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Today we're diving into a topic that's been changing lives everywhere, side hustles.

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Have you ever wondered why so many people are starting one?

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Or how that little side project could transform your finances, your mindset, and even your

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career?

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Whether you're feeling stuck, striving for financial freedom, or just looking for a way

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to turn your passion into purpose, this episode is for you.

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While starting my new podcast adventure is something I considered for about a year or

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two, I was just overwhelmed with questions.

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Where do I even start?

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What if I fail?

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But let me tell you, the rewards have been worth it, and I'm here to help you navigate

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your own journey.

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We'll explore the most common reasons people take the leap into side hustles, from financial

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security to personal fulfillment.

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But more importantly, we'll discuss how a side hustle can be a game changer for your

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life.

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Boosting your confidence, teaching you new skills, and opening doors you didn't even

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know existed.

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So grab your coffee or your tea, take a deep breath, and let's talk about how to transform

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that what if into what's next.

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By the end of this episode, you'll have the tools and inspiration you need to take the

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first step toward building a side hustle that could change your life.

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Thank you for joining me for another episode of LifeSnacks Lesson Plan.

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I'm Rachel and I started this podcast during my 29th and last year as a high school teacher.

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Goal of my work with LifeSnacks Lesson Plan as well as my Live and Learn Patreon is to

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create a connection where we are all teachers.

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We all have lessons and stories to share that can help others.

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I'm so fortunate to be able to extend the four walls of my previous classroom to an

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unlimited audience where we can all learn from each other.

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And my guests are some of the most inspirational people with the best stories and lessons I

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know, which is why I want to share them with you.

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Their words are something everyone should hear.

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It is my hope that you are able to take away something from each episode to apply to your

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own life, whether that be a career search, path to a more fulfilling life, or new ideas

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on current topics.

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Before we launch into the steps in starting a side hustle, let's just talk about all

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the rage, some of the benefits, why so many people are doing this.

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So obviously the first one, probably for a lot of people, is financial.

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Other side hustle could provide extra income for savings or debt repayment or investment

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or paying for extra bills or a vacation fund or something like that.

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Sometimes, however, it's not really about the financial side of things.

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It's more just about having a creative outlet.

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Someone I talked to recently said, I wish I had a hobby, something that I really enjoyed

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that kind of gave me more purpose.

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And this could be exactly that, just a creative outlet, an opportunity to explore something

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that you love outside your day job or just something to occupy any extra time you might

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have, maybe post career or something.

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Also it could fulfill perhaps a long term goal that you have.

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Maybe if you start small, you could build your side hustle into something that could

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eventually become a full time gig or a supplemental part time income as you pull away from a full

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time job.

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Also starting a side hustle could potentially create new networking opportunities that maybe

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wouldn't have otherwise existed.

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So the side hustle can bring you into contact with new people or reignite past relationships

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that you had.

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I know this has been one of the most positive parts of starting this podcast journey is

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just reconnecting with people I used to teach with, people I've met in the journalism community,

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students who are now grown professionals and teaching me things.

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It's just been probably my favorite part is just expanding those relationships and reconnecting

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some professional and personal connections in my life that were meaningful to me.

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It could be another way to explore different career paths.

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It's low risk.

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If it's something that's just on the side of a full time job or something, it can be

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a way to dip your toes into a new path that you've always been interested in and still

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have the stability of your main job.

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And lastly, you are definitely going to diversify your skill set.

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Side hustles kind of push you to learn new things and build new competencies, especially

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if you have a sister who's in marketing who is definitely your biggest cheerleader, but

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also really good at pushing you out of your comfort zone and seeing the next steps that

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you should take before you're ready to take them, which can all be obviously positive,

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if you are newer to something and you learn the basics just to get it started.

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There are so many resources online to help you sort of fine tune and grow in whatever

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area you want to explore.

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So now that we've kind of talked about the benefits or why I should say people might

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want to start a side hustle, let's talk about what it would take kind of the steps to getting

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started.

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So first you have to kind of think about your skills.

