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

Today in the guest chair, we have Karleen Roy, a woman who is as extraordinary as the events she creates. She is the Founder of The Vanity Group, a boutique creative agency specializing in bespoke events and luxury services.  After graduating from Howard University, she moved to New York to take an unpaid internship at Island Def Jam. Her hard work spoke for itself and she was eventually hired as a senior executive assistant at Bad Boy Entertainment. Her boss, Sean “Diddy” Combs trusted her to coordinate the efforts of his multi-million dollar business entities, external partnerships and talent relationships, and so much more. The confidence, expertise and international connections Karleen developed over the course of her career inspired her to strike out on her own and launch The Vanity Group. Karleen now specializes in producing magical moments and it shows. The Vanity Group quickly became the firm of choice for a variety of corporate clients and A-list celebrities, from Justin Bieber and Kobe Bryant to Car

On Wednesday, October 9, Personal Branding Strategist Maya Elious and I had a live onstage conversation about how to play big and get these coins. Maya went from running a design agency for 6 years to helping women master their message and make an impact in their industry and monetize their gifts. She’s personally helped me to level up in my business and for my very first live podcast, I couldn’t think of a more fitting guest! On today’s episode we dish on: How she evolved from creating MySpace pages to coaching women to monetize their gifts How she went from thinking small to playing big and expecting more How to really use content marketing to serve your community and keep those customers coming back How to get and keep these coins!   OUR LIVE PODCAST CONVERSATION WAS POWERED BY VERIZON Check out how Verizon is supporting small and medium-sized businesses at sidehustlepro.co/verizon  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher  This episode is brought to you by: Heat Free Hair  Heat Free Hair is offeri

Today in the guest chair, we have Rochelle Porter, also known as the “Print Queen.” She is a designer who has never met a blank surface she didn’t want to draw on. But, she nearly abandoned the idea of being a designer when she learned of the unethical labors practice in the fast fashion industry. After learning this, she pursued a career in a variety of industries including investment banking and communications.  At her lowest moment, she found an eviction notice on the door. It was at that moment she knew something had to change, so she made the move back to Atlanta.  Slowly but surely, clues that she should look into fashion again started coming into her life and she took them as a sign to get moving.  She did her research and launched her lifestyle brand that specializes in responsibly made fashion and home decor all while holding down steady consulting gigs. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher  This episode is brought to you by: FreshBooks Try FreshBooks FREE for 30 days. Go to freshbooks.com/

This week we have a bonus episode with Charis Jones, owner of Sassy Jones Boutique in the guest chair! Sassy Jones is an award-winning accessory brand that specializes in exquisite pieces for the ‘sassy sophisticated girl on the go. Sassy Jones has both a brick-and-mortar store located in Richmond, Virginia and an online store and thousands of customers all over the world tune in weekly every Wednesday night to shop during their “Sparkle Parties.” I’ve been fascinated by how Charis grew her boutique into a 7-figure business, so I had to have her in the guest chair. If you have an e-commerce business and are experiencing stagnant growth, this is the episode for you! On today’s episode, we talk about: How Charis was first called to side hustling and entrepreneurship after she kept getting laid off How she uses her background as a top-ranking sales professional in major corporations to inform her sales and customer service strategy How being a Mom of 4-year old twin boys kicked her hustle into overdrive Her app

This week, I chatted with Dr. Tykeia Robinson (also known as Keia). You may know her as co-host of the Gettin’ Grown Podcast, but she is also a PhD in Higher Education and multi-passionate side hustler with over 10 years of experience in higher education. She is also Head Coach of #TeamTypingFast, an online community of practice for anybody with work to do. I started getting to know Keia last year after attending the Gettin’ Grown live podcast show. Fun fact: she and co-host Jade are one of the BIGGEST inspirations for me doing my own live show.  One of the things I admire most about Keia is her commitment to supporting, encouraging, and uplifting Black women.  In addition to Gettin’ Grown and #TeamTypingFast, Keia’s full-time job involves doing research that informs curriculum, policy, and practice, and she develops training for school faculty leaders. In today’s episode, she shares how she juggles everything, and what she’s learning along the way.  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher   Links men

