469: Turning Grief Into Growth: How Amy Anaiz Built a Sustainable Home Brand

Side Hustle Pro

Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media

Nicailamatthewsokome, Blackwomenentrepreneurs, Sidehustle, Blackpodcast, Sidehustlepro, Marketing, Sidehustles, Business, Smallbusinesspodcast, Sidehustleshow, Blackownedbusiness, Blackwomenownedbusiness, Blackwomen, Blackentrepreneurs, Smallbusinessshow, Businesspodcast, Entrepreneurship, Smallbusinessowners

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week in the guest chair we have Amy Anaiz, a celebrated photographer turned product founder and the creator of OZAIZ, a sustainable home goods and fragrance brand. After building a successful wedding and portrait photography business for over a decade, Amy made a powerful pivot—launching a line of sculptural, multi-use glassware inspired by beauty, intention, and function.

In this episode, Amy opens up about her transition from side hustler to full-time creative, and how becoming a mother—while navigating unimaginable grief—reshaped her purpose and path. She shares the behind-the-scenes of building OZAIZ, from manufacturing and funding the business herself, to designing for sustainability and meaning.

*Trigger Warning:

This episode includes discussions of infant loss and stillbirth.

In this episode she shares:

How she prepared financially to leave her 9-to-5 and pursue photography full-time
The story behind her product brand OZAIZ and why it took years to bring to life
How grief, motherhood, and purpose shaped her new business direction
What she’s learned about manufacturing, design, and funding a product-based business
The intentional design and sustainability philosophy behind OZAIZ

Highlights Include

00:00 – Intro

01:30 – Amy’s pivot from PR to photography

07:00 – Building her photography side hustle

10:00 – Leaving her full-time job and creating a financial cushion

13:00 – Losing her daughter and navigating grief while becoming a mom

21:00 – Why she launched OZAIZ and what sets the brand apart

28:00 – How she self-funded her entire business

36:00 – The complexities of manufacturing glassware and candles

44:00 – Designing for sustainability and versatility

50:00 – Balancing personal storytelling with branding

58:00 – What's next for OZAIZ and how Amy honors her daughter's legacy

Watch episode 469 on YouTube and listen on all podcast apps

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

OZAIZ Website: https://www.ozaiz.com
Amy Anaiz Photography: https://www.amyanaiz.com
Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyanaizphoto
OZAIZ on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ozaizhome
Side Hustle Pro Podcast: https://www.sidehustlepro.co/podcast
Kunbi (Amy’s lawyer):https://www.instagram.com/legallyset/

Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Profit doesn't always come fast, and that doesn't mean that you're failing.
0:06.2	Slow growth is still growth, so just keep going.
0:09.9	And a lot of the growth happens really quietly when no one's watching, you know, it doesn't have fanfare.
0:16.3	You're listening to Side Hustle Pro, the podcast that teaches you to build and grow your
0:21.7	side hustle from passion project to profitable business. And I'm your host, Nikaela Matthews Okome.
0:27.9	So let's get started.
0:35.6	Hey friends, hey, welcome, welcome back to the show.
0:38.2	It's Nikaela here.
0:39.4	And today in the guest chair, I have a returning guest.
0:42.6	Her name is Amy Anaise, and she is an acclaimed Afro-Latina photographer turned product designer and founder of Ozais, a sustainable home goods and fragrance brand that blends intentional design
0:56.1	with everyday functionality. Her pieces are multi-use, sculptural, and made to elevate the way
1:03.3	you live, beautiful enough to display, but built to be used and reused. Amy and I also go way back to a friend group established back when I
1:13.2	worked for MTV Networks, and we were all starting out our careers in media, advertising,
1:18.4	PR, you name it. And I first featured Amy on SideHustle Pro in episode 96, seven whole years ago.
1:26.5	So so much life has transpired since then, and Amy is here to talk
1:31.0	about these pivotal moments and these shifts and also talk about her newest business venture,
1:36.6	Ozais. I would like to give you a heads-up, kind of a trigger warning that this episode
1:41.4	will touch on pregnancy and infancy loss and stillbirth.
1:46.7	So if those topics are a trigger for you, I just wanted you to proceed with caution.
1:53.1	Amy's journey is one I respect and admire so much.
1:56.0	And it is truly a blessing to have her back in the guest chair.
1:59.8	And with that, let's talk to Amy.
	...

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