Side Hustle Feature: Meet Crystal Shadwell, Creator of Land On Your Feet

Q: Introduce yourself and your side hustle/side hustles, and share a little bit about what stage you're at in your side hustle journey.

A: My name is Crystal Shadwell and I run a group coaching program for women who have just graduated from college/university and are navigating the next steps into adulthood. I launched my first intake of the program last summer and had great success! Now, I'm on maternity leave and exploring what I'd like the program to look like next.

Q: Why do you side hustle/or have a portfolio of work?

A: I love my 9-5, but I knew my impact could be bigger than the institution I work for. I help thousands of students each year on campus and many turn back looking for help after they graduate so I wanted to do something to help fill that gap.

Q: Tell us about what side hustling has allowed you to do in your life that you wouldn't have been able to do otherwise? Or, if you haven't begun yet, what do you hope it will help you do in your life, or a benefit you hope you'll see in your life because of it?

A: As I advanced in my career in higher education, I lost some of the 1-1 contact I had directly with students which I greatly missed. Launching this program allowed me to fill that void personally, while also filling a gap of support that is needed for students after they graduated. It was amazing to me how supporting them in this phase of life actually taught me so much to bring back to my other work which I didn't expect. 

Q: What are you struggling with the most in relation to either getting started or growing your side hustle?

A: I'm finding it tough to find the time to promote my program in order to launch another offering.

Q: What made you decide to take Side Hustle 101?

A: Everything else I looked at made me feel like entrepreneurship had to take over my career, whereas placing it as a side hustle made it a compliment to the work I love. This provided the tools and decreased the pressure and allowed me to launch with ease.

Q: If you've started to work through the course (or have gone through it already) and are applying what you've been learning, what has been the biggest takeaway for you, or the most helpful thing you've learned, and why? 

A: Make low-risk decisions and try things out on a small scale first!  Be sure to talk to your primary audience before you build/create! Know that if you hear your audience wants something different than you had planned that isn't a failure, it's valuable learning so you can meet them right where they are.

You can learn more about Crystal and follow her journey by following her on Instagram @cshadwell24, and/or on Facebook @Crystal Shadwell.