Side Hustle Pro

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...

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 i...

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, a...

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...

Lately I’ve been reminiscing on the days when I was a certified side hustler. When I was working full time and working on Side Hustle Pro on nights and weekends, I lived a completely different life from the one I live now as a full-time entrepreneur (plus a full-time entrepreneur with a baby).  Being a new mom has reminded me of the side hustle mindset and all the principles that led me to be in a...

I’m coming to you live with another solo episode, and the topic of discussion: transitioning into motherhood and getting back into the entrepreneurship life.  I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes look into how I’m flowing in this new uncharted territory for my life and my career. I went from being an entrepreneur with no kids to a momtrepreneur with new expectations, some of which I've had to shift...

Guys, I’m back! And if you’re asking yourself, ‘Back? Where did she go?’ then this is the episode for you to listen to.  I’m fresh off maternity leave.  My husband and I had our first child, a beautiful baby boy back in April, and despite all that’s going on, I couldn’t be happier and more grateful for how things turned out. When we found out we were pregnant, we could have never imagined that we...

Melissa Mitchell is changing the way we view art. She’s an “accidental” artist with a love for vibrant colors, unique shapes, and bold dark lines. In 2014 when the infamous snow storm hit Atlanta, Melissa took to old arts and crafts and began to create. From there, she went on social media to showcase what she was doing, and to her surprise, people expressed their interest in her pieces of art. Th...

An entrepreneur knows what it is to have a heart of a servant. Holli Draines had a desire to protect the vulnerable, which led to her career in law enforcement with 13 years as a secret service agent. For her, entrepreneurship came as a “blessing in disguise,” one she didn’t know she needed. In 2014, Holli lost her mother and sister, which led to a shift, not only in her personal life, but her pro...

“There’s so much more to being a boss than what’s on Instagram,” and Mielle Organics CEO Monique Rodriguez knows that all too well. Monique founded the company in 2014 after her healthy, hair care regimen for her tailbone-length hair became somewhat of a craze among her social media followers.  From living out her mother’s dream of being a nurse to pushing her own aspirations to the side, Monique...

Jessica O. Matthews has covered every part of the side hustle sphere. She is the Founder & CEO of Uncharted Power, an award-winning, full-service power and data infrastructure company. At the age of 19, Jessica invented the SOCCKET ball, an energy generating soccer ball that provides off-grid power for the developing world. At the age of 22, she founded Uncharted Power (previously Uncharted Play),...

Questions, questions, questions! I know you’re probably wondering, ‘Should I start a podcast? Should I turn my blog into a podcast? Should I start a podcast to support my business or personal brand?’ Well, I’m here to answer all those questions and more, today! I’ll dig into how to actually make money from your podcast and how to make an informed decision about the idea you might have. Trust me, I...

Some of you might not know that I was an MBA intern for a summer at Google when I was working towards my business degree at the University of Michigan. And usually, the summer before your second year in business school is when most people receive job offers from their temporary employer to come back after graduation and work full-time. But, plot twist, I didn’t receive an offer. That rejection, ev...

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my entrepreneurship journey, it’s that “no one is going to ride harder for you than you will for yourself.” That’s a fact. In this episode, I’m giving you the real on Side Hustle Pro becoming an LLC after months of side hustling and landing my first podcast sponsor. We’ll also take an inside look into my business process for goal setting and accomplishing tasks...

It’s May! And that means it’s time for a rewind. Every week this month, I’m resharing an episode that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how I turned my side hustle into my main hustle. In this first episode, I talk about how when I started my side hustle, I didn’t read business plan books or follow a business plan template. I just started. Shocking, I know! I share the six steps you can take,...

Imagine being neighbors with the same person in multiple cities for the majority of your life. Well, that’s the story of the women behind Neighborly Paper—Robin Beck and Carmelle Kendall. Neighborly Paper is a paper goods brand dedicated to, in the founders’ own words, serving all the realness for all the occasions. Carmelle is an art director, illustrator, and filmmaker. She now resides in Atlant...

Today in the Side Hustle Pro guest chair, we welcome Monique Greenwood, owner and CEO (Chief Enjoyment Officer) of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns, a collection of upscale B&Bs in Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; Cape May, NJ; Philadelphia, PA and a boutique resort in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.  After graduating from Howard University, Greenwood became a fashion journalist, eventually becoming an...

Today in the Side Hustle Pro guest chair is Dionna M. Dorsey, a gifted designer and brand development strategist and the creator of apparel line DISTRICT of CLOTHING.  After graduating from Villanova University in 2002, Dionna moved to Italy to study fashion design and pursue a job in the fashion industry.  She ended up relocating to New York City and designed outerwear for Oscar de la Renta and m...

Today in the Side Hustle Pro guest chair we welcome Lorraine West, the Founder of Lorraine West Jewelry. Lorraine developed an affinity for creating and donning unique jewelry at a young age and says she’s been an artist since she was in the 1st grade. Her mother's love for ornate pieces was the inspiration for her to delve into jewelry design while studying Illustration at the Fashion Institute o...

Today in the Side Hustle Pro guest chair, we welcome Petrushka Bazin Larsen, the Co-Founder of Sugar Hill Creamery in Harlem, NY. Sugar Hill Creamery is Harlem's only family-owned neighborhood ice cream shop.  Petrushka’s Co-Founder is her husband, Nicholas, and prior to opening the shop, she worked as Vice President for Programs & Education at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and Program Director a...

Today in the guest chair we welcome Kesha Watkins, a true side hustler! Although she has a successful 13-year career in the Human Resource profession, she is also passionate about entrepreneurship and being her own boss. Her latest venture, BPolished Beauty Supply offers an array of hair care needs and provides an unparalleled level of beauty experience to customers in Arlington, TX and online. Ke...

Today in the guest chair we welcome Kyara Uqdah, the Co-Founder of Charm City Buyers. Her Co-Founder is also her husband, Khalil Uqdah and they started investing in real estate only one year after graduating college.   They had an idea that they wanted to build their own empire, so they developed a plan to do it! They’ve gone from that first investment in a property in a depressed neighborhood in ...

Today in the guest chair we welcome Brittani Allen, a Professional Home Organizer, and CEO and Founder of Pinch of Help-Home Organization based in Atlanta, Georgia.  I came across Brittani’s business on Instagram and was instantly hooked! She is passionate about creating environments her clients love living in, with her expert ability to match functional organization with aesthetically pleasing so...

Today in the guest chair we welcome Mattie James, a full-time content creator and the influencer behind MattieJames.com.  After being crowned Miss Liberia USA in 2009, Mattie started her blog as a hobby, but it was consistency and a great first hire that helped her grow her blog into the business it is today. She now creates lifestyle content for her blog, podcast and YouTube channel while working...

Today in the guest chair we welcome Tammeca Rochester, the owner and founder of Harlem Cycle, Harlem's 1st and only indoor cycling studio.  Tammeca's journey to opening an indoor cycling studio in Harlem started when she was looking to find a workout that would both get her back in shape while putting her in a positive frame of mind. After exploring the various workout options, she found herself d...