The Side Hustle Show – Episode 707

Title: $70k on the Side in 6 Months with Aura Photography
Host: Nick Loper
Guest: Summer Rae, Founder of SomaLumen (somalumen.com)
Date: November 13, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Nick Loper sits down with Summer Rae, an entrepreneur who quickly scaled a highly profitable aura photography business as a side hustle. Within just six months, Summer generated over $70,000 in revenue by offering energetic “aura” portraits at events, festivals, and private parties—attracting a steady flow of customers despite relatively low startup costs and minimal marketing. The conversation explores how Summer validated her idea, iterated her offering, used strategic partnerships, and ultimately began licensing her new technology. Whether you "believe" in auras or not, this episode is packed with actionable advice for service-based hustlers and creatives.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origin & Initial Validation

• Unique Concept: Aura photography visualizes a person’s energy field using biometric hardware and software Summer built herself.

• Starting Out: Reached out to local boutiques, metaphysical shops, and retailers in Central Oregon to host pop-up events. Some spaces were free, others required a nominal flat rate ($50–$70 for several hours).

• Early Results: Immediate demand exceeded expectations:

  • First pop-up: 30+ photos
  • Second pop-up: 50 photos
  • Each photo session: $44 (average realized price: ~$41 after occasional discounts)

  "I was paying on average like 50 to 70 bucks for a flat rate for several hours in a store. So I really only had to take two photos all day. So that was a great way to start."
  — Summer Rae [02:03]

  "My first pop up, I did like I think 30 something photos. The next one I did about 50 photos."
  — Summer Rae [03:41]

2. Product Experience & Value

• More than a Photo: The appeal is emotional and experiential—making people feel “seen” and good about themselves.

• Materials & Margins: Hard costs are minimal ($1.50–$2 per print), profit margin is extremely high.

  "A large part of it too is people feel they feel pretty safe to be seen...I show them a photo of themselves just glimmering like a gemstone and tell them how delightful they are...that is really the essence of what they're buying."
  — Summer Rae [04:17]

• Technology: Summer engineered “modern” tech to provide video energy readings and live visuals (differentiating from $7,000–$20,000 retro aura cameras).

  "Because I use modern tech, it populates a...so you can watch their energetic field kind of move in real time. It's kind of guesstimating the speed of things, your little electrons moving around."
  — Summer Rae [05:49]

3. Operations & Event Strategy

• Targeted Pop-Ups: Leveraged strategic partnerships with shops and events to tap into existing foot traffic.

• Expansion to Festivals: Moved from boutiques and farmer’s markets to larger festivals (e.g., music festivals, First Friday art walks).

  "The first music festival that I applied to was 600 bucks. They took 20%. ...it ended up being a great festival and they just took the 600 bucks out of my payment."
  — Summer Rae [13:04]

  • Results Example: At a country music festival:

    • 100 sessions in a day, sold out, netted ~$5,000 after fees in a single weekend.

    "I think I made about five grand that weekend. Wow, just a Friday and Saturday. Yeah, it was amazing."
    — Summer Rae [16:37]

• Booth Setup: All equipment is ultra-portable, fitting in a backpack, minimizing setup/teardown friction.

  "All the setup fits in a backpack. Everything fits in my backpack. So it's super, super portable."
  — Summer Rae [23:19]

• Event Fees: Sometimes paid flat rates, sometimes a percentage; now prefers flat fees due to higher revenues.

• Collaborative Events: Has split booth costs with complementary vendors (tarot readers, watercolor artists).

  "Splitting the booth cost is like a really great way to make it accessible for new people who are testing new offerings."
  — Summer Rae [28:08]

4. Marketing & Customer Acquisition

• Minimal Social Media: Despite "embarrassingly little marketing" and neglected social media, strong word-of-mouth and press (local papers) drive inquiries.

  "I've done remarkably little embarrassingly little marketing and I hate to say my social media is horrifically neglected."
  — Summer Rae [26:45]

• Strategic Partnerships: Worked with boutiques, offering in-store discounts aligned with “aura colors” to drive sales for both parties.

