Professor Rachel Jimenez, PhD, is an award-winning social entrepreneur and educator. Now, with the help of intelligent side hustles, she turned her life around and makes an incredible $14,000 in passive income every month. A mother of two, Jimenez started her business in 2010 and started making tiny profits before taking off into the entrepreneurial stratosphere.
In 2018, after spending years in a fulfilling yet uninspiring role as a higher education administrator, Jimenez made a pivotal decision. So she resigned from her full-time job to double down on her side hustle, which had recently started demonstrating some solid traction. She had already begun selling digital products, like her coloring book, on Etsy. This e-commerce platform is well-known for its original, artisanal and bespoke products.
Nine months after starting her Etsy store, Jimenez’s hard work really started to pay off. Sales exploded and she quickly found herself raking in thousands of dollars a month. This unexpected success gave her the opportunity to step away from her full-time job and dedicate herself completely to her entrepreneurial spirit.
Jimenez’s success did not come overnight. During those initial months of her side hustle, she made just a few dollars at a time. Her fierce ambition and determination led her to search for new avenues within the freeing space of online entrepreneurship. She welcomed the shift and adjusted gracefully, pivoting as needed. Her Etsy store did become a main pillar of her income, but that was only one piece of a larger strategy.
Today, Jimenez boasts seven diverse income streams that contribute to her monthly earnings, including her Etsy store and a personal blog where she shares insights on entrepreneurship and motherhood. As a diversifier, real estate investments benefit her financial portfolio, along with the stock appreciation that’s propelled black women investors’ high returns over the years.
Beyond her noteworthy business accomplishments, Jimenez did something truly noteworthy. For her sixth installment, she made a $41,000 investment in an Italian rental apartment’s renovations. This property has provided her with a profitable investment asset and a family getaway for her family on personal time.
While the transition from a traditional paycheck to a variety of revenue sources was not without its hiccups, the process has been empowering for Jimenez. She paints a realistic picture of the hard work, strategic planning, and resounding perseverance that anyone seeking financial independence will need to succeed. Her story is an inspiration for many young entrepreneurs. They work hard to find a path between their family priorities and their professional goals.
Jimenez’s advice for those looking to start a successful side hustle is straightforward: Begin with what you are passionate about, be prepared to put in the hard work, and remain adaptable to change. She wants you to find what you’re best at and turn that into your money-making enterprise.