Working Actor Life: the reality of six-figure side jobs

Summary

One Broke Actress Podcast: Episode Summary

Title: Working Actor Life: The Reality of Six-Figure Side Jobs
Host: Sam Valentine
Guest: Gabrielle Benloss
Release Date: February 13, 2025

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1. Introduction to Side Hustles in Acting

Sam Valentine and Gabrielle Benloss kick off the episode by delving into the realities of managing side hustles alongside an acting career. They emphasize the misconceptions people have about the actors' lives and the necessity of having multiple income streams.

Notable Quote:

• Sam (00:00): "An honest account of actor life, plus a few lessons I learned in the process."

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2. The Daily Juggle: Balancing Acting and Business

The hosts discuss a typical day filled with auditions, workshops, personal responsibilities, and business tasks. They highlight the importance of time management and maintaining physical and mental well-being amidst the chaos.

Notable Quotes:

• Gabrielle (00:22): "Sam's having a coffee at 3:18 because she's already gone to a callback. She's gone to an acting workshop."
• Sam (01:00): "Did do some Pilates this morning. Good to keep your mind right."

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3. Navigating ADHD in Business Management

Sam opens up about her ADHD diagnosis and its impact on her business operations. She shares how medication and structured routines have helped her manage her responsibilities more effectively.

Notable Quotes:

• Sam (04:43): "I've been responding back and forth to some friend emergency texts and I have also been checking in on part-time employees."
• Gabrielle (05:48): "All of the plot falls into having a podcast production company because I know a lot about it from Sam."

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4. Evolution of Their Businesses Amid Industry Strikes

The conversation shifts to how strikes and industry changes have influenced their business strategies. They discuss the pivot to focused business efforts during downturns and the importance of outsourcing to maintain efficiency.

Notable Quotes:

• Gabrielle (08:30): "I can move everything around and just focus on [a series regular audition] and give that my 100%."
• Sam (12:12): "I've signed with a new manager in the beginning of 2024. Once again, did a bonus podcast about that."

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5. Financial Realities: Understanding True Earnings

They break down the financial aspects of running side hustles, highlighting the difference between gross income and actual take-home pay after taxes and expenses. This section demystifies the notion of “six-figure” earnings.

Notable Quotes:

• Gabrielle (43:04): "At the end of the day, Sam and I were making $1,225 split between two people, taking home $600 a month from our side hustle."
• Sam (44:05): "It's just only going to make your acting career more understandable. It's going to make you value yourself higher when you understand where money goes."

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6. Success Stories: Real-Life Examples from the Community

The hosts share inspiring stories from their membership, illustrating how side hustles have enabled actors to secure roles and achieve career milestones. They highlight the journey of Michelle, a flight attendant turned successful theater actress.

Notable Quotes:

• Guibrielle (48:34): "Michelle booked a callback and ultimately secured a theater production role despite her demanding job as a flight attendant."
• Sam (50:06): "It's the new world, especially for theater, too. That's incredible."

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7. Promoting Side Hustle Academy: Empowering Actors

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to promoting their Side Hustle Academy. They outline its benefits, including community support, expert guidance, and practical lessons designed to help actors build and scale their side businesses effectively.

Notable Quotes:

• Gabrielle (37:19): "Side Hustle Academy is something that is like our baby because it's really the steps that we walked through."
• Sam (50:18): "Side Hustle Academy is now on sale. We are so excited."

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8. Conclusion: Encouraging Financial Independence and Flexibility

Sam and Gabrielle conclude by reinforcing the importance of financial independence through side hustles. They encourage listeners to explore their own business ideas, emphasizing that success is attainable with the right mindset and support system.

Notable Quotes:

• Sam (53:37): "Side Hustle Academy is not a pyramid scheme. We have no stake in this game other than the fact that we just legitimately want everyone to be able to afford something they want to get, especially something for their acting career."
• Gabrielle (54:31): "We would love to see you inside Hustle Academy."

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Key Takeaways:

• Multiple Income Streams: Essential for financial stability in the unpredictable acting industry.
• Time and Energy Management: Crucial for balancing acting roles, side businesses, and personal well-being.
• Community and Support: Leveraging partnerships and memberships can significantly enhance business efficiency and personal growth.
• Realistic Financial Planning: Understanding the true earnings and expenses helps in setting achievable business goals.
• Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Embracing change and seeking expert guidance can lead to sustained success.

Final Thoughts:

This episode offers a transparent look into the life of working actors who successfully manage side hustles. Sam and Gabrielle provide actionable advice, personal anecdotes, and valuable resources to empower actors to achieve financial independence without compromising their passion for acting.

For more insights and to join their Side Hustle Academy, visit One Broke Actress Podcast.

Transcript

[A]

Fast Forward Productions. The women are speaking. What's up guys? Welcome to another episode of the One Broke Actress podcast. An honest account of actor life, plus a few lessons I learned in the process. I am your host, Sam Valentine and today I am with Gabrielle Benloss. If you don't know who she is yet, you haven't listened to any previous podcasts. And I'm having an iced coffee and it's 3:18pm Hi.

[B]

Sam and I are going to be talking to you today about our side hustles as if we haven't talked about them enough. But this is going to be the true insider view because we were just starting our conversation just about the frustrations of what people might think we do versus what we actually do. And this is a great example. Sam's having a coffee at 3:18 because she's already gone to a callback. She's gone to an acting workshop. She's had to take care of her dogs that are always having special needs. If you have three special needs dogs, you would understand. She's had to make sure she's eaten food. What else have you done today, Sam? Like in between all of this, I.

[A]

Did do some Pilates this morning.

[B]

Oh, good to keep your mind right.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And I was very achy. I needed to move first because I knew I was gonna be sitting a lot. And I have been responding back and forth to some friend emergency texts and I have also been checking in on. We have part time employees going in at my production company and later you and I have a call. Thus the coffee is. Cause we're doing a podcast now and we have to do it cause it's the only time it fits in our goddamn schedule. And then later I gotta figure out how doing this where my computer isn't. If you're watching this on YouTube or paid or Spotify. Jesus God. When I laugh it shakes my desk and my video camera moves. But anywho, we have a goal setting call and manifestation call tonight with the membership. But this is one of the perks of having a co owner is you message me and you say here's your part tonight, I have the rest done. And I was like, I don't remember doing any of this. But apparently we laid out some groundwork already. You created a slideshow in your free time. I just like, I don't even know what we're. I'm so glad you just let us into the podcast because I am.

