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What It's About
Destiny calls when a Craigslist couch purchase launches a six-figure modeling career.
Business Model
Service
Skills Required
Observation & Marketing
Complexity
Low
Profit Potential
Medium
Words of Wisdom
Catherine says that modeling, like many careers, has deal-breakers that some people can’t handle. She suggests to become aware of the less than ideal aspects of a job and ask yourself if you can handle them. In her case, Catherine has to fly alone, be touched by people, and having an inconsistent schedule. Although modeling sounds like a dream job, there are also comfortability factors to consider.
Fun Fact
The first modern model was Marie Worth, the wife of Charles Worth. Charles is commonly known as “the father of haute couture.” He took over the world of fashion in France during the 1800s and would sometimes ask his wife to model the clothes he designed.
Notes from Chris
Episode 1028
Six years ago, Catherine Li had just graduated from college. Right after she finished her degree, she scored a job in LA as a publicist and moved there to kickstart her career. Unfortunately, that entry-level job paid less than what she needed. Among other things, Catherine had to start paying off her student loans, so she began to look for extra ways to make money. One day, in the midst of her side hustle search, she and her roommate went to pick up a couch from someone they’d found on Craigslist. When they got to this person’s home (her name is Danika), Catherine began chatting with her about why she was getting rid of the couch. Danika told her that she was moving to New York to pursue a career in plus-size modeling. Catherine was amazed. Danika had the same body type as her, and she had never seen models that looked like that before. Catherine’s publicist tendencies took over and she began asking Danika all kinds of questions about modeling, including the all-important money question: can you really get paid to do that? Catherine was blown away with Danika’s response: she said, candidly, that she earned six figures a year. That chance encounter led Catherine to try her hand at modeling. She quickly had pictures taken and started to apply to model agencies. For a while she didn’t hear anything back, but then Danika’s agency gave her a call and brought her onto the team. (Again, what a great chance encounter!) From there, she began doing modeling jobs … and these were good gigs. Every day that she modeled, she made somewhere between $800-$1500. Most of these jobs were for modeling clothing to be sold online. Catherine calls this “econ modeling” and says that it is the bread and butter of a modeling career these days. Now, Catherine herself makes six figures a year from her modeling work (just like Danika) … and she’s used her agency work to create another stream of income in the form of social media posts. Her Instagram account, @catieli, has over 120K followers. For any prospective models, Catherine says that growing your Instagram following is vital… any offers you receive will be proportional to your number of followers. She has no idea how long she will continue to get modeling jobs as she gets older, so she understands the importance of having other streams of income and skills can be very valuable in the long run. Of course, she still loves to model and is planning on doing it for as long as she can.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- @catieli: Follow Catherine's journey through life and modeling on her Instagram account.
- Art School Model Starts Sexually Stimulating Side Hustle: This biology student-turned model had a penchant for writing about sexual wellness. She just had to find a way to make money with it—and she did. <li
- A thirty-four-year-old fashionista in New York City finds a way to turn the economic crisis into an opportunity promoting affordable fashion while bringing in a profit to keep her flush in designer looks.
- Electrical Engineer Becomes Romance Novel Cover Model: Turn up the heat! An electrical engineer becomes the cover model for an indie romance series. This leads to a side gig that pays an additional $20-50,000 a year.
Quote of the Day
"There were no mixed-race people, and there were no plus-size people. There was nobody. Throughout the years, I had to learn to accept myself."
—Catherine Li #SideHustleSchool
