Taking Your Side Hustle Full-Time & Staying Sane with Jessica Lawlor

Hey! You’re in for a real treat today. I recently chatted with my friend Jessica Lawlor, and she had a WEALTH of knowledge to share with you all. She’s a kick-ass CEO, blogger, professor… this girl does it all. We talked about tips for taking your side hustle full-time, her favorite healthy meals, wellness must-haves for every single day of her life, and most importantly how she stays sane while trying to balance it all. This is a good one, my friends. 

Let’s get into the interview! 

Hi lady! Introduce yourself to my readers.

Hi! I’m Jessica Lawlor. I wear many hats! I’m the President and CEO of Jessica Lawlor & Company, a speciality communications agency that I started nearly a year ago. I blog at JessicaLawlor.com about stepping outside your comfort zone {I’m sharing behind-the-scenes details about my journey as a new entrepreneur there, too}. I’m a yoga teacher in the Philadelphia area and I’m an adjunct professor at Temple University, teaching PR courses. As you can see, I’m pretty multi-passionate!

Wow, you’re busy. What are your go-to tips for staying healthy?

Yoga and meditation! Practicing {and teaching} yoga has completely changed my world. Not only is the type of yoga I practice {hot vinyasa} an amazing workout, it also keeps me sane! As for meditation, how often do we truly allow ourselves to sit still for 10-15 minutes? Not very often. Simply sitting and breathing can do wonders! I swear by the Calm app when it comes to my personal meditation practice. 

What’s your favorite kind of yoga to practice in your spare time?

I LOVE practicing hot vinyasa yoga. I especially love the freedom and creativity behind vinyasa yoga. I’m newly into power yoga too, which is a bit faster-paced. I love how moving fast forces me to focus on my breath and clear my mind of clutter.

What’s your go-to healthy breakfast recipe?

I have to be honest. I am totally boring when it comes to breakfast. My daily go-to is coffee and a piece of toast with jelly. Sounds like I need to get more creative, huh?

What about lunch and dinner?

For lunch, I’m a big fan of soup or frozen meals from Trader Joe’s. I’m obsessed with all of their Indian food products, especially the Chana Masala. For dinner, I’m brand new to cooking, so I’m loving experimenting with my crockpot. I recently made this salsa verde chicken and it was AMAZING.

Do you have healthy snacks that you keep for on-the-go? 

I pretty much always have a Clif bar in my purse! 

How do you stay balanced when you have so many different roles?

Sigh. Isn’t that what we’re all trying to figure out? The truth is, most of the time, I don’t feel balanced. Some days, total attention is given to my business and my yoga practice and relationships take a back seat. Other days, I allow myself a break from client work and focus on other areas of my life. It’s never going to be perfect, but I try to let myself be okay with that. It’s one of the reasons I share so transparently on my blog. I want everyone to see that we all face the same struggles. 

What are three tips you would give to someone who is interested in becoming an entrepreneur full-time?

1. Start a side hustle! Have something you love doing? Can you do it on the side of your job? I rocked a side hustle for years before quitting my job.
2. Get an accountant. I wish I had met with my accountant the second I decided to take the leap. Figuring out the tricky finance stuff is one of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship for me, and I wish I would have enlisted help sooner.
3. Keep going. It’s not going to be easy. There will be days you will want to quit, but those are the days you need to buckle down even more and remember why you started. 

Who are some people that you look up to? Where do you find inspiration?

I’m lucky to actually be working with some pretty inspiring folks. My two clients, Alexis Grant and Cara Bradley, both inspire me in different ways. Alexis forged her own career path, and I’ve definitely followed in her footsteps. Cara talks about what it means to be fully alive, which is a reminder I think we could all use on a daily basis. I’m also a big fan of bloggers and podcasters like Jenny Blake and Jess Lively.

Quick Question Time! 

I drive a:

Nissan Rogue

In my purse right now is:

Way too much stuff! I actually cleaned out my purse this morning, so right now I’ve got my Michael Kors wallet, sunglasses, notebook {I carry one with me everywhere!}, gum, makeup bag, watch for teaching yoga, and a Clif bar.

My top three beauty must-haves are: 

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Primer, Bare Minerals Mineral Veil, and Pantene Dry Shampoo {I’m new to dry shampoo and holy crap! It’s amazing} 

I’m most proud of:

Pursuing my dreams! Quitting my job to start my own business was terrifying, but it has been so worth it to do what I love every single day. 

Every day I have to:

Drink water! Cranky? Drink water. Hungry? Drink water. Tired? Drink water. It usually solves most of my problems. 

My fav guilty pleasure is:

Crappy reality TV. Bachelor and Bachelorette, anyone?!

If I had to describe myself in three words, they would be:

Determined, loving and loyal.

My favorite social media platform is:

It’s a toss-up between Snapchat and Twitter! I used to love Twitter, but I’ve seen it change over the years, and I find myself spending a lot of time on Snapchat. 

If I could travel anywhere, I’d go to:

Back to Greece! Santorini was the most breathtaking place I’ve ever seen.

My typical Starbucks order is:

Tall, skinny vanilla iced latte. Simple! 

// To learn more about Jessica, check out her website.