Today in the guest chair we have Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon (also known as Dr. Key), Founder, and CEO of The Village Market. I was blessed to cross paths with Dr. Hallmon at Summit 21; shout out to past Side Hustle Pro guest Jewel Burks Solomon for introducing us!  Dr. Key started her career in education, but she wanted more freedom and flexibility. She wanted to be able to take her students outside. Soon got the idea for what was then called The Village Cafe, an economical vehicle that empowers the Black community through cooperative economics. From that seed, The Village Market has grown into an economic vehicle for #blackownedbusiness like no other. Prior to launching The Village Market, Dr. Hallmon had no experience at all planning events. She had never even booked a venue for an event, much less create her own event with hundreds of vendors, but she had a vision and she wasn’t scared to make it come to life.  The Village Market is now not only a market, but also offers summits, trainings, and workshops for sma

Today in the guest chair we have Sonia Lewis, the CEO of the Student Loan Doctor, LLC. Her business has been recognized as the first African American and woman-owned student loan repayment company in the country.  You might be surprised to hear that before starting the Student Loan Doctor, Sonia didn’t have personal budgeting discipline, she was living paycheck-to-paycheck, and grappling with her own student loan debt. Even with a background and passion for higher education, Sonia was frustrated with the process of how to get information about her student loans and knew she had to do something.  She worked on her personal finances and eventually started working with clients to help them manage their student loan debt. Through trials, testing, and gathering feedback, Sonia now runs a six-figure business and employs a team of full time and contractors.     Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher  This episode is brought to you by: FreshBooks Try FreshBooks FREE for 30 days. Go to freshbooks.com/sidehustl

Get Tickets: SideHustlePro.co/Live     Side Hustle Pro Live! October 9, 2019 THEARC Theatre in Washington, DC Doors open: 7:00 Show Starts: 8:00 PM Featuring Special Guest Maya Elious   **Meet & Greet ticket grants access to exclusive meet & greet at 6:30PM w/ Nicaila** Featuring a live onstage conversation, pre-show shopping experience with Black women small business owners, and a live audience Q&A—the show will be an exciting night of the Side Hustle Pro podcast come to life! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode of the Side Hustle Series, I’m breaking down How to Balance Your Side Hustle With Your J-O-B I break this episode down into two parts:  Part 1: How to side hustle and not get fired Part 2: How to balance the side hustle with your full-time job I’m breaking it down this way because I want to make sure you secure your income BEFORE you worry about balancing your side hustle.  You have to make sure you still have that job because let’s face it, your full-time income is going to provide the capital to fund your side hustle! Grab the Goal Getter Action Plan mentioned in today’s episode here Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher   Links mentioned in this episode  SideHustlePro.co Goal Getter Action Plan  Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss Announcements 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 You c

I am interrupting the pre-scheduled program for August, which was the Side Hustle Series, to bring you a quick entrepreneur diaries update to share my experience on the TODAY Show!! I was a guest for the “Passion to Paycheck” series during the week of August 19th.  It was a surreal moment for me to see my three years of hard work on Side Hustle Pro lead me to this incredible opportunity. While I watched the beautiful opening montage the TODAY team put together for my introduction, I was reminded of the journey that has led up to this.  In this episode, I share how this opportunity came to be, the behind-the-scenes of what it’s like to be on the Today Show, and the lessons I learned from all of it. Thank you for listening and sharing. There would be no Side Hustle Pro if no one listened, so huge THANK YOU for listening! Watch the full interview here    Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher   Links mentioned in this episode SideHustlePro.co Today Show Clip Podcast Moguls Do Your Work Video from Ce

