How To Build Wealth Through Side Hustles With Malik Mack

Welcome to the Amberly Lago Show, where grit, grace, and joy connect you to unstoppable success. Welcome to the Amberly Lago Show. Y'all are going to want to get a pen and a pad, maybe like a big thick pad, because you're going to get lots of information today. I have a guest, a good friend of mine. He actually works with me. He saves my butt. Actually, he's going to light a Fire under you when it comes to creating freedom and possibilities in your life. Malik Mack, the one and only. Y'all, he is the author of 101 Side Hustles, Small Businesses, and Income Streams: A Guide to Financial Freedom. And y'all, he's taken his own experience as an entrepreneur and created a powerful roadmap. I mean, his book is incredible. And it, it not only shows you how to start that side hustle, but how to build income streams, which he's done for me, that can change your financial future. Um, we're going to talk about mindset. We're going to talk about strategies, practical steps, uh, that you can take, whether you're looking to pay off your debt, supplement your income, or finally launch a business you have been dreaming about. Get ready. Because y'all, this conversation will inspire you to stop waiting and start building your path to freedom. Malik, thank you for being here.

Thank you for having me. I'm excited. I'm super— I'm on the Amberly Lago Show. I am ecstatic.

Oh my gosh. Well, wait a minute. I just have to brag on you a little bit. Okay. So you started working with me when I did my Unstoppable Life Uh, our Unstoppable Success Summit, actually, in 2024, to before that, that whole event. And y'all, I don't know how to build landing pages. That's all Malik. I don't know how to build all the stuff practically that I have. I'm just like, here's my idea. Can you help me build it? And you are incredible. I don't know. Like, there have been times I just send you emails. I'm like, what does this mean? It's like a foreign language. And you don't make me feel dumb, you just like, oh no, don't worry about that. Or let me walk you through this. In fact, you were just walking me through some stuff yesterday. And so, Malik, I love you. You know, I, I send you to all my mastermind people who you're working with, a lot of them, but your book is amazing. And I really loved just getting to learn more about you and how you started. Um, so can I, before we get into all these tips and strategies and mindset hacks, Can we just talk about how when you started as an entrepreneur at such a young age?

Yeah, we definitely can. It is one of my favorite stories to tell because it really was just like a light bulb for me for entrepreneurship in general. So, the beginning of my entrepreneurship journey really started in middle school. And I started my journey selling bubble gum. I used to go to the dollar store. And if any of you know this, back in the day, you can go to the dollar store and you can get a 5-pack of Bubblicious gum. So 5 packs for a dollar. So I would go, you know, middle school, we were young, we didn't really have money. So I can afford, you know, I would buy 5 packs of 5. So 25 packs of bubble gum. And then in each individual pack would be 5 pieces of gum. So I would literally take all of them out and put them all in a bag. And I would walk around my middle school with a bag of bubble gum and I would sell each piece for 25 cents. So, you know, if I sell 4 pieces, you know, that's a dollar. So now I'm able to buy, you know, another 5-pack of gum. So I would— I end up making, you know, like $20, $40 a day selling bubble gum, you know, in middle school. So, you know, back then, you know, we were young, we wanted to go to putt-putt, which was mini golf. We wanted to go to the movies, obviously go to the mall, you know, back when we had malls. And, you know, to me, that was financial freedom, right? I didn't have to ask my parents for money. I didn't have to ask them for, you know, oh, I just want— I just need them to drop me off. You know, we couldn't drive back then, but I was, you know, I can go buy shirts and all this stuff. So that to me was the beginning. Then they kind of moved a little bit into, and I got into high school, into CDs, DVDs, and software. Wait, wait.

Did you ever get busted in school selling stuff?

You want to hear? You want to hear?

Because I was selling candy too, but we weren't supposed to be selling stuff. So are you kind of like incognito or undercover trying to sell stuff?

So when I started, I was. But here's the thing, I had a little bit of smart privilege. Um, I'm a 4— I'm a straight-A student, 4.0 student. Um, my mom did not believe in Bs, so I was a straight-A student. So my teachers loved me, the administrators loved me because I was kind of not a problem. I was unproblematic for them. So for them, they would turn a blind eye. And I'll be very honest, when I got older into high school, I had teachers buying from me. I had, like, I had— so it wasn't— so it was, you know, it was just like, oh, that's Malik. No one, you know, he's Malik, he's harmless, he's fine. Like, let him be. So yeah, I had no— I never got in trouble for selling anything at school. Um, not one time. Not one time.

Oh, well, that's good. Yeah, I remember I actually had a teacher that would sell Snickers bars in his class. See, And then I have to say my oldest daughter. So I was a single mom for years and I used to take her to the gym with me. And I mean, from the time she was a baby, I would like lay out a mat, have her pacifiers and her bottle, and she knew to stay on that mat while I trained clients. And, uh, one day I'm training a client and I look over and I'm like, oh, isn't that sweet? She's walking around offering little Dixie cups of water to all the— The clients. And one of the other trainers goes, um, yeah, it's sweet, but you know, she's charging them a dollar per cup. And I was like, oh, that's my girl. That's my girl.

I was about to say, I'm proud.

Yes. I think it's just kind of in your, in your blood. And, you know, my youngest daughter Ruby, who, who, you know, you know, the whole family, uh, um, she, I had said, you know, she's got a truck and I'd said, you know, you might want to think about getting a job. for gas and that sort of stuff. And she said, you know, her friend got a job at the local pizzeria. I said, what about, you know, getting a job somewhere, you know, the pizzeria somewhere? And she goes, Mom, that's crazy. Why would I get a job making minimum wage when I can make hundreds of dollars a week doing my own thing? And so she was selling these collective horses that she has that they really appreciate and value. And so let me tell you, that girl, she's got a lift on her truck. She's got bigger tires. She just got a cow hood. Now she's getting rock lights.

Phenomenal.

And that's all with her money that she's made. And she figured out how to sell it. One thing, one website she was using was taking too much money. So then she started selling on eBay. So I feel like her mind works a lot like yours. And I have to say something, Malik, you are, I feel, is your mind always going in the direction of—

My mind's constantly going. Constantly.

