47: How to Quit Your "Normal" Job to become a Content Creator ( & is that possible?)

Today we are talking about taking the leap to become a full time content creator and even yes.. quitting your "normal" job. What is normal anyways? Well good thing we have on Danielle Renee podcast host of No to Normal to cover why you can eventually quit your day job to pursue content creation if you know the path and take the leap.

In this episode we cover:

• How to build a safety net while building your content creation business 
• How to stop suffering from shiny object syndrome in choosing a passion in content creation to pursue
• What does the unconventional style life look like? 
• Stop listening to others and find your "north star" 

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Transcript

Laura : [00:00:00] Hey team, what's up. It's Laura and I'm a content developer for travel creators. That means I specialize in writing travel content from YouTube scripts to blog posts, to newsletter creation. That's me and today I'm so excited to introduce you to Danielle who is going to help you get over your fear. Of doing something unconventional because honestly, Life is way more fun when you do. 

Danielle: So I am Danielle. I'm the host of the no to normal podcast and recently have started calling myself an unconventional living coach. I just don't love the phrase life coach. I think that just has like a certain connotation for me, but I also need to figure out how to explain it to people.

Danielle: And what I do. And so I have started referring to myself as an unconventional life coach. And what I mean by that is I want to help people realize that there are so many other paths out there for them. And they don't have to subscribe to the normal 9 to 5 path, go to college, get a [00:01:00] job, get promoted at that job, retire.

Danielle: Path that we've kind of all been told is like the model for success. So it's been a lot of weird trial and error to get to this point and I'm happy to elaborate on any of that, but that is what I'm currently doing. 

Laura : That's amazing. The first thing that comes to mind for me is, is there anyone in your life or like close family or friends that has a career or a job that is not necessarily conventional.

Laura : You know, that's kind of the funny thing. 

Danielle: Not really, and I think that's why it took me a long time. I, I didn't discover what I would call my unconventional path really until I was 28 years old. That's when I first learned about seasonal work, and I had done some business stuff on my own. I've launched businesses and gotten into entrepreneurship.

Danielle: But I didn't really have the model of anybody immediately around me to kind of, I didn't grow up with that as an example. they have what I would call a quote unquote normal job. 

Laura : I love it. I hate doing anything that's [00:02:00] mainstream. So this feels, this feels great.

Laura : I want to know how the heck, well, there's a lot of feelings that come with like leaving a job. To do something on your own. That is terrifying, obviously. what feelings came about, and what did you do to try and, deal with them? I just did, like, a lot of crying. That was really what happened to me.

Laura : But I would love to know what you did, or maybe didn't do, that you wish you did. 

Danielle: Yeah, so I have had a lot of experience quitting jobs. I'll be honest, I'm kind of a chronic job offer because I just, I can't convince myself to stay at something that doesn't feel like a good fit. But just for the sake of this conversation, I'll focus on my most recent experience.

Danielle: So I had gone out to Lake Tahoe to work a seasonal job. it was supposed to be an eight week gig, but then I got promoted and then stayed for another two years. and it, it was a really cool job, I got to live there for free, like housing was provided, it's on the lake, it's like beautiful, I have cool co workers, but there were also parts about it that I didn't like, and I [00:03:00] also had my own dreams of things I wanted to do, living in a tiny mountain town is very isolating, the winters killed my mental health, like there were so many factors, and so definitely crying, that happened a lot, and I think a lot of almost just like gaslighting of myself and trying to tell myself like, No, you're, you're so lucky.

Danielle: Like, this is such a good job. People would kill to have this job. This is so fun. Like, don't give this up. And so, even though I knew I wanted to leave for a while, and I was already doing my podcast and talking to people who had quit their jobs, I think I spent a lot of time just kind of waiting and just trying to tell myself, like, you're not gonna find better than this.

Laura : The waiting is so real, because you're like, Oh, I'll just wait a little bit more until, you know, oh, I might as well finish out the month to finish all of the paychecks or whatever, but Uh, I feel like the best, well I don't know, I don't know, I don't feel necessarily qualified to give super good advice on this, but I would go through the [00:04:00] worst case scenario, okay.

Laura : The worst case scenario is that you make no money and you have to live with somebody that you hopefully love. Fine. Like, I can survive that. That's fine. And that was helpful, really realizing that the worst case scenario is not that bad. Like, it's okay. Worst case scenario, I get to be a barista, which sounds kind of fun.

Laura : Or, like, work in a bookstore. Fine. Until you, like, figure something else out. What would you say to yourself looking back at Lake Tahoe? what would you want your past self to know about what, at least what you're experiencing now?

Danielle: Yeah, I think really just the concept that you've done this before, you've started over before, and you're gonna do it again. I hadn't been to Lake Tahoe. I didn't know any of the people there. I had never been an accounts receivable specialist. but the idea of leaving that community and trying to start over again felt so daunting, and I don't know if that's just because You know, I, I was a little bit older, I was 31 now, so now [00:05:00] it's not like, oh, I'm in my 20s starting over.

Danielle: But it was really just kind of that reminder of like, you've done this before and like, look how great it turned out this time. Yeah. what other amazing things are out there that you can't even, conceive in your mind right now? 

 I myself have had a lake Tahoe moment, if you will. There's never going to be a right time to do the thing, to leave the thing, to start the thing. And I think what really helped me was doing the math and having somebody help me do the math, because I'm not great at that, but really laying down. 

What's the worst case scenario here. The worst case scenario is not that bad. And if it's not that bad, then it's worth doing. But there's never going to be a perfect moment. If we wait for that perfect moment, we're going to be waiting forever. And so there just comes a day where you're like, I am. More. Upset. With the current reality. Then I. Would be, if I was doing something on my own. 

