Financial freedom is something we should all be striving for. Our parents taught us to be practical and get a good, stable job. But life isn’t always stable, and if we are going to be bad ass feminists who do what we want with our lives, we need to be financially free. Financial freedom means leaving your cheating husband without worries and about bills, it means fully funding your maternity leave to spend time with your newborn, and it means taking a calculated risk on your time and not anyone else’s. This week’s guest is a good friend of mine who has done all this and more, and she’s going to show you how you can do it too. 

Jannese Torres is an award-winning Latina Money Expert. She became an accidental entrepreneur after a job loss led her to create a successful Latin food blog, Delish D’Lites. Now, she helps her clients and listeners build successful online businesses that allow them to pursue financial independence and freedom. Jannese is on a mission to educate marginalized communities on topics like entrepreneurship, investing, and financial independence through her personal finance podcast, “Yo Quiero Dinero.” Her new book, Financially Lit!, was published by Grand Central Publishing on April 30, 2024. Order your copy at financiallylitbook.com 

Launched in 2019, Yo Quiero Dinero® is an award-winning personal finance podcast for Latinas and people of color. The Yo Quiero Dinero® Podcast educates and empowers listeners on personal finance topics like entrepreneurship, financial independence, building generational wealth, investing, and money mindset through guest interviews & solo episodes.

In this week’s episode, my long-time friend Jannese Torres will be catching me up on all her latest adventures, all while sharing what financial freedom can do for you. Whether it’s getting yourself out of a bad situation or setting yourself up for a good one, you need to be financially free. No matter what situation you’re in now, it is possible! 

Follow Jannese on:
Website: www.yoquierodineropodcast.com 

IG: @yoquierodineropodcast 

Pinterest: @dineropodcast 

YouTube: @YoQuieroDineroPodcast 

Twitter: @dineropodcast 

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdB1ydrw 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yo-quiero-dinero 

Follow Erika on:
Instagram @‌theerikacruz
TikTok @‌theerikacruz
LinkedIn

Website:
http://www.theerikacruz.com

How to work with Erika:

Join the waitlist for the Courage Driven Latina program here.

Join the waitlist for the Magnetic Mastermind here.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

Episode Transcript:

Erika: Janice Torres, welcome back to Chin Revolution podcast. I think you’re the only guest that we’ve had on This is the third time that you’re on, and yeah, I know, and I’m, I’m so excited because so much, it hasn’t even been that long, but so much has changed for you. So first, welcome back to the show. How are you?

Jannese: Thank you. It’s an honor to be here. I remember when you were just first launching this show and I cannot tell you how many clients that I’ve had that we’ve had like in our mutual circle and you’re doing life-changing work. There’s so many people that talk about your program. Um, and so I’m just honored to be here and share this space with you.

And I’m doing amazing and I’m so excited to catch up ’cause there’s so much to talk about. 

Erika: I know there is so much to talk about and thank you. Thank you for giving me my flowers. Honestly, sometimes I have to like pinch myself and I’m like, holy shit. Janice is my friend. Like I’ve, I’ve known her for years.

I’ve spoken at her event, she’s been on the podcast three times and I’ve just gotta say, [00:02:00] it’s been so beautiful to watch your journey because you started your podcast how long ago? 

Jannese: It’s gonna be six years in. Actually it’s, it was six years last month. It’s crazy. 

Erika: Wow. Well, happy anniversary to the podcast.

And did you know six years ago that this podcast would completely change your life? 

Jannese: Girl, I don’t, I don’t know what the hell I was doing. First of all, I was launching a show on my little iPhone, whatever it was, with my little AirPods thinking I was gonna just, you know, have basically a virtual brunch style conversation where we’re all talking shit about money.

Uh, obviously this was like, 

Erika: oh my gosh. 

Jannese: Um, and I feel like the more that I’ve embraced the idea of just literally going with the flow of life things have. Come for me that I literally could not have even imagined. It’s nuts. 

Erika: Oh, that’s exactly what I want to dive into today. So people from the outside looking in think, oh, like Ro Jean Torres, like she [00:03:00] has, you know, built this empire.

What seems like overnight. For the first few years, it was not like that you were working an engineering job. So can you tell us just a little bit about your journey when it comes to the business and how it may from the outside looking in, seem like it just came so easy for you, but how this has actually been a work in progress.