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Do you want to utilize your writing skills?

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Have you always loved graphic design?

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Do you love to teach but want to do it in a different platform?

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Do you love coding?

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Maybe you're really great at organizing events or you're good at baking or meal planning.

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Your skills are your biggest asset.

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I know what I kept hearing over and over when I was contemplating starting a side hustle

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was what's something people always ask you about or need your help with or they come

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to you for.

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I haven't exactly been following that path necessarily.

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Obviously, I'm able to teach a little bit but I'd like to actually expand that side

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of it but think of just what people kind of go to you for, what you're known for, what

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you're comfortable giving advice about.

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And then I would say more so I kind of did the second thing which is identify a passion.

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I as part of my very long commutes I've had, I definitely have fallen in love with podcasts

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of all different kinds.

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I love listening to them.

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It's a way to learn in my car.

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It's a way to, depending on my mood, I can laugh one day.

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I can learn about other careers.

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It's just something that's really entertaining but also educational for me.

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The best side hustles align with kind of what makes you happy.

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For me, as I mentioned already, I have so enjoyed extending the walls of my classroom

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and reconnecting with people I used to spend time with who now I can share with whoever

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listens will say the world but whatever audience is tuning in.

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I just, you don't have to be in the tabloids or on TMZ to have an important story to tell

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and truthfully, if I'm being honest, I would argue it's kind of the opposite that people

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who you can more relate to who are in the trenches of everyday life with you and have

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really inspiring stories either for you to listen to or you can pass on to your children

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or a friend you think might benefit from the story.

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I think for me, that has been the most fulfilling part of this journey for me.

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Then lastly, you can think about gaps in the market.

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What problem can you solve for others?

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People are going to pay nowadays especially for convenience, expertise or solutions.

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I know the buzzword is always what value can you provide to others to make their life more

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life easier or even just entertain them.

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I lately have been foregoing music both in my car and while working out and listening

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to what I would call keep you company content, just sort of light hearted podcasts or even

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I've been turning on stand up comedy because we're in the dead of winter and I think everybody

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can use a little light and laughter.

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I've been doing that recently when I used to kind of use music for that.

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If you're unsure in this area, you can do a little bit of homework, kind of see what

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other people are doing, go to Etsy which I love Etsy.

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Obviously it's just started my own shop kind of bare bones or YouTube.

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My sister introduced me to YouTube before I was ready but holy cow, if you need a resource,

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it is there on YouTube.

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For me, I started in YouTube just to draw more eyes to the podcast but in the future

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I can see how it could be a way again to extend the walls of my classroom.

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For you, it could be whatever skill people are coming to you for this is definitely a

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huge platform where you can share your expertise.

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Once you've kind of identified maybe an area or two that you might want to explore for

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your side hustle, you have to kind of do some planning before you can execute.

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That's all the questions that I had before starting a podcast.

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Where do I even start?

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First I think is just getting clear on your goals and just being realistic and asking

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yourself what do I want to achieve?

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This can change of course but for the first month or for the first six months, what do

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I want to achieve?

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Is it really imperative that in that first month I bring in extra income or do I just

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want to see if I enjoy it, see if this is the right creative path for me?

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Is this going to be a way to grow my career?

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What do I want from it when I start?

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My biggest fault is always I try to see 10 years down the road and I actually think that

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something that held me back in the beginning was like, I don't know what this would be

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in 10 years if I'm even still podcasting in 10 years.

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How about we just focus on getting it started, have a few guests, see if you like it, see

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how much time is involved and then go from there.

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I think just start small and be realistic and that can change and evolve as you get

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going and that's okay.

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Big thing too is budgeting your time.

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Figure out how many hours you can realistically dedicate each week without burning out.

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When I started podcasting, for example, I did one episode a week and then I started some

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extra Patreon episodes and at the start I was really nervous about how much time the

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editing was going to take.

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That was my biggest fear.

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As I realized that it was not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be, I was like,

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okay, I'm not at a lack for ideas or guests and the editing is just getting faster and

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faster for me.