Keep a pulse. 

Keep checking in on yourself. On. [00:06:00] Where that threshold lies because for everyone it's a little bit different. Everyone can suffer a little bit. Differently. Everyone can tolerate different levels of. Struggle, I guess, than others. So keeping a pulse on. The reality. If you're like, listen, the math says I can do it, then do it. If the math says, so that's all we really need to pay attention to.

Laura : Yeah, When do you feel like you felt some sort of relief and like, okay, this is gonna work now?

Laura : Like, I know I'll be fine. I might not necessarily have to go back and sit in a cubicle or something. 

Danielle: Yeah, so, I had spent months kind of trying to figure out like, is this the right fit? Do I want to leave? Do I want to stay another season? The thing that actually made me finally just take the leap is I signed up for Trusted House Sitters, which is a platform where you can pet sit and house sit around the country.

Danielle: And I had just been like searching on there and I found one in Reno, Nevada, which was like pretty close to Tahoe. and it started April [00:07:00] 9th. It was to watch these two cats for three and a half weeks. And that was just the kind of moment for me of like, Okay, I think this is my sign. I think I can at least have the next three and a half weeks lined up.

Danielle: Yeah. I think I found this in January. And I was just like, I applied for it. They accepted me right away. And I was like, okay, well, I guess I have to put in my notice. and I did it intentionally that far out because I wanted to set up my company for, you know, success. I didn't want to just, like, peace out.

Danielle: And so, but even during that time, I still had a couple of months before I actually made the leap. So, of course, I'm still crying. I'm still stressing, is this the right decision? I'm still trying to figure out, like, okay, well, what happens after Reno? Where do I go from there? How do I make money? But I think that little moment of relief of just like, okay, you're on the right path, honestly came from when I was telling all my co workers, and I was kind of worried that they would like judge me or be like, well, what are you doing next?

Danielle: But so many of them just said like, that's so cool, like, I'm so jealous, I wish I could do that. And for me, just almost like hearing words of affirmation of like, okay, yes, this is scary, But it made [00:08:00] me feel really proud that I was taking the leap, because I think a lot of people, you know, even maybe just when they were younger, like, had dreamed of doing that and didn't take the leap.

Danielle: And so, I don't know, in a way it was like, it was bittersweet, but it was kind of nice to hear, like, okay, you're doing the thing that people dream about. And that, that helped me feel more excited than scared. That's 

 There are a million different affirmations, inspiring quotes, whatever you could find on the internet to keep you going. So I would find some that really speak to you. I could rattle you off a million that have helped me, but they might be irrelevant for you. And it's not like you graduate from needing to feel those positive affirmations. It's not like once you hit X dollars or X number of clients or X, whatever, do those feelings go away. In fact, I think they just keep getting worse because when you start, you don't really know the madness you're getting into. 

Laura : And then once you do, you're like, Hmm. It just feels like people keep moving the goalpost. So you kind of have to. 

Laura : Tell yourself what success is to you? [00:09:00] And then reach for that, but it's still something I experienced. Definitely. even as I'm building this new community for travel creators, which by the way, I'm teaching travel creators, how to change their life with content repurposing. And you can do that with me, live there as well as with other creators, all in a single community. All the info is on my Instagram. 

Laura : I will be dropping even more details super soon. So this is a great place to come hang out. If you want all of that gossip. As well, as on my Instagram at travel content writing. what this reminded me of and what you had mentioned is your North Star question and I was like when I read that you have some sort of like North Star, questions either you ask yourself. I was. So excited because I have something very similar that I do and I wrote it down in 2021.

Laura : It was this list of questions from this essay that I will include in the show notes slash I'll come [00:10:00] back and tell you what that, what the essay really was or who it was by. I don't remember, but it had a list of questions for like who you want to be in your life and I hand wrote out all the answers and then whenever I need to make like a big decision about something, I come back to it because I'm like, okay, this is like, Who I want to be or who I, like, aspire to be.

Laura : And if this decision is aligning with that, great, we'll do it. I want to know about your North Star. Tell me everything. When did this start? I want to know it all. Yeah, yeah. I don't 

Danielle: know that I can cite it back to, like, one specific, like, year or burst of inspiration. But kind of the question I keep trying to come back to when I get really overwhelmed and when I'm trying to decide on how to focus my attention is just the question, what do you want to be known for?

Danielle: And I have to ask myself that, because I am like, a multi passionate person, I have shiny object syndrome, like, constantly I'm coming up with new business ideas, or different blog ideas, or I'll see somebody doing something that looks fun. Like, I went down this rabbit hole a [00:11:00] couple months ago, where I saw somebody's substack, and then I was like, oh, I could do a substack.

Laura : I know. 

Danielle: Okay, we're too similar. Oh my gosh. And so it's so hard, because there's so many people doing really cool things out there, but when I see them, then I think like, okay, well, how can I do this? And the questions of like, What do you want to do or what are you good at? Didn't really help me because i'm like, well, I could do a lot of things or I could be good at a lot of things But I think that the difference or the thing that finally clicked for me was kind of just like what do you want to?

Danielle: Be known for and for me, for example, I don't necessarily need to be known for providing really cool travel recommendations and so I think there's people who do that, I think that's amazing, but I was just like, I don't know, if somebody introduced me, I don't want them to be like, this is my friend Danielle, she knows the best restaurants to go to.

Danielle: I don't really care about that as much. But, I do really want to encourage people to quit their jobs, to go travel, to try out the cute restaurants that other creators are recommending. And so, once I kind of, I was able to just focus on, like, what I want to be known for. It took the pressure off, and so then I could kind of [00:12:00] just, like, enjoy my trips as I'm out traveling and not feel like I'm having to get all this travel content necessarily.