And yes, things do happen very quickly, which we’ll talk a little bit about like how your life has evolved and changed and so quickly. But first, let’s start with. With the business. Tell us like a little bit of behind the scenes what was going on. 

Jannese: Yeah, so I always like to remind people that like every overnight success story is 10 years in the making, and I am absolutely no exception.

Okay. Like I’ve literally been at this like online content creation game since 2013, y’all. Okay, so 2013 is 2025. I’m 12 years in and I feel like in year. Six maybe is when I just started kind of really cracking the code. And [00:04:00] then from there it’s been like just kind of diversifying where I’ve created content and the methods and evolving with the ecosystems too.

Because when I started, uh, as a content creator, I initially went into the blogging world. So that is my first foray into like learning how you can use content to make money online. And you know, blogging was very, very. Popular back then and, uh, you know, podcasting wasn’t even a thing. So I was a food blogger for a couple of years after I got good at monetization, which was really around like year five and six, I started thinking like, I’m ready for something new.

I wanna try something new at that point. This is 2018 and I’ve been listening to podcasts for a couple of years and I really like got Ben by the personal finance bug because at that point I had just turned like 30. I was feeling that pressure of like, what am I doing for my money? Like why is everybody around me like buying houses and doing all the things and I’m feeling like a broy even though I’m making [00:05:00] six figures as an engineer.

And so I was really burnt out by my career. And I literally Googled like, how do you quit your job? Because I was over it. I’m like, I can’t do this shit for another 35 years. Like, I did not sign up for this ghettos. Okay. Um, and I stumbled upon the financial independence movement and I learned about these people who were using their six figure salaries to literally like quit their jobs in their forties.

And I was like, say less. Okay. So I started listening to all the podcasts, reading all the blogs. Reading all the books. And one common thing that I notice is like. Where are the women of color who are talking about this? Mm-hmm. Right. It’s a bunch of like bros talking about how they’re using their like Silicon Valley tech jobs to quit their careers and go live on a farm and whatever, and I’m just like, well, first of all.

That’s cool, but also not relatable at all, right? Like, I don’t have a trust fund, I don’t have rich parents. I don’t have a safety net. And so if I really wanna make this happen, I’m gonna have to have a different strategy. And it wasn’t until I started [00:06:00] listening to, um, the Journey to Launch podcast by Jamila Suran that I got the first taste of like, what it sounds like to.

Hear about money from the lens of a first gen woman of color who’s also pursuing financial independence. And I was really like, uh, inspired at that moment to create a version of that podcast for Latinas specifically. ’cause I really just wanted to like, talk to my friends about this, talk to mm-hmm.

Strangers on the internet and just create a space where it felt a lot more relatable. And so I started the podcast. I was literally just like talking to my friends. We just were talking about our money should, uh, you know, how much debt we have, student loans, what we wanna do, investing all this stuff. And slowly but surely, it turned into this incredible community that is now a five-time award-winning podcast Has gotten me a book deal, has allowed me to quit my engineering career and do this full-time now since 2021.

So, yeah, y’all like, this shit takes time. Okay. Like, and in between [00:07:00] all of the success that you’ve seen, I’ve also had failed attempts, like being a travel blogger, like having my e-commerce store that never took off. I’m still trying to figure out YouTube, right? So I’ve just embraced this idea that like we build on our success as we go along and we try different things and pivot and some shit hits and some doesn’t.

But I just. I have embraced this idea that like I’m gonna have so many different identities as I evolve that I’m just really like looking forward to continuing that discovery process. It no longer scares me to try new shit. It’s actually very exciting. 

Erika: That’s incredible. And so you mentioned the, the podcast then landed you a book deal.

And the, the reason that the conversation or the what sparked this having you back on the podcast interview was the launch of your book in Spanish. So Yeah, not only have you, I mean, you were really one of the first, or I would say the first, um, Latina. Money [00:08:00] coach, money like blogger money, thought leader in our space.

And I feel like you’ve given so many other Latinas permission to show up and do this, and we need more of them, right? We need as many people in our community talking about this, but I think the book even takes it to a whole nother level. Now you’ve given more people access to this knowledge who don’t have parents that worked in finance, who don’t have access to education, but now on a whole nother level, the book is now inspired.

Banish. So tell us why it’s important for this book to also be in Spanish. 

Jannese: Yeah, I knew right away that when I was talking to the publisher that this was something that needed to be on the, the list of must happens. Uh, because for me, I know how powerful it’s been to find like culturally competent.