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So I think I can add an extra episode.

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My goal was to have two to three episodes a week.

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Once I was comfortable and in the groove, two months into the journey, then I altered

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that.

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Then treat it for sure at the beginning like an appointment with yourself that you can't

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cancel because consistency is a huge thing, but also be realistic.

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I mean, I'm driving and commuting two hours a day and still teaching full time.

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So there's only so much that I can do and I have to give myself grace with that if I

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still want to have a life.

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So with that, kind of start simple and start lean.

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So I was speaking with a friend of mine who has an amazing business and wanted to start

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a podcast and she invested in all this amazing equipment and hasn't started yet.

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And I told her with great editing software, I'm right now just using a computer.

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In fact, I think without the fancy microphone that I had bought, the editing software that

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I use is pretty darn good.

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I don't know.

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You guys can tell me otherwise, but just start simple.

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What are the basic things that I need to get started because you don't even know if you're

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going to like it.

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And then as you get further in your journey and you say, okay, I'm going to continue this,

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but here's some things that would up the game for me, then down the road, maybe think about

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that, but you have to get started first.

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So take advantage of free resources that are out there.

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Canva, huge one.

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If you're an educator, you can apply for an educator account.

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Just got my approval for that yesterday.

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My sister set me up with Squarespace for websites, which you can create email campaigns through,

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you can invoice people through there, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, all of these free areas

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that you can utilize to start simple, but just start.

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And then what I'd like to get into a little bit more specifically today, and I can always

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sort of branch out and do separate episodes on some of these topics too, but just building

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a brand.

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And again, keeping it simple, I took a course to start my podcast, which was a simple online

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course called the podcast lab by Jenna Kutcher.

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Highly recommend.

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I wasn't even through the course yet and I had already started my podcast just very hands

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on practical, simple things.

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But she helped me kind of create my tagline, my cover for my podcast, a little bit of branding

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for social media.

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And then again, with some help behind the scenes that branched into my website as well.

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So I'd like to take a little break right now.

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And then when we come back, I think I'll dig in a little bit more deeply on a few action

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steps for building a brand that can make you stand out.

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Because I know this was an area I definitely needed assistance with.

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To those of you who have followed me for a while, you know that I value mental and physical

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wellness.

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Personally, I've worked with a few different coaches over the years and even been one myself.

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If you are looking for education and support in your own wellness journey, I would love

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to invite you to the wellness community I am currently in that keeps me accountable daily

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with my nutrition and movement.

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If you are a Facebook user, you can search for our free group called team MG.

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This group is led by my coach Megan Grimord, who is a certified trainer and nutrition

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coach.

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She offers lots of education and support for your wellness journey.

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If you want to get to know coach Megan more, you can follow her on Instagram at all lower

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case Megan M E G A N underscore Grimord G R I M O R D or even listen to her on episode

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10 of the podcast.

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She has also created a discount code for my listeners.

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Just go to her website www.team-mg.com and enter code lesson plan 10 to get $10 off any

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of her premium coaching packages for the first month.

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Coach Megan is a busy mom like me who works full time, so I appreciate her practicality

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mixed with some tough love to keep me going.

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While we're on our break, I thought I would answer to ask the teacher anything questions.

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This is something you can submit questions for me to answer on my website at life's

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next lesson plan dot com or you can just DM me on social media at life's next lesson

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plan on Instagram or Facebook.

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I thought I'd answer two questions that I've been getting recently.

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One was what was the hardest part of deciding to leave the classroom?

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I don't know if there's one thing that made it the hardest.

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I know financially I'm not eligible for retirement.

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I'm not 55.

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I get a pension at 55.

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I have investments that won't be ready till I'm 59 and a half.

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So being practical, of course, that was definitely a big factor in staying in the classroom until

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I just knew I was unhappy.

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I know you don't have to look forward to going to work every day and there are definitely

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days that I still love being in the classroom.

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The hardest conversation I had to have was definitely with my journalism students because

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we work very closely, sometimes four years in a row on projects that are important to

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us and I've built that program into our own entity of what we are proud of today.