Danielle: But it's like, No, I don't really need to be known for that thing.

Danielle: I want to be known for other things, and that's where I need to focus my attention online. 

Okay. My north star questions. Really? These are things that I go back to when it's time to make a big decision. And a few years ago, I took the time to actually hand write them down and unfortunately, uh, travel a lot and don't have that notebook with me a lot. So I will. Try to recall from memory, all of those questions. They're all relatively deep and they come back to really your core values. And why, like, why are you doing what you're doing? There are questions around who do you want to be? How do you want to be perceived? how will this decision impact, how X, Y, Z happens all different questions like this? 

I will do more work to try and find. These questions for you. And a previous notebook and I will create an episode about them if I find them, because [00:13:00] I think it's important and something everyone should have at least some place to come back to when you're faced with a tough decision to. Read through you kind of have the answers already in front of you quite literally.

And you can see if they align with what you really want and who you really want to be. 

Laura : like you said, I also suffer from shiny object syndrome all the time because I think I can do a million things and I cannot, but what advice would you give to someone who They've just left their job.

Laura : Now they're like, cool, I'm gonna become x, y, and z person, or thing, or known for whatever, but there's so many million things to do, or feel like there's a million things to do. What advice would you give that person, or maybe your former self, about feeling all this overwhelm? 

Danielle: Yeah, in that specific case, I would just ask, like, what is something quick and easy that you can do now that's not gonna zap all your brain power?

Danielle: So something I have done for years, off and on, is driving for DoorDash. I'm not saying DoorDash is like My passion or my end all be all but that's something that helped [00:14:00] me support myself when I left my job And it was great because it wasn't content creation I wasn't feeling super burnt out by being on my phone or computer Honestly, it was nice to get in my car and drive around for a little bit and like take a step back And it was just like a little safety net, even if it was just a few hours a week, it was a safety net, I could have a little bit of money to support myself, I could feel a little stable with that, if there was a week I was feeling really stressed, I could drive more.

Danielle: and so I think, don't put so much pressure on like, The end goal of what you want to be doing, because I left my job in April, it's September right now. And I'm just now launching my coaching business. And like, I've done DoorDash since then I've done UGC creation, like really just be open to opportunities as they come up and don't get too hung up on the label or the image of, I should be doing this really cool.

Danielle: Remote digital nomad dream job just do whatever easy random thing that you can tolerate doing while you're building The dream thing. 

Laura : Yes, I can confirm that your problems follow you even in beautiful [00:15:00] places Unfortunately, I thought as soon as I saw red rock that would not be the case. But alas here we are Um, I love that As well, I agree, you should say yes until you know enough about what you want to do and what you don't want to do to say no.

Laura : And then once you can say no, that is freaking powerful stuff. I was given the advice of, somebody told me, when I was first starting, I didn't do this because I was too scared. He was like, you should say no to the first client that wants to hire you. Just to like have a little power thing. I'm like, no, you don't understand.

Laura : I need to pay my rent, but that Once you can say no, that's like dang. Okay, you're doing something, right? You're doing something, right? So we'll work. Yes until you can say no, tell me about your coaching business. 

Danielle: Yeah, so I think when I've, you know, done discovery calls and talked to people, I think the thing that people struggle with so much is just making that leap.

Danielle: I don't think it's necessarily, in most cases, people not knowing what they want to do or [00:16:00] needing direction and figuring out what to do next. From what I, I've experienced, most people know what they want to do. They basically just need the permission slip. Maybe they're in a situation like me where they don't have people around them or didn't grow up around people who started their own businesses or traveled.

Danielle: So maybe they're feeling guilt about being the daughter that, leaves their hometown and is the long distance daughter. I hear that a lot. Maybe they have imposter syndrome about saying, like, I'm a photographer when they're first starting out. And I think just really being able to work through limiting beliefs with them and help them get from the point of like, I want to do this too.

Danielle: I'm doing this is the key part. And so with the coaching business, I'm starting with just one hour sessions. They're called empower hours and you get a week of followup support on Voxer, because that's the other thing I noticed in the coaching space. So many people do a one hour call, but then it's like.

Danielle: It's kind of like when you have an argument with somebody. Like, it's like eight hours later when you think of like, oh no, I [00:17:00] should have said this thing. Yes. I've been on coaching calls myself when I like hop off the call later and I'm like, oh darn, I should have asked them this thing, you know? 

Laura : And so for 

Danielle: me, it's really, just providing that, initial like, Hour of like really detailed support and then that comfort and follow up the week after.

Laura : I think, well, one, I probably need you, but I would love to test, love to be your guinea pig here, but, when you were giving people this permission slip that.

Laura : Whether they realize they need it or not, would you, it's probably case by case, people, but I'm trying to think of, do you ever, offer a sort of like, blanket, advice to people who are like, I just need permission to leave and do this thing on my own, or is Incredibly specific to their situation, which probably is for their benefit.

Laura : But 

Danielle:  I think kind of like the general action step that everybody, even listeners could take away right now is to just surround yourself with so much content about the thing that you want to do.

Danielle: And I think what happens sometimes is people can [00:18:00] view it as scary, like if they follow other photographers, then they might think like, oh, I'm not as good as them, or there's too many photographers, but from what I've noticed, it's if you can see other people living the life that you want, it really normalizes it for you and shows like, no, this is a thing, like, yes, you can do this thing.

Danielle: And one of my biggest pet peeves is when people say like, oh, it's probably not realistic, because anything can be realistic. Like, Um, just because it's not your reality doesn't mean it's not a reality for somebody else. 