Personal finance information because now the space is way more diversified than it was when I started. And so, you know, my book is one of several now that have come out specifically geared towards Latina community. And I’m so honored to be a part of that conversation [00:09:00] because when I was starting out my own like personal finance education journey, it was freaking impossible to find a book that was literally specif specific to Latinas.

And so. When my, uh, English language book came out financially lit, um, it was revolutionary in itself. But now the fact that the Spanish language version, which is called RO, is out, it not only introduces a whole new audience to my brand because my content is largely in English, you know, like the podcast and all that stuff, but it’s a conversation starter for multiple generations now, right?

Like somebody like you or I who are first gen. Who maybe consume content in English can buy the Spanish language version and like share it with your Titi, share it with your mom, share it with your abuela. And so there’s this like. Book club in a sense that we can now have with our elders who may not have proficiency of the English language, but they also deserve access to information.

And you’d be surprised how in 2025, it’s [00:10:00] still so difficult to find financial institutions like major banks and investment firms that have multi-language educational content. And so it’s almost like there’s this vacuum that exists around, uh, you know, just. Accessibility when it comes to information, and so folks like myself, you know, personal finance educators have really had to take it upon ourselves to create the resources for a community that the financial institutions just haven’t taken the initiative to do.

Erika: Yeah, and you know, as you were speaking, I was also thinking about, obviously we have a lot of inequities here in the States, but when I think about Mexico, right? My parents are from such a rural place in Mexico, so even in Mexico, the accessibility is so limited. I’m assuming it’s the same in all these other Latin American countries.

And you know, having a book like me being able to go back to Mexico and give like a family member your book, like they suddenly have. Access to this treasure chest that probably wouldn’t have even been available to them back home. So, um, that [00:11:00] is amazing. Congratulations for having the foresight and, you know, advocating for that, and also advocating for having yourself on the cover of your book.

I, I think we may have talked about this in the past, um, podcast episode, but I think it’s worth reiterating because. You and I had a conversation in Puerto Rico. Um, it wasn’t the time I was there for your event. I think I was there for a conference. Me and me, Mariela and Liz were there for a conference and we ended up, you were like, oh, I’m here too.

And we all ended up meeting up and that was like one of the beautiful synchronicities that, you know, the universe just kind of throws at us. And you were, your book wasn’t out yet, but you were starting to tell us a little bit about your book, and you were telling us of the importance of having you on the cover.

So can you share that with us? Like, why did you fight for that? 

Jannese: Yeah, absolutely. You know, because at the end of the day there’s like so many random white dudes on the covers of their personal finance books, and there’s something very like visceral about seeing someone that you can relate to on the cover of a book.

It’s almost like a, your first permission slip to even like pick up the book. Right. And so [00:12:00] for me it was super important from a representation standpoint because at the end of the day, like less than 10% of authors are Latina. And in the personal finance space, I mean, that’s like a percentage of a percentage point, you know?

So, wow. It’s, um, it was really important for me to just be like, as blatantly loud and Latina on the cover. Like, I’m wearing a fucking Barbie pink, you know, hot blazer suit. Yeah. One earrings. Like we all here just like. This is not your average personal finance book. And I wanted people to really feel that not only in the content, but also just in the presentation of it.

You see that book on the shelf compared to like all the, you know, standard, rich, dead, poor Dad, you know, all the, all the stuff that is quote unquote like the classics. And this stands out. And I wanted it to be that way for a reason because there’s something very powerful, like I said, about representation.

Erika: That’s beautiful. 

Jannese: So 

Erika: a lot has happened since I’ve known you. Um, when I met you, you were [00:13:00] living in a different state. You didn’t have a book yet, um, but now you are married. Congratulations. You’re married. I 

Jannese: wasn’t married when we met, but you’re not to that guy anymore. 

Erika: So, um, I’m pretty sure all of this was very fresh the last time we had you on the podcast, so we didn’t really talk about.

What was going on. But you, you’ve talked a lot on social media, which is why I feel comfortable asking you this, but you’ve talked a lot about not letting yourself, um, just settle and like really striving for more. And I feel like when you made that decision in your personal life, it also rippled. Into your professional life as well, right?

The book deal, like all of these amazing things started happening. Your, your podcast with QuickBooks, going to the red carpet event for iHeartRadio, like all of these amazing things. Um, so can you tell us a little bit about like where were you, like who was the old Janice, and what change that allowed you to welcome in all of these new things [00:14:00] in your life?

