Side Hustle Pro

This week in the guest chair, Symone’ Austin shares her powerful journey from being laid off to building a thriving YouTube platform.

After recording and posting her layoff conversation, her video went viral and became the turning point in her entrepreneurial journey. In this episode, she breaks down how she built multiple income streams through YouTube ad revenue, brand partnerships, digital products, virtual assistant work, and strategic financial decisions like bringing on a roommate.

If you’ve been navigating uncertainty, considering content creation, or wondering how to turn a setback into leverage, this episode will show you how.

Highlights Include
00:00 – Recording the layoff conversation that changed everything
04:30 – Growing from 10K to 60K+ subscribers in one year
08:20 – Making $5,900 in one month from YouTube ad revenue
13:00 – Cutting expenses and surviving without touching savings
18:10 – Turning skills into income: photography, digital products, VA work
24:00 – Why personal finance has one of the highest CPMs on YouTube
29:00 – Replacing a corporate salary through content creation
35:00 – The reality of working 7 days a week as a full-time creator
38:00 – Getting a roommate as a financial reset strategy
43:00 – Navigating job offers after deciding to go all-in

Links Mentioned in This Episode
Watch Symone’s YouTube video “I Got Laid Off From My 6 Figure Tech Job”
Podcast Moguls: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan
Read Successful Failure by KevOnStage

Watch & Listen
Watch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustlepro

Announcements
If you’re ready to build a podcast that becomes your exit plan, attend my next live class: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan. Save your seat here.

Social Media
YouTube: Life and Numbers: https://www.youtube.com/lifeandnumbers
Instagram: @lifeandnumbers: http://instagram.com/lifeandnumbers
Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro
#SideHustlePro
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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 ready
Why she treated her food blog like a non-negotiable commitment and learned SEO and brand partnerships
How blog income helped her pay off her student loans and become debt-free in February 2020
Why Yo Quiero Dinero centers Latinas and the power of building for a specific audience
How the podcast became the foundation for her book, speaking, brand deals, and other revenue streams
Why a podcast team, online business manager, and talent agent are essential to the way she works now
How she separates reliable 'pay the bills' offers from 'fun money' offers that give her room to experiment

Highlights Include
01:07 - Being the first in her family to graduate from college and beginning her career in pharmaceuticals and medical devices
04:10 - How getting laid off became the catalyst for testing entrepreneurship
08:32 - Building the Delish D'Lites food blog and treating it like a non-negotiable commitment
09:52 - Learning SEO and brand partnerships through a food blogging course
11:33 - Using blog income to become debt-free in February 2020
16:32 - Why owning your platform matters more than building entirely on someone else's platform
17:32 - Moving from blogging to launching Yo Quiero Dinero in 2019
19:42 - Why the podcast intentionally centers the Latina community
26:01 - How the podcast became the engine behind her media business
36:51 - The team behind the business: a podcast team, an online business manager, and a talent agent
40:20 - Growing brand deals from $125 to more than $50,000 by niching down
48:07 - Managing cash flow with 'pay the bills' offers and 'fun money' offers

Links and Resources Mentioned
Yo Quiero Dinero: https://yoquierodineropodcast.com

Connect With Jannese
Instagram: @yoquierodineropodcast
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If this resonated with you, here are additional resources:
⭐ APPLY TO SHIFT: https://sidehustlepro.co/shift

You do not need a million dollars to change your life, you need your first $1,000.

In this solo episode, I’m breaking down why the first $1K is such a pivotal milestone for side hustlers and how it shifts everything from theory to proof. I walk you through the exact decisions and actions that turn preparation into income without overbuilding, overthinking, or waiting until things feel perfect.

If you’ve been stuck planning, tweaking, or doubting yourself, this episode will help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and momentum.