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So that was definitely the hardest.

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And then I would say the relationships with colleagues who I've known for over 20 years

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and worked with and spent time with and eat lunch with, I would say those are the hardest

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parts.

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I originally thought that it would be kind of losing that identity as a teacher because

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I know a lot of people had mentioned that.

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And that's something I've definitely thought of in the years leading up to making the decision.

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And I think that is part of why I started this podcast is I can still in some ways identify

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with being a teacher and still have some of those relationships and again, topic of today's

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episode are ways that you can extend your skills and aside hustle.

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And I think that's something that potentially I will do in my next position, which I'm still

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in the works of exploring and with this podcast and extensions of it.

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So that's definitely something that I had heard other people talk about was hard for

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them when making that decision.

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And so I definitely thought about that ahead of time.

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And then the second question I got was how has hosting a podcast changed your perspective

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on life and teaching?

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And I love this question because there every single time I tape a guest episode, I just

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feel so fulfilled, no matter who the person is, like having the time to just sit down

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for 30 to 40 minutes and talk with such cool people and hear what their core values are

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and what's important to them and just a little facet of their own life story is so awesome.

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And the fact that all my guests basically maybe with the exception of my trainer this

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week are people I met through teaching.

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And so it definitely reinforced my perspective of really what's at the heart of teaching,

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which is your connections with the people you meet in your classroom or in school and

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just how crucial that role is as a teacher and just that being a teacher is always learning.

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And now on the flip side of this ending of my career and starting a new fun venture,

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I am still teaching and I am still learning and it just reinforces to me what's really

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important in life and that is people and taking the time to appreciate other people

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and their stories and to try to share their stories with other people who you feel could

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benefit from them.

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And that's just been so amazing for me.

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I love, love, love these questions that I got.

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And so keep them coming, both either on social media or there is a box for it on my website

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at lifesnextlessinplan.com.

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But let's jump back in here.

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We were going to talk about starting small with building a brand and then to wrap up

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the podcast today, we'll talk a little bit about just kind of overcoming some of those

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fears.

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That's a very real thing.

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And then just some small actionable steps if you want to get started or start thinking

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about getting started.

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So with thinking about your brand, this somewhat overlaps parts of what we've talked about

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today and beginning with just sort of defining your brand identity.

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So what is your mission again?

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What problem do you want to solve?

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What value are you offering?

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And then who would be your target audience as a result of that?

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So are you targeting busy moms, young professionals, small business owners, people who spend a

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lot of time in their car, you know, and then what sets you apart from competitors?

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So really being honest when I think about it, and I didn't think about this until like

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a week ago, but one of the podcasts that I listened to, which I know a lot of people

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love is smart lists.

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And what's cool about smart lists, I mean, it's definitely run by three fun celebrities,

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but each time they have a guest on only one of the three hosts knows who it is.

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And so it's kind of a fun guessing game.

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I haven't been releasing who my guests are in advance.

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Maybe that's a detriment.

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I don't know.

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I think it's kind of fun.

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And so then you don't know what you're going to get until the episode comes out.

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But there hasn't been an episode yet that I haven't found interesting.

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Again, a lot of their guests are actors or actresses or people from Hollywood, but they

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just had somebody on the other day who was talking about AI or someone from the government

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talking about some secrets that are going to be coming out in the next year or two with

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UFOs and things like that, mysterious drones in the sky.

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And so I don't know.

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I think their audience is so broad.

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And that's something that I kind of have been faulting myself for is like, who is this really

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for?

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Because I think that my audience could be pretty broad depending on what the topic is.

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And a lot of people would say that it's bad.

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And I kind of looked to their podcast as it's just conversations and stories and just going

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back to my previous episode on asking questions and having a curiosity conversation.

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I love that book for a reason because all of those conversations with the people Brian

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Grazer wanted to talk to for a reason, it's all fascinating.