Jannese: Hmm. Oh God. I mean the journey through personal development has been so extensive. I mean, I think I, I started kind of getting bit by the bug pretty much around the same time that I started learning about the power of money. Because the thing that happens, like when you understand the true power of money, it’s not about like a number in the bank account.

It’s about the amount of options that money gives you. Okay. And so when I was first really considering. Taking the leap into entrepreneurship. It was also during a period where I felt like I had reached kind of the end of my marriage at the time, and so it was almost like the universe was subconsciously like pushing me to focus on this business because this was actually gonna be my ticket to financial freedom and to just really be able to make that break with the least disruption to my personal security.

And honestly, that’s exactly how it happened. So I started planning my quote unquote, escape from corporate. [00:15:00] Early 2021. And part of that escape process was meeting with a, um, financial advisor who told me, you need to get a postnuptial agreement before you do this. Like, take the leap of quitting your job.

And her standpoint was, I want you to protect yourself financially and make sure your business never ends up belonging to somebody else if you end up getting divorced. And I was like, you know, that’s a great suggestion. And so I put those things in motion, ended up making sure that like all the paperwork said, like if I was to get divorced, I don’t owe you alimony.

Um, you know, any property I own is mine. My business is mine. My interests are mine. You’re debt is yours. All that stuff. And so I ended up using the postnup the next year when I found out that my, uh, ex-husband was having an affair. And it was just, it was a last straw. There was like so much shit that had been piling up at that point that I was like, yeah, I’m done.

Like I, I just, this is not life, you know? [00:16:00] And so. When I made that decision, I had mentally checked out of the relationship way before that, right? ’cause I think we as women, like we are done before we’re done for a very long fucking time. And so I was kind of just like, well this is, this is the sign I needed, right?

This is just a sign that I knew it was some shit wrong and it’s in my face now. And so I was able to literally dissolve my marriage, walk away from that whole situation in like 48 hours. And it is honestly because I had the financial wherewithal to do it. I didn’t have to worry about how I was gonna pay my rent, how I was gonna pay my bills.

Um, I literally took a vacation, like while he was like moving all his shit out of the house so that I just didn’t even have to be there. And I didn’t have to take PTO, I didn’t have to talk to my boss about any weird awkward, like mental health leave that I needed to take. I could just focus on this transition period, pour into myself.

I started going to the gym like five times a week. I had friends over all the time. I was leaning on family for support and that for me was like the first real. [00:17:00] Experience that I had in understanding the true power of a financially independent woman. ’cause I didn’t give a fuck. I just said, I’m getting outta here and money is not gonna be the reason why I’m stuck.

Erika: Wow. And I think that’s so relevant for our community because, I mean, even with, yeah, just like a lot of my aunts or just like. People that I’ve seen in, in our family who, like, I could tell they’re not happy, but they don’t have options. They don’t have options because they sup, they rely on their husband, their partner to financially support them.

So this financial freedom was your, your ticket out and your ticket to, to having options. Wow. So there’s so many ways that we can take this. I have so many questions. 

Jannese: You know, it’s like, it’s one thing to learn about the power of investing and diversifying your income and you know, the power of entrepreneurship, but like when you see it in real, like life action, when you realize the true power, it shifts your perspective in a way that it’s like, I need to tell everybody [00:18:00] about this shit.

And so I feel like that whole experience just really doubled down my need to. Like, sing from the rooftops, if you will, and just tell women like, look, y’all, they’ve lied. Okay? They, they were telling us money doesn’t buy happiness. I, I would beg to differ. Okay. Because I am much happier not being stuck in a loveless marriage, not being subjected to emotional abuse.

You know, just being able to walk away and knowing that I’m good, that I got me, you know, that is, you walk around in the world with a different level of energy and you have a lot less tolerance for bullshit when you know at any point, I don’t need to be here. I do not need to deal with this. You know, and it just doesn’t just apply to relationships.

When you have financial independence, you don’t have to deal with a toxic boss who harasses you on vacation. You don’t have to worry about taking time off to be with your child because they’re sick. You don’t have to miss the recital. You don’t have to decide if I can be a caretaker to my parents or have, you know, financial [00:19:00] freedom.

And so there’s just so much that we have to understand. It’s way more than just numbers in an account, y’all. This is, yeah. The freedom that people talk about. That’s where it comes from. It comes from money. That’s it. 