Danielle:  And so it's just trying to surround yourself with people who are doing the thing that you want. Not whether it's.

Danielle: Listening to podcasts or following them on Instagram or TikTok and just start normalizing it for yourself. And also, the more you see it, the more it's going to stay at the top of your mind. And it's not going to let you, like, slip back into just your normal day to day life. It's not going to let you settle.

The internet is crazy because you can go so far down different rabbit holes that it makes everything seem so easy to accomplish. For [00:19:00] example, I have wanted to live on the road and travels since 2021. And I told myself if I still think about it, After two weeks. Then I'll do it. And finally, three years later, I'm doing it. But When I was trying to describe what I was doing to other people who are not in the travel niche, enter just family, friends. They didn't really get it because. that is like such a crazy far-fetched idea. But for me who is so closely intertwined in this space. Hearing about somebody's going to live in their car and travel. 

The U S is not that Grazie. It's actually something a lot of people do and can seem so real. I love Danielle's advice of surrounding yourself with people who have done the thing or are doing what you want to do. It's so true. Show me your friends and I'll show you your future is true. and you can even take that as far as who you follow on Instagram or anything [00:20:00] else. 

This is also a caveat that it's a great time of year to go unfollow. Those who no longer serve you. And that's okay.

Just know that there are a hundred percent people out there who are doing what you want to be doing right now, who are living your dream, that you can reach out to ask, see how they did it. To make that your reality as well.

Laura : That is such good advice. I also noticed, like, I'm hearing you say that and then thinking about my own experience of, I totally did the same thing. I would ask people questions about, like, how did you live on the road? Or, like, what did you do? Because I was like, okay, they're working. How are you working?

Laura : Tell me what you're doing. And it's so funny because just in the work that I do, and the content I consume are so intertwined. I would consume so much content of people who lived nomadically or like specifically in vans. And then when I told my family I was doing that, they just have like one million questions.

Laura : And I'm like, this, like, they're like, how do you do your laundry? I'm like, you go to a laundromat. Like, duh. Like, this stuff is [00:21:00] so simple for you to answer after you've been consuming it for so long. And, to other people, it's literally crazy, insane, like, why would you do this? What was it like telling your family, you're like, I'm not gonna send a cubicle, I don't care?

Danielle: I think they kind of saw it coming. I think they were cautiously optimistic for me. They knew that I loved my job in Tahoe. They knew it was such a good gig. So I, there was definitely that, like. Are you sure? Yeah. I honestly didn't even tell my extended family until I was already gone and quit.

Danielle: Um, but just telling my parents up front, um, and again, it was kind of reminding them the same way I reminded myself of like, It'll be okay. I didn't know Tahoe, this job was a thing and I, I made it work here. So like, I don't know exactly what I'm doing yet, but I'm confident that I'll figure something out and you know, I'm lucky to have supportive people.

Danielle: They might not always necessarily Choose this for me or you know choose this for themselves.

Danielle: They kind of have given me the space to just wing [00:22:00] it 

Having a community of people who will back you up. Or say, Hey, you can come live in my house. If your dream doesn't go well is incredible. And the push that you really need, and at least I needed to. 

Really do the thing to do the damn thing, to quit the shop and to do it myself. And the power of community is seriously. Life-changing I think sometimes we sleep on our community. It's even not just our online community, but the people that we have in our corner. 

If you haven't lately, I would go. Thank those people. Go thank them. I And tell them. you love them. 

Laura : I want to briefly touch on mistakes or things you would not have done What were some mistakes you feel like looking back now? You're like, I wish I didn't do that. Or if I didn't do that, we would have been a lot farther ahead. Any that come to mind that you feel like were good learning, [00:23:00] points?

Laura : You might be really 

Danielle: annoyed at this answer, and that's okay because I know this isn't super actionable. I have kind of gotten to the point where even the things that, like, didn't feel good in the moment or feel like, I don't know, was that the right choice or not? I don't know that I would go back and change anything because I did things.

Danielle: With the pieces of information that I had, 

Laura : you know, 

Danielle: like, yes, I maybe could have left sooner, but if I had left sooner, I didn't know about trusted house sitters yet, so who knows what I would have gone to do. So by waiting, I had this new path that I could do. And recently, something I've been, I don't know, maybe questioning or overthinking is like, Have I invested too much in my business to, to get it off the ground?

Danielle: You know, paying for a podcast editor, paying for a Pinterest VA, working with a web designer, like, should I have kind of bootstrapped things more and like, done more of a DIY version? But I've already spent the money. Right. And so now it's more of just like focusing on the benefits of that. Okay, because I went ahead and invested this money, I have this website that I am so proud of and [00:24:00] I'm so excited to show it off.

Danielle: Because I invested the money, I don't have to waste my time learning how to do Pinterest and instead I can focus on being a guest on podcast and that's where I want to spend my energy. And so that's an, an instance of like, oh, I don't know, maybe I didn't do this right. Maybe somebody else would say, no, don't, don't invest money upfront until you're already making money.

Danielle: But for me, I think things have just unfolded in the way that I needed them to and now it's a matter of figuring out like what the benefit of those choices was. 

Laura : I think that was actually a pro move, spending the money on things that you don't want to freaking do in the beginning because that's so hard then when you first start you're like, oh, I can do all of the things and it feels like you have to do all of the things.

Laura : I think that's another thing people need a permission slip for is getting out of what they're creating or allowing somebody else to do some of the work. 

Danielle: The thing that kind of helped me stop feeling that guilt, especially when I first started working with a podcast editor. One, if I hadn't hired her, I would not have a podcast right now.

