Side Hustle to Small Business

Latest Episodes:

How Josh Russell built success on his own terms Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

Josh Russell is a musician-turned-photographer. After touring for ten years in the country rap space, building his skills as a musician, as well as photographer and videographer, Josh decided to go all in on photography. Now he owns Josh Russell Photography, a photography company based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Plus, through his coaching business, Josh teaches other photographers on how to overcome Imposter Syndrome and build their businesses.
- Chapters -

00:00:00 Introduction and Background

00:04:33 The Hustler Mentality

00:06:28 Genres of Entrepreneurship

00:07:56 Shedding a Business

00:11:07 Get Rid of Imposter Syndrome

00:13:34 “If You’re Not Terrified, You’re Not Charging”

00:17:04 Entrepreneurialism and ADHD

00:22:14 Comfort in the Uncomfortable

00:24:33 Extensions of AI

00:26:45 Side Hustling with an iPhone

00:27:51 Focus = Fast Growth

00:31:08 Closing

Empowering educators from beyond the classroom Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

Ashley Mikkelsen is passionate about teaching Spanish. However, when she had her first child, she realized that it was difficult to balance teaching and motherhood. It was at this point that she transitioned her side hustle of creating educational resources for other Spanish teachers to her full-time job. Srta Spanish looks to provide Spanish teachers with resources to amplify their classes through reading, games, lesson plans, and more.
- Chapters -

00:00:00 Introduction and Background

00:02:23 Long Lines of Educators
00:04:30 Impact of Great Teachers

00:06:20 Professional Learning Communities

00:08:49 Budgeting in Your Side Hustle

00:12:34 Side Hustle to Full-Time Hustle

00:15:18 Data Tools for SEO

00:18:15 Learning other Languages

00:22:07 Bumping Elbows with Elites

00:27:03 Balancing Business at Home

00:28:59 Outsourcing for Optimization

00:32:24 Closing

Entrepreneurs Roundtable: Marketing for Small Businesses Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

This episode kicks off a three-part series where we take a deep dive into a topic alongside seasoned professionals. In this episode, we’re focusing on marketing strategies for small businesses. We are joined by Jon Katinsky, the President of Hothouse, a branding and design house, as well as Javier Santana, the Chief Experience Officer of Chemistry Agency. We discuss social media marketing, influencer marketing, and emerging marketing trends. - Chapters -

00:00:00 Introduction and Background

00:07:44 The Attention Economy

00:09:02 Unify Your Marketing Voice

00:13:44 Balance Between Branding and Performance

00:20:08 Competitive Audits and Analysis

00:25:39 The Affect of Influencer Marketing

00:34:28 Enhancing Customer Experience

00:36:07 Marketing Mistakes

00:39:39 QA & QC for Marketing Process

00:42:46 Emerging Strategies

00:45:38 Closing

From bartender to multi-million dollar restaurateur Jan 08, 2025

Show notes

Brian Parenteau never wanted to work weekends. However, when he found himself bartending at a local restaurant, he quickly fell in love with the industry. As he rose the ranks within the restaurant space and found himself helping organizations open new restaurants, he realized he could do it on his own. Fast-forward to today, Brian is the owner of four restaurants and bars in Florida, with hopes of expanding into other states. - Chapters-

00:00:00 Introduction and Background

00:05:13 Humbling Roots

00:07:55 Buying VS Starting Businesses

00:10:04 First Year Losses

00:12:42 Pandemic Pivots

00:16:14 Elevated And Edgier Concepts

00:18:36 Bartender to Entrepreneur

00:23:34 Sam Malone at Cheers

00:26:42 Living Humble

00:29:07 The Best Apps

00:30:29 Closing

RERUN - How D.R. Fay found entrepreneurial success later in life Jan 01, 2025

Show notes

D.R. Fay is the Founder of Mouthy Broad Media, a podcast production company that specializes in editing, graphic design and strategy. Beginning her career as a musician, D.R. travelled Asia for close to a decade before coming home to the States and transitioning into corporate roles. When she was 62, while those around her were retiring, D.R. ventured into entrepreneurship and hasn’t looked back.

