Hello World 👋
In this episode, we (
and ) get into the question every small creator eventually hits: should I actually monetise this thing?We chat about:
💸 Bhav realising side hustles don’t have to be about money
📚 Becky’s first experiments with writing coaching and proposals
🧵 How creative work often starts with curiosity, not optimisation
😅 Why charging money feels uncomfortable (and why people sometimes insist you do)
🌱 What “good work” really means for each of us
If you’ve ever wondered whether your side hustle needs to turn into a business—or if it can just stay a joyful passion project—this one’s for you 💛
This episode is sponsored by Good Work. More on it below.
🧭 Our creator checkpoints
Before we dove into monetisation, we checked in on where we’re each at:
Becky just wrapped her third Hyrox doubles race (and survived the running part 🎉). She’s also back from a family trip to Jakarta where she tried to work amidst endless coffee refills, aunt visits, and her grandma’s sewing machine—while sneaking in portraits of her family along the way.
Bhav is back from sabbatical and in full “say yes to everything” mode. Between helping friends set up systems, tinkering with coaching offers, and wrestling with her own discomfort around charging, she’s learning that maybe the point of side hustles isn’t revenue—it’s growth and joy.
📚 What We’re Reading
We’re always swapping books, and this week was no exception:
Becky: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (a gentler, poetic read), Take Your Shot by Robin Waite (a short, energising business fable), and The YouTube Formula by Derral Eves (a work-hazard…).
Bhav: The 5 Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom (biggest takeaway: you might only see your parents 15 more times) and circling back to Paul Millerd’s Good Work.
🧠 On monetisation vs joy
This week’s big question: do side hustles have to make money?
Bhav reflected on how optimising past projects killed the fun—and how she now frames them as passion projects rather than side hustles.
Becky shared how LinkedIn became her testbed for coaching offers, from writing to branding to content strategy.
We compared notes on free vs paid work, and why sometimes charging upfront actually makes people take it seriously.
Both of us admitted we don’t always know where the line is 😅 but we take it as we go.
The takeaway: monetisation can be part of the journey, but it doesn’t have to be the destination.
🛠 How We’re Building Creatively (Without Burning Out)
Becky’s take:
Start with conversations. Put a Calendly link out there and see who shows up. Each chat helps uncover needs you didn’t know your network had—and writing a few tailored proposals is a low-stakes way to learn pricing and positioning.
Bhav’s approach:
Do stuff for free when it feels right. Price high when accountability matters. And don’t be afraid to call projects what they really are: joyful experiments, not pressure-cooker businesses.
Here’s a sponsor blurb for Good Work that matches the tone of your episode page (warm, personal, creator-friendly, not corporate):
📖 This episode is sponsored by Good Work
We’re so excited to have Good Work as this episode’s sponsor—not just because it’s a book we love, but because it speaks directly to what this podcast is about.
Written by our friend
(author of The Pathless Path), Good Work is a guide for anyone who’s asking: what’s the work I’m actually meant to do? It’s not about chasing the biggest salary or the flashiest side hustle. It’s about finding the projects, people, and paths that keep calling you back—the work you can’t ignore.Both of us have love our copies (Bhav even has hers on display 👀). It’s a book that stayed with us on our creator journeys, especially because we often feel like we’re bucking the trend while pursuing this pathless path (ha!) and finding our own good work.
👉 Grab your copy of Good Work here, and check out Paul’s Substack:
💌 Come grab a seat
What’s your relationship to monetising your creative work? Is it fuel, freedom, or just a distraction? We’d love to hear how you’re navigating it—drop us a note and join the conversation.
We’re just two small creators trying to stay in motion. And we’d love to hear what’s going on in your world too 💛
Send us your questions, tangles, or hot takes. We’re aspiring this to be a cosy discussion, and would like to share the love with our fellow small creators out there.
Find Bhav:
✍️ Substack:
Find Becky:
✍️ Substack:
💼 WORK WITH US
If you're a creator that needs a little helping hand, then we're here to help:
👩💻 Book a call with Becky: https://calendly.com/beckyisj/30min
🐙 Book a call with Bhav: https://calendly.com/justbhavs/bhav-45
Listen to Small Creator, Big World:
We’re over on 🎬 YouTube and 📸 Instagram, too.
See you in two weeks 👀