Danielle: Like, I just, I would [00:25:00] never have learned how to do it. but I, I realize, like, people spend so much time on their hobbies and money. people, if you're, like, a skiboarder or a golfer, like, you spend so much money on your hobbies. And so that's really how I had to view the podcast in the first year, before I had the business piece to go along with it.

Danielle: It was just like, okay, this is my hobby, this is my passion project, this is my creative outlet. People spend money on those things and feel okay about it. So that's how I was able to justify it. That mindset shift helped me. 

Laura : That's so true. That's such a good way to think about those things.

Laura : you said something earlier that I loved and how you focus on or try to create content that you love or try different things or create content that feels good and we notice or at least I noticed from my work that the content that we love to create or genuinely enjoy creating often does better and because you have So many interests and things like that.

Laura : How the heck do you put together any sort [00:26:00] of strategy when it comes to posting online? Because you have so many interests and things like that. I know a lot of people in my audience are afraid of niching down But I talked to one Woman and I was like you can just be the girl who does everything like that's your niche.

Laura : So like how do you If you have a strategy, how the heck do you put together all different pieces of content on all of these things you're interested in? Like, what do you do? 

Danielle: Yeah, that's the question, isn't it? that's definitely something that I would say has been the hardest part of this journey is trying to figure out how to kind of brand myself.

Danielle: And it has been really hard to figure out where does no to normal stop? And where does my Personal life pick up because they're so interconnected.

Danielle: I'm like, I'm walking the walk, I'm talking the talk. And so it's been really hard to figure out how I separate both things. I'm definitely working on getting more strategic. it's funny because while I don't believe in, limiting yourself too much and not Posting the things you want to. It comes [00:27:00] back to that question of what do you want to be known for?

Danielle: Because some of the videos that I've had go viral on Tik TOK were not expected and they were about random things that do not help my business at all. Like a few weeks ago, I posted a video about doing a Nancy Drew computer game. It was about like healing your inner child and like doing a Nancy Drew computer game as a 31 year old.

Danielle: Okay. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of views and hundreds of comments, which is great. I got a lot of followers from that. That has nothing to do with my business. And so it was that, it's like little examples like that that have kind of nudged me in the direction of like Okay, I need to have a little bit more focus behind this, and again, it's just using that question of like, what do I want to be known for?

Danielle: I don't really want to be known for that, or maybe I could have posted the same thing, but more in a strategic way of like, POV, you realize that there's no rulebook, and you don't have to, stop playing your favorite games just when you turn 31, for more inspiration about breaking from the norm.

Danielle: Go listen to no to normal. Yeah, that's definitely a way I could have taken the exact same video that is [00:28:00] so true to me and something I was doing, but just like had a little spin on it. So I'm not going to sit here and like pretend that I have mastered that, but it is definitely top of mind moving forward.

Laura : I think. You blending your self and your own interest and personality with Know to Normal is going to be the game changer and the awesome thing because you are your show yourself. Like, you have done the thing and now you just get to tell people about it and that's awesome and I think that's, I hear a lot of creators who say like, I don't know.

Laura : How much to talk about myself or like my business or my thing. And I'm like, let's do both. There's ways to always do both. And it always does best when you can, but I think you will and do have a lot of success just posting about things that. you love to talk about or are just so kind of off the cuff or genuine and it's like hello when we try and create this like master plan strategy of [00:29:00] content.

Laura : It's like let us not forget that we are just people and there are people on the other side of the screen as well and we sometimes don't need to over complicate such this, this hot mess of content creation. 

Danielle: And I would just say to, like, take some pressure off, too, and don't feel like you have to be everywhere at once.

Danielle: I'm speaking to myself with this as well. You know, I've had a lot of internalized pressure of, like, you need to be on Instagram more. You know, you need to post about the podcast on Instagram. But that's just not the platform I'm prioritizing right now. It's not where I really consume a lot of content.

Danielle: And so I'm just like, okay, I'm gonna focus on TikTok right now. And, like, There will be more time for Instagram at a later date. And even there, I had a podcast guest tell me, she was like, Oh my gosh, this was so fun meeting you. Like, obviously I followed, cause I love the show. I love the concept of the show, but I don't really know who you are.

Danielle: And I was like, like, that was one of those moments of like, Oh, you're so right. but it's okay because there's still time I'll figure out how to incorporate it on Instagram when I have the capacity for that, but you know, it doesn't mean you have to jump on YouTube shorts. It doesn't mean you have to jump on threads.

Danielle: [00:30:00] It's like. Just start with where you enjoy being. 

 The only way you're going to make this content creation thing last longterm is if you make it fun and enjoyable. You started becoming a content creator because it's fun for you. You didn't decide it because you want to make a million dollars because I promise you, there are a lot easier ways to do that than to do this. You started because you like it. And you want to, and to not burn yourself out so fast, you need to be really realistic. 

And that's really hard to do in the beginning because you're so excited and you think you can take on the world, but then all of a sudden you get super busy and now you're drowning. Not speaking from experience. But one of the quickest ways to avoid that inevitable burnout. Is to slow down. Slow down to speed up. 

Get really comfortable with posting on one platform and then transitioned to another. And then after you nail that transition to another. It's hard because we want such instant gratification, because social media has made it so easy to assume [00:31:00] that that instant dopamine, that instant cashflow is going to come. It will come, but it's not gonna happen overnight. And by you putting in the good hard work. To do it consistently over a long period of time. If you can be the last person standing.

You, you will win. 

I've been loving, asking my guests to share a hot take with me. And Danielle was so kind as to do that. So, thank you so much, Danielle, but let's get into it. 

Danielle: I'm going to call it my pet peeve. Yes. I've seen so much content on TikTok lately of people saying, don't quit your job. don't leave something financially sound. The economy is so unpredictable right now. Don't do it.

