Yes, You Can Get Paid to Be You. Here's How...
Yesterday morning, a surfer friend spontaneously invited me over for a smoothie (or batido, as they say in Spanish).
My fresh fruit delivery hadn’t arrived yet, so I took it as a sign from the universe.
While we were sipping our dragon fruit concoctions, she started asking questions about making money remotely.
She grew up upper-middle class, got a solid education (she’s a trained ER nurse), and had recently quit her job to travel full time. She’s got savings, but now wants to figure out how to earn on the road.
So we did my favorite thing: we brainstormed.
Here’s what we were working with:
– She’s a trained emergency room nurse
– Loves to surf and travel
– Wants location freedom
– Is into weightlifting, strength training, and healthy eating
And here are some potential offerings I brainstormed for her:
✨ Virtual consultations for digital nomads and surf tourists — especially those traveling in developing countries and dealing with a medical emergency related to water sports (or anything else sketchy you might pick up on the road).
She could assess their condition over video and tell them exactly what to do next: rest? painkillers? ER visit? gentle movement?
✨ On-the-ground support (when local) — If she’s in the same city, she could accompany them to the hospital or doctor. She speaks Spanish, so she can translate and advocate for them too. Solo travel can be scary when things go wrong—she’d be a knowledgeable, calm presence in the chaos.
✨ Rehab & recovery programs — Once they’re on the mend, she could design a personalized rehab or strength training plan to prevent flare-ups. If they need nutrition or supplement advice, she can guide that too.
All of this poured out in less than 10 minutes.
“You’re so smart,” she said.
Maybe! But really—what I love most is helping people realize the money-making potential they’re already sitting on. My superpower is spotting hidden gold in people’s skills and showing them what’s possible. Most of us are way closer to a viable income stream than we think—we just need someone to connect the dots.
I firmly believe anyone can make money online by combining their skills, lived experience, and a little bit of savviness. With a polished website or landing page, a clear offer, and some tenacity, you can support yourself while traveling and actually build a life you LOVE not just tolerate :)
Want me to help you brainstorm ways to make money remotely? Get in touch.
Why I'm Switching from Flodesk to Substack
After doing a ton of research I decided to sign up for Substack, “a website providing a user-friendly platform for writers and journalists. Substack cuts through the complexities and costs of traditional publishing, allowing creators to share their work and directly monetize it.” - Source
I am hoping Substack will satisfy my newsletter management needs and help me gain a wider reach. In this article, I will explain why I am switching to Substack and away from Flodesk, my current newsletter management system.
Why I Am Saying Goodbye to Flodesk
The cost - When I started using Flodesk it was only $19 a month. While still on the pricier side of things when it came to newsletter management I LOVED the designs of the templates and just the whole energy over there. LOL. Yes, websites and platforms can have a vibe. I liked that they seemed to cater to women entrepreneurs probably because the founders were women themselves. It was a no-brainer for me. Last year, however, despite my long-time membership, they jacked the price to $60 a month. Being the master negotiator I am, I asked them to let me have another year at the introductory price. and they agreed. But as my subscription is about to run out again, I do not want to go through this process all over. Substack is, however, free to join. They take 10% of your profit from paid memberships.
Stagnant subscriber count - Of all the years I’ve been slinging newsletters on Flodesk, my subscriber list has remained pretty stagnant. Part of that is my fault because I rarely talk about it and I haven’t been consistent with updating my lead capture pop-ups on my website - but the truth is Flodesk doesn’t aid in this process. Substack, however, allows you to give shoutouts to other Substackers in your newsletters, provides a place to build community, allows other people to give you shoutouts in their Substacks, and my favorite feature, automatically sends out an email every time you make a post. When I blog on Squarespace, for example, I have to manually insert the link into a Flodesk email and send it out.
Monetization - With Substack, monetization is built in. Because they only get paid when you get paid, they make it easier for you to get money.
When I first began to create content, it was in the days of “give content away for free and “they” will come”. True, my blog has allowed clients to find me organically but they rarely convert to newsletter subscribers and those newsletter subscribers rarely convert to new or repeat business. Again, a lot of this is my fault for not having a clear strategy in place from the beginning but also because the topics I talk about are all over the place. But not anymore. My new Substack will be dedicated to helping curious souls build a life they don’t have to escape from.
Getting Over Being Cringe
I’m not going to lie, being a writer is HARD. We are sensitive creatures who feel things very deeply. We are fine-tuned to see the details that make life beautiful but also repulsive and we’ve been given the gift/curse to translate what we are feeling into words so that thicker-skinned souls can feel these things too.
Having to put ourselves OUT THERE, being SEEN, just feels so cringe and misaligned. But if you want to reach a wider audience, and if you want to get paid to share ideas, you have to put yourself out of your comfort zone. I believe that my ideas are valuable and can help change people’s lives for the better. I also believe that people value things MORE when they pay for them, so that is why I will be offering premium content for a premium price. Not to mention all the people who should not have platforms because they are spreading negativity and fear in the world yet they just keep getting up every day and doing it, THE AUDACITY!! So, why shouldn’t I simultaneously carve out a cute little hopeful path forward - and also feed myself at the same time?
Will it work? I have no idea but I’ll never know if I don’t try.
Want to support my work? Think my ideas are valuable? Join my Substack here.
4 Key Takeaways from Sorelle Amore's Creative Genius Workshop
Last night I blabbed for 20 minutes about the member areas feature on Squarespace.
My audience? 182 of Sorelle Amore’s followers who were hoping to tap into their creative genius and learn to monetize their superpowers. Not only was I excited to share my over ten years of Squarespace knowledge but I was also eager to gain some insights from this inspirational woman who has managed to grow a successful business that allows her to travel the world and connect with other awesome free humans.
Here were my key takeaways from the 1.5-hour-long presentation
Don’t chase trends. It’s easy to look at someone who is doing something unique like Sean Evans who interviews celebrities as they eat increasingly spicy chicken wings on his YouTube channel, and want to mimic him. I mean he’s got 13 million followers! But what works for one likely won’t work for another. And if it does it won’t be sustainable because part of what brings success is tapping into your unique creative genius which includes regularly pivoting as new life experiences and interests come up.
To discover your creative genius: first, write out a list of activities that make you lose track of time, next, list out specific skills or qualifications you have, and finally, ask your closest friends and family members what your five best qualities are. You can also write down any advice that people usually come to you for.
To help you start generating a following, and building credibility in your space, reach out to online communities such as Facebook groups. Spend some time in the comments responding to other people’s inquiries. Get a feel for what this community needs or a problem that they are trying to solve. That will lead you to a potential offering and if you become an active participant in the group you might even have a built-in audience when it’s time to launch.
Pivoting is ok and encouraged! This was a big aha moment for me. For a while, I have been cautious about sharing new projects or insights on my Instagram, Blog, Newsletter, and LinkedIn profile because 1/ I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself and then get bored of the topic and 2/ I didn’t want to confuse my followers. Every expert marketer will tell you to dial into your niche and deliver content that speaks directly to them. But I have so many interests, hobbies, and skills! It feels like a daunting task. I loved Sorelle’s example. She started as the selfie queen. She made self-portraiture her creative genius and ran with it. But now she doesn’t align with it the same way so she is pivoting in another direction. Sure you might lose people along the way, but you’ll also gain some too. Don’t let the fear of confusing people or losing followers prevent you from pivoting toward a direction that is more aligned with who you are right this moment.
That’s it for now! But I feel like that will give you enough to chew on for a while :)