Erika: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Right? And this narrative that we have in our community of like, oh, money’s evil, and people who have money are bad.

It’s like money just makes you a little bit more of who you are are. Right, exactly. So like you’re a perfect example of that. Like look how much positive impact and how much you’ve given back now that you have money. And that’s true. Yeah. Mm-hmm. 

Jannese: It’s an amplifier. Yes. If you’re a crappy person, you’re just a crappy person with money.

And if you’re a good person, you’re a good person with money. And I’d rather us have a lot more money in the hands of good people because the world will be a much, much better place. And especially women. Okay. Because women are oriented to poor, into their communities. Yes. We are community oriented creatures, right?

And so I just think about what it’s gonna look like, you [00:20:00] know, uh, half a, uh, you know, century from now when like the idea of. Financial, financially independent women is just like the mainstream, right? When we keep talking about this, it just becomes more and more normal. I have more and more brunches and lunches with like women who are retiring, their husbands who are the breadwinners of their household, who are the bad asses with money, and I’m just like, I just, I’m waiting for the world where like this is the norm.

Because it’ll be a completely different place than what it is right now. 

Erika: Yeah. Yeah. It will. Oh, I can’t wait. So tell us about your life now. You are married, but happily married and you are, you’re a mom. 

Jannese: I am. Girl. Let me tell you, when I made the decision to pull the plug on my marriage, it really spurred like a new s just cycle of just change in every aspect of my life, right?

So that same year, I ended up making the most money I’ve ever made in business. So it’s like, [00:21:00] talk about removing the blockages, you know, that shit is real. I ended up really like pouring into myself physically. I was having a trainer, you know, four days a week, like I was strength training, doing all the things like your girl was out here living her best life.

And I unfortunately, because I think society still like programs us as women to believe, like once you’re over the age of 30, like your shit’s over. And so. I was resigned kind of to the idea that like, I’m probably never gonna meet another person. You know, I was like 37 at the time, oh my God, I’m gonna start a new relationship, blah, blah, blah.

So I just on a whim, downloaded some dating apps, you know, met some weirdos and I was just like, oh, you know, this is probably what’s gonna end up being the story of my life. And then I, um, I go on hinge. And my now husband is like the first match that the algorithm gives me and we end up meeting and literally.

I think we were in love with each other in like 24 hours. It it [00:22:00] like, it, it could give some red flags, you know, it felt very like, love boish for a little bit. And I was kinda like, you’re fucking weird. Like, why do you like me so much? I had to like kind of push him away a little bit because I was just so used to like detached emotionally, um, unregulated men that like for him to be just super genuine and super, like just direct in his feelings.

I was like, what’s wrong with you? Like, men are not like this, you know? So I was suspicious of him for a little bit, but I realized, uh, you know, very quickly that. I was in self-sabotage mode and just thinking like men aren’t shit and kind of applying a broad stroke to things. Mm-hmm. And so, mm-hmm. When I kinda let the trauma go of the past, it really opens up my eyes to something that was really like, genuine in my face.

And so we’ve had a whirlwind romance y’all. Um, we met in February of 2023. By December we were moving in. Um, we decided to have a baby in April of 2024. Babies here December, 2024, [00:23:00] and we just got married last month. So when I tell you it’s been like a Hollywood romance, it definitely has, but it’s been like just such a lesson in understanding that there is happiness.

On the other side of just refusing to settle. And so it’s just been a very eye-opening experience that I also have been sharing on social media because I just want women to know, especially the ones that have been told like, it’s too late for you. That it’s absolutely fucking not okay. I’m 40 years old with a newborn child, and so I wanna just reassure you that when it’s your time, it’s your time.

And to not get caught up in society’s bullshit about like what you need to be doing by a certain age because. This really is your canvas to paint, and the sooner that you get out of trying to paint the picture that everybody else says you should paint and going focus on your own shit, you’re gonna create a masterpiece, a work of art that becomes your life.

Erika: Wow, that’s such a beautiful analogy. So as you were speaking, what came to [00:24:00] my mind is you surrendered. You surrendered, you accepted. What was, you were like, okay, I’m no longer like trying to fight this if I don’t meet somebody, if I don’t become a mom. Like I’m at peace with that. And that’s when everything happened.

And then funny enough, when you met your. Now a husband, we, we as humans, tend to clinging on to what’s familiar, and your familiarness was men being emotionally unavailable. So suddenly having this person who was giving you the love that you sought, it was hard for you to receive. But for you to have that self-awareness and be like.