Danielle: You're going to regret it. Make sure you have X amount of months of savings. And sure, I think there are people who want to hear that advice, and they're going to seek that out, and that's great. My hot take is if you wait until everything is perfect, you're going to be waiting forever. When I left my job, when I started businesses, when I bought that school [00:32:00] bus to convert, I didn't know how to convert a school bus, but I bought it, and then I was like, okay, well now I'm invested, I have to figure it out.

Danielle: I left my job and was like, okay, well now I have to figure it out. And for me, I kind of think of it as when you're like dipping your toe in the pool. If I do that, I'm like, oh, nope, it's cold. I'm not getting in. But if you're just cannonball, you get used to it. And so I don't want people who, who are ready to quit their job and feel like, okay, maybe I don't have six months of savings, but I feel confident I could figure it out.

Danielle: I feel like I could go home if I had to. I don't want them being told over and over again, like you're being dumb. You're being financially irresponsible. That's like my hottest take right now is like, no, if you feel ready to make the leap, make the leap. 

Laura : Yes, yes. And I think what people don't realize is that when you work a job, somebody else gets to choose how much money you make, and it's very hard to convince them to ask for more.

Laura : And when you work for yourself, you can make as much money as you want. And it's like, hello, let's get over this, this generations old fear that we have to [00:33:00] do. What our freaking grandfathers did and like I am thankful for what they have put themselves through But they have now allowed us to choose something else.

Laura : That is better. And that's what they would have wanted and I think that's a huge misconception of people worry about you're not gonna have enough money You're not gonna have enough money and like it's can be very hard in the beginning, especially but once you find your thing and you find your people or your target audience, really, then you can make as much money as you desire in time.

Laura : It doesn't happen overnight. My, Ooh, I'll share with you my hot take most recently about business, business esque things on the internet. It's the women who are posting the short form videos on I just did this weird ass side hustle or like I took freaking property photos of this ran Abandoned property and I made like 80 in two hours.

Laura : That bothers me. What bothers me more are the women who Share [00:34:00] about how they made 80k overnight from like one e book. I'm like You didn't. You did not. You did not. I know you did not do this because basic economics says that this is probably not true, but that kind of stuff, one. I can see how it can be helpful to people, because they're like, cool, you can do like silly, weird, maybe not silly is a bad word, but you can do unique sort of things on the side and make a lot of money, cool, that is possible, and I love that we're pushing people to not sit at desks, but it also kind of can set up this unrealistic expectation that it can happen so quickly, and then it leads to a lot of people just stopping and burning out.

Laura : Well, burnout will come anyway, but it stops people from continuing when it gets really hard. That is what really bothers me because they're not setting up real expectations or really setting up you as a consumer of this content for success in business. 

Danielle: And who knows, you know, let's have generous assumptions.

Danielle: And maybe that person did make 80, 000 from an ebook, but it's probably not their first [00:35:00] one. Maybe they worked with a coach. Maybe they put 70, 000 into ads. Maybe they've had their business for 10 years and they've been growing their email list. So even if we have like the most generous of assumptions and it's like, yes, they actually did that.

Danielle: That's so cool for them. It's not necessarily going to be something you can replicate overnight if you're in a different place. And so, I completely agree. My, my biggest hot take, you know, along with that is I've seen so many ads for Solitaire as a side hustle lately. What? On TikTok constantly I'm just seeing ads for this like Solitaire game that you can make money and everybody's like, oh I paid for our date night like with Solitaire.

Danielle: Can we try it? Yeah, um, yeah, and I was like, I have played the solitaire game, and I am not making enough money to pay anything. Um, but I think that, yeah, I think there's so much content out there that's like, oh, just take surveys, or just have a blog, and you can make money, and yes, that, that might be true in all cases.

Danielle: But it's not going to be an immediate thing. And so that's why I love really focusing on things like DoorDash. That can be quicker, you know, trusted house sitters. I'm not getting paid for it, but I have free housing. and I did a stay in Santa [00:36:00] Cruz. That was a 10 minute walk from the beach for six weeks for free.

Danielle: So no, I'm not getting paid, but I think there are just actual things out there that you can implement really quickly. And I just feel like those things aren't being talked about enough. And so that's like my purpose in, in sharing all of this. 

Laura : I love that. I love that. I think I run into a lot of people similarly who are, like you had mentioned, they are looking at them, they're looking at a creator or something, someone who is doing what they want to do, but they're like 30 million steps ahead of them and they're like, well, I just want that to be me now.

Laura : And it's like, we have to remember, and I have to remind myself of this, The people, the creators, who are making, who have the millions of followers, who are making a lot of money doing whatever they're doing all had to start exactly where we started one time, and we can't forget that. That is, so us, wherever we're starting now, is just a little bit closer to catching up to them or overpassing them.

Laura : But that is something I think a lot of [00:37:00] people forget, is like, these people didn't just wake up one morning and were handed an Instagram login that had a million followers. Like, that didn't happen. If that happened, I need to know where they're getting that from. But we often forget that they started from nothing.

Laura : It's crazy. Okay, side note, I want to ask you about house sitting. That, okay, that is something we have, we've signed up for all the things. Yep. how ahead of time, or like in advance, do you look for house sitting things?

Laura : Because sometimes I'm like, oh, I don't, I just don't know a good time range to look ahead of time to see like, okay, cool, in two weeks or in five weeks, I don't know. I would love your advice. 

Danielle: Yeah, it really Depends. and I would say if you're wanting to do a longer stay, or a stay in like a really, ideal place or during a really ideal time, probably look a little earlier.

