Building an Online Business with Jannese Torres-Rodriguez | Ep. 108

• Jannese shares how she went from pre-med to pharmaceutical engineer, hating corporate life from day one due to micromanagement and microaggressions as a Latina in a white male-dominated space.

I cannot deal with the micromanagement. I cannot deal with the microaggressions, especially being a Latina... it just always felt like I could not be myself.

• At 27, newly married and experiencing a quarter-life crisis, she started a food blog as a creative outlet to rediscover her authentic self outside of corporate constraints.

• Tiffany resonates with Jannese's story, noting she also stayed up until 1 AM working on her passion project after corporate workdays.

As kids we're told explore, be creative, be curious. And for some reason, that narrative changes as we become adults. It's like you start being told things like don't do the risky things, right? Do the safe thing.

• Both emphasize that fulfillment comes from putting energy into what you love, and that energy has no choice but to succeed.

• Jannese reveals she made zero money from her blog in 2013-2015, emphasizing that the average business isn't profitable for 2-3 years.

Anyone that tries to tell you it is [easy], is probably trying to sell you some snake oil that's going to help you, quote unquote, get there faster.

• After being laid off with severance, she took a food blogging class and discovered brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and display ads. Her first five-figure year came in 2017 ($10,000), doubling annually until reaching six figures by 2019.

• Jannese learned about FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) but didn't see herself represented until discovering Jamila Souffrant of Journey to Launch podcast.

I couldn't find Latina voices in the FIRE movement... I realized maybe it just doesn't exist. And maybe this just means like this is up to you to start a conversation around this.

• The podcast name came from a Cardi B and JLo song heard in the shower - 'Yo Quiero Dinero' (I want money) - leading her to create the platform for Latinas to have unapologetic money conversations.

• Both hosts acknowledge that mental health struggles don't disappear after leaving corporate - they may intensify without built-in support systems.

I would say it's even more challenging because now you don't have other people around you all the time to like, you know, be a support system. You have to be really proactive about that now.

• Jannese offers a six-month business accelerator combining tactical business strategies with mindset work, emphasizing that 'every new level, there's a new devil.'