I mean, I can just tell, like, when we talk, you're like, oh, let me see how we could do this or create that. And so, so I want to know, how did you get so dang smart about, like, building things? Because you have built. A speaker calculator for me, and I'll put it in the show notes that y'all— Malik is the one who built that, a speaker calculator that you plug in your information and it's fun to take, and then it will give you exactly how much you should charge for speaking. And I just shared today in our course the, the podcast gear creator that you— so if you're thinking about doing your own podcast, Malik has put together this whole system where you put what kind of podcaster you are, if you're traveling, if you're doing it at home, what kind of lighting you need, or is it a solo cast or are you interviewing people? And I'll put that link in the notes too, that you— how did you— how do you even do that? How did you get into being able to build things like that?

That's actually a really good question. Um, so I went to a technical high school. Um, so it was a vocational tech school, you know, that's what they used to call them. Um, it was called Harford Tech in Bel Air, Maryland, and I was in computer and networking technologies. So I've had a computer since 1998. Um, I was born in 1990, so I was 8 years old, I got my first computer.

Wow.

And, um, I had my own dedicated email— I'm not email, um, internet line. You know, you used to have— you have to have your own phone line in your room in order so the phones wouldn't be tied up when you were online.

Yeah.

Honestly, my parents were like, you know, have at it, like, go learn. And, you know, I learned all— like, I taught myself so much of the things of installing software and, you know, manipulating things and learning. That's how I was— that's how I was able to become a person who could sell CDs, DVDs, and softwares, because I figured out how to find those things and burn them onto media so that you can use them and have them and all those different things. So when I went to high school, it got reinforced through the Computer and Networking Technologies program where I was building computers every day. Honestly, we were building, we were taking them apart and building them daily. So I got to the point where I was able to do that with my eyes closed. I mean, I was running a computer sales and repair business, um, in high school, and I used to do tech support for people across the country over the phone.

You are kidding me.

I mean, I would be on the phone with them and I could be laying in bed. I wouldn't even have a computer in front of me, and I can walk them through step by step within it because I remembered the screens. Like, I literally remember you click this, it's going to bring this. I remember vividly I used to have those conversations with people and they would be like, how are you doing this? And I was like, I'm just— I've been doing it for so long. It just stuck with me. It really stuck with me. So that was an easy transition into the web space. I actually didn't get into— I actually didn't get into web design technically in college around 2010. I met a guy and he was teaching me WordPress, but not until I actually went into— I graduated 2012 from Cornell University. And I went into the workforce. I was working for a recruiting agency in Baltimore, and I started— I was recruiting for 6 months. I recruited for 6 months, and I seen how much web developers and web designers were making. I said, oh, I can do that. I could do that. So I ended up like just teaching myself. Like, I was like, okay, I know these are, these are the skill sets we're looking for when we're calling these potential candidates. So these are the things I know I need to go learn. And that's what I did. Wow, that's so smart.

And I went to learn those things.

And so, once I did that, it was just like, okay, sky's the limit. So, yeah, like you said, my brain's constantly going. But, you know, I've always knew I was going to be an entrepreneur, especially like from middle school because I knew, like just like your daughter you were saying, like I knew there was other ways. Like, why would I work that job when they're going to pay me this small amount of money for all of these hours? I was like, absolutely not. I can— no, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that at all. And so, it kind of, you know, blossomed throughout my entire life. Even working for the recruiting agency, I was going to be there for a year. I made a plan. I said, I'll be there for a year, then I want to move to New York and I'll be an entrepreneur.

Wow. And now you live in California.

Yeah, I live in Los Angeles now.

Yeah. In my old stomping ground. And we've worked together for this long and it's crazy that we've never met in person. Isn't that wild?

It's wild. It's wild. I mean, partially as a part, you know, my whole travel ban thing. If I wasn't on my travel ban, I would have been at the conference with you. I would have been at the summit with you. But partially because of that. And then also, when we first started meeting, I don't know if you remember, I was injured. You know, I was— yeah, I was injured. I was just— I had just gotten surgery. So, I'll see you one day.

Yeah. Yes. Yes, for sure. But I feel like I won the lottery when actually it was our mutual friend, Maylisa, who used to help me when I was doing the events, help me with the event planning. And she's like, you know, you really need to meet Malik, and I was like, Malik, don't leave me. Stay with me forever. Because you were so amazing. Well, I think that so many people need this. And I'm, you know, you might be listening going, well, I have a great 9-to-5 job. I think it's always smart to have— I've always been with the mindset of when I was a professional dancer, even though I was get— I was booked solid as a dancer, I always had another stream of income or 2, usually 3 coming in because I wanted constant income from some way. If one thing wasn't doing well, at least I had this income over here. And so, um, I think that a lot of people learn that the hard way. I had a lot of friends that were trainers, uh, fitness trainers, and they only had one source of income. And I'm like, okay, you got to think outside the box and do something different.

Mm-hmm.

Real quick. And so I think that way too. But with your book, 101 Side Hustles, Small Businesses, and Income Streams, first of all, what inspired you to write this book? Was there something that happened on your career path that inspired you to write this?

So this book, I tell people all the time, this is God's book. God told me to write this book. I, I've, you know, I have so many friends, so many people I come into contact with, and a lot of times they'll call me and they're like, hey, Malik, I need more money. What can I do? Like, that's the conversation. Like, what is— I need some ideas. Like, I need more money. I need to be able to do this thing, or something happened. I lost my job. Like, I need more money. And I used to get that question, like, constantly. Like, I lived in— I've always lived in kind of like these bigger cities.

Yeah.

So, I lived in New York, you know, now I live in Los Angeles, and I'm originally from Philadelphia. I also lived outside of Baltimore, and people needed money. It's like these cities and things, and as we've been getting older, prices have just been rising across the board. Cost of living—

Yeah, and those places are like the most expensive places to live.

Super expensive places. Washington, D.C., like super expensive places. So my friends would always be in these areas as well, and they would just be like, what am I going to do? And so I remember one time I was thinking, and I— it was like as clear as day, God was just like, you know, write it down. And I'm like, oh, what do you mean write it down? He's like, write it down. And a lot of people don't know this, but this book— I've been writing this book for 7 years.

Wow. I didn't realize it was— that was going to be my next question is how long did it take you to write it?