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So I kind of had those two things in mind is the book A Curious Mind that I talked about

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in episode, I think that was episode nine, and then these just entertaining but also

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informational conversations.

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So just kind of who do you think would be interested in what you have to offer?

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And then coming up with a tagline.

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I know I went through many iterations of titles for the podcast and a year before I started

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this podcast, I had a completely different podcast title and market in mind.

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And I'm glad that I waited because I'm happy with what I chose.

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But you want to sort of summarize your mission in one short memorable phrase.

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You know, obviously, mine is life's next lesson plan because I'm looking into what I'm going

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to be doing next outside of the classroom.

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But sort of think about your mission to when you're starting this like helping busy professionals

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find time to thrive or affordable design solutions for small businesses.

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Like what do you have to offer just to sort of focus you on where you're going and what

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you have to offer.

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And then with that, you're probably ready to create a simple logo or whatever you might

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need for your business to set up your visual brand.

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Again, Canva is awesome.

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I also love Adobe Express.

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There's so many again tools out there that you can use.

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Biggest thing is keep it simple.

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One to two readable fonts, one to two colors that reflect your personality or your industry.

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I know one of the suggestions for podcast covers is they show up very small on a phone

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and you want them to be able to read the title in this small little thumbnail.

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So the simpler you can keep it kind of the better.

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If designing isn't for you, you can try Upwork or a handy friend or relative who you know

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or reach out to schools.

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I know my students love doing freelance projects like this.

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So reach out to a teacher in a local school.

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They love to give their students real world experience and sometimes it could be free

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or at a reasonable cost.

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So be smart, think of the resources that you have around you, but just keep it simple.

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So when you're establishing your visual brand, do you want it to be bold and bright?

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Do you want it to be more muted?

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It's an awesome tool that we use actually when we design the yearbook.

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I don't know if it's colors or coolers, but it's spelled C-O-O-L-O-R-S dot C-O.

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And that generates color palettes.

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So if you have, this is actually one of the things before I had my website because Squarespace

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will do this for you, but you can put in your main color like my sort of purplish color

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for my podcast and then it will generate colors in the family that match with that.

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That's so, so fun.

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I'm sure there are other places if you just type in color palette besides coolers dot

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C-O that you could use for that.

355
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But think of very simple photos and graphics for social media posts.

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I will share too.

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I sort of took this as a hint from again my marketing sister that maybe my lighting wasn't

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the best when I received in the mail an Alex Earl light to clip to my phone.

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She calls it my glamour light.

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Yes, it has made a huge difference when I choose to use it.

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Maybe a little tripod.

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I know I had bought one a year or two back that I got on Amazon.

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My students are using it now, but your phone, it clips to it like a magnet and you can wrap

364
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it around things or bend it.

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00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:45,560
I can put that link in the show notes both to the Alex Earl light and then my kind of

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tripods.

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00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:50,280
But again, you don't even need that to get started.

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So just start simple.

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Again, look at some of your favorite brands.

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So Jenna Kutcher who does the Goldeiger podcast, who does the podcast lab, the class that I

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took, I love her website.

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Oh my goodness, it is gorgeous.

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Or Mel Robbins or look at some people in your niche area and kind of how they set up their

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colors and their style and just try to emulate what they're already doing.

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Once you have that visual branding, then you can decide how you want to show up online.

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Do you just want to start small on LinkedIn?

377
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Do you have a Facebook account?

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You're comfortable using Facebook.

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Where is your demographic?

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Are they on Instagram?

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I have never had a TikTok, so I have not branched out to TikTok, although I've been told that

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I need to, but I'm already right now in over my head with all of the social media accounts

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00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:53,520
that I'm managing.

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So I am on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X and try to create a handle that is the

385
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,760
same on all of your accounts.

386
00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,760
So life's next lesson plan.

387
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Try to have that be the same for all of the accounts that you use and to keep all of the

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00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:15,360
graphics the same.

389
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:23,000
And then again, I mentioned Squarespace, but I know I teach my students when they're building

390
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,920
a website portfolio.

391
00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,720
They have enjoyed using Wix, W-I-X.