In this episode, I'm sharing how to lay the foundation for your business when it’s still a side hustle. When I started my side hustle, I didn’t read business plan books or follow a business plan template. I just started. Now, I’m sharing the six steps you can take to start building your business as a side hustle.   Click here to grab your free recap: sidehustlepro.co/160   And stay tuned for the next episode in the series. New episodes drop every single Wednesday in August!    Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher   Links mentioned in this episode SideHustlePro.co PodcastMoguls.com Maya Elious's Side Hustle Pro episode  Emmelie de la Cruz’s Side Hustle Pro episode Catherine Soliz Reys Side Hustle Pro episode  Courtney Sanders’s Side Hustle Pro episode  USTPO.gov (United States Patent and Trademark Office) Canva    99 Designs  Upwork   Fivver Wordpress   SquareSpace  Skillshare BuiltWith  WordPress Theme Detector   Amy Poterfield  ConvertKit Art Steele’s Side Hustle Pro podcast   InkSecure Podcas

This episode kicks off The Side Hustle Summer Series! This August, I’m doing a series all about side hustling and breaking down: How to not let fear cripple you when you’re starting your side hustle  How to build the foundation of your business even when it’s still a side hustle  Everything I learned about balancing my side hustle with my 9 to 5How to market your side hustle for FREE when you’re just getting started How to finance your side hustle before it’s making Money (AND how to start monetizing) In this kickoff episode, I get open and vulnerable about my journey from side hustle to a profitable business and talk about the disparaging thoughts I used to tell myself. I was so afraid of people thinking I was a failure because I didn’t secure a job offer after earning my Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Michigan. I eventually learned that fear was holding me back, instead of helping me grow. I hope that sharing my thoughts and how I reframed them helps you change your thinkin

Today in the guest chair, we have me. That’s right, I’m back with a solo, entrepreneur diaries episode to share what I’ve been up to and what I’m learning. This is an even more special episode because it’s the Side Hustle Pro three-year anniversary episode! Thank you so much for three whole years of Side Hustle Pro. Thank you for rocking with me and tuning in each and every week. But not only that, thank you for sharing this show with your friends, for supporting me when I speak live, and for shouting me out on social media.  It’s important to remember that this didn’t happen overnight. So for this episode, I took a moment to reflect on the start of Side Hustle Pro, and the lessons I’ve learned while growing it from my Side Hustle to my Main Hustle in the last three years.  Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher  This episode is brought to you by: Podcast Moguls Are you looking to start a podcast? Or have you started your podcast and are not getting the downloads you expected? Register for my next fre

Today in the guest chair we have Elsa Isaac. Elsa is an NYC-based fashion and image stylist who believes style is really all about self-expression. A seasoned pro with over 17 years in the fashion industry, the east African-born stylist has built quite a noteworthy portfolio, having bestowed her stylish magic on everyone from Marie Forleo to Lenny Kravitz; and Katie Couric to Kris Carr. Nowadays, she helps successful career women and entrepreneurs revamp their wardrobes and create show-stopping ensembles that flatter their unique body shape and lifestyles. A self-dubbed anti-fashion stylist, Elsa doesn’t believe there’s one standard of beauty and strives to empower all her clients to celebrate their own individuality. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher  This episode is brought to you by: Skillshare Skillshare is offering Side Hustle Pro listeners 2 months of unlimited Skillshare classes for FREE. To sign up, go to Skillshare.com/sidehustlepro  Links mentioned in this episode Elsa Isaac: Your Bo

Aliyah Jenkins is the Owner and Founder of Body Treats, LLC. Body Treats is an all-natural, organic, chemical and toxin-free skincare line that specializes in pastry inspired (scented) products. Body Treats uses only raw, organic butter, organic oils, and certified therapeutic essential oils.Working in the healthcare field for eight years as a Nurse Practitioner and Registered Nurse, Aliyah noticed a “Revolving Door” cycle with most of her patients.  They continued to come back to the hospital with the same health problems that they initially left with. Aliyah decided that it was time for a different approach and adopted a Holistic lifestyle herself which includes a plant-based diet, physical and mental exercise and the use of herbs as medicine. While adopting this Holistic Lifestyle, Aliyah was in search of all-natural skincare products that particularly smelled like baked goods and was unsuccessful in finding it, so she decided to make it for herself, right in her kitchen. Through the advice of her sister,

