Starting the Side Hustle I’ve Dreamt About for Years
By: Gina Kawalek
Tags: Wellbeing, Wellness Coaching, Happiness, Mindfulness, Side Hustle

You know how there are days that stand out as pivotal moments that change the course of your life?

For me, this is one of those moments. I can feel it.

I HAVE STARTED A SIDE HUSTLE.

I am a 1-on-1 coach

I am an Entrepreneur

I am a writer, a researcher, a teacher, a creator, a healer

I am… so many things I never imagined myself saying just 3 months ago, and even though they are still new, and awkward for me to say, I’ve decided to own them.

My mission is to inspire people to clear physical and mental clutter so they can lower their stress, reduce their environmental footprint, create space for what they truly care about, and live their best life.

My goal is to guide people through their personal wellness journey with simple actionable advice, encouragement and accountability.

Why? I have been there. I’ve been caught up and consumed by stress. Consumed by money, perfection, and living by other people’s definitions of happiness and success. Consumed by consuming… stuff. And I lost sight. It is hard not to with media and advertisements telling us what we are supposed to do, want and think all the time. So I made the decision to stop living that way, and now I want to help others to do the same.

I am doing this through 1-on-1 coaching and educational content (IE: articles, guides, courses, videos, social media…).

Today I need your help to meet people that want to live a more balanced, healthy and intentional life. If that is you or someone you know, I want to talk, learn and listen. Please reach out via Instagram or email.

Also, Instagram is where it’s happening. Follow me.

And if emails are your thing, I’m there too, well not quite yet — but I will be soon.Subscribe.

Rewind// When did this all happen?

On May 21, 2020, in the middle of the Coronavirus Pandemic, on a whim I made a sizable investment in myself and hired my FIRST personal/business coach, Darrah Brustein. Who has been the freakin’ Dumbledore to my Harry Potter, guiding me along as I fumble around trying to figure out who I am and how to use my special gifts for good.

For the last year and a half, ever since I did Tough Love Yoga’s 300 hour yoga teacher training, I have been pondering this idea of starting a business where I am essentially Queer Eye meets wellness, minimalism, nature, and conscious living. The problem was:

The scope was extremely wide and I couldn’t exactly see how it would merge into something I could turn into a profitable business.

My crippling fear of starting something and not loving it or worse, FAILING.

I am comfortable, see I’m a Director of Marketing at a successful software company. I have an amazing boss and a team that I genuinely enjoy working with. Overall, things are good. I was employee number 30, and today we are almost at 1k+ people.

But, there is a but.

Something was missing.

Luckily, I made an investment in MYSELF, and Darrah, was there to help me get over myself, figure out what success means to me (and only me) and what kind of life I REALLY want to live.

And THIS is it folks! Or at least the start of it.

— — — Quick side note for any of my coworkers reading this: Today, this is my side hustle. During the day, you can still find me at as a Director of Marketing. On nights and weekends I am here. — — —

Wellness Journey

Hold up. What the heck is a “wellness journey”?

And did you make that up?

Yes, yes I did.

Well I did until about 30 seconds ago when I googled it and some other, from what I can tell extremely intelligent, people defined it the same way. This is just the term I’ve been currently using to describe the journey I am guiding my clients through.

Wellness Journey: A wellness journey is the ongoing process of looking for the tools that make us healthier and happier — and discovering our own effective ways of using those tools for sustained learning, development and personal growth (Alive & Well Balanced). Well said.

Today, I have a few core beliefs about guiding people through their wellness journey:

I believe there is no “one way” to go about wellness. We are all living unique lives, having unique experiences and need a little extra support in different areas. Everyone’s journey will look different. I could provide a guidebook to walk you through what I view is the optimal path, but what is best and worked for me likely isn’t for you. I believe that in order to grow you must first make space (physically and mentally).There is no room to shift your perspective, build a new habit or organize your home until you let go of some of the things that are not serving you today. You need space, physical and mental, to be able to learn something new and appreciate what you already have. I believe a wellness journey is a life long practice. We never stop learning. Life is cyclical, there are ups and downs, swerves and loop de loops. There are periods of great growth and periods of set backs. I always like to keep my overall wellness, my wellbeing, the balance of life or whatever you want to call it front and center.

Where am I on my wellness journey?

One might think that to educate others about living a healthier life that they are living a perfect healthy life 100% of the time. This is far from the truth, at least for me. And I call BULLSHIT on anyone that makes it look like they are happy and healthy 100% of the time. I am human, I am on my own wellness journey where I will be learning and evolving as I help my clients and community to do the same.

Did this resonate with you? If so, I encourage you to check out how to work with me or utilize my free resources, where I share EVERYTHING I know about creating and living a happy, healthy, less stressful and balanced life… With less stuff.