Day 3: Write a Great Bio

This is the Day 3 post for the 7-Day Side Hustle Challenge. Learn more and join us here!

Yesterday, you developed a three-word brand and thought more deeply about what reputation you want to have in relation to your side hustle. Today, you’re going to take that three-word brand and incorporate it into your new-and-improved bio that you will be able to use on your website and social networks to promote yourself.

The reason why bios are so important for side hustles are because if you have a full-time job already, your network may only know you as an HR professional, for example. Then, when you try to sell your luxury candles on the side, people get confused about why you’re doing it and what it has to do with your passion. So, you need to have a bio that you use when marketing your side hustle.

Here is what a great bio should include:

  • Your real name and name of your company (if applicable)
  • Your side hustle (tell us you do or sell)
  • Your “why” (share your passion, mission or reason for starting your side hustle)
  • Your education, experience or expertise (related to your side hustle)
  • Any special training or certification (credentials related to your side hustle)
  • Something interesting or memorable about you
You can write your bio in the first person or third person; it’s up to you how you want to use it to communicate your brand to potential clients and customers.

Here’s the official bio that I use in my business as an example:

Rosetta Thurman helps nonprofit leaders and passionate entrepreneurs change the world. She is the President of Thurman Consulting, an education company that offers speaking, training and coaching in the areas of leadership, entrepreneurship and social media. Her mission is to empower a new generation of leaders through personal and professional development. Rosetta is the co-author of How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar, 50 Ways to Accelerate Your Career, an accessible, do-it-yourself map of how to build a successful career in the nonprofit sector. Since 2007, she has been blogging about nonprofits, leadership and social media on her popular blog at rosettathurman.com. Rosetta holds a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management from Trinity Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is proud to be a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. Rosetta has also taught nonprofit management as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Professional Studies at Trinity Washington University. In 2008, she was named a “New Leader in Philanthropy” by Greater DC Cares. In her free time, she writes poetry, cooks fancy food and listens to old school jams. She also tweets. A lot.

Post your new bio in the comments! It may also be useful to read other participant’s bios to obtain ideas or to offer feedback.
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12 comments

  1. Pingback: The 7-Day Side Hustle Challenge: Recap and Reflect | Happy Black Woman | Personal Development for Success in Life + Business

  2. Adeea Rogers is an event planner during the day, and The Trendy Socialite at night. The Trendy Socialite was born after taking a style quiz in the book, The Budget Fashionista. Adeea loves to blend current trends with vintage treasures. When time and inspiration permits, she also likes to cultivate her creative side. And it was during a creative streak that the essence of Modern Vintage Accessories was born. Adeea is also a Youtube vlogger and blogger, primarily focusing on natural hair care and styling. True to the “socialite” part of her brand, she hosts natural hair meetups and other similar gatherings. Adeea believes that every woman should foster and develop her inner lady. She seeks to influence and encourage other women in all of her interactions–online, in person, through her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. or through championing the social cause of Domestic Violence Prevention. When she thinks no one is looking, Adeea sings loudly in her car and she is never, ever far away from Twitter.

  3. Adrianne Russell is a consultant who loves making nonprofits better. Her professional experience includes work in visual art museums, the medical insurance industry and an AmeriCorps term of service with Habitat for Humanity. She has had the pleasure of facilitating discussions, serving on panels and writing professionally about issues related to nonprofit governance, leadership and intergenerational workforces. Adrianne earned her Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) in Nonprofit Leadership Studies and American Humanics Certification (CNP) from Rockhurst University. She recently completed a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with emphasis on Museum Studies and New Media at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Since 2009, she has maintained Cabinet of Curiosities, a nonprofit and visual arts-based blog and was named one of “Five New Nonprofit Voices to Follow” by esteemed consultant and entrepreneur Rosetta Thurman. A life-long volunteer, Adrianne’s service and leadership life includes the Kansas City Public Television Community Advisory Board, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Ambassador Executive Board, the Nonprofit Congress Leadership Initiative Working Group and the “2011 Horizon Report: Museums Edition” Advisory Board. She is a proud member of Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, American Association Museums and Nonprofit Connect. In her free time she openly indulges her music addiction and writes young adult fiction about girls and the boys who love them.
    Read my latest blog post…The Monsters are Here!

  4. I love reading the insights that people have shared around what you learned about yourself and your side hustle with this exercise. Remember that the great thing about a bio is you get to highlight your strengths related to your side hustle (whether it be formal education and expertise or simply raw passion).