I've been writing this book for 7 years because I wasn't being obedient to God. And he's been trying to get me to sit down and write this book. And there's a whole bigger story there. But once I finally listened and I was like, okay, God, I'm not going anywhere. I'm sitting my butt down. I am going to just listen to you. And honestly, once I did that, this book was done in like a month and a half.

Wow.

Once I did that.

It's unbelievable how many businesses that you list in here and what that you like, starting costs for inventory, what you will need, how to do it. But you know what I think is fun is just to take the book and like flip through it and see where it lands. Yes. Oh, okay. So, oh, of course mine lands on understanding the numbers, which you, you are, you know, I'm terrible. You know, I'm terrible at this because with you, you're like, okay, well, how much are your tickets? Well, how many tickets have you sold? Like, I don't like thinking about all that, but you are so Great about that. How important is understanding the numbers? And can you give somebody a tip today that they can start doing today that's going to change the way they understand the numbers?

1,000%. So, understanding numbers to me, I always tell people that's the most important thing out the gate. And the reason I say that is because a lot of times we get really excited about the glitz and the glam about what it possibly could be like, oh, I'm going to be an entrepreneur. It's going to be so awesome. People are going to look at me like, oh, look at them do their thing. Like, no. Sometimes we have ideas that need to stay ideas. And the reason being is because the numbers don't support it. And by understanding what it is that you're trying to do and understanding the cost behind it. And when I say cost, I mean, yes, actually the financial cost, but also the time cost, right?

Yes.

And, you know, and also, you know, and it goes into understanding your market as well. But that's a part of the numbers. If the numbers do not make sense, do not do this. I had a meeting early last week with someone, and we were talking about their business. They were like, yeah, we just launched this revenue stream into our business. I think it's going to really help us. I was like, okay, well, great. How much money did you guys make last month? And he was like, well, revenue-wise, you know, we just launched those $2,000, which sounds good, right? So, okay, $2,000 is not bad. I was like, okay, so how much of that was profit? $200. I said, you— I said, for 30 days, You made $200. I said, you would've made more money panhandling in downtown Los Angeles for 3 days.

Yeah.

Than running your— because think about the time, think about all these different things. And I said, I'm not saying this to be funny. I'm saying this to make it stick to you that if sometimes these ideas, if they're not fully thought out and we're just kind of throwing things out there to see what sticks, it doesn't make sense because if we understood the numbers in advance, Then we could have projected, okay, okay, maybe this is a good idea, but maybe we need to do this, or maybe we need to do this. Because at the end of the day, I don't want to do anything for a month and only make $200.

Yeah, yeah.

I enjoy crab legs. I can't buy my crab legs with that.

You and Ruby are going to have a good time together, I swear. Um, well, I have to be kind of vulnerable and transparent here, but it's the same. It's like my Unstoppable Success Summit.

Mm-hmm.

My accountant was like, um, I know you love doing that event, but you're in the red every year. Like, I think sometimes people think, oh man, they're making so much money from the ticket sales and this and that. And it's like, I don't know if people realize how much it actually costs to hold an event, that the hotel is charging you $150 per gallon of coffee.

Exactly.

You know, and so we decided, you know, and I always run things past you, like to do it differently and to how can we make it more beneficial for the mastermind members so they get more, but I'm not in the red with my family upset with me and not even working for $200 a month, but basically working and being in the hole.

Yeah.

You know, so that's why it's so important to look at those numbers because if it's not making sense, it starts to add up, not just from your pocketbook, but your health as well.

Absolutely. Your health, your time, your energies, like that stuff depletes as well because you got to remember, like when you're not making money or you're losing money, like you said, you have family, stress, right? Stress is a real thing. Stress is a killer. We all know this. Stress is a killer. So anything, any preexisting conditions you have or anything that may have been on the horizon, it's going to be exacerbated by that stress. So it's really important to set yourself up to alleviate stress by understanding. I always tell people, I'm not stressed when I have clarity. And I make sure I get clarity before I press go on anything, right? Because that's just going to take away so much off your shoulders that will allow you to focus on the actual task at hand. If I'm trying to do things of figuring it out as I'm going, and then now I'm being stressed because it's not working out. And all comes down, right? It's a house of cards. It all is going to come down.

Yeah.

So, by preparing yourself early and understanding your numbers, right? And when I say understanding your numbers, I mean understanding your numbers, understanding, you know, these are the possibility things that could happen as well. So, I need to make sure I have this much sit over here just in case. And I, you know, this is what my market looks like. So, I have enough people in my market to support this idea. You know, sometimes people have ideas, but only 5 people want it. There's no reason to do that thing, you know. So it's— so preparing yourself by understanding your numbers is going to alleviate so many issues in the future, because it will allow you to focus on the things that you need to focus on, not the, I'm kind of figuring this out. And I'm kind of learning as it's happening. And I'm realizing that this is not a good idea. Absolutely not. Not a great idea.

Okay, well, I need you to dumb it down for me.

Okay.

So how Let's say, let me give you an example. Let's say somebody wants to start a side hustle.

Perfect.

And they want, let's go, I have a lot of people that listen to the show. So if you're like coaching, you've got a 9 to 5, but you really, your dream is to be a coach on the side and they want to start a coaching program. How would they go about looking at the numbers before they launch their coaching program?

Perfect, okay. So, the first thing is to understand your own current financial outlook, right? So, if you have a 9 to 5, you need to make sure you have a budget to understand your current money, right? That's the first thing, 'cause a lot of times people will jump into things and they don't understand their current money, their current bills, and, you know, a lot of people live above their means and all these different things. So, when you jump into this new thing, which is gonna require some branding, gonna require maybe some web work, gonna require marketing, gonna require your time, maybe manufacturing, depends on whatever you're building. So, let's think coaching. So, that's going to be web stuff. That's going to be social media stuff. There's going to be branding. That's going to be pictures. It's going to be all those different things, right? That's going to cost money, right?

That's like— And I don't think a lot of people think of that.

Like, oh, I need pictures.

