RISETo apply today for marketing, media and tech mak

Honesty is the new mantra for me. I’m bringing you the real in this week’s episode. Trust me, I’m not holding back with this Behind the Hustle update. I wasn’t emotionally ready to discuss everything yet, but I felt like there is no discussing my personal experience of juggling being a new mom, and having my own business without sharing a bit about what I’ve been going through. If you’re ready for it, I’m sharing what I’ve learned, and what has helped me navigate through this time in this solo episode. Here’s a sneak peek: ⦿ Why it does no good, for new moms like me, to keep how we’re feeling to ourselves ⦿ How exclusive pumping saved my postpartum life ⦿ My challenges with breastfeeding (don’t @ me) ⦿ How I found my mom tribe, and my newfound boundaries, and ⦿ How my plans were shot once the realness of postpartum life set in Check out this episode and others on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher.   This episode is brought to you by: NativeGive the gift of Native and get 20% off your first o

Today in the guest chair we have Grace Eleyae, the Founder of Grace Eleyae Inc.  Grace Eleyae Inc. began with their now trademark product, the Original Slap, which stands for (Satin-Lined Cap)®. The Slap is a stylish cap that retains moisture (satin-lining), stays on your head at night (with its signature elastic band) and is fashionable enough to wear outside. It all started in 2014 when Grace took a trip to Kenya that changed her life.  During a bumpy 8-hour car ride, all the hair on the back of her head broke off - the result of her chemically straightened hair and constant friction against the headrest. And the rest would be history. Later that year, Grace started working on a solution to her completely damaged, broken and dry chemically straightened hair, and the first prototype of the Slap was created.  In this episode, Grace shares: How a bumpy car ride and hair breakage led her to develop a prototype for her ideal cap What happened after she created that prototype, including the reaction from her fam

Caroline Owusu-Ansah is the Founder and Smooth Operating Officer at LUV SCRUB, which is a company that focuses on smooth skin by the way of exfoliation.  The LUV SCRUB is an exfoliating mesh sheet that will have you trading in your rags, wash cloths and loofahs. It was a staple in Caroline’s home growing up.  Born to Ghanaian parents, she graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in Apparel Marketing and went into a career of Branding and Retail Merchandising.  With the skills she learned from her career, she was able to bring LUV SCRUB to life. In this episode, I really appreciate what Caroline had to share about: Her approach to branding her packaging for the LUV SCRUB The starts and stops of entrepreneurship (she took a four year break after launching!) Going back to work for someone else for a while, and then returning to her business once she was better equipped to scale the company and so much more! Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more: sidehustlepro.co/luvscrub Links mentioned in this episo

It’s not often that you hear about two co-founders meeting on Tinder. But that’s actually the business origin story of this week’s Side Hustle Pro guest, Angela Jennings of BOOMBOX Boxing Club. BOOMBOX is a boxing-inspired, hip-hop-fueled fitness studio.  A finance professional at a global accounting firm by day, Angela always knew she wanted to tap into her interest in food or fitness.  After being introduced to boxing three years ago by Tinder match and co-founder, Reggie Smith, Angela became passionate about the sport's potential to be a fun and powerful workout to people of all fitness levels and backgrounds.  The pair launched their first studio in Washington, DC in 2019 and it's now host to members who sweat through themed boxing workouts or private training with coaches.  In this episode, I really love what Angela had to share about: Deciding on a location when each co-founder lives in a different city Building buzz leading up to opening day Navigating the fitness industry during covid and how they ar

Vera Moore always had an interest in creating something of her own.  Like many of us, she didn’t know what that would look like, but she knew that she wanted to take ownership of her future. After dabbling in other hustles, from a swimwear line to a tax business, Vera was drawn to creating her own lingerie line. She saw the lack of representation of Black women and women of all sizes from the brands on the market, and knew there was a great opportunity for something better. So she created her own inclusive lingerie line: Love, Vera. All while side hustling. In this episode, I really love what Vera had to share about: Her experience taking a sourcing trip to look for products Creating the brand identity for Love, Vera Storing inventory in her parents basement and fulfilling orders herself until 1AM in the morning! Transitioning to custom creating private label designs for Love, Vera And so much more! Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more: sidehustlepro.co/lovevera Links mentioned in this episode: Ca

Hey Guys, This message was on my heart so I decided to record a quick #hustlebomb for my younger self. Hope this helps you too! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever gone to the store looking for a product only to find that it doesn’t even exist?  That’s what Jacquelyn Rodgers, Founder of Greentop Gifts, experienced one Christmas season when she went looking for wrapping paper featuring a Black Santa.  Frustrated and surprised, Jacquelyn decided she would make her own. But not only that, she realized the gap in the market and got to work building a company that could fill this need. What started as a side hustle took off like a rocket, with features by ESSENCE, PEOPLE, NBC News, and recently Beyonce’s Black Parade, and more! This year, she finally had to leave the side hustle behind and take it full time. In episode 221 of Side Hustle Pro, find out how Jacquelyn started the company along with her husband, navigated the challenges of finding the right fulfillment partner, and what’s next for Greentop Gifts. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more! This episode is brought to you by: Skillshare Explore your creativity at skillshare.com/hustle. The first 1

We all know that unemployment levels are at an all time high due to the effects COVID has had on businesses. In the last week alone, I have seen many friends and acquaintances get furloughed or laid off and my heart goes out to everyone. I decided to share my own story of unemployment and some tips that may be able to help to get through this time as a side hustler. And yes, you will get through it. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher  This episode is brought to you by: Skillshare Explore your creativity at skillshare.com/hustle. The first 1,000 people to use this skillshare.com/hustle link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership. Flo Health Get early access inside the FLO app or subscribe to the podcast Her Body, Her Story on any other medium where you listen to your favorite podcast shows. Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss Announcements Join our Facebook Community If you’re looking for a community of supportiv

Side Hustle Pro alum Jerri Evans founded six Turning Natural Juice Bar storefronts in eight years and has employed over 87 people in her community in that time. Growing up in SE Washington, D.C. she watched her mom and others struggle to find healthy options, while carry-outs and corner stores were readily available. Now she is leaving an indelible impact in SE and beyond.  Jerri first sat in the guest chair in 2017, and I have been endlessly impressed and inspired by her ever since. I love that she makes it a point to transform areas that historically do not have access to fresh produce. She aims to eradicate food deserts (areas that do not have access to such healthy options).  Now with catchy names like Swizz Beets, Green Latifah, and Mi’Kale Jackson, Jerri has initiated creative ways to invite customers to try out cold-pressed juices they’ve never had. Listen to this rewind episode to hear how Jerri transformed a tragic life event into an impactful business that’s ensuring better health for underserved co

Side Hustle Pro alum Arsha Jones has experienced tremendous success with her businesses Capital City Co (which produces a wing sauce called mambo sauce) and Tees in the Trap (a lifestyle brand inspired by pop culture and infused with Black Girl Magic) since gracing the guest chair in 2016.  Arsha is an entrepreneur and an emerging leader in the e-commerce industry. She has built multiple, highly profitable brands. At the time of this episode, she was operating and managing Capital City Co, keeping you fly through the Tees in the Trap brand, building iOS apps for Apps By The Pound, all while running the website Brand Build Launch. Through Build Brand Launch, she teaches others how to turn their passions into profit with physical products. On this episode, Arsha shares: How she developed the Capital City Co mambo sauce in her kitchen and ended up on the front page of The Washington Post How she launched her first t-shirt shop with no shirts and no supplies How haters reporting and shutting down her Etsy shop g

Side Hustle Pro alum Beatrice Dixon has taken the world by storm since gracing the guest chair in 2019.  Beatrice is the Founder of The Honey Pot Company, a plant-based, chemical-free feminine care system that cleanses, protects, and balances your vagina.  Powered by herbs, made by women, and 100% natural, The Honey Pot Company is disrupting the industry with a healthy alternative to feminine care.  I love their tagline: Made by humans with vaginas, for humans with vaginas. As women, we all have to use tampons, pads, lubricants, and subsequently, worry about the contents of the products we are putting into our bodies.  Beatrice is solving for all of that. She developed the products right in her kitchen. Armed with a mission, determination, and on the job experience, she shares how she tackled scaling her business, entering multichannel retailers like Target, and figuring things out as she goes. In this rewind episode of Side Hustle Pro, get to know Beatrice and hear how she is building her mission-driven bran

If you’ve watched the “Entrepreneur” video by Pharrell & Jay-Z, then you may recognize Denise Woodard’s face. That’s because her story of being rejected by 86 investors before getting that one yes from Jay-Z is highlighted in the video. Well, we actually spoke to Denise last year as she was embarking on this process. So it made my heart swell with pride to see this Side Hustle Pro alum thriving and scaling her business.  Denise has always had her hands on a winning idea. Partake Foods provides meals and snacks that are delicious, safe, and nutritious for conscious eaters. They are free of gluten, the top 8 allergens, and artificial ingredients. What started as a way for this concerned mom to give her daughter snacks that would not trigger her allergies, has evolved into a brand that’s sold in major retailers.  In this rewind episode of Side Hustle Pro, meet Denise, the founder behind this amazing brand, and hear: Why she’s so passionate about gluten and allergen-free food and how she actually got started

