Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Wallingford.
Hi Monica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up vividly watching my middle-class parents juggle working multiple jobs, earning college degrees, and raising 5 children simultaneously. Working hard, pursuing an education, helping others, being responsible and self-sufficient were foundational elements ingrained in us early.
I excelled in school, graduating from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University and a Master of Science degree in International Administration from Central Michigan University.
I knew early in my childhood, around 6 years old, that I had an entrepreneurial spirit. I loved making money! In our household, our main job was to excel as a student, and our side job was the chores to complete at home. My siblings and I earned our allowance, and we were paid on the 1st of each month. I had a list of chores to complete to earn my pay. I can remember the feeling on the 1st of each month being summoned into my parents’ bedroom and feeling excited to collect my earnings. My mother and I would discuss and set my budget for the month by writing my financial goals on the front of an envelope. We would calculate the amount of money to be deposited into my savings account, tithes, and offerings to be given to the church, general spending, and holiday gifts.
One Christmas, I was determined to buy two gifts, instead of one, for each of my family members and was stressed about not having enough money. I was frantic in the mall shopping with my mother, on the verge of tears, afraid that I wouldn’t have enough money to spend on the gifts. Earlier that year, I’d asked for an increase in my allowance and had taken on more chores, and I still didn’t think I had enough money. We shifted my gift choices, and I was able to meet my gift buying goal.
It was the feeling of not having enough money to do what I wanted when I wanted; it was something that I never desired to feel ever again. I didn’t realize at that moment that this feeling was the catalyst for my entrepreneurial drive.
I launched my first side gig at 8 years old, cleaning and shining my father’s work shoes. Lessons from my father on how to perform the services, set my pricing, what expenses were, and how to provide customer service became the foundation of this business and future businesses. Running my little, big business earning $10 every week was exciting to me!
Throughout my youth, teenage and young adult years, the opportunities to work for myself and others were plentiful. I was very serious about my financial goals, and it showed in my work ethic.
After graduating college and starting to work in my 25+ year career, to this very day, I always had a side business in addition to my full-time job. As an African American woman, I experienced gender pay gaps by race and ethnicity; it has fueled the need to create multiple streams of income that can be done successfully while maintaining a 9 to 5. My full-time job is managing the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable processes at an environmental trust, and done so for the past 11 years.
This is why The Side Gig Hustler was formed, to encourage, educate and aid in the launch of side gigs, side hustles, and everything in between to reach our financial goals and create better lives for our families.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, entrepreneurship is never a smooth road! Entrepreneurship challenges you and pushes you to be uncomfortable. It disrupts your routine and encourages growth beyond what you could ever imagine.
The primary struggles that my clients and I experience are fear and doubt. We fear the idea of failing and how outsiders will judge us. We are doubtful that our talents and skillsets will solve the problems of others and that people will be willing to pay us for our solutions. I teach my clients that failure is inevitable and what you learn from it and how you recover is what matters. They have to believe that the same positive impact that their talents and skillsets had on their lives, would be the same or more for others who implement the same.
Another struggle that my clients experience is when deciding upon launching a side business is that they think they have to learn a brand-new talent or skill set that physically requires their time or what is considered active income. Imagine taking inventory of the knowledge amassed in your life or the skill sets acquired, and then think about how much advice you shared free of charge. What if you were paid $25 each time you shared your advice? How much money would you have made? We are all experts in a multitude of areas. My job is to help my clients dive deeper into what they want their lives to look like while having a side business, how much money they want to make, and who they want to positively impact. This is the start to identifying what would be the best side business for them to launch.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Side Gig Hustler is a small business consulting firm designed to help the 9 to 5 woman make her bank account happier by launching a side business. We specialize in two specific areas. First, I teach how to become a Notary Signing Agent, conducting loan signings, and closing other types of real estate transactions as an active income source with our Savvy Signer training programs. Secondly, I teach how to monetize one’s knowledge by creating and selling digital products as a passive income source through our membership, The Consultant Crown Collective.
I have utilized my educational and business experience and launched several services and product-based side businesses in my lifetime. My profitable sweet spot is creating and launching multiple types of income sources that complement one another and allows me to better manage them along with other life responsibilities. This is what I pour into my clients.
The phrases side hustle or side gig often have a negative connotation that these types of businesses are illegitimate, unprofessional, casual, or temporary. The Side Gig Hustler debunks these negative stereotypes by helping our clients build profitable and impactful income sources that can generate more income than one’s full-time job.
If anyone is ready to explore and launch an income source that compliments their 9 to 5 and other life responsibilities, they should definitely check us out.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
We all take risks every day, and we assess the pros and cons of that risk in some fashion before we take action.
This is the same care that is required in business. You educate yourself on the industry, the problems that exist, and the solution your business will provide. You assess the pros and cons and determine if the risk is worth the reward. Then you take action.
As a risk-taker, there is a strategy that I follow to determine if risks are worth my time and resources. I use this strategy in all aspects of my life, not just in my business.
Taking major risks causes discomfort, and it’s challenging for most people to be uncomfortable. One of my favorite quotes is by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. –
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
I love challenges, solving problems, and the risk associated with them. I celebrated the reward from doing so and strive to help my clients realize this for themselves.
Pricing:
- Notary Signing Agents make between $75 and $150 per transaction conducting loan signings and closing other types of real estate transactions. The Savvy Signer Real Estate Transactions Closing Course provides detailed instruction to guide you step by step to the start of your new role as a Notary Signing Agent. This online course is accessed in a private membership site where you can easily maneuver through video modules at your own pace and on your own time. The training is designed to eliminate all guesswork, wasted time, and effort trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. The course includes virtual bi-weekly Office Hours and mentorship. – Price $495.
- Creating and selling your knowledge via digital products is the #1 way to earn a passive income online. The Consultant Crown Collective is a membership to teach you how to package your knowledge into problem-solving solutions using digital products to create a positive influence and make your bank account happier at the same time. You will have access to a library of beginner-level training to teach you how to create and sell 6 types of digital products, guest speaker presentations, coworking sessions, mentorship, and more! – Monthly and annual plans are available.
- Not certain what direction you should explore? Discover what side business would work well for you by discussing your options in a one-on-one virtual consultation with The Side Gig Hustler. – Hourly and project-based package plans are available.
- Please visit The Side Gig Hustler’s website to read more about the Products we offer https://www.thesidegighustler.com/.
Contact Info:
- Email: monica@thesidegighustler.com
- Website: https://www.thesidegighustler.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidegighustler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesidegighustler
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sidegighustler