- Chapters -

00:00 - Introduction

06:59 - First entrepreneurial venture later in life

09:37 - Overcoming nerves

11:29 - Managing stress & health problems

21:00 - Advice for other entrepreneurs

23:21 - Closing and contact

RERUN - How to turn past experiences into entrepreneurial success Dec 25, 2024

Show notes

Matt Gluckman has worn many hats. From working at a produce stand to running a real estate company, Matt has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Now, Matt owns Think Fitness Life, a remote personal training company, with his business partner Eric. From his past job experiences, Matt has mastered the skills of communication and thrives on helping individuals become their best selves through personal training.

- Chapters -

00:00 - Introduction

04:49 - Matt's work history and transferable skills

11:14 - Overcoming nerves

12:47 - Having a business partner in a different state

15:32 - Balancing stress

17:33 - Setting boundaries

22:37 - What Matt would have done differently

26:02 - Advice to other entrepreneurs

26:35 - Closing and contact information

How writing recharged Aaron Ryan’s creative spirit Dec 18, 2024

Show notes

Aaron Ryan loves all things creative, but has found that writing has been his number one source of inspiration and drive. He is the author of The Dissonance series, a science fiction series based on the idea of aliens visiting earth. Since having started writing a year ago, Aaron has already penned six books in the series. Writing has not only become his creative passion but also the driving force that propels him forward in his life and career. - Chapters -

00:00:00 Introduction and Background

00:03:35 What’s A Kool Aid Stand?

00:05:57 The 80’s Comic Books

00:11:29 Writing A Book Every Sixty Days

00:15:24 Dissonance: The Lack Of Harmony

00:17:19 Do You Believe?

00:21:48 Pear-Shaped Men

00:25:36 Entrepreneurial Blurred Lines

00:27:02 Listening To The Voice Within

00:30:15 Endorsement Does Not Equal Trajectory

00:33:10 Closing Remarks

Growing a partnership in life and entrepreneurship Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Kate Wallace and Blake Chasen first met while working at the same startup. Through their work together, not only did they come to realize that they have great synergy in the office, but also personally as well. With a background in writing, Blake found his niche in custom storytelling online during the pandemic. Now, the couple owns Avenue Stories, an AI-powered storytelling app for children that allows you to custom build characters and stories. - Chapters -

00:00:00 Introduction and Background

00:02:24 Side Hustle, Small Business, Marriage

00:05:41 Peddling Up The Ladder

00:09:57 Excitement Outweighing Risk

00:10:50 Burning Out And Growing Up

00:14:38 NFTs Are A NO

00:16:51 Shifting The Infield

00:20:43 Failure Will Fix It

00:24:39 Fundraising Frenzy

00:30:52 Opportunity In AI

00:34:08 Closing

How Winnifred Tataw went from author to publisher Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Winnifred Tataw has been writing for as long as she can remember, and has been a professional author for eight years. During the pandemic, Winnifred was looking for ways to better support the indie publishing industry. It was then that she decided to launch Win’s Books Publishing, which officially opened in April of 2024. Now, Winnifred and her team support a handful of authors through their publishing process.

How a Christmas gift turned into a six-figure business Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Dawn Kennedy is an attorney, author, and podcaster. In 2020, her husband Mike received a roaster and some coffee beans for Christmas. After tasting his coffee, Dawn bet him he could sell it online. Not expecting much, they made a Facebook post and ended up selling eleven bags. From there, Convoy Road Coffee Roasters was born. Fast-forward to this year, Dawn and Mike have five employees and bring in six-figures of revenues annually. - Chapters -

00:00:00 Introduction and Background

00:02:23 Coffee: The Cottage Food

00:04:40 Bottlenecks of Business

00:08:18 Transitioning from Side Hustle

00:10:10 Illicit Deals

00:12:27 Growing Organically

00:15:33 Certified Coffee Cuppers

00:19:29 Working hard or hardly working?

00:21:10 Origin of the Month

00:23:10 Overcoming Fear, Moving Forward

00:25:10 “Well, that’s cute.”

00:26:58 The ROASTMASTER