The Secret Behind Successful Side Hustles with Julie Berninger

Julie Berninger smiling wearing white sleeveless and dangle loop earrings

When you paint your big picture for life, what do you envision? Is your dream both balanced and abundant, exciting but stable? You desire the freedom to experience next-level opportunities while creating an impactful (and sustainable) legacy— the ideal work/life balance! And yes, it’s true… both of these possibilities can exist simultaneously! But it requires stepping out of your comfort zone, embracing your own ideas, and getting ahead of the corporate game.

“So that was the first time that I really realized, okay, I need to make a business that can sustain my life. It can still help me reach financial independence. It can give generational wealth to my daughter. And essentially I could have my time back because I was totally stretched in at the beginning in the pandemic. So that’s where I started gold city ventures. And it was something that I knew would be desirable because I’ve had a lot of success selling printables on Etsy. But I actually launched a little mastermind with my podcast listeners and I ran it a couple times in a row and it’s sold out. So I knew like, oh, other people think this side hustle is cool too. If I can find a way to share what I know in an online course, then I can scale. Scale my time and scale this knowledge out further.” — Julie Berninger

I’m sure many of you daydream at your work desk, thinking about what could be if you were given the space and time to explore other avenues of profit. Chances are the idea of a side hustle has intrigued those thoughts at one point! With remote work and passive income opportunities sweeping the entrepreneurial space, pretty much anyone with drive and creativity can manifest major money (and other luxuries).

Although side hustles empower you to unlock your multi-passionate self, there’s some growth to be had mentally and spiritually. Women like Julie Berninger always knew she was meant for more, even in her profitable corporate tech job. But once the pandemic warped her world, Julie took it upon herself to fully embrace her true potential through the magic of side hustles. And in turn, learned how to be her best (and only) boss!

I’m delighted to have smart and savvy Julie Berninger on the IHML Show to share the secret behind successful side hustles! Together we talk about the booming opportunity printables and Etsy shops have to offer, her personal journey with entrepreneurship, and even the integral mindset and money shifts in store.

If you’ve been itching at the idea of starting a side hustle, let this episode be the gentle encouragement to lean into that desire. And lucky for you, Julie shares her business resources to start a side hustle with clarity and confidence! A podcast episode and a freebie that could potentially change your life… is this a dream? Start creating your next-level life by working smarter, not harder!

In This Episode:

[1:47] Julie begins the episode by sharing the story behind her entrepreneurial success and launching her business, Gold City Ventures!
[4:43] We’re bringing you behind the scenes of what running a printable business is like, as described by Julie (and how you can do it too).
[6:19] This is the advice Julie has for those just starting to dabble in graphic design— and some game-changing tools she used in her own business.
[8:56] Julie shares the timeline of her business and how it became financially sustainable.
[11:10] Listen to Julie break down her fears and doubts surrounding entrepreneurship and money that almost cost her her independence.
[14:28] When things didn’t pan out as planned, this is how Julie navigated them.
[15:29] Julie vividly draws up her big picture goal for us!
[16:48] This is the ebook Julie’s audience raves to get their hands on…
[18:15] And of course, Julie divulges one way you can create a life better than your dreams!

Quotes:

“I had been in the entrepreneurship world for a very long time. I was working in tech, but I always felt like corporate life wasn’t for me. I was doing fine in it. I had been getting my first promotion to manager and I was kind of progressively moving up the ladder, but I just felt like there was something more out there and just sitting in my cubicle, looking out the window. Even though I was in the middle of a city and I was kind of loving it, it just felt like I wasn’t fulfilled.” — Julie Berninger

“So I started off with the printables business and then I got really savvy with keyword research tools. I know a lot of us who are in this kind of blogging space and even those who are coaches, you might look up what’s trending on Google using trends.google.com, or you might look up something using a fancy keyword tool. AHF is one that I use or suggest as a free alternative, but I use tools like that so that I could get a sense of what people were looking for. And that was the biggest game changer in my business because a lot of people will spend hours and hours creating something that not many people are looking for. So even if you hit it out of the park, if there’s just not enough people, you’re not gonna make the amount of money that you wanna make. But if you see, oh, this is trending right now, a bunch of people are looking for this. Then the ROI on your time is just gonna make a lot more sense. And that’s kind of the approach I took with creating this printable business.” — Julie Berninger

“I was working in my corporate job and then doing all these side hustles beyond just the fact that I knew there was more for me. I also wanted to reach a level of financial security so that I had this freedom to do whatever I wanted with my life, essentially in my thirties.” — Julie Berninger

“So that was the first time that I really realized, okay, I need to make a business that can sustain my life. It can still help me reach financial independence. It can give generational wealth to my daughter. And essentially I could have my time back because I was totally stretched in at the beginning in the pandemic. So that’s where I started gold city ventures. And it was something that I knew would be desirable because I’ve had a lot of success selling printables on Etsy. But I actually launched a little mastermind with my podcast listeners and I ran it a couple times in a row and it’s sold out. So I knew like, oh, other people think this side hustle is cool too. If I can find a way to share what I know in an online course, then I can scale. Scale my time and scale this knowledge out further.” — Julie Berninger

“If I can find a way to share what I know in an online course, then I can scale. Scale my time and scale this knowledge out further.” — Julie Berninger

“I think just as a female and [I was] working in tech, I was always waiting for that promotion or the next thing. And it can be hard for women in the workplace.” — Julie Berninger

“Being an entrepreneur is the biggest form of protest. I don’t have to wait on anyone’s approval to launch an idea. I don’t have to convince my boss it’s a good idea. I don’t have to get someone’s blessing to make more money. It’s all on me. There are some bad things with that, but man, it feels really freeing. And when I see the money coming in and realize like, oh, my ideas were good. Now not all of them are good, there are some that maybe I shouldn’t have done. But being the person that’s responsible and not having to get anyone else’s approval to get ahead in life, that’s what’s so empowering about being an entrepreneur.” — Julie Berninger

“I think a lot of entrepreneurs get a scarcity mindset about their product, but your competitors are your best friends. And in fact, they have the target audience that would like your course too. So if you can find a way to fit in, maybe you can create an adjacent offer that would be perfect for them. That’s something that would be a win-win for all of you.” — Julie Berninger