Danielle: Yeah. So, for example, I booked a two week stay right outside of Portland, Maine in October, and that is like, that was like my dream stay. I think I booked that one in July. She [00:38:00] posted it pretty early. July or August. but that was kind of like the thing that I knew I wanted to do, so I applied for that one early.

Danielle: And then I've worked backwards and, like, have started filling in. So I just applied for a four day stay in Georgetown a couple of days ago, and it's next week. Um, because I was like, I have this, like, five day gap that I, like, don't have housing for. Yes, I could have gotten an Airbnb or something, but I was like, oh, I'll just do a quick little search and look at the map.

Danielle: And I'm, I'm currently in Virginia. I'm heading up to Maine from here. And I was like, oh, Georgetown is on the way. I applied. She said yes. but at least with trusted house sitters, once the host gets five applications, it automatically shuts the application.

Danielle: Okay, cool. Yeah, it gives them time to review it. Maybe they'll post it again if they didn't really like anybody. But I would just say, if there's a place you really want to go, or like a specific date you really want, Apply sooner rather than later. 

Laura : Okay, that's so helpful to know. amazing. Good to know.

Laura : I will be literally, I forget that we have an account on that thing. I need to go [00:39:00] and look When you did UGC, or maybe you still do, did you do it for more like products or Airbnb things? 

Danielle: Yeah, so I have only done one hotel stay, but I realized that just personally, I kind of like doing trusted house sitters where I'm not expected to take content of the place 

Laura : and then 

Danielle: shoot product content while I'm there and get the best of both worlds. Um, with the Airbnb stays. Those are usually only for like a night, two nights, maybe three nights.

Danielle: And for me, I just feel really frazzled when I'm moving around that often. And so I like being able to stay in a place for at least a week and like actually unpack. So that's why I have geared more towards, product based. and right now, I'm not pitching a ton, but I got a recurring client.

Danielle: And so that's just another thing that it's like. Every month they're like, okay, where are you going to be in two weeks? We can send this to you. And so they're being very kind and flexible with it. But yeah, that's just another thing that it's like, okay, just because I'm doing all this other stuff and coaching, it doesn't mean that I can't still do this other thing that I really like.

Danielle: Yeah, taking up as [00:40:00] much of my time as it was at the beginning. Super interesting. Okay, 

Laura : good to know. what has been your favorite part about podcasting so far? Or your show. 

Danielle: Yeah. I think it's just the ability, I kind of joke that I like started the podcast to just like hang out with people I want to be friends with.

Danielle: And that's really true because I'll see people and be like, Oh, I think this thing is cool. Do you want to come hang out with me? Yeah, that's 

Laura : exactly. And even just like 

Danielle: getting to talk with you right now, like we have so much in common and without this podcast is kind of like the reason to connect. Like who knows if we would have like had a chance to talk like this.

Danielle: And so for me, it's just Being able to, like, connect with people that I really feel, aligned with that I, wouldn't have the excuse to hang out with otherwise. 

Laura : I know. It's so good for the networking and, like, the friend working is so good. 

Danielle: Yeah, it's so fun. And, you know, now that I'm especially traveling, I'm kind of looking at, like, Oh, okay, like, where are you going to be traveling?

Danielle: Are we going to overcapital? Like, can we meet up in person? And, it's just kind of bringing, Those online connections into the real world, which is nice, especially as a solo traveler, you know, sometimes it's nice [00:41:00] to, to hang out with people. 

 I can't believe it's pretty much almost a year of this show. It's so insane. And I like to think back on the progress we've made on this. Podcast. The people I have met have been unbelievable. And in some ways that is much more valuable than any sort of monetary value I could gleam from this. Because there's nothing like having people in your corner and community. Who, when you have a question or it needs something, they're going to answer it. And they happen to be an expert in their field. I can't say enough. 

Good things about networking and connecting with people. And if you're just leaping on networking and making community, Let this be your kicking, the pants to reach out to people you're following that you admire that you share DMS back and forth with. And ask them if they want to get a virtual coffee.

Laura : okay. Last thing I'm thinking [00:42:00] of, tell me about this school bus.

Laura : I had to know. 

Danielle: Yes, absolutely. it was called joy ride Midwest. it was a little mini school bus. and we converted it. It was super cute. Um, and it was to sell, um, just kind of like home goods and gifts, like all by Midwestern. makers and really promote like local businesses. Oh my gosh. I would park it at different like little festivals and art markets and stuff.

Danielle: Um, I launched it in October of 2019. and so then obviously when in person events closed down in March 2020, that made it a little difficult to launch back up. Then I found the job in Tahoe. Um, sold the bus, um, to a photographer who uses it as a photo studio now, or a mobile like changing room. and so the bus lives on under a different name, but I do have an episode on, my show no to normal, all about like converting the bus about mobile gift shop, how I found inventory, how I converted it, all of that good stuff for anybody looking for more information.

Laura : Oh my gosh, that's so cool. 

Danielle: 

Danielle: My parents were rock stars. My dad helped me, like, convert the whole thing, and that was [00:43:00] another instance of them being like, Um, I don't know exactly what you're doing. But we're gonna have faith because you seem really excited and then, you know, it was really fun to get to launch it and share that with them.

Danielle: That's so 

Laura : true. My dad asks me what I do all the time. I'm just like, haha, funny. Yeah. And, but it's, it's like half serious question. 

Danielle: sometimes You know like, I should have kept that dang bus because then I could have converted it into do like van life. Uh huh. I see all these cute like school buses and It would have needed so much work.

