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Side Hustle Pro

500: I've Recorded 500 Podcast Episodes: Here's What I've Learned

Side Hustle Pro

Nicaila Matthews Okome | Side Hustle Pro Media

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

4.7 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Side Hustle Pro is officially 500 episodes deep, and in this milestone episode, I’m taking time to reflect on what this journey has really taught me.


I share the biggest lessons I’ve learned about consistency, networking, monetization, and why the podcast itself was never the end goal, the platform was. I also talk about what I wish I knew when I started, how podcasting helped me grow as a speaker and business owner, and why playing the long game has paid off in ways I never could have planned.


If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, growing a side hustle, or building something meaningful over time, this episode is a reminder that you don’t have to rush, you just have to keep going.


Highlights Include

  • 00:00 – Welcome to the 500th episode of Side Hustle Pro
  • 02:10 – Starting with what I had and recording from home
  • 04:30 – Why trying to predict the end can stop you from starting
  • 06:45 – Why the podcast was never the point, the platform was
  • 09:30 – How podcasting transformed my network
  • 12:50 – Keeping costs low and thinking like a business owner
  • 16:30 – The power of consistency and playing the long game
  • 18:45 – How podcasting improved my confidence as a speaker
  • 21:00 – Giving myself grace through different seasons of life
  • 24:45 – Final lessons I’d tell my earlier self


Links Mentioned in This Episode


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Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to Side Hustle Pro, the podcast that teaches you to build and grow your

0:05.4

side hustle from passion project to profitable business. And I'm your host, Nikaela Matthews Okome.

0:11.8

So let's get started.

0:16.5

Hey, friends, hey, welcome back to Side Hustle Pro. I'm Nikaela, your host. And if you're new around here,

0:23.4

Side Hustle Pro is celebrating 500 episodes. That's right. I started my podcast, Side Hustle Pro,

0:30.6

highlighting bold Black women entrepreneurs who scale from side hustlers to full-time entrepreneurs.

0:35.4

I started this show 10 years ago, 2016, June 2016, to be

0:40.4

exact. So this year, we're celebrating 10 years and I have recorded 500 episodes. And in this,

0:47.8

the official 500th episode, I thought it would be fun to reflect on some of my biggest lessons in podcasting since I got

0:56.7

started. So stick around and let's get into it. All right. So my first lesson is that it doesn't

1:03.2

take much to get started. By now, you might know that really with a microphone and a laptop,

1:09.2

anyone can start a podcast. And some people have a lot to say about that.

1:13.7

But the truth of the matter is it is such a powerful platform and such a powerful thing for you to be

1:18.8

able to take your life into your hands because of equipment you can purchase and bring into your

1:23.9

home and start broadcasting to the world, start building a community and start to

1:28.4

decide what kind of future you want for yourself. So I'm going to insert some photos of my humble

1:33.7

podcasting beginnings because at first I started in our apartment living room back when my

1:39.5

husband and I were living in Arlington, Virginia. So I started there with a microphone, no kind of soundproofing.

1:46.7

Maybe I might have had some headphones and I literally recorded the first episode in the living

1:51.2

room. And shout out to my girl, Stephanie Thomas, because she was my very first interview,

1:57.4

not the first episode, but my very first interview. So that was just so special because,

2:02.0

yes, I started with the homies. I then moved into our bedroom and I had this setup that I like to

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