How to Choose a Side Hustle That Can Replace Your Salary With the Founders of Entreprenista

If you've ever caught yourself calling your side hustle "just a little passion project" while secretly wondering if it could be your next thing—this episode is your permission slip.

Amanda Goetz sits down with Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer, co-founders of Entreprenista, who quit their corporate jobs on the same day back in 2012 with zero investors, zero business plan, and one very clear number: $4,000 a month each, just to break even.

Fourteen years later, they've built a +3,500-member community, scaled an agency to eight figures in cumulative revenue, and helped women found and grow thousands of businesses.

We cover how they knew it was time to go all in, the real difference between a hobby and a business, whether (and when) to tell your boss about your side hustle, and why community (not funding) is what actually got them to seven figures.

Key takeaways

You don't need a grand plan to quit your job—you need a number: Stephanie and Courtney calculated the bare minimum they each needed to survive and used that as their revenue goal before walking away from corporate.

Stephanie's litmus test: if you're already making money, you have the start of a business. But turning a hobby into a business isn't automatically the right move.

Never burn a bridge, and give yourself a real timeline before walking away from a job (they gave themselves three months to prove it could work).

The single biggest driver of their early growth wasn't a funding round or a growth hack. It was showing up to one random networking group and actually building relationships there.

Comparing your timeline, your funding, or your exit to what you see on Instagram is a fast way to lose sight of the business you actually want to build.

Both Stephanie and Courtney say if they were starting a business today, they'd go all-in on learning AI.

Timestamps

[00:00] Intro

[05:05] The exact day they quit their corporate jobs

[08:47] How to tell a hobby apart from a real business opportunity

[10:44] The most common (and costly) mistake new founders make

[11:35] Did they set out to build Socialfly to sell it? The surprising answer

[14:49] How to spot your first "side hustle idea"—and use AI as a brainstorming partner

[17:48] Building a business while working full-time, without burning out

[20:20] Should you tell your boss about your side hustle?

[23:37] Why community (not funding) is their real superpower

[29:06] Rapid fire: tools, time-wasters, and the best (and worst) advice they've ever gotten

GUEST LINKS

Follow Entreprenista: https://www.instagram.com/entreprenistas

Join the Entreprenista League: https://www.entreprenista.com/tel-start

Follow Stephanie: https://www.instagram.com/stephjillcartin/

Follow Courtney: https://www.instagram.com/courtspritzer/

FOLLOW THE PODCAST

IG: https://www.instagram.com/girlboss/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlboss

Amanda Goetz: https://www.instagram.com/theamandagoetz/

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ABOUT AMBITION 2.0

Powered by Girlboss, Ambition 2.0 is a podcast where we'll be exploring what it really means to "have it all" in work, family, identity, and self… and if it's actually worth it. Each week, you'll hear from hardworking women who've walked the tightrope of ambition. They'll share their costly mistakes, lessons learned, and practical tips for how to have it all and actually love what you have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices