Female, Single N Hustlin’ – Female, Single and Hustlin

Posted on January 22, 2020December 30, 2019 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

“Real” Wednesdays: The Circle You Keep

I’m turning 35 in less than a month. And I’ve been enjoying my 30s as much as peers thus far, I suppose. And I’ve read all the jokes about 30-somethings always going to bed early, staying in, being recluse as we climb the 30s ladder. And you know what I say to that: SO WHAT! 🤣🤣🤣.

I enjoy staying in, sleeping/napping at early hours and enjoying a glass or two of wine. My job, my hustles, and part time business are very client interfacing. I’m working directly with people all of the time. So, when I do go out and enjoy myself with company, I want to spend that time with quality people. My circle of close knit friends is small, yes, but not because people walked away from me or I walked away from them. I’ve just gotten more selective who’ve I spend time with. It matters to me that the people I interact with matter.

And I suspect that matters to most of you too. I mean, with so limited time on our hands, who wants to be around jerks and morons? Okay, not everyone is a jerk or a moron. Most people or doing the best they can too. We’re just on different planes. And it’s easier to relate and connect when we’re on the same plane.

In all seriousness, pick good people to be in your circle. It’ll matter when times are good. And it’ll definitely matter when times are not so good.

Need someone in your tribe? Let’s connect and see what you’re looking for: femalesinglehustlin@gmail.com

Posted on January 20, 2020December 30, 2019 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

In Memory of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. – Activist, Leader, Social Visionary

I don’t think “Happy MLK Day” is the appropriate greeting to honor a man who will never see the fruits of his work for the advancement of the African American community in the U.S. And although his strongest tether is to the African American community in this country, I like to think of him as a Active-American.

I’m not All Lives Matter-ing social change here, but it was because of Dr. King’s and other activists of his time efforts and sacrifice that we’re all – every color, every religion, every sexual orientation – able to work together in the same office, ride the same bus, share an Uber, walk down the the same streets. No one is legally allow the ban us from common and community areas of this country because of our skin color or deny us opportunities for advancement and liberty.

As many of you may have this day off, I ask that you take time to reflect on how you will be active in your life going forward in this new year. You may not be pushing for social or political change in your world, but hopefully you’re pushing for positive change nonetheless.

Posted on January 17, 2020December 30, 2019 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Elle’s Thoughts: Crawling vs. Running

Posted on January 15, 2020December 30, 2019 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

“Real” Wednesdays: Power Up, Single Ladies

Hey, hey, hey ladies… have you heard the news? Single ladies have the power! Wait, let me back up.

CNN posted an article back in August of last year (I love saying “last year”) that single working women made up 41% of the buying power in 2019 and by 2030, we will make up 45% of that purchasing power. Making us a huge consumer player in that domestic and global businesses with have to cater to ina more intimate-feed-our-needs kind of way.

And as women earning more and creating our own additional income streams, it’s important to know how companies will respond to addressing the needs of single working women.

For more on that article, check it out at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/29/economy/single-women-economy/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_content=2019-12-27T06%3A29%3A04&utm_source=fbCNN

Posted on January 13, 2020January 7, 2020 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Money Moves: Where to Save

Last week we talked about saving money or saving more money if we’ve already been saving. But we didn’t specify where to save our money. If I hurt your feeling with this next statement, well, then consider your feelings hurt. But you should know not to save your money in a shoebox or underneath your mattress, right? Good. No one was offended. Perfect. Some of you may argue – with a very good point – most of these commercial banks don’t even offer a decent percentage on our savings accountd so it’s almost like we’re saving it underneath the mattress anyways. Agreed. My bank, Chase and I think Bank of America and Wells Fargo, only offer 0.01% interest rate on all savings accounts under $25,000. Oh, but if you do have $25,000 or more, you’ll be able to earn 0.05% on your money. Wow.

Yeah, no. Do you know what 0.01% of a dollar is? Nothing! Do you know what 0.01% of $100? Still, nothing. 0.01% is basically one penny sliced into a hundred pieces. And then the bank telling you we’ll give you one slice of that penny.

If you’re outraged, you should be. That’s your hard earned money not even trying to work for you.

But if you have your savings in a online bank, like Aspiration or Ally, you can earn 1.7% interest rate on every dollar you have. Which is actually something versus nothing.

Which do I have? I have both. I have a traditional savings account with Chase… boo! And I have an online bank with Ally. Kinda yay. Let me explain. With Chase, even though I earned all of six cents this years, it’s liquid. I have access to my money 24 hours. With Ally, I earned over $26 this year, but if I need to pull out the money, it’ll take three business days to complete that transaction. I earn more money with Ally but don’t have immediate access. I earned way much less with Chase but can get my money whenever I need it.