This week we have a rewind episode with @PlayPits founder Chantel Powell.  As a busy working mom and wife, Chantel found herself shuttling her son Kameron between summer basketball camp and football practice. She quickly noticed that he was starting to smell like a grown man because he was sweating buckets under his armpits, and that’s when her innovative mindset kicked in. Chantel decided to develop an all-natural deodorant for her son. And so Play Pits the brand was born.  Play Pits is a 100% all-natural deodorant. It’s free of aluminum, parabens, synthetic fragrances and other harsh chemicals. While it can be used on the most gentle skin types, it also packs a strong punch against odors. Although it started out with a focus on kids, it has an adult line as well, and I love the Queen deodorant! With recent features by @Beyonce and the grand opening of an official Play Pits warehouse, Play Pits is growing and thriving. In this episode hear how it all got started as Chantel breaks down: How she tested out

Tracey Pickett wants to make sure that you don’t get caught slippin’ in the rain. She is the founder of Hairbrella, an innovative rain hat combining fashion and function to protect women's hair from the rain. Not only is she an entrepreneur, but an attorney, inventor, and speaker. Tracey’s original plan was to “get law school out of the way,” then get a job, and she did just that. While working in intellectual property as a lawyer, the entrepreneurial bug started tapping on her shoulder. It reminded her of the promise she made to herself prior to beginning law school. Tracey vowed to not spend more than five years in a legal career without pursuing the business ideas she had for her life: that included her first entrepreneurial endeavor, Eboticon.  Although, along with some colleagues, she’d been working on Eboticon, an emoji app to represent Black culture on nights and weekends. While still working full time as a lawyer, Tracey managed to meet her deadline, pace herself, save up a year’s worth of income, and

Teri Ijeoma is the first one to tell you that she loves investing in stocks because it allowed her to live her dreams. She is a millennial millionaire, minister, stock investor, and an entrepreneur who teaches others how to invest in the stock market to be able to pay off debt, go on trips, and pay down on mortgages. In other words, how to use stocks in real time to make money now. Her journey has been unconventional, but has led to a path full of purpose and uniquely made for Teri. She first learned about stocks and trading in high school. After graduating from college, Teri delved into the world of consulting, but later decided she wanted to pursue something more meaningful, which led to a position in education.  While working in education, Teri started investing in and trading stocks as a side hustle. When she grew this trading side hustle to the point of making $300/day, she decided to make the leap. In this episode, you’ll find out: Why Teri quit her job in order to help people learn how to trade How go

It’s been a while since we checked in with our Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Lisa Pegram. On today’s episode, you’ll get a look into what her life and business looks like one year after launching her beauty tech company, Belle51. Belle51 focuses on the specific skin issues of Black and Brown communities and how to treat them effectively. Lisa is no stranger to the side hustle life. She is currently in pursuit of her PhD at Columbia where she studies meta-cognition and data sciences, working in the field full-time, and managing her own company.  Since I last spoke with Lisa, she now offers products such as an esthetician-grade, automatic microneedling tool, an oil serum, and a laser for hyperpigmentation. Things have been booming! You know the notion of focusing on what you have first, so you can get that where it needs to be before you add new products? Well for Lisa, she went against the grain of that and is carving out a new path for her company. She’s learned that adding products has actually increased her re

Four years, and four million podcast downloads later, I’m continuing to share with you the lessons I have learned along this journey. I never thought I’d leave my job to do podcasting full-time, but I’ve grown a lot, personally and professionally, and am dedicated to helping you grow as well. Of course I had dreams of success, but when I started, I just wanted to gain inspiration from my guests, and figure out how to use the talents and skills that I had. I didn’t know where my path would lead, but I tested things out and they didn’t always work. There was definitely a lot of trial and error involved, but that only lit a fire in me to succeed. I put what I learned from research, trainings, and conferences into practice immediately. I’ve identified some of the key factors that have allowed me to have a successful podcast. In this episode, I discuss: Doing away with the fear of being pigeon-holed How to own your lane in the podcasting space How to make a long-term game plan Setting realistic expectations, and

Let me let you in on a little secret, I first started side hustling to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It was not to turn my side hustle into a full time job. But, I also want to assure you, there’s nothing wrong with the latter, either. In today’s episode, I take it all the way back! We’re talking childhood with pit stops at my first internship, ever, with HBO, the days of wanting to be a broadcast journalist in college, the dreaded post-grad life, finding my way to business school, and eventually creating what you now know as Side Hustle Pro. It’s been quite a journey! I delve a bit deeper than I have in the past, of how I went from a side hustler to making my podcast into a full-time business. I wanted to go into as much detail as possible so I could help and inspire someone else. Let’s remember, not all stories are linear, and that’s okay. In the midst of my story, I also highlight Black women who have helped me at pivotal moments along the way. It’s because of these relationships and sisterh