Wait, I’m self-sabotaging right now is huge. And that’s a testament to also all of your inner work and all of the, you know, like the self-development world, once you get into it, you are going to outgrow people. It’s inevitable. And that’s like, I think the hardest part because we learn and we become very self-aware and we almost get to this new level of consciousness that we outgrow people who are on different levels of consciousness.

Not saying [00:25:00] like, we’re better than than anyone else, but we just don’t match anymore. And I think that’s what happened also with your, your previous marriage. And you, as you mentioned mentally, you were already out, but the universe was like. She ain’t gonna leave unless we do something like this. So let’s just throw this at her.

Right. 

Jannese: So true. Yeah. Sometimes we don’t wanna, you know, face what is, uh, the unknown, right? You almost get so comfortable in the toxicity because it feels familiar. And so for me, I’ve had to just really, um, kind of unlearn this sense of like, that comfort is. Um, I think oftentimes we mask comfort with just familiarity and like, you could be uncomfortable in a really fucking situ bad situation, but it feels familiar.

And so you’re just like, I guess like, do I don’t really wanna start over? Or what if like, yeah, this is as good as it gets, you know? And I think oftentimes it’s how we stay stuck in careers. We stay stuck in relationships. We stay stuck in geographical locations. There’s so many things that, you know, you keep yourself small because you’re afraid of the [00:26:00] unknown, and I promise you like.

If the known is scary and shitty enough, what do you have to lose at this point? Like, what do you really have to lose? 

Erika: That is great advice. Great advice for relationships, for careers, for people who wanna start a side hustle for all of the above. So now that you are a parent, now that you’re a mom, um, because the thing is, I think you’ve been preparing for this moment since you started your business.

You’ve been preparing to be a present parent even before you knew you were going to be a parent. So tell us like, what did you do that has allowed you, actually, before we go there, how has, um, yeah, like how has your business changed now that you’re a mom? 

Jannese: Man, it’s funny because when my partner and I met, like, we were both like, we don’t want kids.

And so it’s one of those things too where you, you realize like how much of your. Decisions are dictated by the environment that you’re in, and I think for the longest time I thought I didn’t want kids because I didn’t want kids with my ex-husband. And then when you meet somebody new and you’re just like, you can imagine a completely different life, it shifted my perspective on things.

And so when we decided that we wanted to become parents, one of the things that I realized [00:27:00] is like I am already in a position where I’m gonna have like a very unique. Experience with this that my mom can’t relate to, my sister can’t relate to, my grandmother can’t relate to because I have financial privilege.

You know, when I think about the experience that I’ve had now in the first five months of be being a mom, like I haven’t had to worry about when do I go back to work? Know, how long is my maternity leave? Uh, are they gonna fire me at work and like replace me? You know, I have to talked to so many women who’ve been fired while they were pregnant or they were on maternity leave.

And it’s crazy. Um, you know, knowing that I have the resources to hire help, my nanny just started working today and before that I’ve had a night nurse who’s literally come and watch my child. Like she sits in a chair and watch, watches my child sleep. And that means I can get a full night’s sleep. And that level of privilege is like, why?

I was doing all these things, not with the true intention of becoming a mom, because that wasn’t part of the plan when I started this, but I’ve realized again, like [00:28:00] how much, um, how many options this preparation financially has given me. Yeah. And just the fact that like, I get to be with my daughter every day.

My husband works from home too. He works in the business now. And so like we get to be super fully present parents, and again. Financial independence has made that happen. And so, you know, I always tell people, if you wanna actually enjoy motherhood, you need money. Like, no. So whoever didn’t tell you this, like somebody lied to you, that’s why women are stressed out because they don’t have the resources to buy the help, to buy the time, the, to buy the rest, to buy the self care.

You know, that all comes with financial privilege. And the more that we just like realize. That is the key to giving yourself a break from the struggle and to really be a better version of a parent than maybe you had in the past. Uh, you know, the more people that know that, the better, because [00:29:00] I think about my own mom and just how stressed out she was all the time, and it really was because of a lack of resources.

And so I was like, if I ever become a mom, I don’t wanna replicate that experience. And so. Taking my time to have that level of access to resources has made all the difference in how I’m experiencing motherhood and also how my daughter is experiencing me as a mother. 

Erika: Definitely. So now looking back, what did you do to, I guess, what’s the word I wanna use?

