Lifestyle Design and Diversified Incomes: #bossbabesATX x Aceable (Session 1)
Produced by #bossbabesATX, SHE TALKS is an ongoing discussion-based personal and professional development series, tackling topics from finances to intersectional feminism.
On July 13 at Byron & Blue, we hosted the first event in our three-part summer installation of SHE TALKS with Aceable. There will be two more sessions in this series; stay tuned!
The Vibe
Byron & Blue
Exploring lifestyle design, this first session featured five panelists, chatting their holistic approach to work/life "balance," prioritization, time management and identity. We began the session with a fear-setting exercise, identifying some of the concept problems and/or barriers we might be facing in the next steps of our careers.
The Panel
Featuring five multihyphenate professionals, in conversation with our founder, Jane Hervey
You can grab the livestream of the conversation here. Learn more about the panelists below and get their full bios here.
Virginia Cumberbatch, Director of the University of Texas' Community Engagement Center: She also runs HUX Brand, an advertising consultancy.
Sara Inés Calderón, Entrepreneur, software engineer, writer and speaker: She serves as Director and Evangelist for Women Who Code Austin, co-founded the Austin Diversity Hackathon, and has won several awards at hackathons.
Miriam Conner, co-founder of LocalMotive, an artist management and events agency: She's also an artist herself, practicing photography, and one of the founders of Topology, a DIY space for the arts.
Rachel Johnson, Freelance writer, food stylist, and recipe developer: She's the brains behind Stupid Good Food.
Faiza Kracheni, Austin School of Film's Education & Programming Director: In addition to her involvement with Austin School of Film, she is an active artist and musician within the Austin community.
Some convo highlights:
From Sara Inés Calderón
The idea of a side-hustle doesn’t necessarily have to be 'extra' work. It doesn’t have to be, you know, your spare job or your second job... sometimes it’s just a lifestyle that you understand. But nobody ever called my [grandfather] an entrepreneur, because who gets to be an entrepreneur? Right? Who gets to be call themselves an entrepreneur?
When I started, I felt like something was missing, and I realized it was the anxiety of having to work for someone else. I could be getting paid a lot more money working for people who make me hate myself a lot more.
From Rachel Johnson
Figure out how much your time is worth. Set a price and determine whether you would spend that much money to do the thing you want to do.
You have to be very strategic about your expenses [as a side hustler]. I am also very type A, so I budget. I go through all my credit cards and itemize my expenses. Stay organized.
From Faiza Kracheni
I work at an arts and tech nonprofit, but we’re basically a community center. And I think that’s something important for me, to be able to work somewhere knowing that I'm actually helping people every day.
From Miriam Conner
You can’t do it by yourself. You need a team. You need to know who’s on your team.
Your passion will ultimately become your side hustle.
From Virginia Cumberbatch
For me, it’s easier when there is a common thread, a common theme in everything you do. Then, it doesn’t seem like a side hustle; there is a genuine foundational connectivity there... It doesn’t seem like I have to put on a different hat when I leave the office to go to this meeting. It doesn’t feel like I’m two different people, because genuinely I feel like that’s my calling in life, and it feels like I have two different avenues to express that. And I think when you look at the bird's eye view of the multitude of things that are going on in your life, I bet you can identify the common thread that’s connecting them to your heart and your purpose. And if you can keep them consistent, then I think it will be easier to manage all of those things.
Our Partner
Aceable
Aceable is a mobile-first platform for certification and training courses, ranging from drivers ed to real estate continuing education. At Aceable, they believe that everyone should have access to education. They believe that certification and value-added training should be cost-effective, yet also high quality. They believe that learning should be a joy. They believe that by delivering innovative, outcome-focused courses we can empower people to thrive in life and succeed at what they do. They are a team of teachers, designers, writers, engineers, customer experience heroes and those passionate about education who love what we do. They are the new standard for learning. They are certification courses for the 21st century. Together, we are driving education forward. You can learn more about Aceable at aceable.com and aceableagent.com.
The next two events in this SHE TALKS series will be released soon; stay tuned! In the meantime, you can keep up with our upcoming productions here.