Meet our new Entrepreneur-In-Residence! Those of you who are longtime listeners may remember that at the beginning of Side Hustle Pro, we had an Entrepreneur-In-Residence by the name of Meiko Drew and we followed her journey for an entire year. Well, today we are bringing back the Entrepreneur-in-Residence feature. That’s right, starting with this episode, we are going to chronicle the life of an emerging entrepreneur as she launches and scales her business. This woman happens to be a dear friend of mine, in fact, my best friend since high school, and her name is Lisa Pegram. Now, if it were up to me, I would have had her in the chair a long time ago, but she prefers to grind behind the scenes. But I think she is so dope, and such a hustler, I finally convinced her to do it.  Listen to hear: How she used her education and jobs to develop ideas for several different side hustles  The research process she used to launch her cutting edge beauty product Why she uses analytics to drive business decisions Listen

Today in the guest chair we have Andrea Pitter Campbell, Founder and Head Designer of Pantora Bridal, Pantora Mini and the Andrea Campbell Collection. Andrea’s desire to merge typically incompatible components has created an unprecedented perspective on bridal wear.  Andrea took her first step towards fashion at 12 years old, creating the name “Pantora” in preparation for admission to the High School of Fashion Industries. She later graduated and attended the famed Fashion Institute of Technology.  Andrea went the corporate route at first, holding several corporate designer positions as she ran her design business on the side. In 2013, armed with sharp negotiation skills and sheer determination, she convinced landlords to take a chance on her and was able to open the Pantora Bridal showroom. The road since wasn’t always easy, but Andrea never wavered. Andrea’s mission to represent the underrepresented in mainstream bridal led the Pantora brand to develop a cult following and be carried by several retailers na

Today we are back with another Side Hustle Spotlight, featuring a woman who is still very much in the side hustle grind or recently left their job to go full time. Today’s spotlight is Tomara Watkins, the Founder of Loza Tam, an eCommerce brand of satin-lined headwraps that are handcrafted in Ghana by women entrepreneurs.  Tomara (AKA “Tam”) is an eCommerce entrepreneur who has over 10 years of digital marketing experience growth hacking CPG and beauty brands like Bevel, FORM, and Heat Free Hair.  She’s traveled to 10 countries on the continent of Africa so far and as you’ll hear in this episode, it was when Tomara went to Howard University that she fell in love with all things Africa. After traveling to Ghana, the bold prints and colors spoke to her, and she came up with the idea of African print, satin-lined headbands, and head wrap turbans.  Determined to build a business with women, like the women in her family, she ensures that all of Loza Tam’s products are crafted by women entrepreneurs, so they can su

Today in the guest chair we have Majora Carter. Majora is a real estate developer, urban revitalization strategy consultant, MacArthur Fellow, and Peabody Award-winning broadcaster. She is also the Co-Owner of the Boogie Down Grind Cafe in the South Bronx. Majora has made it her life’s mission to find sustainable solutions for America’s most storied low-status communities. She is responsible for the creation and successful implementation of numerous economic development, green-infrastructure projects, policies, and job training & placement systems. She combines her corporate consulting practice focused on reducing Brain Drain in American low-status communities, and her firsthand experience pioneering sustainable economic development in the South Bronx.   She has served on the boards of the US Green Building Council and the Andrew Goodman Foundation, and she is quoted in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History and Culture in DC: "Nobody should have to move out of thei

Today in the guest chair we have Kyndra Outlaw. Kyndra is the Founder of Atmospheric Home Staging located in Dallas, Texas. Atmospheric Home Staging specializes in vacant home staging creating lifestyle environments with a competitive advantage. Originally from Starkville, MS, Kyndra graduated from The University of Memphis and then went on to graduate with a Master’s of Science in Merchandising degree from the University of North Texas. She began her career at a home furnishings company in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area as a visual merchandiser and product developer. She quit her job on a whim in July 2016 and has been an entrepreneur since. When not running Atmospheric Home Staging, Kyndra is a freelance visual merchandiser and an Adjunct Professor in the College of Merchandising, Hospitality & Tourism at The University of North Texas. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher This episode is brought to you by: Podcast Moguls Are you looking to start a podcast? Or have you started your podcast and are