Does Everyone Need a Creative Side Hustle?
In a shifting media landscape, personal platforms are becoming professional leverage for mid-career creatives.
I’m excited to share my very first collab post with Jessica Ferrer of Great Creative!
If you’re in the kids media world, I’m sure Jessica’s weekly raw and honest conversations have started popping up all over your LinkedIn feed like they’ve showed up on mine. Each week, she chats with creatives not only from kids media, but also across entertainment in general to break down what makes a good idea.
Jessica and I will be going live together on both LinkedIn and Substack next Wednesday 2/18 at 8pm ET/5pm PT to discuss what it means to build a career in kids media today.
Make sure you mark your calendars and subscribe to both Kids' Media Book Club and Great Creative on the Substack app so you get notified!
Reimagining the Side Hustle
A decade ago, the side hustle was often framed as a replacement plan for your day job, we’ve all heard the stories of startup founders building at night after their 9–5s, or creators grinding on weekends in hopes of making the leap. But these days, we’re seeing more and more people launch personal “brands.” And it feels different.
For Gen-Z, side projects aren’t about building your next career move. They’re about complementing the one you already have. I touched on this in my 2025 wrap-up through the idea of career minimalism: the notion that Gen Z (and many beyond it) are decentering identity from work. The goal is to have stability through a primary role (~still actively looking for my next full-time role btw!~) and a separate space where you can explore your interests, passions, and creative energy. It’s a particularly interesting shift, especially in creative fields.
“These thoughts are my own and not a reflection of my employer”
Remember when this was in everyone’s social media bio if they were public and worked for a big brand? It’s kind of dystopian to think about - that we had to acknowledge that we could have individual thoughts that have nothing to do with our jobs…
Early in my career, it took me a while to separate my own creativity and taste from that of my employer. Eventually, I found the balance - I was able to understand what the brand needed, and understood it was my job to execute against that vision. But when I re-entered the job market, I realized my “portfolio” included projects that didn’t necessary feel like “me.” Working in development makes it even harder to showcase your creative taste and voice based on what you’ve done - projects pass through so many hands that, unless you worked with me one-on-one, there was no clear way to point to my contribution.
My credits and resume have branded me as a preschool educational girl, which don’t get me wrong, I love working on. But lately I’ve been in more and more conversations where folks have told me we may not align because curriculum isn’t the driver of the brand. I then have to try to convince them there’s always been the creative spark in me that loves silly physical sketch comedy, glittery girl shows, and upbeat pop music videos with complex choreography - I just haven’t had the chance to work on those yet…
That’s part of why I started this Substack. It became a place to show how I approach content and to highlight what I’m personally excited by and what I care about creatively.
Cool Person Alert!
Jessica Ferrer’s work with Great Creative is another example of this shift. While she’s currently Senior Manager of Audience Development at Nickelodeon, her weekly conversations aren’t centered on her role there. Instead, she’s created a space to talk with creatives who are experts at what they do, many of whom are building things alongside their day jobs, often without a clear endgame beyond curiosity, connection, and creative fulfillment.
I was curious what inspired her to start these conversations, and how Great Creative fits into her own career identity.
Here’s how she describes the intention behind it:
Great Creative started as a space for me to share access to my network, more or less. I am lucky enough to be connected to some smart, creative people. I wanted to reach an audience of folks either just starting out or those mid-career wanting to learn more. I think there’s a lot of power in knowledge sharing and letting people in the room, so to speak. Lots of career fields have gatekeepers, but I think it’s especially true for entertainment. By interviewing other creatives, I hope that someone out there can learn something that benefits them.
I also wanted to highlight everything that goes into making something great. There’s so much work behind the work. It’s sort of a way to also correct my own line of thinking. I have a habit of thinking that ideas are a flash of brilliance, but really ideas are a result of all the things you’ve learned along the way. The creatives I talk to are hard workers, always learning, dealing with failures, etc. Experience is what brings great ideas to life.
What role does this play in your career alongside your day job?
I currently work in children’s media and I genuinely love it. But doing these interviews also gives me the opportunity to explore other genres, tactics, and mediums like podcasts. I get to learn too, and I love that. To use your word from above, it “decenters” me from being just a kid’s entertainment person, or at least I hope! I actually studied journalism in college so I also get the chance to explore that side of my interests. I love a little variety so this is also a great outlet for me to try something new and learn a growing platform like Substack.
I also wanted a way to create more LinkedIn content. Writing posts felt fine, but I also wanted to convey my personality and do something a little different. The next best option would be video, but I’m no editor (shout out to editors). I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to host some livestream interviews with the Children’s Media Association, which inspired my own livestreams. Definitely check out their livestreams, they have great people on all the time. Doing my own version felt like a happy medium of work-related LinkedIn content and doing something I enjoy — yapping it up!
Do you think creating your own platform part of a bigger shift in entertainment?
Creating the opportunities you want is rarely a bad thing, in my opinion. I think of people like my friend and creative executive Eddie Gamarra, who is building a new type of entertainment model where more creatives would become franchise builders and IP owners. He’s trying to shift to a version of Hollywood that makes more beneficial deals for creators — I love that he wants people in this industry to feel like “creative CEOs” who aren’t left in the dark. We both have a similar goal of letting others believe they are capable creatives. You can read our conversation below or watch the full video here.
I am casually thinking about next steps and how I want to grow. Would it be cool to have a fully monetized platform? Yes. But it’s been important for me to just enjoy what I am doing and learn from it first. It also takes some pressure off of me as I do have the privilege of being employed, and I don’t take that for granted. I’m happy to have the chance to learn and enjoy conversations from some cool people.
🚨 Tune In: Building A Career In Kids Media in 2026
We’ll be continuing the conversation and discussing these ideas and more on Great Creative on Wednesday 2/18 at 5pm PT/8pm ET. Be sure to subscribe to both Great Creative and Kids' Media Book Club on the Substack App OR following both Jessica Ferrer and Juliet Menz on LinkedIn to be notified.
👋 Before You Go...
If you’re loving Kids Media Book Club, please like, comment, and share with a friend or coworker. It helps connect us to more creators, educators, and curious minds!
Working on something for kids and families? Let’s connect! I’m looking for my next role and open for both full-time positions and/or freelance and consulting work. I help teams develop original kids’ series, build character-driven worlds, and bring stories to life across TV, digital, and emerging platforms. Reach out to collaborate here 👉:
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