Bernadette Joy made $279,000 (about Rs 2.3 crore) in 2023, or about Rs 2 lakh per month on average, thanks to a money-coaching business called Crush Your Money Goals that had actually started as a podcast about how she and her husband were paying off more than $300,000 (about Rs 2.5 crore) in debt. Now, Joy -- who earns from coaching, freelancing, and booking speaking events -- told CNBC Make It that she works 20 hours per week.
Speaking to the publication about her number one tip for those interested in starting a side hustle, Joy suggested focusing on monetising something that comes naturally to you.
The money coach's philosophy is similar to that of Shark Tank judge and billionaire Mark Cuban’s go-to career advice.
“The things I ended up being really good at were the things I found myself putting effort into,” said Cuban. “When you look at where you put in your time, where you put in your effort, that tends to be the things that you are good at.”
Complications of scaling a business didn’t feel natural
In conversation with CNBC Make It, Joy revealed that trying to earn doing what came naturally to her was a hard-earned lesson she had learned in 2019 when she had to shut down her successful business, Dressed, which started as a side hustle connecting people who owned bridesmaid dresses with people who wanted to rent them.
It helped her pay off her student loans, quit her full-time job, open a storefront, and even hire employees. But the more successful Dressed became, the more time-intensive and less fulfilling it got, Joy told the publication. In 2019, she closed up shop. She’d also gotten a taste of being her own boss, and she didn’t want to go back to triggering an “existential midlife crisis,” she said.
But soon, Joy attended a personal finance conference which opened up new avenues for her. After listening to the speakers, she knew she wanted to help others feel more confident about their finances even if she didn’t quite know how yet.
“I spent [three months] wrapped up in my blanket on my couch thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ because I didn’t have a business anymore,” Joy said.
On that couch, she learned a lesson, which she says is now her number one tip for starting a side hustle: Try to monetise what comes naturally to you, instead of selling something just because you can.
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