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Transcript

Side Hustles that Saved Me · Mommywood

• 0:01
  Welcome to Mommy Wood. I'm always so happy that you are
• 0:05
  here. Thank you for joining me.
• 0:07
  This episode I'm going to be talking about the jobs that have
• 0:11
  saved me, the survival jobs, the hustle jobs, the jobs that
• 0:16
  clearly are not going on our IMDb.
• 0:20
  They're the jobs that are paying the bills, the jobs that are
• 0:23
  keeping us in LA or whatever city you're in.
• 0:28
  These are the jobs that I feel like a lot of us are not talking
• 0:33
  about because there can be shame around it or embarrassment.
• 0:40
  And we are doing what we need to do to to provide for our
• 0:46
  families and to keep us in these artistic, creative pursuits.
• 0:55
  So I'm here to talk about my side hustles that have saved me
• 1:02
  and how I've been able to stay in LA and have a child and also
• 1:10
  continue to pursue my career as an actor.
• 1:14
  So let's just get into it. Let's talk about why we need
• 1:19
  these side hustles in the 1st place or day jobs say so.
• 1:25
  Oh, and let's actually talk about the difference between a
• 1:27
  side hustle and a day job. I think these for me, I would
• 1:32
  call more of day jobs less of side hustle.
• 1:37
  I feel like side hustle is kind of something you can just like
• 1:43
  pick up and drop off like randomly do it.
• 1:46
  Mine are more day jobs, although I feel like day job also
• 1:50
  insinuates that it's a full time job and that then acting becomes
• 1:57
  a side job and that's not the case.
• 2:00
  I feel like again, we need to be more transparent with these
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  things and just talk about them. So obviously the reason that I
• 2:10
  or anybody needs a side hustle or a day job or other sources of
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  income is because, Oh my God, especially right now, who is
• 2:22
  making money as just an actor. Anybody please, if you are, I
• 2:30
  applaud you. Like great job.
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  That's amazing. I mean that sincerely good for
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  you. That's the dream, right?
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  But most of us, that is not happening, especially since
• 2:43
  like, you know, even years ago when it started the trickle down
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  of like celebrities on TV and now they're in like every
• 2:49
  commercial. So all the rest of us who are
• 2:52
  not already famous are getting pushed down to the bottom of the
• 2:57
  barrel. So that's why we need these jobs
• 3:01
  to keep us afloat, to pay the bills, to pay the rent, to
• 3:05
  provide. So that's why I need these day
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  jobs. Let's talk about what my day
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  jobs are. It's not that interesting.
• 3:14
  So I'm not I mean, I do like them so, but I'm not going to go
• 3:18
  into like full detail of what mine are like my schedule and
• 3:22
  all that because I feel like you will not find that very
• 3:24
  interesting. But I still babysit.
• 3:28
  Full disclosure, I am not a nanny anymore.
• 3:31
  I used to nanny. I nanny basically since I got to
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  LA, one of my first jobs in LA, when I got here, I had somebody
• 3:41
  from Saint Louis that had worked at Mozza and actually I worked
• 3:45
  at Mozza to go and like worked at the front counter just like
• 3:50
  checking people out and doing all that, which was a great job,
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  especially for like having a job when I got here was pretty
• 3:59
  amazing. I think I was there for a few
• 4:03
  months. I wasn't there very long because
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  right away I also got a job as a nanny for Rob Benedict and his
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  wife at the time and they were amazing.
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  It was such a great job. It was every day after school I
• 4:20
  would stay, you know, when both parents were out of town, they
• 4:25
  became really like family to me. They actually just came to May's
• 4:28
  birthday party. All of them came and it was so
• 4:31
  heartwarming. They are now 21 and 18, which
• 4:35
  which makes me feel like I'm literally 1 foot in the grave.
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  So I can't imagine how I'm going to feel when my own child is
• 4:43
  that old. It's inconceivable, but that was
• 4:47
  a great job for me. It was very flexible, especially
• 4:51
  working for a parent that was also an actor.
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  That was kind of the key because if and and since then have
• 5:00
  worked for various families where one or both of the parents
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  had very flexible jobs or you know, or the moms were stay at
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  home moms or whatever was so important.
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  Because if I were to be in like a career nanny, which I am not,
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  and work for people who had full time jobs and needed somebody
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  like obviously I was reliable, but yeah, I needed them to be
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  flexible as well. So that was a great day job,
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  especially because, and it still is, I still babysit.
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  Again, Full disclosure, I still babysit but it's only for like 2
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  families that I feel very close to and it's nice kind of money
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  under the table if you know what I'm saying.
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  So that's been very nice. I also the first, I can't
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  remember exactly when I started, but I started teaching like at
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  AI. Think I've already said where I
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  teach, but I guess I shouldn't say specifically where I teach,
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  but I teach it two different children's theater places.
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  So those ones I started, one I started a very long time ago.
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  The other one I actually started, the owner was the first
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  person I told I was pregnant because I didn't know her.
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  I couldn't take, I couldn't keep it to myself.