[B]

Okay, well first of all, this is called being a business partner. Keyword partner. If I was running on here. And I looked just like you did of, like, literally running back from an audition, trying to fix my hair, dealing with the dogs, trying to grab a coffee, saying goodbye to my husband. Like, you would have done the same thing. Like, oh, I can lead you into this, but this is the ins and outs of owning multiple businesses. And that there's that quote. I don't fucking know who said it. It was probably some racist white man. But the quote of, like, to be able to have a. Be a multimillionaire, you have to have at least seven streams of income. And between Sam and I, we have six. And so Sam and I are very in each other's lives in terms of, like, I know nothing about podcast or production, but I can tell you right now, all of the, like, plot falls into having a podcast production company, because I know a lot about it from Sam. So I would like to think that collectively we own six, and I can't imagine adding a seventh. Like, could you even think about it?

[A]

I was literally, as you were saying that, I said, well, if we did have one more, like, what would it be? Do you think it would be, like, product or do you think it would be.

[B]

There's no money in product.

[A]

You.

[B]

But you and I both have tried to do product. You did product for Oba, and I did product for Yo Gabrielle and the merchant shit was cool. Cool. But, like, the markup is just not there. It's not worth it.

[A]

It's really. You don't make any money. And also, well, unless you have a really capital idea and you could get stores to pick it up and stuff. And then I just saw that Netflix documentary about buying things. And yeah, now I just feel all the things inside every time I think about buying stuff. This came from a garage sale. This. This. That's right.

[B]

That came from a garage sale. I'm wearing something rented. We're not going to say what the brand is because they haven't sponsored your podcast yet, but when they do, you guys will know.

[A]

Mm. Mm.

[B]

But seven different.

[A]

But it does feel like it. It does feel like we have. It feels like your businesses are my, like, step kids. Like, I'm involved, but they're yours to make choices on. But you can bring things to me if you want. And I also have thoughts and because there's some overlap between your membership and. Sorry I had to hit you with the metaphor in the first five minutes of the podcast.

[B]

That was a really good one, though. Out of all the metaphors she's done, I'm like, wait a Second, that's a course. She could teach a course on that. That's good. That was really good.

[A]

Thanks. I think I'd be a great stepparent, but it's never going to happen unless something goes horribly wrong. Okay. But I am so active. Focus.

[B]

Did you just question. Just update everybody. Have we taken. Yeah. Did we take our medicine?

[A]

No, I didn't take it today because everything. Okay. I mean, this is like a gentle side tangent, but I actually think it's important to what we're talking about. It is because I've talked about this on my bonus podcast, which, by the way, they are now on Spotify, Apple, and Patreon. So they're basically everywhere. It's $4 a month, and they're really freaking good. But I've talked about how I was diagnosed with adhd. I don't want to make it a plot point of my personality, but it has fed into a lot of business and a lot of how I function and figuring out how to function highest. And I do have a prescript, and I started taking medication. It's been very helpful. But every once in a while, I try to see, like, what my day would be like if I didn't take it, especially when it's a day of things that I love. So I was acting all morning at audition, at class, coming here to podcast with you. This is something I love talking to tm. I'm like, this is all stuff I love, so I think I can stay in it and very focused. But we'll see when we listen to the playback of this.

[B]

I mean, it's not that sporadic. And I think people listen to ours especially expecting it to be sporadic because they're like, I like the tangents. They go off of, like, yeah, how can you sign up for something thinking we're going to talk about side hustles, but then you get a little information about the ADHD medicine that you're in. Like, all of that still plays into it. And because I've been able to watch your journey with this medicine, it's like having as many businesses as you do means that you have thought bubbles going on in your head over and over and over again for every single business. Times, like 20 for what somebody who might not struggle with ADHD has. Like, me, like, I have my three businesses above my head and they filter easily, and I know what's the most important thing and I can execute and move forward. Yours all blend together. And so it is something that is important for us to talk about because, like, if somebody were to have a side hustle. And they were diagnosed with adhd. Like, that is something you need to know about to be able to manipulate between all of these different things that are happening in your head, but still function in a world where people don't really respect what it's like to have ADHD and understand what that can be.

[A]

Yeah, I appreciate that. And I also appreciate all of your patience as opening a business with someone who has moments of pure clarity that are so great, they're amazing. And then moments of, when did we talk about that? And you saying, I could actually tell you the dates we did it, but. Okay, so for you. But let's bring this back to the acting corner, right. Of everybody.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And I know a lot of my listeners are in the neurodivergent camp. So we. I can. We can bring that up on a different podcast. I would like to have someone who's like an actual doctor or therapist, psychologist in order to do that. So let me know if you're interested. There's comments on Spotify now. You can drop this in the comment section. I want to talk about how you work in your side hustles and manage your acting career. I believe it is different now because we are in a world of auditions are not as prominent as they were two years ago. We don't have five a week. Right. Like, if we have a week with three, we're like, holy shit, there was three this week.

[B]

Like, that's absolutely.

[A]

And I think that's important to say. Cause people are always asking me, how many auditions is enough auditions? And like, the limit does not exist. I don't think there is ever an actor who's like, I have plenty. Like, I'm done. I'm good. How do you manage having a full acting career? You just signed with a new manager. You have a full team behind you that you really love. What do you do? How would you say you manage it? Maybe before when you had tons of auditions every single week. And maybe right now, when the auditions do come in and they're really good.