Oh, I need to pay for a web design. And oh, I need—

yeah. You know, and it makes a difference, right? The difference between, you know, someone who has professional photos and someone who does not makes a difference when someone's making a purchasing decision, especially if you're a high ticket. Right? I'm not going to buy something from somebody I see their pictures, it looks like they took it on a flip phone. I'm never— I don't trust you. You don't believe in your own brand, why would I believe that you're going to help me build mine, right? So, that's the first part of that. Once you got a better understanding of your own financial— your money and things like that, now you can start to look at the numbers. Okay, how much are these things going to cost? So, now I need to reach out and I need to figure out what these costs are. I need— if I need web, I need to figure out how much a website's going to cost. If I need branding, I need to figure out how much branding is going to cost. I need to figure out all these costs so I can have a number in hand. Once I have my number, say for instance that number's okay, you know, $5,000 or whatever. Now you don't need to save $5,000. You need to have $10,000. Okay? You need to have, you know, you need to have buffer. You have to always give yourself buffer because here's the thing, nothing's perfect. If you're working with an agency and they're building a website, you might realize that, oh, there's features that I need that I did not discuss with them prior. I need a little bit more money in the budget because they're not going to just build them because I said, oh, we forgot to do That's not how that works, right? Because you don't always know what you know— what you need to have until you don't have it. So you always have a little bit extra just in case so that you can make sure that when you are ready to go, you're not in a position to say, well, I only saved $5,000 and I spent the $5,000, so now I have all these things, but I really technically can't even launch because I don't have the things I need because I didn't budget extra. You don't want to ever put yourself in that position because now what happens? You start to stress. You start to freak out. Now, I just wasted $5,000. You know, all of those things start to happen.

Yeah.

So, by understanding your numbers upfront, you alleviate that issue, right? So, boom, that's done. Now, I understand my numbers. I understand the second part I need to understand now, who is my target audience, right? I always say, who's my avatar? Who am I servicing or who am I selling to? And when I say this, I mean, you need to have a very clear picture of this individual or individuals, and you need to make sure that you create something called an avatar document. Give your avatar a name. Give them a personality. What do they do? Where do they spend their time? Do they have children? How much money do they make? Where do they live? They live in urban centers, or do they live in more suburban or rural areas? Like understand the full picture of this avatar, and then understand what are their pain points. Why would they need me? Right? I can't sell anything to somebody if I don't understand what their needs are. So what are their pain points? Get all that information in a document. I'm gonna be honest with you guys. There's a pro tip right here. Thank God for AI, because this process has become much easier. Because here's the thing, you can build an entire— I mean, you can have AI help you build an avatar document, or you can build one, you can feed it into AI, and then AI can fill in the missing gaps for you, right? Or you can have it say, hey, here's my avatar document. What am I missing? What is more crucial information that I should be having? Ask me questions so that I can get a more clear roundabout picture of what my avatar should be, and it will help you. Right? And then utilize that. So now that you understand who your avatar is, you can say, okay, is there a market for this avatar? Right? Some of our things are very niche where there may be only 5 people, which is fine if, you know, that's what you want. But once you hit those 5 people, there's no more money out there for you unless they're on like a recurring subscription type situation. Now, I always say you do want to be niche, but you don't want to be so niche that you don't have a market at all. Right? So, you know, it's a fine balance because you don't want to be too broad because your messaging needs to resonate with your audience, right? If you're trying to sell to everyone, then it doesn't land on anyone. I want— when I see an ad, I want it to feel like they're talking to Malik. If I don't feel like you're talking to Malik, then I'm moving on to the next thing because this is not relevant, right? That's the word we use now, is relevance. It's not relevant. Once you kind of get that settled and understood, now you can work on your branding and your marketing because now you have the messaging. You know what you can say. Now you can speak to the pain points. Now you can, you know, speak to the person, you know, say, hey, are you a Are you a fitness coach and you are looking to fill your schedule with more appointments because you're tired of the 9-to-5 grind? That sounds much better than, hey, do you need to lose some weight?

Yeah.

You know, it's so true.

Just, just that little shift. And yeah, thank goodness for AI. I mean, gosh, back in the day when I was like coming up with my avatar, I mean, I gave my avatar the perfume. Was she single? Was she divorced? Married? How many kids? does she have? How old? So all of that makes— really, really helps. What are some of the mistakes? Can you give us a few mistakes that some people make when they're deciding that, okay, I'm going to do this side hustle? Anything that you see over and over, mistakes that people make?

Yeah, they do things that they're not— they don't really care about, right? They jump into something that they have no passion with. And it works for Very few people, right? A lot of times, we're like, well, that person isn't really passionate about it. They're successful. Yeah, but they're the exception, not the rule, right? Because I tell people this all the time. Entrepreneurship, no matter how you cut it, is not easy. And when things get tough, and they will, if you do not care about that thing, it's going to be the first thing that goes.

Yeah.

You're literally like, okay, I don't want to deal with that anymore, right? And so, you got to have some passion behind anything. That's why I did 101 things. That's why the number is so high. Right? Because when I want people— and I'm just like you, I tell people, open it up and just thumb through. And then you see something you like, then go deeper into it. But read the chapters because the chapters have great information. And it's the same way because I wanted to be able to pollinate across a bunch of different avenues, verticals, et cetera, so that people can find something that they read and be like, hmm. I want the hmm moment. If you don't have the hmm moment, you probably shouldn't be doing it because it's going to get tough at some point. And it's literally going to be the first thing. That you're gonna get rid of. If I was not into web, if I was not into marketing strategy, if I was not into, uh, building businesses and brands, I would have quit a long time ago. This would not be what I would do because it's not easy chasing people down for money, getting people to listen, right? You'll give them an entire thing and they'll be like, okay, and they do none of it. You know, you'd be like, oh my God, what is the point? What is the point of this? So you— the biggest mistake is jumping into something just because, one, you see somebody else doing it and they're kind successful at it, and you're like, well, they're successful at it, and maybe I could be successful at it. Don't do that. Make sure it's something that you have some interest in, because that's going to fuel you when things get hard. If you don't have that fuel, you're going to literally be like, okay, this is the first thing I don't want to do. I'm not even gonna look at that anymore. And you waste money, time, and all— and efforts and all these things. And then you start to create the rhetoric, oh, side hustles don't work for everybody. Like, no, you just followed someone else, but it wasn't your passion, it wasn't your thing. So Of course you're not going to be necessarily successful.