In This Episode, I Share:
Why the first $1,000 changes everything mentally and strategically
How to choose a simple offer you can confidently deliver right now
How to identify who your offer is really for and why frustration matters
Why clarity, consistency, and conversations matter more than perfection

Highlights Include:
00:00 – Why you don’t need a million dollars to change your life — you need your first $1,000
01:35 – How your mindset shifts after you make your first $1K and why proof matters more than theory
02:31 – What actually counts as an offer and why your first one should be useful, not fancy
03:52 – Why starting with what you’re already confident in is the fastest way to get paid
05:16 – How to decide who your offer is really for and why specificity matters
07:27 – The difference between a painkiller and a vitamin offer (and why frustration drives sales)
08:55 – How to package your offer simply without a website, logo, or brand
11:22 – Why offering your service is the most important step people delay
12:48 – How confidence and customer focus directly impact whether you make your first $1K
14:04 – Why you don’t need a massive audience — just real conversations and feedback
15:37 – How to use feedback as information instead of taking it personally
17:47 – Why overbuilding and “perfecting” keeps side hustlers stuck
19:21 – Breaking down the math behind $1,000 so it feels achievable
20:45 – Why fewer clients at a higher price can reduce burnout
21:34 – Why most people earn their first $1K from conversations, not content
22:19 – How I made my first $1,000 and what actually worked
26:03 – When to start building your email list and why simple free resources convert better
28:54 – How to use a 12-week sprint to stay focused on your first $1K
29:38 – What to do when your first offer feels slow or doesn’t land immediately
31:08 – What changes after you hit your first $1,000 — and the mistake to avoid next
31:49 – Final action steps to start building your first $1K offer

Links Mentioned in This Episode
Side Hustle Pro Website: https://sidehustlepro.co/

Watch & Listen
Watch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustlepro

Check out episode 530 of Side Hustle Pro podcast out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube
Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If this resonated with you, here are additional resources:
⭐ APPLY TO SHIFT: https://sidehustlepro.co/shift

This 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 marketing
What happened when the platform responsible for 80% of her income shut down overnight and how she rebuilt
Why diversification across platforms, income streams, and partnerships is essential for creators and entrepreneurs
How affiliate marketing works and how creators can use performance data to negotiate higher-paying brand deals
Highlights Include
00:00 – Introduction
02:10 – Chanel’s career path from investment banking to luxury beauty marketing
05:10 – Building an audience through skincare and product recommendations
09:00 – Landing a role at YouTube working with top creators
15:00 – Saving a year of income before leaving corporate
19:00 – The moment she lost 80% of her income overnight
24:30 – Why diversification is critical for creators and entrepreneurs
27:00 – Building content series that grow an audience
32:00 – Affiliate marketing vs. brand partnerships explained
37:00 – Sharing her journey with hearing loss and disability
40:00 – How statement earrings became part of her empowerment story
43:00 – Affiliate income strategies for creators

Links Mentioned in This Episode
Substack: Sensible
Julia Broome
Check out the Networth and Chill Podcast;Creator Economy & Brand Deals with Victoria Paris
ShopMy:https://shopmy.us/home/creators
MagicLinks:https://www.magiclinks.com/creators
BrandCycle:https://brandcycle.com/
LTK: https://company.shopltk.com/en/creator
Nordstrom Affiliate Program:https://www.nordstromcreators.com/
Check out Chanel’s Creator Profit Lab’s interest form & course registration
Save the Date: Start the Podcast That Builds Your Exit Plan (Friday, March 20)

Watch & Listen
Watch this episode on YouTube and listen on all podcast platforms:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8t
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sidehustlepro

Social Media
Instagram: @thecreatorprofitlab
Instagram: @buymechanel
Side 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 Takeaways
Why 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 Include
00:20 - How a lifelong struggle with razor burn and ingrown hairs on melanated skin became the idea behind OUI the People
05:49 - Why Karen closed her first business, a lifestyle and home goods brand called Hammocks and High T
11:19 - Learning the difference between spotting a market gap and finding real money inside of it
16:00 - The subway encounter that led to Karen's job offer at Estee Lauder
25:37 - What Karen absorbed from watching a major beauty conglomerate acquire and scale brands from the inside
34:15 - The origins of OUI the People, which started as a direct to consumer razor brand called We Shave
41:14 - 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 Mer
43:49 - Why Karen called manufacturers in the UK, Germany, and Japan before choosing a small German razor maker
50:39 - How the brand expanded from razors into body care, then into Sephora in 2019, then a full fragrance launch in 2023
57:57 - The honest truth about raising venture capital, scaling a team, and finally hitting profitability this year
1:12:19 - Lightning round: her go to founder resource, the mentor she admires, her non negotiable evening ritual, and her advice for side hustlers

Links Mentioned in This Episode
Shop OUI the People: ouithepeople.com

Social Media
ouithepeople.com
OUI the People on Instagram: @ouithepeople https://www.instagram.com/ouithepeople/
OUI The People TikTok: @ouithepeople https://www.tiktok.com/@ouithepeople

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