[B]

I've learned a lot of lessons before, I would have tried to juggle all of them at 100%. Because I thought to myself, if I juggle all of these at 100%, it will take the impact of that series regular audition off of it, and I won't be as in focus about making sure that it happens the way that it needs to happen. But in reality, what ended up happening was that I had no juice for that series regular audition. So, yeah, I wasn't as, like, intentionally, I've got to book this. It's got to be great. But I was also like, I'm exhausted, and what can I pull from. From it? And then we started working together in business, and that was when the strike hit. And you have shown me the efficiency of two things. One, finding systems that make your life easier, and two, hiring out when you can't do it, which is something I have always been very bad about because I can do everything and try to juggle it all, but that doesn't mean that I can do it as well as somebody who maybe specializes in it. And so it's switched now where I'm able to drop anything I need to drop for acting. If I get that series regular audition and it comes in, I can move everything around and just focus on it and give that my 100%. And. And when I don't have the auditions that are coming in, I do the same thing with my businesses. So whichever business needs the most focus, that's the one that's going to get it. I just communicate with everybody else of like, I won't be able to do this or I won't be here, or I'll get back to you in 48 hours. And I outsource the things that I'm like, this has to get done by a certain time, but I can't do it. So it's really, really changed. And I think the main reason of why it's changed is for sanity, because when auditions went away, you and I both put a lot of juice towards creating the membership, which has been fantastic and extremely successful. We just finished our taxes and we made six figures, which is wild for a business that hasn't even been around for two years. But that was where all of our energy went when that strike happened. And then as it started to function in a way that we felt like was facilitating growth for us without using as much of our time, it's like that open space came back in. And I know for you that open space went for a little bit into the bebop mind of acting, but I feel like you quailed that by being like, your ass needs to get into class is what you need to do. But it did for a little bit, right? Like, you had some moments where when we weren't busy with the membership, it went back to that idea of what I was saying of like, put everything into the. The acting corner and let's do it. So how did you move from that feeling? Because you, in the in between, did not have good reps. And now you have great reps. You had one good rep. Let me, let me correct it in case they're listening. One good rep. And you had to drop your rep because shit had happened.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so, like, auditions weren't even happening for you. And then you got another great manager and now it was like, woo, double backflips of like, oh, my God, what's it like to have people that send me shit that I care about? What does it bring up?

[A]

It's fun to talk about these things with you because you and I sit front row in each other's show of life. But we also don't get always a chance to digest these things because we are so full in the schedule world. And when we're not full, we make our life full. So when people ask me, you know, can you do something on Saturday? I'm like, I'm. I actually have plans. My plan is to sit my ass on my couch and watch two movies with a dog in. In each side of my body. Like, that is a full plan to me. So, yes, I am full. The schedule's full. But having it with, like, being front row with you, I see your life progress and I see you do things, but we don't. We rarely have the time to sit on a call and say so internally when that. Unless one of us says, I need a friendship call. And we sit and we have that moment. Right. We're very good at delineating between the two.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you saw, I've had. I've had the same commercial agent and theatrical agent since 2021. I signed with a new manager in the beginning of 2024. Once again, did a bonus podcast about that. Go back and listen to it. And so I'm starting the year with someone who I was with for almost a full year now. And I trust my team. I am very good about filling free space with the next thing I need to, quote, unquote, fix. In previous days, this was me. I used to try and fix myself. Thus the years and years and years I spent in my eating disorder. Because I was. There was always something to fix. And if I messed up, I think subconsciously it gave me something to fix again. Because I could go back to the drawing board. Okay, great. We're gonna go to Pinterest. We're gonna pull up a bunch of new recipes. We're gonna pull up some new fitness classes. We're gonna pull like, this is how I fix me. And once I fix me fall into place. And so I'm Very much about fixing the next thing. And after it, taking myself out of that and saying I'm pretty great, sure, therapy, things, life, whatever. But also, if I'm doing really great, what do I focus on? And so then acting came really heavy in 2021. In 2022, I had to go back and fix myself again because there was like nothing going on for me that year. 2023, we're on strike. And you and I built a business we could absolutely throw ourselves into. And we did. And I'm so proud to say that we made six figures because it is a low cost service. Like what we're doing in TM is not pricey. Our first members pay $97 a month. Our new members pay between like 115 and 150amonth based on how many months at a time they buy. And I'm so proud of that because we created something that is so functional but so well priced. Same with side Hustle Academy. Same with the Headshot class. Like, I think we just like made things that fit. These were all projects I could give my time to. So when we finished those things and they were ready, I was like, okay, great, so now I can work on fast forward. Now it's like, okay, great. So when do you sit in the wind? Like, how do I, as Sam, rest on my work, continue to do it knowing that it's good without thinking? I have to constantly overhaul some sort of system, whether that be my acting reps, a business, you know, interior design of my home, something. And I don't actually know if I figured it out yet because.

[B]

Okay, I figured it out for you.

[A]

You did? Okay, great. You just saved me about seven grand in therapy, so please, go ahead.

[B]

No, you're not gonna like my answer.

[A]

Oh, no.

[B]

This is one thing that I think that I was waiting to bring up with you on camera so that you would have to process it in front of everybody. So this is going to be really good. Oh, this doesn't get to happen for you. So Sam is a manifester, which we've discussed in human design. And in case people who don't understand this, the world is built for generators, which are 70% of the population. That is what I am. People that are used to the 9 to 5 work life, they can generate their own energy and continue to move as long as they can continue to move. The biggest issue with generators is that they don't stop. And when they do stop, it's a big wall that they hit and it takes them longer to recover. But that happens way later than most people. So you can understand if the world has been built for generators, it's built for you to go until you can't anymore. And then people respect when you hit rock bottom. Now, when you are a manifester, it's very different. You work in terms of spurts of fire. Those spurts of fire are not controlled. You don't know when they're going to hit. Which is why a lot of times Sam does not give herself any credit for this. But she will have brief, brilliant spurts of fire that are better than anything I could have ever come up with. And then she won't remember because she was on fire in that moment. And then later on, the fire dwindled and it wasn't nearly as raving and ravishing. And so she's not really as cognizant of what she said when she was in her fire. But that's okay because she has a business partner that's a generator that's taking notes and can make sure that those things get done. So the idea that I think you personally struggle with, as my professional psychology degree of being best friends with you for only three years wants to say, is that you will constantly look for something to do because 70 of the world is always doing something. It's actually not acceptable not to do something with you, your career, your house, your dogs or whatever. So you have trained your mind to think I have to do something because that's what I see everybody else doing. And what you are working on, I watch you work on it. Every single day is like acknowledging that that is a training that is for 70 of the population that you don't fit into. But then when you do that, you start to play the game of but I'm a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. And what do you mean I can't. I don't stick out. The world was made for me. And I'm saying nothing about you or your appearance and everything about the way that you use energy. And you, there is no thing for you to do. Honestly, if you. You were to try to do the stuff that I do and the way that I do it, we would not have the fires that you have because you would be running on empty all of the time. So you're like blocking your own creativity when that happens. So your question of, like, I'm trying to figure out how not to always want to do something all of the time. I don't know if you're ever going to be able to find that, because the rest of the world is reflecting to you that you're supposed to do it. You just are going to have to choose not to do that, which is really, really hard for a recovering people pleaser like you. Very hard.