So, well, when there's so much, so many different side hustles out there, yeah, how does somebody know where to start? Like, where to get to go? Do they just buy your book and flip through it and go, oh, that one? Oh, and go—

I was going to say buy the book and then kind of— well, here's the thing. I always tell people, um, change starts with inspiration, right? And you don't know what you don't know because you're not, you're not you're not exposed to it. So you need to put yourself in a position to be inspired so that it can spark something in you. So yes, buying the book, phenomenal. But if not buying the book, get on TikTok, type in side hustles with keyword that's around something you like, right? So if you're somebody who's into crafts, uh, crafting side hustles. If you're somebody who's into coaching, coaching side hustles, right? The internet is here for us, you know, utilize it. It is— we have so much access to so much information What we have to do with that power is be intentional. So if you go in with intentionality and say, okay, I want to find specific things in this world, then go down that rabbit hole, right? You know how we always call it doom scrolling, where you're just on your phone, you're just scrolling?

Yeah.

A lot of times, you know, you get into doom scrolling, it's because we're not being intentional about what we're looking— what we're trying to do with this time, right? We just kind of default to our phone and just kind of scroll. But if you're intentional and saying, okay, no, I know I need a side hustle, I know I'm into crafting, I know I'm into tech. I know I'm into writing. Then you can use those keywords and side hustle or small business or income stream inside of TikTok, inside of YouTube or YouTube Shorts or any of these platforms, ChatGPT, etc. And they'll help you get some ideas that will inspire you. Once you're inspired, then that's going to trigger something in you to say, okay, I want to go down this rabbit hole. How much money does somebody who usually do this make? What is the things they should do to get started, right? That's, that's what this book takes care of for you. It just puts all that stuff in place for you. So once you see something that inspires you, that information that you're going to ask naturally It's already in that page for you to get that information to move forward, to continue the education so that you can get started and make a difference in your life.

That's so good, Malik. And, you know, I love that you just brought up about the scrolling. I just had that conversation on our call today for the Profit and Your Purpose course because I had somebody say, well, no, I haven't really been on social media because we were talking about podcasting and how you, if you want to be on somebody's podcast, then you should Listen to their podcast and share it on your social media, or at least comment and support them. And she's like, "Oh, you know, I don't. I haven't really been on social media. I just get overwhelmed, and it's just too much." And I'm like, "Look, I get it. I'm the kind of person. I've got sticky notes all over my desk. Like, I have to be so focused. And you know, with me, I got in trouble once because I was sending you text." You text messages, what about this? What about this? And you're like, stop, just stop, get organized. But I think when you have that intention, and I told them this morning, I was like, look, I do not wake up and grab my phone. I get grounded. Well, first thing I do is I pray, I get grounded. I think of what I'm going to post and the message that I'm going to say. And then I will post and then I'll go on social media. But I get like, oh my gosh, it's so overwhelming and there's so much to choose from and maybe I should do this or maybe I should do that if I just go in with no intention. So it's developing that strategy. I love that you said that. That's so good. Well, here's an excuse I hear a lot.

Okay.

Um, that, well, I'm just so busy. I have a 9 to 5 job. How would you, what would you say to someone to kind of balance the, main 9-to-5 job or whatever that job looks like to starting a side hustle? How does one start that side hustle without burning out?

I love that. That's my favorite question. And the reason that is because I get that people say that all the time in response to it, right? And I always tell them, okay, I said, okay, let's do math. Um, how many hours are there in a day typically, right? 24 hours. Okay, great. 9 to 5, you're working 9 to 5, right? They'd be like, oh yeah, I'm working out for— Okay, great. What are the hours that you're not working? Well, these are hours that I'm not working. Okay, so what number of those hours are you sleeping? These are the numbers. I said, how many hours do you have left over? And they'll give a number like, oh, 6 or 7 or 5. Or I'd be like, but yeah, but usually during that time, I'm laying down or I want to spend time with my kids. I said, great, wonderful. I said, let's be intentional about the number. Okay? How many hours a day or week do you want to just spend with your kids? He's like, well, I never thought about it like that. I said, exactly. I said, these are mathematical things. I said, you can be intentional. We get so weirded out when we create schedules or we create lists or we get organized, right? We like, oh, that's not natural. It's natural when you're trying to achieve something, right? If we all understand—

Oh, I am big on the lists.

Yeah, because if we're trying to achieve something, we have to be intentional about this. This thing. So, now that we're putting a number to it, you can't make the excuse that I'm too busy because we just uncovered 12 hours out of your work week, not even your weekend, that you have time that you can be dedicating to this. And they'd be like, oh, wait. That kind of makes sense. I'm like, now, what we want to do is open up your calendar. I want you to block off those times on your calendar. So now, whenever you're like about to go just waste those hours, right? Because you told me you had a goal. Waste those hours. It's going to pop up on your phone and be like, hey, now it's time for us to be working on this thing. And you— and it changes your mindset around everything. You'd be like, wow, I am busy, but there's still time. And when people who don't have any time, we uncover there's no time, then you need to start scaling some things back, right? Because you set a goal for yourself, and if you want better for yourself, you need to prioritize self over some of the other things that you were prioritizing. Guess what? You don't necessarily need to be at every one of your child's games. If you, especially if you're in a two-parent household, you go this week, I'll go that week. You go. So now that when your guys are away, I can come and sit and work on this, right? Because that thing you're trying to do, that income stream, that side hustles or a small business is going to positively affect your family if you get it to a really good place. You know, so sacrifices have to be made, right? And if you are that busy, Now, it's time for you to lay out all of your hours and all of your time and find the gaps. And if there are none, scale some things back so you have some. This stuff doesn't just happen magically. We have to be intentional. You'll hear me say intentional all the time because it's my word for the year. You have to be intentional. If we're not, we are literally choosing to not win.

