Shani Fay - The Mommy Mogul Mentor (00:00.194)
Hustle culture gets dragged these days and to be fair a lot of it should be. Glorifying burnout, worshipping busy and treating rest like a reward instead of a right. Yeah we're not doing that. But let's not throw the baby out with the bath water because a well managed side hustle can be a launching pad. A runway for your dreams to really take flight.
However, let's call it what it is. If you're already on the hustle train, then you know you're probably waking up early, going to bed late, sneaking in content creation during breaks and answering client emails from the carpool line. You're giving your all to a nine to five that's funding your dream while trying to build a brand that actually reflects who you are. That tension, that pressure, it's real. And most days, it feels like there's not enough time or energy or clarity to do both well. Today,
I want to shift the narrative because today we're not just talking about side hustles. We're talking about how to shift out of survival mode and into a sustainable authority. So let's get into it. Hey, welcome. I'm your girl, Shani Faye. Welcome back to the Mommy Mogul Mastery podcast. me a favor, go ahead and press the subscribe button and give this video a like. It really helps the channel out and it allows me to continue bringing valuable content to you for free. So today I'm saying the quiet part out loud. You don't have to wait until you quit your job to own your brilliance. Yeah, I said it.
You can build authority right now. You can start showing up as a trusted voice today. You can create systems that protect your piece and still grow your platform. That's what sustainable authority looks like. And that's what we're here to build. In fact, if you're planning that next phase of your transition from side hustle to sustainable authority, which is hopefully why you clicked on this episode, then you absolutely need to be focused on sustainability, legacy and visibility now.
Because baby the goal isn't to hustle forever. It's not to stay stuck in build mode until you're too tired to enjoy what you've already built. Now, this transition doesn't only mean going full time in your business. That's a powerful and worthy path that I'm on myself. But it also means building a brand so aligned with your expertise and values that you get to choose what success looks like for you. It means
Shani Fay - The Mommy Mogul Mentor (02:09.463)
becoming the go-to voice in your industry. Whether you stay in corporate, consult part-time, or eventually take the full-time lead, authority gives you options. Hustle just keeps you on the hamster wheel. And here's the bonus part that most people won't talk about. That same sustainable authority, it actually sharpens your executive presence. Because when you show up with clarity, credibility, and consistency online or in the boardroom, you're no longer just doing the work. You're leading the conversation.
That's what influence looks like. And whether you're an entrepreneur or climbing the corporate ladder, the ability to be seen as a trusted voice is a game changer. And I just got to put this out there for the people ready to rattle your nine to five cage. You're like, I'm ready to get off this thing. I want to quit this job. I fire the work for many of us. It's been that seed funding. It's how we pay for that domain name, how we bottom out the recording on right now. It's how we made strategic moves without compromising our mortgages.
feeding our kids and our sanity. There's nothing cute about building a business without sustainable income. It's mentally, emotionally, physically and financially stressful and stunts the creativity you really need to actually grow your business. So it might be counterintuitive. You might wanna jump off the nine to five wagon in full time in your business, but if you're not ready, you're actually gonna be doing more damage than more good. So that paycheck may not be your final destination, but it's given you a place to start.
and there's absolutely no shame in that. This is just a chapter, it's not the whole book, right? The goal is to build something that can sustain you mentally, financially, and emotionally. The goal is to move with intention, not exhaustion, and to build clarity, not just momentum. So we're talking about building a brand and building a reputation. So let's be clear, even if you think you're flying under the radar, you're actually building a reputation. Every email you send,
Every LinkedIn comment, every way you show up or don't is actually shaping how people perceive you. The question is, does that reputation reflect who you really are and where you're trying to go? Because when your visibility isn't intentional, your message gets messy. And messy does not monetize. It actually confuses the people that you should be magnetizing towards opportunities that you have to offer. That's why I always preach
Shani Fay - The Mommy Mogul Mentor (04:27.663)
clarity over noise. Visibility is great, but strategic visibility, that's where authority lives. You want to be known on purpose for something that aligns with your values, your voice, and your vision for what's next. Whether you're pitching yourself on podcast interviews, sharing thought leadership content, or simply networking at your nine to five, your name is gaining weight. And the goal is to make sure that it's also carrying the right meaning. Authority starts with ownership. Let's talk about the key word.
in this entire episode. Which is authority. Because let's be real, authority gets confused with popularity all the time. But authority is not just about having 10,000 followers or going viral. It's not about quitting your job on the whim or becoming the loudest voice in the room. Authority is about ownership. Ownership of your story, ownership of your voice, ownership of the value that you bring to the table even when the room isn't clapping yet. Cause that's okay. I want to be real with you.