[A]

Okay. But that doesn't really, like, solve the problem. It just like highlights the problem. So.

[B]

No, it doesn't solve. The solve is you have to do it. You do it sometimes. Sometimes you post on Instagram and you're like, I'm sitting here for three hours, even though I don't want to sit here. And then you'll be like, check, mark. I did my 3 hour sit for the week.

[A]

Do you know what is so funny? Is that two weeks ago I was like, fuck everything. I'm taking a nap. And I took a nap and I woke up with a pin for a theatrical. Oh, that's right. I forgot about that was when I literally woke up from a nap and I was like, what are these calls?

[B]

Oh, oh, that's that fire. That's that fire.

[A]

Take more naps. You know, I did think that this would be my no strive year, but I don't. Like, what if it wasn't extra stri. I've really made this about me now. But what if it wasn't an extra strive year? What if it was just like, doing all of the stuff I love to do? Well, that, like, feels like it lands in my lap. I opened a book the first week of January and I opened a used book. On the inside was a sticker that just said let go. And I was like, oh, that's so cool. And I sent it to you and I was like, now, what do I let go of? Well, so this is the hard part, right? Is this served me in business. It served me to find the next thing and work on the next thing. And it's kept me. It's part of the reason I'm able to do all of the shit I do. It's part of the reason I'm able. Although it still feels messy, oftentimes it's still chugging along. And so it's hard to take something that served you in business and say, oh, well, it didn't really serve me. It hasn't served me in my artistic career necessarily. Sure, it's gotten me somewhere, but I think sometimes it plays against me and my mind wants to play against me and, like, count the years and the numbers and the days since a booking and things like that. But I think it's interesting having to utilize it in business and then step away from it. And I think we both have Traits like that that have worked in our businesses, which is honestly something we like to talk to. Like, Inside Hustle Academy. We talk to actors about this. What do people come to you for? What do they think of you as? And I feel like we've both accidentally built entire businesses. Maybe not accidentally, but off of what people think of us as. Like, the way you raise people's vibrations and the way you can just workhorse through things and tell it like it is. And all of those things, that's your act or mentorship. It's what people come to you for. It's just. It's just interesting how it kind of slips in there like that.

[B]

I think what we've both done a good job of, you know, here, this is the example I would use today because I knew that we had a busy, busy day. My day started today at three with my first call, and then it's going to go all the way until 10 with calls. And so I.

[A]

For a second, I thought you meant am, and I was gonna absolutely come for you. Don't look at me like that. Like, it's crazy. Last week you did it at five.

[B]

I did do it at five.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's the generator issue. Just because I can do something doesn't mean I should do something.

[A]

Agree.

[B]

And that is my problem. That is for sure my problem. I'm like, can I do it?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, so the answer is yes. And it's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. The question I have to get better at asking myself is, should I be doing this? Should I not can? Because if I ask myself can, my answer will always be yes, which I'm working on. But I looked at the schedule and I was like, okay, this is going to be a longer day towards the end. And Sam and I both go to bed pretty early, so staying up late is when our brain power starts to end. So I made sure that from this morning, I taught one class, and then I scheduled time to go to a walk with my dog to the sauna to get infrared healing. I came home, I made myself a really good lunch, and I watched my favorite favorite TV show. And then I started my. My, like, work that I needed to get done. And I think doing things like that in terms of stuff that feels like it is on your to do list is a reframing of the mind where society would think, oh, my God, this bitch just went to the sauna before she taught classes. She's living the life. And the answer is, yeah, I am living the life. That's absolutely true. And part of being a business owner is making sure that you like take care of your own self, otherwise you can't give in to what you need to. And so that filled my cup and I think from what you were saying earlier today, your cup is being filled by the day that you're having today, which is exciting. So it still feels like you're doing something and it's all things that you like to do. But I don't know if for you, you choosing to like take four hours of self care is going to be something that impacts you in the same way. Like that is kind of when your mind goes monkey, right? Like if I were to be like Sam, follow this same structure that walk with the dogs alone, even if you were walking mine, because the walks with your dogs is different. Walk with Winston is very more peaceful than the walk with the three dogs that Sam has. But if you were walking Winston, you would grab your phone and be like, I'll just answer this email real quick. I'll just send this voice memo real quick. Like that's how you would work. So like what would be your four hour chunk? Do you know that answer by chance?

[A]

No. But what I love about this is it's helping us think. I'm hoping that people who are listening to this can hear like the reflection of even if you are, even if you haven't, if you don't, if you're not interested in starting your side business, if you love, you know, your waitressing job, your barista job, your babysitting job, whatever it is for you.

[B]

Nobody loves us. But that's cute.

[A]

Some people, I don't know, maybe they're.

[B]

Comment below your waitress babysitter job.

[A]

Some people do, I swear to God. Some people like serving. I don't know, I don't know I.

[B]

I okay at all.

[A]

But like if I had to go back to it, I would.

[B]

But okay, come for me, not Sam. I said that comment just so you guys know. Keep going.