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00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:36,760
They've also used Weebly for website creation, Google Sites for website creation, and I love,

393
00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:41,760
love, love Adobe Spark Page.

394
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:47,920
Also free, really easy to use, very professional, simple and cool looking.

395
00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,560
So again, what do you want to provide people?

396
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,480
Do you just want to have information about your brand?

397
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What services or products you offer?

398
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:06,760
Contact information, links to your social media, ways for them to engage with you.

399
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:07,760
Start small.

400
00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:08,760
Pick one.

401
00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:09,760
Go from there.

402
00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:12,560
Let's get started.

403
00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:19,400
I think another really helpful piece of advice that I got at the beginning was to think of

404
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,760
different pillars that align with your side hustle.

405
00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:28,440
I know Jenna Kutcher says five pillars, but you could start with three.

406
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:35,920
So kind of what are your other interests that you could post about or talk about?

407
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:43,240
So for example, like a fitness coach, definitely could post workout tips, but then also nutrition

408
00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:51,160
and meal ideas, client success stories, or motivational kind of quotes and tips.

409
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:57,640
A freelance writer could share writing tips, some of their portfolio pieces, some insights

410
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:01,960
from the industry, and client testimonials.

411
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:08,920
I know when I'm trying to brainstorm ideas for my solo episodes, I think of kind of my

412
00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:15,640
niche and what I'm interested in and who my audience might be and what they might be

413
00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:16,640
looking for.

414
00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:24,040
And so some of the topics that I'll have coming up, obviously I have this side hustle conversation.

415
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:28,600
We've been talking about the Sunday scaries on my Patreon.

416
00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:34,400
I think I'll talk about becoming an empty nester since that is in my future in the next

417
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:36,680
six months.

418
00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:42,920
We are in the process of we just bought a camper for the next stage of life.

419
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:51,760
And so I'm going to be learning a lot about RVing and national parks and finally got to

420
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,640
dust off my cross country skis last weekend.

421
00:34:54,640 --> 00:35:01,560
So what are some other areas of your life that your demographic might be interested

422
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:02,640
in?

423
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:07,640
And just kind of make a list because you'll realize you have a lot more ideas than you

424
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:08,840
thought.

425
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:10,120
And then just start.

426
00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:13,560
Just be consistent, post regularly.

427
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:18,920
Again, only bite off what you feel you can chew at this moment.

428
00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:21,320
And so maybe that's one post a week.

429
00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:23,560
Maybe that's one email a week.

430
00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:27,320
You can schedule things in advance.

431
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:32,320
I know I can schedule my podcast to come out at three in the morning because I look at

432
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:37,760
when people are listening and downloading the most and holy cow for some reason it's

433
00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:40,320
four in the morning.

434
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:46,080
So yeah, just start and start small.

435
00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:50,120
And then find ways to engage with your audience.

436
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:58,760
So be authentic, think about what you have to value or what value you have to share.

437
00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:03,640
And the reason that you wanted to start doing this in the first place.

438
00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:10,680
Okay, so that there's a lot more that has to go down the road with branding, but I can

439
00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:12,680
make that a follow up episode.

440
00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:16,240
If you're interested, please tell me that you're interested in the comments or reach

441
00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:17,440
out to me.

442
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:22,640
We could also schedule just kind of like a chat for people who are interested in getting

443
00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:29,640
started and we can talk more about what happens down the road once you're started.

444
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:34,840
But I'm going to stop there and just kind of get us to the wrap up part of the episode

445
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:39,920
where we talk just a little bit about the mindset involved here.

446
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:46,840
And there's definitely going to be doubt, most likely, and then how to kind of scale

447
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:47,840
your side hustle.

448
00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:52,400
Again, these are all topics that I am glazing over here.

449
00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,480
And if you're interested, I can definitely go more in depth and then I will give you

450
00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,440
some action steps if you are ready to get started today.

451
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:05,880
So 100% imposter syndrome.

452
00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:07,800
Who am I to be podcasting?