Now, why did I say “kinda yay” for Ally? At one point I had a 2.2% interest rate with them. But with the federal rate being reduced repeatedly, it affected private institutions and their rates came down too. So this year, I lost 0.5% of my interest rate which makes me sad, but yet, my Ally savings account still out performs most brick and mortar banks.

Let’s talk about banks and saving. Email at: femalesinglehustlin@gmail.com

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Elle’s Food for Thought: How You See Success

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

Word of Advice: Don’t Order Other People’s Mistakes

My mother would tell me this all the time as a child. And what she really meant by this was I didn’t have to make her mistakes to believe it would be a mistake for me too. In fact, I didn’t have to make anyone else’s mistakes to know it was not a good choice. If I’m in a position to watch something unfold and how it unfolded for that person was just awful then that was the lesson. I don’t need to experience that same mistake to know it will be awful for me too. Ever heard of a “cautionary tale”? That is someone else’s experience to teach you not to do something.

And as side hustlers and freelancers, we have access to learning so much about what others did, that didn’t work or failed, that we don’t have to make that same mistake ourselves. We don’t have even know the people personally to learn their mistakes. Thanks to Google we can learn all about the failures and setbacks of some of the world’s most successful people. Or, just join reddit community. The information is out there.

Just sayin’.

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

“Real” Wednesday: In The Beginning

When I went for my notary commission, I spent over $300. This was for the two classes, one for the notary commission and the other for the signing agent training. Then the exam. Then the filing of my notary completion, and paying for the bond and the $25,000 policy insurance I took out to later cover my ass as a working notary public. And I went got my first notary client, I was super nervous, super unsure and super slack about it.

I charged the client $25. $15 for the actual notary service and $10 for the travel fee. And he was my only client for about 3 or 4 months. I didn’t know how anything about marketing myself as a notary. I was new, I was definitely still wet behind the ears and I didn’t want any of my clients to know they would be my first clients as I got the hang of notarizing documents.

I later invested in a business website, business cards and paid marketing on social media and Craigslist. It took some time in 2018, but I was finally able to make the money back I spent in 2017 on getting my commission. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have waited so long to market myself or felt so insecure in something I spent 20 hours getting trained for. Hello!

The reality is that hustling or having a hustle sounds easier than what it is. But it requires a lot of investment and time into yourself. And if you’re not willing to commit to yourself, it’ll be that much harder to commit to a hustle.

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

5 Ways Every Hustler Needs To Start Off 2020

Hey, hey, hey. I am excited to announced that my first ebook in a year long ebook series is finally published and should be available for purchase, if not today, by the middle of this week.

I’ve been wanting to put out short but valuable pieces of information regularly (aside from, you know, here) that people can take away and keep forever and forever. So decided on a book series, an ebook series to be exact.

This first ebook is more of a welcoming and an ushering in of 2020. I wanted us, as side hustlers, to prepare ourselves for getting our mindsets and attitudes right for tackling and owning 2020! So often — I know I’ve said it — this is the year, but now it can really be so by first reconditioning how we think about ourselves and what we can do.

So go over to barnesandnoble.com, type in the title of this ebook, 5 Ways Every Hustler Needs To Start Off 2020 and grab you a copy. It’s only $.099, I promise.

Then, hey… let’s talk about it. Femalesinglehustlelin@gmail.com

Posted on January 6, 2020January 6, 2020 by Female, Single & Hustlin'

First Money Move of 2020: Saving

Happy 20-20! I am pumped about this new year. Partially because I took way too much time off last year (from the blog) to really think about my time, my efforts and what I want to do and what kind of impression I want to leave on this little blue-green planet and how much more money I wanted to make!!! Hello!

Truth be told, in order to make more money you first have to begin saving more money. Listen, if you spend every extra dollar you earn, it would start to feel like you’re not earning any extra money. Why? Because you’re not seeing it. There’s no proof it was ever in your hands at one point. Oh, yeah, you may have paid off a bill or two. But bills gotta get paid regardless. So if your 9 to 5 isn’t cutting it in the bill paying department, we gotta to get you a new 9 to 5.

But, yes. Saving should be one of the first commitments you make to yourself this new year. And if you’re already saving, save a little more. And make that a commitment every new year. Each new year save an extra $25 a month. Is $25 extra too much to pull? Okay, fine. Then add an extra $5 or $10 to what you’re already saving. Think of it as money you’ll have later versus money you’ll never have again because you spent it on something stupid or you Postmated when you could have easily cooked yourself a meal.

This year, let’s start off when either saving or saving more. We’ll get to spending less later. I promise.

Want some advice or tips to better save? Email me: femalesinglehustlin@gmail.com