Side Hustler's Perspective with Scotty.D.Russell

Steve & Danielle Wolf with Tips on Design, Freelancing, & Productivity Do you show up each day winging it and doing what feels good, or do you have a plan of attack and a system you thrive in? Sure, some people can just show up and figure it out, but what if there’s room to optimize your workflow while still acting in the muse ? It tends to be a little bit easier for people who do their things ful...

Molly Jacques on Freelancing, Passive Income, & Marketing for Creatives Where are you right now? Not your physical location, but the current state of your side hustle during this season?...and by season, I don’t mean fall (if you’re in the U.S.). Just like books have chapters, our lives have seasons. I’m currently in a season where I’m making a huge transition in my business. I’m fully embracing m...

Side Hustle Special | Live From Creative Works with Rogie & LittlePatterns I have a special episode for you today for those of you who couldn’t attend Creative Works Conference in Memphis, TN. Maggie Enterrios of Littlepatterns and Rogie King of Super Team Deluxe and Dribbble joined me on the stage for an hour-long discussion that no doubt melted the faces of all 400 creatives in the audience. We...

Side Hustler’s Series Part 4 of 4: 6 Ways to Carve Out Time to Grind & Execute Outside Your Day Job A PROVEN SYSTEM FOR KNOCKING SHIT OUT EACH DAY Hands down, the #1 thing creatives like you tell me you struggle with the most? Finding time to grind on your side hustle. I’m hella qualified to talk on this topic because I’ve gotten pretty damn good at: carving out pockets of time in my day to kn...

Side Hustler's Series Part 3 of 4: 5 Killer Tips for Managing Your Side Hustle to Maximize Results Back in May, I had the chance to jump on an episode of The Happy Ever Crafter TV with the calligraphy queen, Becca Courtice. I came prepared with some notes to help her niche calligraphy and lettering audience to get the most out of their side hustles. What kind of a jerk would I be if I didn't go mo...

Side Hustler's Series Part 2 of 4: 9 Benefits of Side Hustling The Dream You've Been Sold Most likely, you’re a listener/reader for two reasons: You’re ready to transform your hobbies into a side hustle You’re ready to take your current side hustle to the next level If so, you've tuned into the right place. I focus on the side hustle part because hustlin' is a habit, and it's all I know. Not every...

Side Hustler's Series Part 1 of 4: 3 Levels to Find Your Wolf Pack Humble Side Hustle Beginnings “Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.” — Ziad K. Abdelnour I've been side hustling for a hot minute now. One of my bigger side hustles was right out of college when a buddy and I started a clothing brand called Daydreamin' Clothing In...

Josh Horton on Creative Works & the Power of Community I want to start this one off with a quote from Jim Rhone: “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Trying to make it big by doing it on your own is hard. It’s easy to burn out and feel like you don’t have anyone in your corner during hard times. I tried doing it solo and shouldering the load by myself. It led t...

Ruben Rojas on Murals, Creating for Impact, & Avoiding Mediocrity Our lives are like a book. It’s a story comprised of chapters strung together which reach a conclusion. Thankfully, we’re the authors of our own story. We call the shots on how the next chapter will be written and how our story will end. When a chapter doesn’t fit the bigger picture that you see for yourself, you have the abilit...

Celebrate All Life's W's, Whether Big or Small Imagine you just watched your favorite sports team win a championship or witnessed a Golden Buzzer performance of a lifetime on The Voice. Wouldn't it be weird as hell if they didn't celebrate that accomplishment? Now, think of this on a smaller scale—like getting a small $.50 raise or landing your first online sale. Isn't that something worth recogni...

The Blessing & Curse of the Mountain Climbing "What's Next" Mentality Back in episode 56 , my brother Tony Diaz of Industry Print Shop shared his inspiring story of how he went from being a punk rocker in a band on the Warped Tour to starting one of the most successful print shops in the U.S. He talked about his mentality of "climbing mountains." Whenever he accomplished hi...

Lauren Dickens on Blazing Your Own Successful Path & Fighting Burnout Two things we all deal with as we relentlessly pursue "success" in our creative grinds? The comparison trap and burnout. Often, one fuels the other and vice versa. You compare your work and consistency to those who seem to be doing more, and it's all-too-easy to burn yourself out. Or you get burnt out because you'r...