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  And obviously if she was hiring me, she would need to know
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  sooner than later. But these have been, but this
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  has been a great job, the teaching especially because it's
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  musical theater, it's dance, it's acting, it's singing, these
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  are and it's with kids. So it fills me with, you know,
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  so much joy as well and continues to keep me creative.
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  That was one of the things I was going to say about these jobs.
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  And it's great for an actor to be able to have a job that keeps
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  you really creative and kind of fills something in you that
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  makes sense. But like, but I'm able to like
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  see these kids fall in love with something that I love so much.
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  So not only is it something that I get paid for and is also
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  flexible because they are very aware that most of the people
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  they hire are actors as well. So that's really nice.
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  Again, flexibility has been key and the job of teaching kids and
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  directing kids is so fulfilling too.
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  So that has been key for long. Like longevity.
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  It's not so much of A burnout job.
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  Like when when I was nannying, I ended up I stopped nannying
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  maybe a couple months before I was done before May came along,
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  but I stayed, I was still directing and I have my shows
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  where I teach like the week before I think May was born.
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  So it was easier to have patience and like because
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  because the directing job has more structure to it, which is
• 8:32
  also helpful. But it was interesting.
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  Obviously I've worked a ton with kids, but it's been so different
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  with my own because I think I've said before, like it's so much
• 8:44
  easier to tell somebody else or it's so much easier to raise
• 8:49
  kids that are not yours. I feel like I felt like I was
• 8:53
  like a child whisperer, baby whisperer.
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  Like people would be like, how did you get my kids to go to
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  sleep? How did you get them off the
• 8:59
  iPad? I'm like, I told them to and I
• 9:01
  took the iPad away or whatever. And, and it's just so funny that
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  it's so different when it's your own kid.
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  Like I you're obviously so much more invested in your own kid
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  and just like the long term of how they're going to turn out,
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  although they just listen better when they're not yours, which is
• 9:27
  so unfortunate and so hard. But but yeah, I always felt like
• 9:33
  kids just like listen to me and I can be stern, but I can be fun
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  and they're great. Turns out I just like had really
• 9:39
  good kids that I worked with, which was also great.
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  But but yeah, that was very surprising how much different it
• 9:48
  was for me to so far have my own kid and think of like behavior
• 9:57
  stuff and all of that. Just like how I react to things.
• 10:01
  I've always been surprised. I continue to surprise myself
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  with how I react to things as a mom as opposed to what I would
• 10:11
  say to another mom, which is very interesting.
• 10:17
  I, I do think that these jobs have made me a better actor
• 10:24
  because again, because maybe not the nannying, I don't think
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  that's necessarily made me a better actor.
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  Obviously becoming a mom has made me a different actor and
• 10:38
  like feeling the depths of things.
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  I guess I could tap into, you know, mom mode easier than other
• 10:49
  actors who didn't work with kids.
• 10:51
  Maybe. It definitely easy to tap into
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  like teacher nanny mode because that's what I was already doing.
• 11:00
  But I think as far as the directing and, and teaching
• 11:08
  kids, I think it has made me a better actor because seeing, or
• 11:13
  at least like, reminds me like why I do this and seeing kids
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  really fall in love with it and just have fun and use their
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  imaginations. And, and all of these things
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  that like remind me of like why I got into it or why I liked it
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  when I was little. So it's always nice to have that
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  like little, like little reminder, which is, you know, we
• 11:43
  need, we need a lot the reality of balancing the schedules
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  though of our day job, side hustles, whatnot with
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  auditioning and hopefully bookings.
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  Again, flexibility with these jobs is key.
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  I think that's why, especially now I am focusing more on doing
• 12:08
  my own thing and like starting my own business, like my own
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  teaching things because it's definitely easier to be your own
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  boss. Obviously, these jobs I have are
• 12:22
  great and they're very and they're flexible.
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  And then I do wonder if it would be less flexible if it's my own
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  thing because I can't get a sub for myself if I'm my only
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  person, you know what I mean? But yes, it's, it's very
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  flexible. And I think as a parent and as
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  an artist, the flexibility is keyed.
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  So if you can work for yourself or work for other artists,
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  that's probably going to be your best bet.
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  Because I think of like if May has a performance at school at
• 13:04
  10 AM or 4:00 and if I have a nine to five, I'm not going to
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  that. And that's so unfortunate.
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  And having these jobs be flexible for not only being a
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  parent, but also being an actor is so important.
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  So for me, nannying and these two teaching jobs have been very
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  flexible. So it's really, it's been great,
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  but I will say they're not always as consistent as I want
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  them to be. Like I feel like I know I have a
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  job, but then say a camp gets cancelled because somebody,
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  because not enough kids signs up.
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  There's always possibilities of that, which is unfortunate.
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  Also, my husband does audiobooks and just switching to sharing
• 14:03
  his kind of day job, he's done audiobooks and he's been
• 14:07
  pursuing pursuing it for since like almost right before May was
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  born and it's been great too. It's one of the reasons May did
• 14:17
  go to school though, because again, he's working for himself.