Danielle: It would not have been enough space. So realistically, I know it was the right choice, but sometimes I'm like, Yeah. I can't believe I let go of that thing. I know 

Laura : you can't help but like think, think about it. I just looked up how much it was to rent a Sprinter van, from this one company. That I won't backlash here, but I will send you after if you want to know, but they have all these different places you can go pick up the van, Sprinter, Mercedes, whatever, and it was 4, 600 for six nights and that excludes the 1, deposit [00:44:00] as well as the insurance and something else and I was like that is the biggest scam I've ever seen in my entire life.

Laura : Actually, that's not but that was insane. I couldn't believe it No, I was like get in your car much more than I 

Danielle: thought you were gonna say 

Laura : I mean, I like looked at it and looked at the website multiple times because we were traveling around and I was seeing all these amazing smirch brands and then you just want one.

Laura : And so I was like, cool. Let's see if we can rent one. I was like, I'm not paying 1, 000 a night for this stupid. Car. No, this is not happening. 

Danielle: Yeah, I think the only way I'm gonna ever get to do that is if I can manage to get a UGC deal with a company like that. And that is our finalist at some point. 

Laura : Yes.

Laura : Yes. I was just talking to someone who was trying to do just that. And she reached out to one company and they were like, Oh, we might get you in, in like, spring of 2020, whatever. And she's like, Oh my God. Okay. 

Danielle: Great. I'll pencil it in. 

Laura : Yeah, cool. Don't know where I'll be, but great. do you have anything else you'd like to say [00:45:00] about content creation or business things or anything? around that, that you feel like, if I say this, I will feel, I will feel good today and I won't have one of those moments of like, darn, I should have said this thing. I, 

Danielle: I don't think there's a way to avoid that.

Danielle: That's always gonna happen. I know. No, I think we've covered a lot of ground here today and I think that's just, proof. It's like the little reminder that you can do multiple things and it's okay. I, I've started kind of thinking of it as. And I just feel like I'm filling my days with like little different slices of the pie chart and just because I add in a new thing, it doesn't mean I have to take the other thing out completely.

Danielle: And just being able to picture it in that way has really helped me feel comfortable in doing UGC and doing the podcast and, you know, doing coaching and driving for DoorDash on the weekends. It's just a reminder that like, I don't have to define myself based on one thing. And that took me a really long time to figure out.

Danielle: And honestly, it's something I'll probably still kind of work through. Yeah. And so if that is something that you're struggling with right now, and you don't know how to make all the pieces tie in together, just keep doing them and the [00:46:00] path will kind of like unfold in a really natural way. 

Laura : Yeah. Sorry, I have one more question for you that I just thought of while you were speaking.

Laura : No, I think this is great. I feel like we 

Danielle: could talk for hours. I know, 

Laura : and like, But, you mentioned Pinterest. I recently learned How amazing Pinterest is and how it basically it's just a visual search engine and how I'm like blown away now And I don't know why we spend any time on any other platform because it makes so much sense Tell me how like what is your Pinterest VA person do?

Laura : How is that going? I just want to know 

Danielle: Yeah, we literally just started. This is my first month with her amazing And so it's really just laying the groundwork and that's kind of a daunting place to come in because it's like, okay well, I have 42 podcast episodes and I'm Working on my website, but I, you know, I don't have a ton of blog posts yet, but I will eventually, and you know, I have a TikTok account.

Danielle: So, will just say the reason that I made that switch is exactly what you said. it's a search engine and it's also evergreen. You know, I might have a piece of content that does well on [00:47:00] TikTok and, and I do have things that will continue to get likes and views months after posting it.

Danielle: But it definitely tapers off. Whereas I feel like with Pinterest, it's kind of the opposite. Like, it's going to take a few months to see any traction from it. It's not going to be an overnight success. So it's kind of a trust the process kind of thing. But content that I'm talking about isn't time sensitive.

Danielle: and so I just want to get the content out there that way people are able to discover it at whatever point they're searching for that.

Danielle: They might not be ready to have that information yet. They might not need a remote job yet, but they might need it in six months and it'll be there waiting for them when they're searching for it. 

Laura : I love that. It's definitely, okay, I feel the fire under my butt to be on Pinterest because you're the second person who's told me that I need to do this.

Laura : Um, but it just makes sense. It just makes so much sense. So that's really, really cool. And you're taking 

Danielle: time to create content. You want it to live on longer. You want it to be worth it. 

Laura : Yeah, absolutely. I hate trendy content, really. so Pinterest just makes sense for all the evergreen, amazing, amazing [00:48:00] things.

 You guys, that was an awesome episode. there's a lot of tips in this episode to give you a kick in the pants on a lot of different things. So if you've been sitting on an idea, if you've been sitting on something, reaching out to someone or doing anything. Freaking do it, freaking do it. 

And then come tell me on Instagram, you did it and I'll shout you out on the podcast. I want to know what you did and I want to cheer for you, and I want to root for you and I want to be in your corner. Thank you so much to Danielle for coming on today's episode. It was so freaking awesome. You can connect with Danielle on Instagram at, @heydaniellerenee. I will leave her handle in the show notes. It's so much fun. Her stories are so bingeable. She just shares like so much behind the scenes content. I freaking love it. She is also the host of the podcast. No, to normal, which actually has its own Instagram account. At no to normal pod. And it's a podcast about ditching the status quo and building the life you love. So incredible. I binge it. I've been [00:49:00] doing a lot of driving lately and it's great. She has awesome guests and really good about she's also a fantastic interviewer. I can't get over how good she is at interviewing. I will have all of those links in the show notes for you. Thank you so much for tuning in and listening. 

I can't believe we've really made it to a year. I've freaking appreciate you. And I'm happy. You're here. And I also wish you the happiest of creating. Should we switch? Should we switch that up in 2025? Should I say something else? Are you sick of me? Are you sick of it?

Let me know on Instagram.