  "You would get your photo with me and then based on the colors that showed up, you could buy anything those colors for 20% off."
  — Summer Rae [21:27]

• Experience-Driven Approach: Focused on delighting customers and making the experience memorable, inspired by lessons from Starbucks and SoulCycle.

  “You’re really not selling whatever is in your hand. What you’re selling is the way you make someone feel.”
  — Summer Rae [28:59]

5. Licensing & Scaling

• Scaling the Business: Paused in-person events to develop and license her tech to other practitioners.

• Licensing Model: Sells the tech/software at under a tenth the cost of old-school aura cameras ($149/mo for licensees, with business/pricing guides included).

• Passive/Leveraged Income: Strong demand for licensing from event planners and energy practitioners across the country.

  "I have a whole Slack channel built out...I've got like a pricing guide...templates for reaching out to markets."
  — Summer Rae [37:50]

• Remote Sessions: Began offering virtual readings, with growing customer base especially in Midwest, South, and Great Lakes regions.

  "I've also tweaked all of my stuff so that now I can offer remote sessions at home...getting a few a week."
  — Summer Rae [43:52]

6. Memorable/Surprising Stories

• Pregnancy Aura: Detected an unexpected ribbon of white on a pregnant woman’s photo, before she’d told anyone at the event.

  "She tells me that she is 12 weeks pregnant, which is just this fascinating. You're picking up on baby energy in a very baby zone of a woman's body."
  — Summer Rae [41:52]

• Therapeutic Impact: Many clients report feeling unexpectedly seen and healed by the experience.

  "I got an email a few weeks ago that was like, ‘I didn't even know this was the medicine I needed.’"
  — Summer Rae [32:41]

Notable Quotes & Takeaways

• On Starting Imperfectly:

  “Start. Start. Just do it. Do it imperfectly, do it ugly and fix it later. And people will be so excited to receive you because starting is so brave and hard and you can do it.”
  — Summer Rae [45:42]

• On Market Differentiation:

  "Maybe you don't even print the photo. You just airdrop it to people and you charge 30 bucks...that might be more profitable."
  — Summer Rae [37:50]

• On Emotional Selling:

  “Make it less transactional and more transformational and I think you're gonna be in a good place there.”
  — Nick Loper [46:32]

• On Technology & AI:

  "My software is not replicable because there's no AI used at all...I think people gravitate toward experiences like mine because...these magical points of connection and being seen and being witnessed, that's the magic of it all."
  — Summer Rae [31:29]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:03] – How Summer got started with pop-ups in local stores.
• [03:41] – First event results and initial pricing/margins.
• [05:49] – Differentiating with modern tech in aura photography.
• [13:04] – Applying for and negotiating music festival booth fees and revenue share.
• [16:37] – Revenue generated from a single festival event.
• [23:19] – Portability and low overhead of the entire setup.
• [26:45] – Minimal marketing, focus on referrals and local press.
• [28:59] – Experiential service approach, inspired by Starbucks and SoulCycle.
• [37:50] – Licensing model and guides for other practitioners.
• [41:52] – The surprising pregnancy aura photo story.
• [43:52] – Launching remote/virtual aura sessions and new markets.
• [45:42] – Summer’s #1 tip for Side Hustle Nation: “Start. Do it imperfectly.”

Actionable Lessons for Side Hustlers

• Seek out strategic partnerships and pop-ups to leverage built-in audiences.
• Focus on creating an emotional experience, not just a product.
• Don’t over-invest in high-tech or fixed locations; maximize mobility and low costs.
• Don’t wait for everything to be perfect—act quickly and improve iteratively.
• Build in opportunities for leveraged or passive income (e.g., licensing, remote offerings).
• Remember: the “service” is often how you make someone feel, not just what you touch or deliver.

More about Summer Rae:
Find her offerings, the licensing program, and a detailed guide at somalumen.com/guide. Promo code HUSTLE for $100 off.