[A]

I would love. Everyone's so afraid to come for me and I don't understand it. Okay, so.

[B]

That my business partner, my business partner Gabrielle and her business partner key.

[A]

Oh God, fuck it, leave it in. Okay, so my thought is that people who are listening to this can still take what we're talking about right now to actors who are listening and apply it to their own life. So if for Gab, if she knows she has a big afternoon, if to prepare herself, that means that she needs to take her her time and take her day and like, you know, go to a Sauna, go to club, whatever it is for you, that is energy management. And that's true whether you have a business, that's true. Whether you're going to set, that's true. We oftentimes wait until we have this, this perfect day where it's like the day I'm gonna go to set is the day I'm gonna go buy myself a coffee and then I'm gonna do and it's like okay, great. Can you do that like once a month? Can you spend $6 once a month and treat yourself like you're going to set and make that your day? Because it's so few and far between. I love the thought of energy management for me last night when I realized that I was gonna have a long day today and I know that in between things if I got on Slack, if I got on email and started answering things, it would be completely half assed. I would half read things and I would quickly comment just to get it out of the way and it was going to be useless. And honestly probably a more of a barrier than it was a help. So when I realized this last night I got on Slack and I schedule sent messages to my fellow business people, to you, to Maddie, who's my project manager and fast forward and I said hey, I got a crazy day tomorrow. If you need me, will you text me so you don't. So I don't have to open these apps. Here's what I would like to see done. Here's what I would like to discuss if you need something and here's what I would like for Maddie. I said here's what I like reiterated to the team. Here's what I'd love you to sort out. Let me know what you need from me but via text. Cause I will not be opening this app. That was my self care, that was me looking out for my future self knowing I'm not gonna have a lot to give and so I need to hedge my bets in this direction. So what was actually your version of going to a sauna was me relieving myself of the need to do extra work. And it felt when I went to bed I felt so taken care of and I woke up this morning and I knew I had to take care of the dogs and things like that. But for me that time is mental scheduling and I have to get a piece of paper and a pencil and I write everything down so I know I'm in control of my day even if I'm technically not. Was I in control that that audition was Due earlier today. Was I in control of my class starts at this time. Was I in control that it was raining and my dogs literally. Oh, super thumbs up. Was I in control that it was raining and my dogs are 2 inches off the ground, so they were all so covered in mud it took forever to take them inside and outside? No, but I get a lovely sense of control knowing that these are my to do's, that the only thing that matters is doing those. And that is how I can take care of myself today is finding time in between that to eat, to take a breath, to do one thing. Maybe that's, that's my equivalent of that is like that, that space and time, I think. And that's only something I've really figured out later in life because I. That victim mentality that we're all a lot of you actors listening, you're gonna be like, is she calling me out? I am, but only because I needed it. We've signed up for a job that's not within our control. So you have to just kind of be radically content with that. You have to just accept it. So what can you control? And even those things you can't control, you can give yourself a semblance of control. So you knew you were gonna have a really long night last night. You were in standup class until late today. You had meetings all day long and we have so much more to do. And you gave yourself a sense of control that way. And so that's not just inside hustles. Like that's in life too, especially for acting.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's what comes with being older. Like, I mean my 25 year old self wouldn't have done it. She would have just done everything. One of the terms that my manifestation coach uses that I think really messes with this or really hits this on the thing is you're calling it energy management, which I like. She calls it energetic hygiene, which I think really just, just hits it. Because you think about the fact that you take a shower every single day if you can, right? If you have time or you do something hygienic every single day. And it, it refreshes you, it starts new, it gives you a new take on whatever you're doing. It might not always be the most luxurious shower. It might be a five minute one in between your workout with Caleb and you having to get on a call, but it feels different. And so I love the term energetic hygiene because think about it in terms of that, for you, energetic hygiene was spacing out what you needed to do and what you needed from your people that cleared the slate for you to be like, okay, I can rest assured that, yeah, I got a busy day tomorrow, but this is going to allow me to feel anew again. And that is the term that I wish somebody would have given me at 25, of what energetic hygiene are you doing? Because if you think of us as actors, our body is an instrument and a vessel. And the best way that we can act is when we can allow the energy that's coming through us to literally move through us and pass out. That's the best thing, right? When we're, like, watching performance, we're like, oh, my God, I feel like I was there. That's because somebody's using their body as a vessel to transmit the energy that they're feeling. If you are stuck and you have all these things and all these feelings, whatever, then that audition comes in, I. E. Your commercial this morning. And that commercial energy is trying to figure out its way out. But you've got all these things in there. How are you supposed to be able to perform and use your instrument the way you need to? Well, that is what I need to know at 25, because I was filling so many things up that, like, I was always telling myself, oh, I can't cry on camera. I can't get emotional on camera because I'm just a guarded person. It's like, no, you were filling your schedule with so many different things that you couldn't actually feel because you were too busy trying to hold space for all of the different things. So what are you doing to cleanse or to hygiene yourself so that when you do get something, you're available emotionally. And then also with time management, everything else as well, same thing.

[A]

It's also easier to tap into those feelings and to know yourself more when you are in charge of when you work to a certain extent. And yes, like I said, there's only so much we have control over, but we've built businesses. And it didn't start out like this. I want to be clear. It wasn't a. I'm just gonna like, maybe more like Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and just say, that's a sure. In what world I think about when I was working so many jobs, I would have thoughts that were like, I have to go to work tomorrow and I have to do this and I have to do that. I truly do not remember the last time I felt that way because I like all of my jobs now. I love running the membership with you. I love hosting these calls. It's not like my bartending job where I'd show up and I was like, oh, I have to bartend. And then people would just be weird and ignoring and anything like, what's the, what's the worst that can happen? Somebody asks us a question inside of TM and we think, wow, I don't really. I don't really have a great answer for that. Let's all talk as a group and hear how we feel about this particular person or agent or situation. That's the craziest scenario. Like, that's a really great job. And it's easier to manage your energy when you're not wasting it on jobs that you don't like. It's so much easier to get up in the morning when you like your day. And if you're holding on that for to be acting, you're gonna be holding a long time. Because we almost did this podcast about the state of the industry and how we were both doing and what was happening and things are fine. Don't believe the hype that there's nothing going on and it's death and doom. No, that's just the government. There's stuff going on, but it's different. The likelihood of you booking a job every single month to pay your rent is just, I mean, non. Existent. Is that a crazy thing to say out loud?