453
00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:09,680
What if I fail?

454
00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:10,760
What am I thinking?

455
00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:12,320
What if I don't have enough time?

456
00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,120
What if I don't like it?

457
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:15,480
That's normal.

458
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:21,720
These are all common fears and solutions, just total transparency.

459
00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:27,160
I've had a couple meltdown moments, not big, but just self-doubt and I have to lean into

460
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:31,120
the people who I know who are there to support me.

461
00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:37,160
I'll admit that yesterday or the day before I listened to Anna Strelow's episode, episode

462
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:43,160
eight, again, because I find her to be so inspiring to me.

463
00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:49,200
She also, after we recorded, shared a song with me and told me that it should be my anthem

464
00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:53,760
and I should play it at full blast in the morning every day.

465
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:57,320
And when I'm feeling like I need that extra boost, I do that.

466
00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:03,360
So you don't fail at something until you quit.

467
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:08,560
And if you decide to quit and you have a good reason to quit, you tried it.

468
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:10,320
And that's not a failure.

469
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,360
That is a successful try at something.

470
00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:14,960
It's a part of the process.

471
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:16,720
We've all heard this.

472
00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:23,680
All these famous people who had experienced failure, every misstep teaches you something.

473
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:31,200
Oh my goodness, some of the embarrassing mistakes that I've made in this journey already.

474
00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:33,720
But I get better from it.

475
00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:38,760
So you only fail if you don't, you fail to try.

476
00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,800
So the other thing too is I don't have enough time.

477
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:44,080
That's a huge one.

478
00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:48,280
I hear this, you know, with working out all the time.

479
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:50,120
I don't have all the time in the world.

480
00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:56,200
I will admit, because I have one child who's almost an adult, I have a lot more time than

481
00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:59,560
I did when she was younger.

482
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:03,120
But I am working full time and commuting two hours a day.

483
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:06,240
So start small.

484
00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:08,160
15 minutes.

485
00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:15,640
What can you do in 15 minute increments, 30 minute increments, just to get you started?

486
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:17,800
I don't know where to start.

487
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:25,320
Well, I gave you a couple places to start today or go to Google, go to YouTube, go to

488
00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:32,760
chat GPT, go to podcasts where people are teaching some of the things that you are interested

489
00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:34,120
in providing.

490
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:35,400
And just watch.

491
00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:40,920
Maybe that's for the first week, that's how you spend your 15 minutes, is just doing a

492
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:42,600
little bit of research.

493
00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:43,600
Okay?

494
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:48,440
Then set some mini goals and celebrate small wins.

495
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:54,640
I'm sure my sister in North Carolina rolled her eyes at some of the first things that

496
00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,840
I thought were such big steps of mastery for me.

497
00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:01,480
And she was like, yeah, okay, good job.

498
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:07,400
But hey, when my first podcast aired and I had edited it myself, I was proud.

499
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:08,400
I celebrated.

500
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:09,400
Okay?

501
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:17,640
And did an episode on Patreon on this, but not everybody is going to clap for you.

502
00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:23,480
And some of the people you thought would clap the loudest for you are Radio Silent.

503
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:27,800
It is about them and not about you.

504
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:34,360
And I highly suggest if you find that to be true, take a listen to my Patreon episode

505
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:35,800
on that.

506
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:42,360
So round yourself with supportive people or join online communities of like-minded people

507
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,720
who are trying to do the same thing you are.

508
00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:50,600
And hey, if you're trying to start a side hustle, I'm here to cheer you on.

509
00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:56,760
I've started many and abandoned some and started new ones.

510
00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:58,440
And that's okay, right?

511
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:01,480
I've gained a lot of skills and learned a lot in the meantime.

512
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:04,800
So I'm here to cheer you on and help you out.

513
00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:08,320
And like I said, let me know what I can provide.

514
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:13,920
If you want to keep going and you want more information, we can set up a community chat

515
00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:17,960
or I can go a little bit more in-depth on some of these things.

516
00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:21,840
So just keep your why from the beginning of the episode in mind.