Yes. I mean, I just want to shout this off from the rooftop because I hear it all the time. Oh, well, I just, I just don't have time. Well, we all have the same amount of time during the day. And I really feel like what's important to you, you're going to do it. You're going to make time for it. You're going to make energy for it, effort for it. But if it's not that important, then you're going to make an excuse. I know because I've done, I've done that. And so I also, I think it's important to really figure out a time When you're most productive. So somebody doing a 9-to-5 job, if you know that you can get things done early in the morning before you go to your 9-to-5 job while the family's sleeping, I'm saying that because that's what I do. That's how I wrote my second book was I was getting up at like 4 o'clock in the morning. You're building momentum. And that's what I do on the weekends is I get up early and I get stuff Done, man. I get like everything organized for my week ahead, caught up on stuff maybe I missed from the week, that week. And then by the time, you know, the, you know, kids are up, the husband's up, the dog's ready to go for a walk, I've accomplished so much, you know? And so I think it's so important. I love that your word is intentional because, yeah, I get a lot of people that just, they, I hear excuses and I'm like, it's you.

It's all about you.

It takes, it takes grit. It really takes grit if you want something to happen and if it's important. But so many people will leave that dream that they have to write the book or start that coaching business or start their podcast. And this is your sign to start it. Like, just do it. So, uh, and I love Malik that you said to time block your calendar. That has been so helpful for me to time block. Like, if— because if it's not in my calendar, it's like it's— it has not— it's not going to happen. Like, it's got to be in there.

It's not on my calendar. It is not going to happen. You know, there's a bigger— there's a bigger thing at play here as well. And I talk— and I talk about this with people and they always have a little bit of a shocked face when I say this. I tell people all the time, especially if you work 9 to 5, I said when I worked 9 to 5, I remember when I was in New York and I was building my web agency. Mac Interactive, and I used to work for an edtech company. I was building websites at work. I have the internet, I'm on my computer for the whole day. Like, I tell people, if you— if you're— if you know your dream is not that job or that career path, it's kind of like a means to an end, or it's like a 9-to-5 or whatever, one, if you can make time at the job to do it, do it. 2, stop trying to be the Michael Jordan of your job if this is not your dream. Be a role player. Be a C employee. You're not going to get fired. You're not getting a promotion. Be a C employee because that's going to give you time to not stress. Because when you think about it, I work a 9 to 5, but I'm really working more than that because when I come home, I'm working. When I do all this— absolutely not. Be a C employee because your goal is the coaching business. Your goal is something else because now I'm not stressing because I'm like, oh, I'm not going to do that one. I'll do that when I get back to the office tomorrow. Not when I come home. I'm working on my stuff. Stop trying to be Michael Jordan of this job and then you also have a goal to go do something else because your energy is finite. You're going to run out of energy. You're going to burn out, right? So no, my friends, they'd be like, why would you? Because we're conditioned to think we just need to be so great at every single— no, your goal is not that job. The job will pay you $22.

Wow, you've probably said something that most people want to say. And you probably— there's probably— I know some of you are sitting there going, oh my gosh, how did he know that's what I was doing?

Because you should be. Because if— I mean, like I say, if your goal is that job and promotion and raising in that company, Michael Jordan all day. If your job is like, listen, I'm just doing this until I can kind of get my business going, C athlete, just C, just be a C employee. It's fine. You will be okay.

You will be okay. That's another thing. Well, that's another thing I have to say about you, Malik, is there, man, we've been through a lot together. We have been through a book launch together while promoting the annual event. All at the same time while I've been traveling and coaching and doing my mastermind. And you have stuck by my side. Thank you. But there you have this way about you, just like when you said you're going to be okay. I would call you going, oh my gosh, something's not working. This leak is broken and this is it. And you're like, oh, it's okay. I got you. It's, it's fine. Have you always been that kind of person that is just like, Calm and—

Yeah, calm is funny. If any of my friends heard you describe me as calm, they would fall out of their chairs laughing. But yes, um, when it comes to—

All your friends are gonna listen to this, I hope.

I know. Oh no, they're gonna laugh. Um, when it comes to like entrepreneurship and business and just life in general, I've learned early on that nothing positive comes from reacting Uh, well, like, uh, frantically, right?

Yeah.

Because you can't think straight, right? And so because I can't think straight, I can't take the steps I need to correct whatever's happening. I had a good friend of mine— I had an incident happen in New York, and I was like hyperventilating and all that stuff, and I was telling her about it, and she was just like, you do know that for every action there's a, there's a recourse. So no matter how crazy it feels right now, there's a recourse for everything. And that literally stuck with me because now I look at everything, I was like, yeah, something's always going to happen, right? I plan for things to happen, right? We do that, right? Be prepared. But if I freak out about it, we're not going to get to the solution, right? And so if we just say, okay, something's happening, we knew things could potentially happen, how do we solve this thing, right?

Right.

And usually by being level-headed, you solve it quicker. By not being level-headed, you kind of make a smaller problem a bigger problem. Because now, things you're supposed to be paying attention to, you no longer can pay attention to because this thing is taking up all of your brain power. And it shouldn't be because you have people on your team and trust your team, let your team handle it and all these. So, all these different things start to come to play and you'll be like, I was really going crazy over something that really in the grand scheme of things is not that big. Right. I was just talking with a client the other day and she was Something was we were we're working on something, and she was like, "Oh, I think I need to change this post.

I posted the wrong thing," and I was just like, "I know who you're talking about." I know. I was like, just by you saying that, it's fine.

I was like, or I was like, or just delete it and repost again. Why would I do that? I'm like, because people who didn't see it will now see it, and people who did see it already subscribed. So it's a win-win. It's okay.

Yeah.

She was just like. Oh, okay. So, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. Well, I have a question for you. How do you know when to turn that side hustle into a small business? Get rid of that job where you've been a C employee and you are like, okay, I'm officially going to make this into a small business. How do you know when to do that?

So I usually tell people what my story was, and I usually tell them to emulate that rather than what you see on TV, right? So, you know, on TV it's like, I went to work and I just quit, and I'm going to do this thing and I'm going to be successful. And it's just like, that's a little crazy.

They burn the bridge.

Burn the bridge. It's a little crazy. What I did was I saved. I did my budget. I did my budget for 3 months. I recognized how much all my expenses were and then my income. That's with the job and with projects I was working on for my other— for my company. And I said, okay, to live, to live the same way I'm currently living, which is very important, um, I need to save 12 months of this, of these expenses. And if I have 12 months of these expenses, I can leave my job and know that I can still eat crab legs.