[B]

No, it's not a crazy thing to say out loud. But who. Who was thinking that was existent? I don't like that. Must have been. Maybe it was in la. That's actually a good question. I don't think I ever thought I was going to book a job once a month to be able to pay my bills. Is that something that you felt at some point?

[A]

All I remember thinking is, if I was a real actor, I would only make my money from acting and I would stop doing all of my other jobs. But that's because I was sold that idea that if you're a real actor, all you do is act. You don't have time to do anything else.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Have you ever been on a set? Half the time you sit in a trailer for six hours before you do anything. Come on.

[B]

Yeah. Also if that was true, then like all these actors wouldn't be diversifying their portfolio and owning liquor brands and having makeup lines and clothing lines. But that's such a good point that we bring up is like when it comes down to market and where you end up choosing to start your career and people ask that question to you. I think all the time of like, should I move to LA to Start my career. Like, these are the things. This is the reason why Sam answers with like, is that right for your mental health? Is that something you want to do? Because you didn't even. You didn't go in being like, great, I'll, you know, live in LA and be an actor. And I will also accept the idea of if I'm not doing any, If I'm doing anything else, that I'm not an actor. That's just what came with living in la, where I've always been an actor in Atlanta. And we have always been like, what else are we doing? What else are we doing? But because for the longest time, we were only getting co star auditions, so everybody was like, you will not be able to pay your rent with, at that time, $995 without taking taxes out or your agency fees out or your manager. Like, that's not an option. So sucks to suck. Find something else. It matters where you pick up your acting career. And there's different things, because then I fight with what you have to talk me through all the time of I'm trying to get an LA manager or an LA agent. And the list that I got, I was like, oh, my God, like, what? Buckwald is looking at my stuff. This is crazy what's happening. And Sam was like, I love you. You often put LA on a pedestal. Have you looked at your resume? You are performing at the level of Buckwald, but being in the Atlanta market, I was sold the idea of just accept whatever you're given, be grateful and understand that you are never at the caliber of LA unless you are living in L. A. That's what makes you the caliber, not your resume. So that's what I struggle with. But Sam would be like, fuck, yeah. Buck Wall's looking at my shit. They better be looking at my shit. That's awesome.

[A]

I. Why in God's name do you need to pay three to five grand a month in rent, Not a mortgage, in Rent, in order to justify you being represented in Los Angeles? You. You. I can't even. Don't get me fucking started. You have different credits. It's a different podcast. But that. But the. The acknowledging the thought process, I think is important because we've had actors from all over join side Hustle Academy. And so that way we've talked to people who are starting businesses in Boston, in New York, in St. Louis, you know, in Atlanta, in LA, in New Mexico, in all of these places. But the fundamentals of accepting the fact that, sure, you get to be annoyed that acting didn't come through the way you thought it would, you get to validate that. But then you also have to move the fuck on because we have to keep going. And you need to keep paying for classes or headshots or workshops or a fucking haircut or, like a microphone or a camera or something. We have to keep going. Like, we can't lament in this idea of, like, the business. Like, I just. It just didn't work for me. And so I guess it's like, I guess I'll just never be a real actor. No, keep going. But facilitate your financial success on the side. And that's. The fundamentals were the same across the board in every single person that we got to teach. And we did live calls along the way, which is like, low key plug, you guys. The live calls from last side Hustle Academy are gonna be in this new side Hustle Academy class. And you get your own live calls. So you literally get basically double, which is cool. So you're gonna have all those to listen to. And you are gonna feel so seen listening to these actors think about balancing their life, their acting career, and building a business on the side. Because everything you're thinking right now thinking, oh, I can't believe they do that. They're special. I'm not. Or, they built this. I couldn't do that. No, we're not. We're just like you. We are literally just like you. We just are a few steps ahead. Yeah, that's it. As you can hear us, I'm like, talking about how busy we are, and I don't even like the word busy anymore, how full our schedules are. But we're excited to do it because it's shit we like, and it's just. It's just so much more fun. I just want everyone to be like, enjoy their full days as much as we do.

[B]

Yeah. I want everybody to know that there's another option besides what maybe you've seen or what you've been told. And, you know, when we thought about bringing side Hustle Academy back out for sales, we were like, what does it need to look like? What do we want to do? The whole intention behind us creating side Hustle Academy was to give actors the option when they come to us and they're like, I want to work with you or I want to be in the membership, but I can't afford it right now because of where I am at my job. Well, we know that a lot of times with the flexibility, Flexibility that we're given because we want to be actors, there isn't a way to continue to move up the ladder and make more money unless you're willing to give rid of that flexibility. And so introducing whatever side hustle that you can do in a small amount. I mean, mine with yoga started with literally teaching one class a week at a studio and it turned into being a whole business. I had no idea that was going to happen. But really trying to show actors to embrace that one thing that maybe has been trickling in your head about what if I were to try this and try it in a very small grain of salt way, and before you know it, that might end up being a whole tub of salt that you can like, be like, wow, I have all of this stuff from. We really want actors to understand that instead of looking to the option of do I move further in whatever career I'm at with whatever business, but give up the creativity and flexibility that I have is not the only way to go. You could do something different. You could start something small while you're in your security blanket of whatever job you have. And all that becomes extra money, extra money right now, even if it's only a hundred dollars a month that then turns into you proving yourself you can do it. And so side Hustle Academy is going to teach you how to take that tiny little grain of salt and turn it into a tub in ways that Sam and I have learned literally over the course of a decade that will hopefully take you, I would say, at the like longest, three years to see what Sam and I see. We had put on our side Hustle Academy a three to six month time frame. And a lot of the feedback that we got from people was like, we would have loved a little bit more time. And so we've spaced out our calls so people can cover it in a longer amount of time. And you could hustle through side Hustle Academy and see success the way Sam and I do. But you would need to already have a side hustle that's been up running, proven for success and we're helping you scale. And so I just want people to know that side Hustle Academy is something that is like our baby because it's really the steps that we walked through and we can show you how to take something super small. That's just been something in the back of your head of. I really love to scrapbook and make a scrapbooking business out of it and also keep you grounded and be like, so don't run and make this scrapbooking business your personality just yet. It's going to take a bit. But you do have all the things you need as it starts to grow and scale and you can take it there. Let's just, like, figure out some steps to get there. Like, who the fuck is doing that for actors? I don't fucking know. Nobody is. Which is why we created it, because.