517
00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:26,880
Oh, that makes me cringe even saying that because that's kind of a phrase and teaching that we're

518
00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:30,760
sick of hearing, but why do you want to do this in the first place?

519
00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:33,680
And you know, think about the joy that it could bring you.

520
00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:41,120
I never expected the feeling that I get after taping a guest episode.

521
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:42,620
Best feeling ever.

522
00:41:42,620 --> 00:41:44,680
And that's definitely what keeps me going.

523
00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:53,440
Okay, so once you get started and you start small and things start to snowball or you

524
00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:58,960
want to expand, then we can talk about scaling when the time is right.

525
00:41:58,960 --> 00:42:00,720
But just start small.

526
00:42:00,720 --> 00:42:04,920
So action steps to get you out of here today and get you started.

527
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:11,160
I have three, one, write down three skills or passions that you could turn into a side

528
00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:12,160
hustle.

529
00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:16,920
So you're sort of your pillars, something that people again come to you for that you

530
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:20,080
enjoy that you're knowledgeable about.

531
00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:26,620
Two, research one platform or tool to start.

532
00:42:26,620 --> 00:42:32,440
So if you're already familiar with Canva, check out coolers.co.

533
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:39,600
If you are interested in setting up a small little website, check out, you know, Adobe

534
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:45,720
Spark page, Wix, Weebly, Google sites, Squarespace.

535
00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:52,600
And then three, dedicate a set amount of time this week that you are going to carve out

536
00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:57,960
and promise yourself that you're going to work on your idea and put it in your calendar

537
00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:01,840
like brushing your teeth, non-negotiable, I must do this.

538
00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:07,520
If it's 15 minutes when you start, that is 15 more minutes that you spent on this compared

539
00:43:07,520 --> 00:43:09,760
to last week.

540
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:10,760
Okay.

541
00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:15,120
So the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

542
00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:16,880
Let's get cliche here.

543
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:19,520
It does not have to be perfect.

544
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:21,520
It just has to start.

545
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:26,000
This is exactly what Jenna Kutcher said in the podcast lab.

546
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:27,000
Start messy.

547
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:29,640
I started my journalism career messy.

548
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:33,560
I had zero experience in your book.

549
00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:34,820
Okay.

550
00:43:34,820 --> 00:43:37,560
I utilized every resource I had.

551
00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:41,120
I had zero experience in podcasting.

552
00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:47,080
I utilized all of the resources that I could afford available to me.

553
00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:48,680
All right.

554
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:50,560
You can do it.

555
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:52,480
Millions of people have done it.

556
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:55,680
If it's important to you, you will start.

557
00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:56,680
You got this.

558
00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:03,760
I will see you next week.

559
00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:07,760
I hope this episode got you thinking about the possibilities for starting your own side

560
00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:13,920
hustle and what it could bring to your life, even if you're not in the place to start now.

561
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:17,480
You always have this episode to revisit when you are ready.

562
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:22,320
I'll be sure to post some of the links of the valuable tools I used in my journey in

563
00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:23,680
the show notes.

564
00:44:23,680 --> 00:44:26,640
And I'd love to hear about your side hustle ideas.

565
00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:33,720
DM me on social media or drop a comment on our website at life's next lesson plan.com.

566
00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:37,440
Who knows, you might inspire someone else to take the leap too.

567
00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:41,840
So share this with someone you think might be ready to hear these words.

568
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:47,400
In the meantime, remember that you can find free resources from our past episodes on our

569
00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:53,720
website at life's next lesson plan.com, as well as behind the scenes content on YouTube,

570
00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:56,360
Instagram, and Facebook.

571
00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:03,360
I have started selling my gratitude jars on Etsy as well in the life's next lesson plan

572
00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:05,160
at C Shop.

573
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:10,520
Keep submitting those Ask the Teacher Anything questions for me to ponder as well.

574
00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:13,520
There's some head scratchers coming up.

575
00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:33,640
As always, thanks so much for following and I'll see you next week.