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  So it's very flexible, but the struggle of managing your own
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  time and then having a kid at home if you record from home can
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  be very difficult. So her going to school and but
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  him having that flexibility has been amazing.
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  I do think going back to when I started talking about in this
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  episode, talking about like how we don't talk about these day
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  jobs or side hustles because I don't know why I don't I, but
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  because this is kind of what I want to know a lot about when
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  people are saying they're an actor and they have kids and
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  they're living in LA and I'm like, how are you paying rent?
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  That's what I always want to ask like, what are, how are you
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  making money? Because we all can't be married
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  to like one person that's making money.
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  Like, that's so not probable, but but again, I don't think
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  there should be any shame or embarrassment in how you provide
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  for your family, for yourself, for your career.
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  I don't think anyone should make you feel any less for doing
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  whatever you need to do. I think that has been something
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  that I've learned more so with the nannying job with
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  babysitting, because that can feel like the help and I don't
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  and that doesn't make me feel good.
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  And the idea of leaving my child to watch somebody else's child I
• 16:06
  didn't love. But at the end of the day, it's
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  something I'm good at, it's something I enjoy, it's
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  something that's flexible, it's something that pays well.
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  So that's the case for me. I'm not going to feel
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  embarrassed for how I am so moving around, how I am helping
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  to provide for my family. And I don't think anybody else
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  should. And I'm very curious what other
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  people's day jobs and sources of income are because again, we're
• 16:43
  not all making all of our money off of acting.
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  So share with me. Let me know what your what your
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  little side hustle or your day job is, whichever you prefer to
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  for it to be called. Again, I don't regret.
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  I don't I, I don't even think regrets the word I don't know.
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  I don't feel ashamed. I don't feel embarrassed anymore
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  about about babysitting. I never felt bad about like the
• 17:20
  teaching thing. That sounds like a legit thing
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  to do, but and, and again, the babysitting is a little less
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  now, although I've been asking, I've I've had to, there are
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  times if teaching is slow or things get cancelled that I have
• 17:35
  to ask like hey, or be like, hey, I'm available if you need
• 17:38
  me. And again, that doesn't feel
• 17:42
  great, but I have to do what I have to do.
• 17:45
  We all do. And I would say the same thing
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  to anybody else who's an actor and a parent and has a side job
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  day, side hustle, day job. I would say do what you got to
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  do. Try and choose something that
• 18:02
  brings you joy. Don't do something that makes
• 18:05
  you miserable. You're going to bring that home.
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  And that's so hard. But easier said than done.
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  It like this job market is not great.
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  And I feel you and I understand, like, but yeah, we do have to do
• 18:22
  what we got to do. But hopefully you can find
• 18:25
  something that brings you a bit of joy and doesn't, like, make
• 18:30
  you miserable. But there's always, you know,
• 18:38
  two sides or like there's always pros and cons to things like
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  maybe it's more important for you to be flexible.
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  So you'll take a no, no, no telemarketing or some sort of
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  job that's not fulfilling. But if it's flexible and it pays
• 18:54
  decent, then that's what's more important to you.
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  If it's more important for you to find something that's more
• 19:02
  creative or, you know, fills that creative side of you, If
• 19:09
  that's more important, but maybe isn't always the most reliable
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  or doesn't pay the best. Like those are things that we
• 19:17
  have to individually make those choices and decisions.
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  And not to say that that one is more important than the other.
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  It's just what what we choose and what we think is best for us
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  and our family. And and I still think that it's
• 19:39
  so important again, to continue to pursue your passion as
• 19:49
  actors. We, you know, that's a hard
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  thing. Like I think a lot of people
• 19:56
  feel like if they take on a certain job or.
• 20:02
  Whatever that that it makes them less of an actor and that you
• 20:06
  have to struggle to be an actor or you can only focus on acting
• 20:11
  to be an actor. And none of that is true.
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  I think we've been fed this starving actor crap for so long.
• 20:20
  And you can be happy and be an actor and you can have other
• 20:26
  pursuits of income, other even other pursuit like even of other
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  career pursuits as well. Because acting isn't always
• 20:38
  paying the bills. It is it's not always great and
• 20:43
  it's not always and it's not always easy.
• 20:47
  So that's that's my two cents about being a parent and having
• 20:54
  a side hustle or day job. And again, I'm so curious what
• 20:58
  other people's side hustle day jobs are.
• 21:01
  I'd be curious to hear from from people who have lots of kids,
• 21:09
  who have one kid, who have many sources of income, who have like
• 21:15
  a full time job. There's so many different
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  avenues. And it's again, that's one of
• 21:20
  the things that's great about acting and being able to pursue
• 21:25
  this career and have other things that can, that can fill
• 21:30
  you or can pay your rent. So yeah, I think I think I've
• 21:37
  said, I think I've said my two cents and I'll and I'll just
• 21:41
  leave it there. But but I would like you to
• 21:44
  share that information with me. If you care to do so.
• 21:47
  You can find me on Instagram and Mommy would podcast or Tiktok.
• 21:52
  And as always, thank you so much for being a part of Mommy would.
• 21:58
  Take care.