Category: Business

I have started multiple companies (including a 5 figure, 6 figure, and 7 figure company), been featured in major publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc, Huffington Post, given a TEDx Talk, co-authored 2 books, and amassed over half a million followers for my blog…

So, I often get asked, what did I study in school?

I went to the University of Houston to the Bauer College of Business.

There, I got a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, a Minor in Sales, and a Certificate of Entrepreneurship—

Which are ALL relevant to what I do today as a business owner and blogger, but my education did not end when I graduated.

Every year, I’ve continued to sign up for online courses, including—

Advanced Marketing Program by Neil Patel

Get Booked by Kimanzi Constable

Affiliate Marketing Bootcamp by Adrian Brambila

Pinterest Traffic Secrets by Anastasia Blogger

Instagram Domination by Foundr

…And countless writing courses from Gotham’s Writing Workshop

Since business and marketing change so rapidly, these courses and my degrees have been extremely valuable to my career.

While I haven’t truly worked a “job” since graduating college…

I did spend my 9 to 5 working at my family business (preschools), and in the morning/lunch/after hours, I worked on my side hustle (my blog saniakhiljee.com)

I joined my family business in 2013, and in 2015, I decided to start blogging for fun. I didn’t think of it as a source of income. I mostly wanted to build a following to become an author—but it has become so much more.

With blogging, you can work at any time. You set your hours, and there’s many ways to monetize it, including: ad revenue, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, selling your own products/services, etc.

And the best part? You can build it around what you’re passionate about.

But of course, blogging is not the only kind of business you can start while working a 9 to 5. There’s limitless opportunities on the internet—which never sleeps.

Here’s a list of ways I’ve made one online—outside of my “9 to 5”

1. Started a subscription box
2. Offered coaching/consulting services
3. Social media marketing for companies
4. Paid to speak
5. Sold books
6. Sold “shoutouts” on social media
7. Charged for “sponsored posts”
8. Created a digital magazine
9. Created content that was monetized via ad revenue
10. Sold online courses
11. Affiliate marketing
12. Investing
13. And more…