When you first start, you're starting at one, right? You're starting really at zero. You're have zero followers, zero subscribers, and then you'll get one, and then you'll get two, then you'll get three. And next thing you know, you got a thousand, and you're like, dang, where all these people come from? Well, you had to start somewhere. If you didn't put out the content, you weren't gonna get anywhere, right? So this might look like crafting a signature story that positions your expertise and makes people really lean in, sharing consistent high value insights and your own genius, even when it feels like no one's looking, even when it feels like
You're only showing up for an audience of maybe 25 people instead of 2500 because those 25 people still matter. And let's do some quick math. If you had 25 people paying you $100 a month, wouldn't that $2500 make something wiggle in your bank account? It would make me happy to have an extra $2500. I don't know who it would make happy, right? So don't discount the small numbers. Small beginnings are beautiful. Start somewhere.
I don't care if you're still figuring it out or if you're juggling your day job. While you do it, you have something to say and it deserves to be heard. The question is, are you owning it? Because here's what I know for sure. People invest in clarity. When your voice is clear, your message is clear. When your message is clear, your value becomes undeniable. And when people know what you stand for, they trust you. And when they trust you, they buy from you. They tell their friends about you. They remember you when something important comes up that they need you for.
Shani Fay - The Mommy Mogul Mentor (06:53.379)
That's authority. Not just being seen, but being respected. And it starts with owning the space you're already in. Let me tell you a quick story. My journey didn't begin with a fancy microphone or a full content team. Actually, it started in survival mode. You may have heard me tell this story on another podcast or maybe on a guest appearance that I did. I was in back to back abusive relationships, a track that convinced me that being quiet was safer, that speaking up would cost me too much, time after time,
My voice was the thing that showed up for me. Not just to defend myself, but to remind me that I still had power. Like in those moments I can remember so vividly being like, I ain't finna let this joke take me out. Like, I may not be able to move, but I'm a damn show. Let know I got something to say. So that experience, didn't just shake me, it actually fueled me.
Because then it made me realize how many other people are staying silent, right? Like, I never thought that I would be in that type of situation. And then to experience it back to back, I was like, this is totally uncharacteristic of me, right? So, I knew that there had to be other people who were staying quiet in positions where they really should be speaking out. Even when I made it out of that relationship or out of those situations, I still found myself falling into the same co-
patterns of staying quiet. You know, they don't want to hear from me. Every time I have something to say, all I get is I'm experiencing some pushback, know, trying not to ruffle feathers. But guess what? My silence made people uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that they came to me like, I'm gonna need you to speak up, Shani, because your silence is deafening. When I stopped contributing, the room felt the difference.
That was the wake up call that I needed right there. I realized that visibility isn't just about being seen. And this isn't a corporate setting. This is not in an entrepreneurial setting. Well, really it was at my good government job. So government setting, you can translate how that works in your corporate setting. It's about being heard, right? About being valued. I was not trying to be the, you know, teacher in Charlie Brown and neither are you the wah, wah, wah. You know what I'm talking about. So I leaned in.
Shani Fay - The Mommy Mogul Mentor (08:58.359)
I used what I had and I built a brand, a podcast, and a company all rooted in helping other women use their voice before the world gave them a script. And that one act of choosing to speak anyway was the beginning of my authority. Not because I had it all figured out, but because I chose courage over silence. I chose to believe that my voice and my story mattered. And that's what I want for you. Not perfection, not performance, but purposeful ownership of the truth you carry.
and the impact that you're here to make. So let's talk systems. Systems that build the bridge between side hustle and authority. Here's the thing nobody wants to talk about. When you're side hustling your way to the top, your talent is not the problem. Your time is. You don't need more hustle. You need better systems. Because authority isn't built in burnout. It's built in rhythm. Systems, systems give you rhythm, right? You go to work every day.