I was just gonna say, Exactly.

So you grab it for 12 months. If I don't— even if I don't make $1 from my business. And what that did for me was it allowed me, you know, they always say a leap of faith. This made me feel more like a, you know, just a walk into faith, right? I don't have to jump off anything. I'm just going to walk comfortably into it because now I don't have that burden of like, what am I going to do if I can't pay my bills?

Yeah.

I know for sure I can pay all of my bills for 12 months without a problem. Right? Anything I make over that is now extra, right? And then that starts to build or whatever. So that just gives you peace of mind. And I've— what I've learned working with people is that that peace of mind is the biggest thing they need for making the next step into changing that side hustle into a full business. Because if they don't have that peace of mind, panic sets in, they freak out, they're not focusing on things they're supposed to focus on, they stop marketing. Because for some reason, when people stop making money, marketing is the first thing they stop doing, which is the thing that brings the money.

Mind-blowing.

And now, you know, now they're headed to, oh my God, I need to go get a new job. I'm a failure of this. I can't do it. No, no, no. If you do it this way, this allows you to take your mind totally off of the whole if I can't pay my bills thing because you can. And now, you can focus on really building your business with full intention, right? And that's what I tell people. That's how you know. And also, technically, the more technical side of that versus the more heart side of that, the technical side of that is If you've been work doing this side hustle, whatever, and your income is matching or exceeding your nine to five income, or you kind of can project like maybe like you know if I if I worked seventeen more these hours on this business, I know I'll be making this much more because you've been doing it consistently and you can see you have the market for it. Your your marketing is is resonating with your audience. Then you can say okay no, I have to quit this job so that I can give my time to this. business so I can see it grow, scale the way I'm already projecting because I did my numbers. I'm already taking, you know, taking stock of the data so I know what's going to happen. And then give yourself a chance, right? Give yourself— you give yourself 12 months.

Yeah.

And I tell you all the time, start over, right? Say for instance, you used the 12 months, hit— you didn't make the money. I say go get a new job, start working and do it all over again. Find something else to do and do it all over again if you know entrepreneurship is truly what you want to do. A lot of people are scared to start over, which is Understandable. But also, we have one life to live. We have one life to live. I refuse to go work somewhere and give them all of my hours most of the day, spend more time with them than my family, and then I'm unhappy.

Yeah. Yeah.

Absolutely not.

Yeah. I feel blessed I get to do what I do, but there is kind of a— I have to There is kind of a downside to that because I love what I do so much that I literally, I have to put like time blocks on myself and make myself stop working. I'll look at the clock and I'm like, oh my gosh, time to shut it down. Like, this has got to wait no more for tonight. I need to shut it down. I need, you know, because. I love being with my family, but I actually, I love being able to help my clients. And so like this weekend, I wrote 2 forewords for 2 different books.

I know.

Um, I edited a TED Talk for one of my clients and I love it. Like I wake up and I dive into it. So what would you suggest to somebody who is getting a little bit off kilter and they're maybe working a little too much? How do you— what— tell me what I should do, Malik. Just give it to me straight.

There's a whole chapter in the book on balance, you guys, which is great because this is something that's very common, right? So, don't feel like you're the only— anyone is the only person dealing with this, especially when you're doing something you love, right? I love what I do. And I've recognized that recently. I've recognized that, hey, I don't have any hobbies. I used to have hobbies. I don't have them anymore. I just work. I just work because I enjoy—

Yeah, see, I know.

And I was like, I need to make hobbies.

I went outside. I went to the park with Ruby over the weekend and I was like, oh, this is so nice. I was like, I used to be outside all the time. So what, you realized that too?

Oh my God, 100%.

Um, so what did you do about it?

So this is what I did. One, for me, I recognized, okay, because I don't have hobbies, what happens is I'm using work to replace what I call cup-filling activities, right?

Okay.

I always tell people, you have your cup, keep your cup full. Um, your cup can get depleted. You need to pay attention to your cup. And what I recognize is that work doesn't fill your cup the way that real cup-filling activities do, right? Such as my love language is spending time, right? I love spending time. Um, I'm on a travel ban right now, so I don't spend the same amount of time I used to with my family, but I have a lot of friends, so I spend time with my friends.

Okay, wait, tell them what the travel ban— they're like, what, is he on lockdown? Is he arrested?

I know, it was so funny when I first was telling people about my travel ban. Oh, and it's really funny because Spirit Airlines is my favorite airlines, and my friends are like, were you fighting on a Spirit flight?

First of all, this is big age. Exactly. Yeah.

So, no. Okay. So, I'm on a travel ban. It's a God-ordained travel ban. This is not just a Malik thing. God has been telling me to sit my butt down, so much so that last year he literally attacked my feet and a little bit this year. And I finally started to listen. And pretty much what the travel ban was around, when I moved here to Los Angeles, first of all, I came to Los Angeles because God told me to come to Los Angeles. The little backstory, just to give you a little bit of information, is I lived in New York for 6 years. Pandemic hit. I ended up moving to Baltimore with some friends for the year, for that 2020 to 2021, August 2020 to August 2021. And when everybody was getting their shots and things were kind of getting a little bit better, I was going to move back to New York. I was ready to go back. And I went to sleep. I woke up and I heard a voice and God said, go west. Anybody who knows me knows I always wanted to live in New York, but I also always wanted to live in Los Angeles. So when he said go west, I knew what he meant. So one month from that voice, I was living in Los Angeles. Sold everything, literally was living in Los Angeles. Fast forward, while living in Los Angeles, I used to travel to the East Coast a lot, multiple times a month almost.

A lot. Really?

Yeah, a lot. Because entrepreneurship for me always meant freedom and also meant time with family. So it didn't matter how small the event was. If somebody asked me to be there, I would be there, which in theory sounds wonderful. But God told me to come west for a reason. He's had me on assignment out here for a lot of different things. That's a whole nother podcast. And because I was traveling so much, I was missing my assignments.

Oh.

And so he's— that's why I said he would attack my feet, because when he attacked my feet, it literally made me stop. Right? And so when I was able to get back to California, I was like, okay, God, I hear you. I'm going to sit here and I'm going to— I'm here for you. Let me know what you need me to do.