  5. (Writing a bio for my side hustle is a little hard. I feel like my lack of formal education in English/journalism/PR may negatively affect me. But I did manage to pull something together.)

    Hi, I am Tori Danielle Whitley, a freelance writer and blogger from Mississippi. I have always had a passion for the arts–music, painting, fashion design–but my first love is the written and spoken word. I started writing in Kindergarten and I haven’t been able to put my pen down since!

    I am a proud graduate of Jackson State University. There I received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Administration. After leaving JSU I began working as a consultant for the state government. I currently handle various aspects of training for state agencies, including developing professional development trainings and handling PR for the Mississippi Administrative Assistant Professional Society (MAAPS). In addition, I am a licensed real estate agent.

    While pursuing my MBA I decided to channel my passion for writing into a career. My writing varies greatly due to my wide range of interest. Much of my writing focuses on young professionals and how to navigate the business world, but I also write about real estate, relationships, current events, natural hair & beauty, and my personal life experiences. And since creative writing is my first love, I am also working on a book of poetry titled Human and my first novel, tentatively titled The Underbelly.

  6. Pingback: Day 4: Create or Improve Your Website | Happy Black Woman | Personal Development for Success in Life + Business

  7. This assignment revealed, while I have the education, there needs to be development in experience. At the same time, I have to develop a topic listing of the seminars that I will offer. Also, I need to be more actively involved other membership organizations.

    Bio

    KeKeMichel B. promotes understanding of diversity and the need for employing cultural competency in the counseling profession, which comprises therapists who are educated within a eurocentric and ethnocentric discipline, and has people of color patients who are the majority.

    With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies and a Master of Science degree in Professional Counseling, KeKeMichel B. possesses a complex, in-depth understanding of, and is greatly intuitive about culture, race, and diversity, and is a member of The Association For Multicultural Counseling and Development. She conducts seminars for professionals in the counseling and mental health fields to help use cultural and diversity knowledge and skills most effectively with clients and peers.

    KeKeMichel B. counsels clients who are victims of domestic violence. She is an entrepreneur of various ecommerce sites, as well as a blogger of various women’s issues, which assist women with living beautiful and empowering lives.
    Read my latest blog post…TSAs Humiliate Black Woman With Big Afro

  8. Michele J is the writer for sharimichele.com, a blog targeted toward women who are interested in the world of sci-fi and fantasy in all of its mediums, including novels, comics, television shows, movies, web-series and video games. She strives to bring the best and most entertaining developments in the world of technology and sci-fi/fantasy, a genre usually reserved for men. Michele reads the latest in technology news and scours the web for new shows, books and video games to review and share with others who share these interests. Michele has a life-long love of all things geek, reading at the age of four the most beloved of children’s fantasy, playing games on the early editions of the Game Boy, watching Batman and X-Men and reading their comics. She encourages others to write and express their imagination through writing programs she participates in through volunteer programs for NYC children.
    Read my latest blog post…Working with young writers

    • Hi Michele,

      This bio reveals tremendous passion. Continued success with your endeavors. Also, It shows that a gap needs to be filled–doing work offline, i.e. giving seminars about that genre and its various media for women. I notice that you already volunteer with children. But this bio shows that you want to target women.

      For openers, what about doing a PowerPoint presentation on a famous Science Fiction Author, e.g. Octavia Butler. It can be given at local libraries during Women’s Herstory Month, Even Black History Month. Also, women’s books clubs, even bookstores might be thrilled to have a presentation, which you can begin to charge a fee once you get rolling!
      Read my latest blog post…TSAs Humiliate Black Woman With Big Afro

  9. Momauwi Woods, Keeper of FemWisdom, An online gateway connecting women to true wisdom and resources, describes herself as a being guided from within by her ancestors,particularly,the women in her family. She believes all women are marked through DNA with an innate ability to be resilient and adapt to any situation regardless of circumstance. She believes that as women, it is our God given duty to pass on these abilities to the next generation. Momauwi is a not only a Wisdom Keeper, but she is dually a life long seeker of wisdom of all kinds.
    Read my latest blog post…The Love Thyself Pledge

  10. Wow! Im so upset I missed the start of the challenge, but Im gonna back track and get started. I will also post this as a resource on my site. GREAT!! Join us, all of us will be doing the challenge at http:www.femwisdom.blogspot.com
    Read my latest blog post…The Love Thyself Pledge

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