[A]

We needed it, because we. Because the whole time, that's the difference of the class, I think, is that we are acknowledging the whole time. And you're an actor and you're a mom and you're a sister and you're a brother and you're taking care of your pets and you're like, okay, great, now you're gonna go balls to the walls for your business. And you don't do this by the end of this. Like, this is not a pyramid scheme. We have no stake in this game other than the fact that we just legitimately want everyone to be able to afford something they want to get, especially something for their acting career. And by the way, you just said a hundred dollars a month. And I know it sounds like, Well, I guess $100 a month, I guess it could be worth work. If you spent three years making $100 a month, that's $3,600. That's a good amount of money, of.

[B]

Bonus money, of extra money.

[A]

And on that, like a 4 to 5% interest rate, it's even better. So just saying, like, it's not. It's not nothing. And that's the type of money that could, could fuel your acting career. It could keep you in this game for another two years. And we know that that luck is just timing and preparation. So if you're doing all the preparation, let's buy you some time.

[B]

Oh, yeah, I just heard something at Stand up, which has nothing to do with what you just said, but I've got to say it. Maybe it's a different podcast. You can let me know. But you said luck is preparation and timing. And my stand up teacher said that confidence is just doing something more than other people. And those two things just really, I feel the need to say it because I don't know why, like, it. What you just said of, like, people being like, I'm not lucky enough to book or I'm not lucky enough to be like you and Sam and work as much as you guys do, or what I always hear is, I'm not confident enough to put myself on the Internet, or I'm not confident enough to ask people to pay me for these services. And so, like, pull the wool. Let's pull the, the curtain. Back and let you know, like, Sam and I aren't lucky. We literally decided to prepare, and then we got the opportunity and we ran. Honestly, if we had gotten the opportunity and known what was coming to strike, we probably wouldn't have done it. Like, it wasn't a love time to start the membership at all at that was insane.

[A]

And we were like, well, let's see how this goes. If all else fails, we will take care of these first 30 actors to the best of our abilities for the foreseeable future. And if that's the most we get, then that's a dream.

[B]

That was a dream.

[A]

Actors.

[B]

We have a hundred actors. And just to be completely transparent with you guys, at the 30 actors that we got, they were all paying $97. That's $3,000 a month. Okay? People like, whoa, $3,000 a month. Take 30% away for taxes. Let me just do some quick math for you so you can understand.

[A]

Oh, my God, we're gonna do math.

[B]

3, 1, 2, 3 times 0.30. Okay, so that's $900 of our 3,000. Take it away. So we're looking at $22,100. We pay in systems, because I do the books. $375. Looking at $1,725. You have to put away anything that you might want for outsourcing and stuff like that.

[A]

Yeah, we paid community manager.

[B]

Yeah, we paid a community manager. We paid a graphic designers. That was about $500 of our sales. So at the end of the day, Sam and I were making $1,225 split between two people taking home $600 a month from our side hustle that we started after both of us having two side hustles together. So times 12. A grand profit of $7,000 for one year of being in business together. Like, it's not that much, you guys. It's really not.

[A]

No. I think when people. And when we say things like, our business made six figures, I think that people think, wow, you made six figures. It's the same nonsense. I hate when people say, well, so and so gets paid $2 million per movie. Okay, sure, maybe they do. Did you take out taxes? Did you take out their lawyer fee, their agent fee, their manager fee, their makeup artist, The. The clothes and everything they have to prep for the. The press tour? A lot of that is not covered. Like, that's right. The process of maintaining that. Yeah, that's. You're probably taking home, like, 20 to 30% max. So I think that understanding that is it's just only going to make your acting career more understandable. It's going to make you value yourself higher when you understand where money goes. And it's going to make you value other people's services is better. So I love doing math like that because I think it. It makes it worth it.

[B]

Yeah. And just showing people that our example of $100 a month gave you $1,200 total in profit because you weren't outsourcing anything. You were just doing one little thing on the side. Sam and I outsourcing everything from our business that created six figures gave us around $8,000 in profit for the year. At the end of the year, $1200 versus $8000. It's not actually that much money when it comes down to it, but it gave us peace of mind, it gave us flexibility, it gave us a reliable paycheck, it gave us community. It gave us a focus outside of acting. And all of those things have value for us. Then you take that and you multiply it into the other side hustles you have. We get back to that same analogy of having multiple streams of income. And now you're seeing how all of these things kind of domino effect on top of each other versus listening to the idea of I go to work from 9 to 5, I do my acting career after that 5pm time or on the weekend is the only way I can do it. It's not. And here's another way, and it's still not a multimillion dollar solution, but it is something different. And if somebody were to tell me, hey, you could work on something that could potentially generate $8,000 in profit for an entire year for you, are you open to starting it? I would have been like, wait, what? Make it make sense. But now I'm like, yes, because all these other things that are going to happen from it are going to be so worthwhile. Not to mention, starting a business around acting has made us better actors as well. Like, we are doing things in totally different ways because we know that we have people that are going to ask us how we did it. So we're like, wait, what's the structure here?

[A]

Yeah, we actually have to do a better job of clocking details of things than we ever have before. Caveat. Not everyone needs to create a business around acting things. I want to make sure that's very clear because that's not what we're not. The side hustle academy is not here's how to create your actor business. It's you are an actor here's how to create a side business. Sure. Maybe you do excel at that and you want to coach other actors or something to that effect. Awesome. We will support you, we will guide you. We will give you everything we possibly know. My agent found out we were doing this and she reached out to me and she said, I'm hosting a call with our entire roster today and I'm so excited to tell them about what you guys are doing because in this business right now, we need this more than ever.