and you do the thing, you have a routine, you might go in, have your coffee in the morning, then get your mind right, you sit down at your desk, maybe check your emails at the beginning of the day, maybe check in with your team at the beginning of day, but you have a way that you go about your day so that you can try to keep it as consistent as possible. Well, that's what we're talking about here. We're talking about systems that give you rhythm. So they let you show up consistently, let you create without chaos and lead without losing yourself.
in the process. This is exactly why I believe podcasting is one of the smartest systems for busy professionals and entrepreneurs. Let me tell you why. You can record once and repurpose that content across multiple platforms. Your voice creates deeper connection. As a matter of fact, right? Better than any static posts ever could. Right now you probably have your headphones in and you're listening to me directly connecting with you.
That's how powerful this is. It positions you as the expert and the facilitator of powerful conversation. And with the right strategy, it works even when you're off the side hustle clock. That's why the Time Saving Podcast was created. I made it just for this purpose. It's not about becoming an influencer. It's about becoming the trusted voice in your industry. It's about leveraging your ideas in ways that are scalable.
Shani Fay - The Mommy Mogul Mentor (11:15.135)
consistent and true to you without burning you out or doing the most. Because when you treat your podcast like a visibility system, not just a passion project, you're no longer hustling for attention, you're building sustainable authority with intention. So let's get rid of a myth. I want to handle it right now. You don't have to quit your job to be legit. I know that we're hearing that a lot.
Everybody's glorifying entrepreneurship on a full time scale and it is beautiful. They're talking about, well I can, you know, work from here. I can work from there. What they're not telling you is that sometimes they got to work from there. They want to take a vacation. The laptop must go to just putting that out there. You don't have to quit your job to be legit. You can do both, right? You don't have to be a full time in your business to start calling the shots in your niche. You don't have to be an overnight success to be a sustainable authority. What you do need is vision that keeps you grounded in your why.
boundaries that protect your time and energy and consistent action that compounds over time. If you've got that, then baby you on your way. So let me leave you with this reflection. Who are you becoming in the process of building this? Your side hustle isn't just a business. It's a mirror revealing your truth. It's proving ground, testing your courage. It's a platform amplifying your purpose. And actually I heard my very good friend and one of my business besties say this in a recent podcast that she was on. And I'll actually link it down below.
So I can shout out my client and one of my good friends, actually did a collaboration together. And she said that when you have your own business, when you venture into entrepreneurship, it'll teach you so much about who you are. It'll help you heal places that you didn't even know needed healing, but it really exposes some of those things that maybe you hadn't dealt with before. really, business will tell you a lot about yourself. So I'll click that down below. It was actually a pretty good conversation. I think you'll enjoy it. I'll leave the link down below.
It's about having a platform that amplifies your purpose. That's the goal, right? And the authority that you build today, it will echo in rooms you haven't even stepped in yet. So show up for her. The version of you that no longer has to explain her race. The version who only does what is aligned, right? She only says yes to what she's aligned with and she has no problem using no as a full sentence. The version who's booked and busy, but also arrested. The version that starts right here.
Shani Fay - The Mommy Mogul Mentor (13:36.087)
right now to date one intentional step at a time. I've said this before and I will say till I'm blue in the face everything is not a process sometimes things are just a decision that you stand 10 toes down on every time an opportunity comes you say well I made a decision that I was going to do this and so I am standing 10 toes down on what I said I wanted it's not a process I'm not getting there I made a decision and I'm going to do it stop trying and just do. If you want help building that authority
While you still work your full-time job, this episode is sponsored by 2 Pecans and a Peach where we help women just like you amplify their voice, get strategic about content, and turn that side hustle into a platform of purpose. If you're ready for clarity and support around your podcast or even your personal brand, please feel free to book a free podcast clarity call with me. No pressure, just real talk and next steps. So I invite you to go ahead and click the link down below 2pecansandapeach.com slash clarity.
Alright friend that's it for today's Heart to Heart. If this resonated with you do me a favor give this video a like and a share. Share it with someone who really needs to hear this message today and if you're on LinkedIn you already know that's my spot those are my stomping grounds so let's connect and keep the gong- Kongo going from there. Remember you're not behind you'll be coming. I'll talk to you soon.