What? What did you do to prepare to be a present parent? Like what tactically did you do in your business? 

Jannese: Yeah. So one of the things I realized is I am not going to be, um, you know, as, uh. Able to be a spontaneous, right? Like my life now requires a lot more scheduling. Mm-hmm. And so I really wanted to focus on those income streams in my business that didn’t require me to show up for every dollar, if you will.

Totally. And so one of the big reasons [00:30:00] that I was able to have a fully funded maternity leave as a self-employed person is because of my food blog. So that was my first foray into content creation. Now, 12 years later, it’s still a thing. It earns six figures a year in passive income, which basically that’s amazing.

All the content that I’ve created, it just gets fed through Google and different search engines to people, and it makes about $10,000 a month. And so incredible. I knew that being, uh, off, you know, for maternity leave, I was still gonna have $10,000 coming in without me having to do anything. And so that for me has been such a key, uh, factor in being able to self-fund my maternity leave, have time not feel like this pressure to come back right away and make money because, um, you know, of kind of the diverse ways that I earn income, me as a business.

I have about nine different income streams at this point. And so it really is about like deciding where I wanna focus based on, you know, my time, my capacity, my [00:31:00] interests, and things like that. Um, and so I think especially from a like self-employment standpoint, you can’t just have one way to make money.

Especially if it relies on you actually putting time in, meeting with clients, providing services, all those things. That for me is a really, really strategic part of having the space and the capacity to still run my business, but also be a present parent. 

Erika: And the blog has been something that started this off right.

And then once you started making. I, I really do feel like that is a form of passive income, right? Like, sometimes people talk about real estate being passive income, and I’m like, my mom owns properties. Yesterday. We were there cleaning out a mess. A tenant left. Like there was, there’s so many expenses that come with real estate, but you know, with blogging, that was also one of the way that you started empowering others to create passive income.

So tell us about your blogging course. 

Jannese: Yeah, so my Jumpstart, your blog [00:32:00] bootcamp is now in year three. Um, and it’s amazing because it’s one of those things that I never thought like anybody wanted to learn. And so I kind of was hesitant to teach, and it’s now by far my bestselling program. Um, the Jumpstart, your blog bootcamp is literally my decade plus knowledge of, um, you know, how to monetize, how to grow your brand, how to actually decide what you’re gonna talk about so that you’re not just like talking to the ether about something that nobody cares about.

How to structure your blog post, because it’s not like writing, you know, a diary entry. And so I’ve even incorporated as things have changed, like how do we use AI to create blog content? Um, how do you get brand deals with your blog? How do you use things like Pinterest? Right? So it’s literally like a treasure trove of everything that I’ve learned.

Uh, to monetize my blog and, uh, I am hosting a free masterclass on how you can use your blog to reach, not just like financial independence, but also location independence because this is the thing you can make money from anywhere that [00:33:00] you have wifi with a blog. And for me, that was like such a turn on when I first found out about it as a business model because I’ve always imagined at some point.

Just living in different places. You know, my husband and I, we’ve been talking about potentially relocating to Puerto Rico, and so just like knowing that I can make money from anywhere in the world, um, is a really powerful tool. And especially like for parents, right? You think about starting a side hustle, you don’t wanna get a second job that like takes you outta the house even more.

And so being able to do this from home, it’s a great stay at home mom career. It’s a great way to just like diversify your income as a creator. And it’s just good for anybody who feels like they have cool, helpful, important, life-changing information that they wanna share with the world in a way that doesn’t require them to like dance on TikTok or like learn a new social media platform.

’cause God knows there’s a new one every freaking week. Um, it’s a really, it’s a really powerful, um, form of content creation that I think more people need to explore because it really is one of these like hidden secrets of [00:34:00] making money online. 

Erika: Definitely, and I think a lot of people might be just like, an objection that I can already imagine that I would love for you to address is people might be thinking, wait, but blogging was something that was big like 10, 15 years ago.

So how is it still relevant today? 

Jannese: Yeah. You know, the thing that makes a successful blog now in 2025 and beyond is that it has to be targeted information. So you’re not gonna get any traction doing like very generic content. Like let’s say you wanna write a blog post on like budgeting tips. There’s a million blog posts on budgeting tips.

So you need to get more hyper-specific on who you’re helping and with what. So instead of budgeting tips as your topic, I would do a blog post, like how to fund maternity leave if you’re self-employed. 