Pretty Useful Co. on Taking Action & Protecting Your Time I've learned that people trying to work a side hustle struggle with two things: getting started and valuing their time. Getting started can be paralyzing. If you don't have a plan, strategy, or ability to show up regardless of what people will think, it’s practically impossible to take action. When you don't value your time, it's hard t...

Grits on Side Hustling, Finding Your Niche, & Staying in Your Lane Have you ever had someone in passing conversation ask you, "Are ya workin' hard or hardly workin'?" I used to get this from some of the older folks who would come through my cash register when I worked for a Midwest Grocery Chain called Hy-Vee. Of course, my answer was always, "Hardly workin'." When I think...

Run Your Own Race & Avoid the Comparison Trap “Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” – Jon Acuff from his book Start . I often allowed comparison to paralyze me from becoming the person I’m supposed to become. Much of that comparison stems from the social world of the internet. I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I feel fortunate enough to know how life worked...

Brooke Robinson of Goodtype on Connecting with Yourself to Find Your Art "Some things are better off not being spread too thin: you and peanut butter." I couldn't find the owner of this quote, but it definitely hit home as someone who loves peanut butter and piles too many things on my plate. We love to be busy—at least I do. Often, when we're busy, we focus on the wrong things and tend...

Musketon on Passion Projects, Pushing Your Limits, & Adobe Illustrator Often, as creatives, we take things too seriously and forget why we got started doing this in the first place. We get obsessed with social vanity metrics to fuel our worth. Our happiness is often gauged by analytics and performance. At the end of the day, we can’t lose sight of how much fun it is doing work that lights us u...

The Motto: You Got This If you happen to stick around to the end of each episode, you know I sign off with "Keep showing up, keep putting in the work, and keep creating—you got this." This phrase originated from having internal dialogues in my head—and I promise you I'm not crazy. It's no secret that I'm a big believer in affirmations and positive self-talk. The inner critic in me is ali...

Your Permission Slip to Be Weird I grew up under the impression that being weird was a bad thing. Being weird got you picked on and bullied. Being normal is what helped you fit in. I was definitely a weirdo growing up. Getting severely bullied made it hard for me to express myself as I got older. Popularity and acceptance are what I craved, so I did everything in my power to "blend in" w...

Becca Clason on Dealing with Negative Criticism in a Positive Way Life is full of ups and downs, but you can’t appreciate the highs if you haven’t dealt with the lows. We all deal with adversity, but how you respond to it is a true test of your character. Today, we have someone who responds to adversity with class and finds a spin on her adversity to give some value to her community. I’m talking a...

Today's episode is an in-depth resource to help lettering artists grow an Instagram audience and potentially land client work. Don’t worry if you’re not a lettering artist, there is so much value in here that no matter what medium or style you create in, this can help you grow an audience and elevate your craft. Instagram Lettering Tips The following are the 6 tips I cover in the blog post / episo...

Ben Johnston on Murals 101 & Creating Good Work That Makes an Impact Have you ever had one of those jaw-dropping moments mid-scroll on social media because someone’s work was so incredible and unique? Those are the people to watch closely. They are the ones who are raising the bar and pushing everyone industry to up their game. I originally picked my jaw up off the floor a few years back when...

Chasing What You Want & Growing an Online Empire with Elizabeth Gray If your social media game is boring, and your audience growth and engagement is basically non-existent...then we have on the perfect guest for you. We have the insanely talented, introverted, cat-and-coffee loving lettering queen Elizabeth Gray of @TheGrayterGood on the show today to share her story. She’ll also blow your min...

Mye De Leon on Knowing Who Your Audience is & How to Serve Them I respect those who use adversity to fuel their relentless grind. I respect hustlers—but I’m even more captivated by those who work smarter , not harder . I respect those who put family and serving others above all else because they understand breakthroughs, money, and opportunities will eventually come their way. Someone who I re...

Jon Contino on How to Produce Good Work by Being Yourself When you’re on your creative grind, it’s important to get your hands dirty, make mistakes, and get lost in your work. This helps you develop your style, find your voice, and carve your niche. That, in turn, attracts commissions and people to your artistic mission and vision. Jon Contino is someone who’s been doing cool shit before it was co...