Tabitha Soren, Former Celebrity Journalist, Shares Practical Business Advice
/Tabitha Soren. Many of you may remember her from her MTV days when she interviewed Tupac, Mariah Carey, and Hillary Clinton, and many others.
What you may not know about Tabitha is that she is now an accomplished photographer. After building her collection, The Fantasy Life, over the last 14 years, her exhibition is now on display at the San Francisco City Hall.
Her affiliation with Moneyball (her husband, Michael Lewis wrote the book), may lead you to think that Tabitha is a sports fan. On the contrary, she embarked on this project with no interest in baseball.
Sigh. Why do all the non-sports fans get access to the likes of Derek Jeter? Be still my jealous heart.
Nonetheless, Tabitha was very much intrigued by the human spirit of the twenty-one athletes that she documented over 14 years. Their resilience, courage, work ethic. Ability to bounce back after devastating injuries. And the unfortunate fall from grace that some never recover from.
Me and Emily Howe, famously known as "Femily", met up to attend Tabitha's press release earlier this week
Emily, "Femily", Howe is the Make.It.Happen woman that you need on your team.
Photo credit: Sarah Deragon Portraits to the Peoples
Femily, is an undercover, magical bossbabe/consultant/curator that all artists and boss ladies need to strive to get to know on a first name basis. Note the emphasis on strive- while Femily is super chill, she's a highly sought after consultant and picky with her time.
During the release event, we had the opportunity to have a private chat with Tabitha. She shared a lot of insights that we had to keep off the record, but we did get some golden nuggets that I am able to share with you.
My biggest interest was learning how she has been able to sustain her lifestyle while working in industries that are, generally speaking, challenging to monetize.
Tabitha's advice to artists on following your passion.
Often times, as creatives we are told to just "follow our passion" and everything will fall into place.
I don't know about you, but I don't know of a landlord or bank that accepts passion as a form of payment.
At some point, sooner rather than later, you will need to figure out how to monetize your dream. Or else, your dream will fizzle like an ice cube in Arizona's spring training heat.
Tabitha's advice is to keep your day job as you build your side gig. And eventually transition from doing your gig part-time to full-time.
“As I was building my business, I continued to work my day job. Then put in an extra five to six hours on top of that, everyday, to build my thing.”
Further elaborating on her suggestion, Tabitha recommended viewing your corporate role as a way to fund your dream. While it takes a lot of energy to have a job and build a side gig, getting a steady paycheck eliminates the stress that arises when you have no idea how you will pay your rent.
My Two Cents
So, I completely agree with Tabitha. You should keep your day job as you grow your side hustle. Worrying about bills will completely drain your creativity.
With.That.Said.
I totally did not do this when I launched and built my business. I dove in, head first, with no back up plan and minimal savings.
It worked for me because I enjoy the pressure. Maybe it comes from years of running track and thriving under the competitive energy.
However, I know that it's not for everyone. And would never wish the stress that I've endured on my worst enemy.
Well, maybe my worst enemy. But, you get the point.
At the end of the day, you have to decide what works best for you. Then give it 150% of your effort.
Now, I'd love to hear from you! What are your thoughts on the early stages of building a business? Should you keep your day job? Should you go all in?
Let me know in the comments below!
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