Wow.

And because of that, my book was completed. Remember I told you I've been writing for 7 years?

Yeah.

It was completed within like a month and a half of me having— me sitting down like, okay, God, what do we need to do? And that's just one of like 20 things he's done for me in this short period of time. that I've been on this travel ban for this pretty much since the end of January. So that's the travel ban.

That actually— thank you for sharing that. And that makes me feel better because I just, I was having this, I was feeling a little guilty because I just turned down a speaking opportunity in Nashville, but I was going to be going from one speaking gig straight, like flying And going straight into, like, flying that morning, going straight into another speaking gig. And I saw what all they needed me to do. And it was like breakfast, lunch, VIP dinner, breakfast, lunch, VIP dinner. And that all sounds wonderful, but it's— I don't even really get to eat because I'm talking, I'm doing the book signing, and it's all things I love. But I was like, you know, Malik, I've had some struggles big time with my health lately. And I was like, I have to listen and listen to my body and go, you know what? I had to say no. I said no to the gig in Nashville. And I was like, oh, then just even yesterday, I was like, gosh, my sister messaged me out of the blue and like, hey, I think we should take Mom to Nashville. And I was like, man, I could have had a paid trip to Nashville. But as an entrepreneur, it's hard. And I think that I've learned over and over and over the importance of listening to your body, listening to your heart, listening to spirit, listening to God. And so thank you for sharing that because it makes me actually feel better about my decision. And man, we are, we are almost out of time. I didn't even get through all the questions.

We do.

And you know what? I, You know, y'all, Malik has come. You are one of the most giving, loving, supportive, smartest people I've ever met. I love your book. I can't wait for my youngest daughter Ruby to read your book. But you have spoken to my mastermind and it was seriously one, if not the best presentation we've ever had. Oh, And then you even poured into my coaching program and everybody loves you. And you've helped so many of my clients. Anybody that ever needs anything done, I'm always like, oh, you mean you haven't called Malik yet? Like, you gotta call Malik.

Yeah. They told me, they were like, Amberly was like, you better call Malik.

I'm like, you better call him. I just feel so blessed, truly blessed to have you in my life. I'm so excited about your book. And where, what's the best place? Because I ordered it early.

Yeah.

It's right here. If you're watching on YouTube, you can see the COVID Um, I ordered it early and I got all the goodies that came along with it. What is next for you? How can they order this book? Um, I don't know if you have like anything that comes along with it anymore, but, um, what's the best place for people to grab your book and be in touch with you?

Absolutely. So yeah, so my book is available on my website. Um, I built a website for the book. Um, it's, uh, 101shsbis.com. So 101shsbis.com, and that will take you to buy the book. And when you're on the actual book buying website, there is an opportunity to also, uh, grab the companion workbook. That goes with the, uh, book. And it's a PDF download that you can download and you can write in. And it's really important, um, if you're somebody who's like, okay, I need to like organize my thoughts, organize my things when I'm trying to build these side hustles, that thing is phenomenal because it's going to allow you to get all that stuff in one place. There's prompts in there to get you to write certain things, start to work on your avatar, and it helps guide you through that process. And you can— it's a download, so you can download that and use that for each individual side hustle, income stream, or small business that you're considering. And then you kind of can weigh the pros and cons of which ones you should move forward with. It's just going to help you organize everything and you can buy it directly from their website. Coming next, I actually am launching a platform that you are going to be able to also take micro courses for each of the 101 side hustle small businesses.

Oh my God. Are you serious?

Yeah, so I did a micro course for each of them so you can just get more in-depth information, go in a little deeper, get a little bit more understanding and helping you out. And then I also have a bunch of my trainings that I've held for clients and friends and things like that. So like AI training, marketing training, uh, entrepreneurship one-on-one stuff. So you'll be able to get those, uh, trainings as well in that platform. And it's gonna be pretty nominal of a fee. It's probably gonna be somewhere between $10 to $20 a month. So that's launching at the end of this month. They'll be launching. So yeah, so if you buy the book, you'll be added to the email list and you'll be in the know when that thing launches. And then you can come in and, you know, get more detailed instruction around that income stream and also some more of the business And marketing and entrepreneurship knowledge that you should have so that you can be successful.

Yeah, well, I mean, that is phenomenal. And you know what? Malik is someone who, like, always overdelivers. Like, you always give so, so much. And so I'm going to sign up for it.

Oh, awesome.

No, seriously. And I'm going to— I want Ruby to as well. I think we all should. I think we, you know, I think that COVID really taught us that We need multiple streams of income, you know, and it might be a little bit hard at first, but when we do the hard thing first, life gets easier. You know, when we do the easy things, life gets harder. So go grab his book. Where can they find you on social media?

Social media, you find me on Instagram. That's where I spend most of my time. My Instagram handle is Malik, M-A-L-I-K underscore Mr. Multistreams, which is M-R-M-U-L-T-I S-T-R-E-A-M-S underscore Mack, M-A-C-K. I'm always on Instagram. You need to reach out to me, just send me a DM there. I would love to connect with anyone. If you have any questions around, you know, just the whole how to start a side hustle income stream. I also, if you go to that same website, if you go to hustles.101shsbis.com, I created a find your side hustle assessment. So you fill in the information. Yeah, I created one so you can go in there, fill in that information, and then at the end of it, it'll give you 3 recommendations based off of the information that you've given from the book. So yeah.

Oh, that is so awesome. Okay, so if you're out for a run or you're driving or whatever right now listening to this, all those links will be in the show notes. I want you to be able to find Malik. You have been such a blessing in my life. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you for having me.

I just, I just appreciate you. I love you so much. Thank you. And y'all, thank you so much for tuning into the show. I appreciate you being here and tuning in each week. It's because of you that you've made this a top 1% podcast. So thanks so much. And if you found value in this, which I really hope you did, please don't forget to share it with a friend so we can all grow, scale, and build together. And you know what? I love to hear from you. So leave me a review. Let me know what you want to hear, what I can do better, or what you really like. That always makes me— my heart sing when I see a review, especially if it's nice. Thank you for tuning in to the Amberly Lago Show, and we will see you next week. Thank you.

Thank you.