Side Hustle to Small Business

Ford Gunter is the founder of Easy Morning Media, a video production company based in Houston, Texas. Since a young age, Ford was interested in print media, even creating a neighborhood newspaper when he was a child. While he was working as a journalist in print media, a friend approached him about making a documentary. From there, he fell in love with video production and Easy Morning Media was born.

Anike Mlemchukwu has always known she wanted to work with children. After settling into a career as a special needs teacher, and seeing first-hand the problems faced by caregivers, Anike got the idea to start Lapapoe Special Needs, an online platform that connects children’s caregivers with the help and services they need. After originally launching in London, the company was rebuilt in Atlanta earlier this year.

In 2014, Daphne Valcin started her business as a life and business coach, even after being warned by those already in the community. In Daphne’s first month, she made $72 but continued her work and is now a successful entrepreneur. Daphne and Sanjay discuss continuing entrepreneurship throughout motherhood, pursuing a different path than initially planned, and following your dreams even after being discouraged by the community.

Brooke Monaghan has always known she has wanted to work for herself. However, when she went to start her consulting business, she was initially very scared. In today’s episode, Brooke and Sanjay discuss how to overcome fear when it comes to the risk aspect of running your own business, building relationships, and asking for help. Her advice? Either do it and maybe fail or don’t do it and absolutely fail, but always know your worth.

Racheal Allen, a seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in coaching large-scale organizations, specializes in crafting efficient policies and operations. As the Founder of Operations School, she leads a renowned boot camp for startup founders, while also offering consulting and public speaking. Sanjay and Racheal discuss operational efficiency, avoiding burnout, and the essentials of entrepreneurship.

Yong-Soo Chung always knew he wanted to own a business. While working on Wall Street, he dreamed of running a hedge fund. When he left finance and bought a one-way ticket to California, his dream of owning a business remained unchanged, but the product he offered shifted. Since 2015, Yong-Soo has founded three companies: Urban EDC, a carry gear brand; Growth Jet, a third-party logistics provider; and Spotted By Humphrey, a curated dog boutique.

Daniel Roberts is the founder of VidLoft, a cloud-based video solution that includes gear, training, and editing at a tenth of the price of traditional video production, allowing more companies to be video-first organizations. Having formerly owned a video production company prior to founding VidLoft, Daniel shares what he learned about founding and selling a company, managing cashflow, and discovering your niche.

Though Rob Friedman trained and practiced as a lawyer, his passion was coaching and playing baseball. In 2014, he dove into the world of content creation. His niche? Not just baseball, but pitching specifically. Pitching Ninja was born. Since starting Pitching Ninja, Friedman has amassed over 400,000 Twitter followers, 100,000 Instagram followers, and appears on TV networks like Fox Sports and Peacock as a Pitching Analyst.

Bonnie Mauldin has been hustling since she was a kid. At eight years old, she was knocking on doors offering to shovel driveways. After graduation, she entered the medical field, but quickly discovered it was not for her. Now, Bonnie owns two successful businesses, The Mauldin Group and Mauldin Production Company. Having learned a lot along the way, Bonnie shares her tips on changing careers, side hustles, and running multiple businesses.

It takes a lot to start a small business, and often, individuals face many barriers along the way. Today, we are diving deep into a common barrier many entrepreneurs face when jumpstarting their small business: a lack of funds. Through interviewing three individuals who have successfully raised money to launch their businesses, we will answer the following questions: How can I raise money for my small business? What tools are out there to help with my money-raising goals? What challenges might I face while doing so?