Erika: I. Mm. So the 

Jannese: key to really creating content in 2025 is thinking about what is a person searching for that is they need help with, and how would they actually enter this information into Google?

Right? So if you think about how do you self-fund a [00:35:00] maternity leave. That’s like a Google query, right? So you have to kind of think about how would someone search for this and then reverse engineer essentially. How would you teach that content? Um, that is the key to making, um, a successful blog nowadays.

It’s really useful, helpful, uh, human created information, right? We are not out here trying to build blogs with chat GBT, because Google has already figured that out and they will penalize you and you’re, nobody will ever see your content. Real life human experience. Real life human expertise. Mm-hmm. That is focused and targeted.

That’s the way that you make money in 2025. And I think especially for creators who rely too much on social media for like driving traffic, getting brand deals and things like that, your shit can be shut down at any point. We’ve seen that it can multiple times with Facebook, TikTok banned and then not being banned.

Uh, Instagram goes down all the time, and so even as a creator, if you have a big social media presence. You owe it to your audience to have somewhere else that they can find you because you just never know. The blog is the only thing that you actually own versus social media is just rented [00:36:00] space. 

Erika: Yeah, definitely.

I remember whenever Instagram went down for like half a day and we all lost it. Like we were all like, oh my gosh, what’s happening? And then your, your post was the first one I saw and you’re like, this is why you need your own blog. And that way, that way you can capture emails and like, this is rented space, I think is what you said.

This is not owned space. This is, you’re literally renting and you’re, you know, landlords can pull it at any time. Or with TikTok, I have like 200,000 followers on TikTok and then with the ban, I don’t even focus. Focus on that anymore focus. So yeah, things are changing every, every day. I can’t believe we’ve only been recording for 35 minutes because I feel like we talked about so much.

So is there anything that I didn’t ask you that you want to share that you feel called to share with the listeners? 

Jannese: You know, so I think, uh, one of the things that you do so well, Erica, is just really reinforce like the power of courage, you know, and I think that in the past, at least two years of my life, I feel like embodying [00:37:00] that energy has just really opened my eyes up to the possibilities of life in general.

You know, it took a lot of courage for me to. Uh, you know, start a new relationship after being, you know, so hurt. It took a lot of courage for me to put myself out there and write a book, because I’m not a, like a trained author. You know, I didn’t go to school for like journalism or something. And even with this platform, like I’m not a finance person.

I don’t come from Wall Street, you know, I’m, I’m an engineer. I come from like the medical field. I come from tech background, and so. Um, just finding the courage to try new things, to not settle, you know, to challenge yourself and just embrace the idea that you are just one decision away from like a radically different life.

I think that everybody just needs to remind themselves of that. So if you feel stuck, like just look at what you’re doing to actually like, dig that hole a little deeper. Because I, I think the, the radical thing has been. Just accountability. Like why do I feel like this? [00:38:00] Why, where am I playing the victim here?

Where am I stifling my own potential? And you know, just the clear that we get on that shit the sooner we can just. Get rid of it and really just start opening ourselves up to a life that we didn’t even imagine was possible. 

Erika: Beautiful words. That was like a mic drop moment. So we are gonna end it here, because that was incredible.

I couldn’t, I couldn’t agree more. Yeah. Especially like, life is not happening to us. We, we really are the creators of our lives and when we begin to embody that, we feel a lot more empowered to make decisions and, yep. Shit’s gonna happen that we’re not happy with, but like how do we wanna react to that?

And that’s really the only thing that is in our control, right? And sometimes things can hurt so much like the end of your marriage, even if you were mentally checked out, like finding out somebody had an affair. Like that just brings up all the wounds, right? That brings up unworthiness, that brings up, can I ever trust anyone Again, it brings up so much.

But as we mentioned earlier, had that not happened, [00:39:00] you could have maybe still been there thinking about leaving and look how beautiful your life turned out. 

Jannese: I promise you I will still be there because, you know, it’s just sometimes, uh, the universe has to push you off the cliff because we get so stuck in the, the familiar toxicity.

And so, uh, yeah, I just, um, there’s so much potential that a lot of us are kind of leaving on the table, and so I hope that this episode of the show really reminds you that you are the creator of your own destiny. 

Erika: We are. Janice, thank you so much for coming back on the show. I can’t wait to see you again in person, hopefully again in Puerto Rico.

Jannese: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. [00:40:00]