In my Money Makers interview series, I interview notable professionals and entrepreneurs. Generally, my interviewees have created a successful business or are leaders in their field. In this article I interviewed Lauren, a business development manager and founder of Side Hustle Approved. He has a lot to share about life, careers, and building successful side hustles. Without further ado, let’s get into the interview!
For my readers who may not be familiar with you, would you please introduce yourself? Who are you? What do you do?
Hey this is Side Hustle Approved, better known as Lauren. I am a Business Development Manager in the B&I sector of hospitality by trade and build new side hustles online as a marketer.
Is there anything you want people to know about what you do for a living? For example, is there a common misunderstanding you’d like to share?
Most people I have spoken to were beyond surprised to hear I don’t market online full time, but still make money consistently each day. Contrary to popular belief you can increase your income and still genuinely enjoy your work – as I do. But only if it is a means to an end.
Working with all sorts of people in the hospitality sector for 10 years, I’ve learnt a lot about providing the highest level service to clients paying for the big ticket prices. We all know that kid in school who used to sell multi drinks or Pokemon cards at the back of the school – I’m sure you’ll remember one – that was me, even at a young age I was hustling. My parents are honest working people but struggled financially regularly, but instilled into me education and strong work ethic.
How did you get your start? Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
Seeing my parents sacrifice their time and money has always been a personal driving force for me to create multiple income streams to build my future family’s circle of wealth. Not to spoil or indulge but to know I can choose.
I started through my love of writing – More specifically writing blog reviews. The main focus was to test different ways to make extra income, from gigs to surveys. Let me say there are thousands of ways to do it, everything is at a cost. Either exchanging time for money or worst yet both. I used my blog to work out backlinks, email lists and marketing campaigns and built up a useful network of marketers I could learn from 5 to 9.
At the start of the pandemic I was furloughed and decided this is the moment to start building a personal brand business. I knew there were tens of thousands in the same position or worse with no emergency fund behind them. The next step was to find a platform to connect with a global audience and help more people find their inner entrepreneur.
This is where the brand name Side Hustle Approved on Twitter derives from.
My methodology is the same for every person I meet, do business or network – Observe. Listen. Analyse. Share.
Honestly, the only difference I would have made was to begin earlier. I have always loved side hustles and sell pretty much 9 hours a day, so there was little reason not to. 2020 really taught me patience with goals, but necessary action on my systems.
Is there anyone who has really inspired you – authors, coworkers, or managers?
My biggest inspiration – may sound cliché but who cares. It’s my mom, she sacrificed the most of all the family, never complaining about working two jobs and studying to get her HND and being a mother. Her perseverance still to this day and for more long years to come will be a personal motivator for me. I hustle to show gratitude and testament to that life-changing trait.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced so far, particularly with your businesses?
Unfortunately, I found the most challenging part of the business process was the lack of people with digital vision. This was something I wasn’t expecting finding my niche and growing a strong network.
I found that people invest into the blueprint, but expect magical results overnight without personal contribution. It was very frustrating at the time, though the workaround was simple once I made more time. 7 Step Guide to Building Ingenuity let people know how and where to get started with marketing and make their first commission sale.
What has been your favorite thing about being an entrepreneur and writer?
Easily, the satisfaction of creating a personal brand and sharing it to help others find their own voices. The best part of the process is constantly improving my own approach. From writing emails and creating unique designs to analysing the data.
For anyone reading, an online business takes commitment, discipline and above all patience.
At the end of the day, what is the main thing you hope you achieve?
If I can help someone find a different way of thinking about making money and be more financially savvy each night then I’m satisfied. Now I am letting the pathways unfold with marketing as all my side income is reinvested into the stock market for the ultimate wealth builder.
The stock market has created an enormous amount of wealth over the years. On average, the S&P 500 which includes 500 of the largest U.S. publicly traded companies, has returned 8% to 12% annually. Only $10,000 invested in the stock market 50 years ago would have grown to more than $380,000 today. I can’t stress this enough, extra money isn’t for irresponsible spending. Invest it long term!
What’s the best piece of advice you received growing up? How did it shape you into the person you are today?
A mentor I had back in university once told me “a poor man blames his tools”. This stuck with me for years. Creating something memorable and impactful comes from my drive to reach full potential, but if the systems aren’t working then that’s down to me.
I know now that learning how to make things work on the backend is even more important than the front, since this is buying financial freedom forever.
Everyone views success differently, what personal metric do you use to define your own success?
I measure my success by the amount of time I spend with my family, it is important to grow a business as early as possible. I think of those sleepless nights years ago when I would work 12 hours, barely sleep, and stress about the future.
My personal metric is my time returned and mental health protection. Nothing complex.
People tend to struggle with finding a good work-life balance, especially these days. How do you manage? In other words, what’s an average weekday like for you?
With a 9-5, time management is very important to my routine. I wake in the early morning every day, replying back to all queries from the night before, as I never like to leave anyone in limbo. Engagement is a high priority for me, building new networks demands different timezone connection. Weekends are typically the best time to plan for the week ahead for me, I write 7-10 emails, review service updates, and write content for my Twitter account.
What’s something you’re interested in – outside of work?
I am an avid believer in fitness and balance to maintain well-being as unfortunately, I’ve known friends and family members suffer from this for years. Building a business takes hard work, but also enjoyment to be experimental with certain aspects, so having downtime to read fiction novels is also a great hobby of mine.
If you had to give advice to someone who has just joined the job market, what would it be?
One piece of advice I would always say to anyone joining a company is to put your effort into every opportunity to learn new skills – especially in sales. Everything we do in life involves selling a product, a service or even ourselves to a degree.
Sales skills i.e. effective communication cannot be understated, to connect with people on a global scale is your pathway to growing true wealth. Starting a side hustle and finding your brand online has never been so easy. I would highly recommend starting a Twitter account and save time guessing the process with Side Brand Approved for anyone who is interested in gaining a sustainable online presence.
If you can make $1 online the methodology to make $10,000 is no different, it requires consistent upskill and self development.
Challenges will arise – as they naturally do. But remember to build something special you need to love what you do and disconnect from the external validation from family members, friends, and anyone who doesn’t support your financial dreams. Only then will you see the desired results.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed learning about Lauren and his take on life and balancing a side hustle with a career as much as I did! If you like what he had to say and want to see more, be sure to check him out on Twitter, @ApprovedSide . If you want to start making money through affiliate marketing, be sure to check out his 7 Step Guide to Building Ingenuity . For more on building a brand, Side Brand Approved will prove worthwhile. As always, if you have any thoughts you’d like to contribute, add a comment!