[B]

Wow. I didn't know that.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I know. She was like, I think it's incredible. I think everyone should know about this. I was like, this is so. It's so heartwarming to know that even our reps see, hey, we need our roster to be successful. They want you to go be able to afford a coaching when you get an incredible audition. They want you to be able to upgrade your self tape setup. They want. They don't want you to have to wait six years to afford new headshots. So they want you to make money too. Don't think that this is a. This is not a slight against your acting career. This is fuel for your acting career.

[B]

It's fuel and it only helps them to feel like they can continue to keep. Minty had an audition today for a theater production. She was in callback rounds and she just texted and said she booked it. Literally. I have to break this down on this call so you guys can understand. It has nothing to do with a side hustle, but this is how Sam and I work. So she's an actor. She moved from LA to Nashville because she had the opportunity to and it fit her better. Michelle. Michelle, yeah.

[A]

Yes. Like Michelle from the membership.

[B]

Yes, yes, yes, yes. So she moved to Nashville and she's actually felt more like an actor in Nashville than she did in la, which is very interesting. Sting and one of the things she was struggling with was accepting the fact that what, you know, this industry looks like and feeling like, wow, I've been doing this now with you, Gabrielle, side by side for the past year and I still haven't been able to sign with anybody. We got down to, I don't feel like I'm an actor if I haven't been signed and I'm getting a paid gig of everything else just falls to the end. And so I was like, oh, great. All right, let's work on that. Let's do some audition work and just see what happens. So she found a play that she fell in love with. The theater audition. She sunk her teeth into it. Felt really, really great about it. Got there. They asked her the question, are you ready? And it triggered her. She immediately thought, no, I'm not ready because I don't have an agent and I've never gotten paid for acting before. And so she completely blacked out. I was like, you gotta do it again. You have to jump back into something that you don't have any skin in the game and see how those feelings come up when you don't feel like you have to have it based off of an actor. So she found another play audition for the Whale. Somebody's doing the Whale. She went to the auditions last night. She sent me a message and she was like, oh, my God, I totally felt like an actor. I did so good. I got a redirect. I owned it. I did great. She messaged me this morning and said, I just got a text from casting saying, can I come back for a callback? And now she just texted me and told me she booked it. Yeah, that's so cool. I didn't so stinking cool not to.

[A]

Like, make it about the side hustle, but it's your job and you got to help her get here. Like, that is what I'm saying about, like, we love what we do so much. That is so cool.

[B]

So cool. And guys, she's a flight attendant. She's been a flight attendant for 20 plus years, so her schedule is nothing that is normal. She literally is in the air for three, four, five days at a time. She's going to have to request off from that job for this theater production. And she's been working that side hustle for her whole life, and she's been able to figure out how to make it flexible. So just another example of somebody that is doing something that we would never think you could do as an artist. You would never think you could be, like a flight attendant as well. And what that success looks like and how 10 years ago, that wouldn't even have been something that people would have thought about. They'd be like, no, you're a flight attendant or you're an actor. And this is what we're saying. This is how it looks.

[A]

This is the new world, especially for theater, too. Like, that's incredible. Oh, I'm so happy for her. As of Today, it is February 13, the day this comes out, and we are selling side Hustle Academy. So we mentioned it gently inside of this episode, but we are taking everything. I know Solo's just like, such a scene stealer.

[B]

I can't technically, in all the work I've done. You shouldn't be using solo because dogs are so present in the moment that everybody pays attention to the dog and doesn't pay attention to what you say. Same thing with babies. Just letting you know.

[A]

Is it, like, subconscious? Are you getting, like, look at how happy my son is and how happy I am and I go to Side Hustle Academy.

[B]

You just talk about that and I'll say it in, like, low ASMR turns and we'll misablo. Infect them. By Side Hustle Academy. By Side Hustle Academy.

[A]

By Side Hustle Academy. Can you hear him? We're keeping all of this. I don't even care. Welcome to the podcast in 2025. This is what happens when you're doing something for almost 10 years. Guys, it's on sale. We are so excited. We took everything we learned from launching it last time and running it last time and from all the actors who started their own businesses and or improved their current businesses. And it is starting up again in March with live calls along with, like we said, the live calls from the last class. So you can learn from both. You will have a community in there. You will have a lot of other actors to work on things with. You will have guest expert calls. You will have all of our lessons. It's over 30 hours. And because you are a listener of this podcast, not only do you have a link below to a free webinar that Gab and I did all about turning your grind, your grind in all my life grind into a side hustle today. So you can just take the free webinar if you want. If you want to take it further in that free webinar, we give you a coupon for side Hustle Academy that takes it from $1,000, aka 999, but it's like a lot of words to $750. And we say prices out loud because we hate when people gatekeep your price. We hate when you feel like find it on a website on, like the 17th page. So 750 bucks. There's payment plans. There's payment plans without interest, so you can do whatever you need to do to get by. We firmly believe that you will do what you need to do best. And even the free webinar has some great takeaways. So please go check it out. I'd love for you guys to gain information from there.

[B]

We would love to see you inside Hustle Academy, but I will be honest. That free webinar, we finished it up yesterday and we were both like, wow, wow, we gave away a lot of stuff for free that will probably not always be the webinar, so take advantage of it now.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. And if you guys like this podcast, make sure you're following Gabrielle Benloss on Instagram. Make sure you're following me at Sam Valentine. If you want more of this type of chat, Gab has several episodes on the bonus podcast channel. You can get those on Patreon, Spotify and Apple. You guys can check us out inside of the membership. By the way, just gonna throw this out there. Side Hustle Academy people get first dibs on the next round of the membership when we invite new folks in, so that's also an option. You can find more about that below. Everything is listed in the Show Notes. Thank you guys so much for listening and I will talk to you next week.

[B]

Bye guys.