Episode 16: Hustle Culture in Marketing: When to Hustle and When to Stop

Tiffany Barry (00:00):
Absolutely no entrepreneur peddling. The idea that you can have a 10 hour work week in your business right out the gate started out themselves working just 10 hours a week. They all hustled in the beginning, every single one of them. So how can I say that hustle culture is toxic and help you create a business where you’re working part-time hours for a full-time income. How, what do we actually mean when we say hustling is toxic, but it’s sometimes necessary. And how does it relate to marketing? That’s what we’re talking about this week. Welcome to the passion of profit marketing podcast, where we talk about how women like you can scale your passionate business into a profitable empire that’s aligned and intentional. I’m Tiffany Barry, a marketing consultant and agency owner, helping creative entrepreneurs use modern marketing. That’s simple and actually feels good to reach their next level of success. Join me for 20 minutes or less to talk about how to market and scale your business. So you can become the free and CEO. You started your business to be let’s get started.

Tiffany Barry (01:09):
Thank you for joining me this week. On another episode of passion to profit marketing today, I wanna talk about hustle mindset versus hustle culture, especially in your marketing, you know, when to, when to hustle and when is it time to stop? So hustle culture, as we typically think of it, this is kind of like the, the Gary V style where you’re giving up 10 years of your life with the hope that you’ll be a millionaire one day, that kind of thing. Right. and I’ve got more thoughts on Gary V that you know, I mean, the man has built something amazing and for people who vibe with him, that’s great. I personally don’t agree. And I think there’s a lot of what he says. That’s really amazing. And a lot of what he says in people like him say that is really toxic and incredibly damaging, but I am not here to, to throw shade at all.

Tiffany Barry (02:03):
I’ll be people do what works for them. And I can’t, you know, spit on, you know, what he’s built, obviously. But for me, and for people like me, it’s, it’s not a great way to grow their business. And I, I do deeply believe there’s a better way. And you’ll all often hear me talking about toxic and harmful hustle culture is, and yet you’ll often hear me say, and other entrepreneurs say that there is a time for hustle, you know we’ll tell you that there, there is no entrepreneur out there. That is peddling. The idea that you can have a 10 hour work week who actually started out working 10 hours a week, right? The, they all hustled in the beginning, every single one of them. So, so what do we actually mean when we say that hustling is toxic, but it’s sometimes necessary.

Tiffany Barry (02:55):
And how does that relate to your marketing? So for me, it really comes down to the idea of hustle mindset versus hustle, culture hustle. Culture is, is the toxic lifestyle that we know and do not love, right? Hustle culture is the idea that you have to hustle 24 7 or your dreams will never be your reality. It’s the idea that sacrificing your health and relationships insanity is what’s necessary to be successful. It’s the idea that hard work equals success. That hustling is the only way to make it, but I think hustle mindset is different. Hustle mindset is dedication. It’s hard. It’s focusing on the right things. It’s focusing on getting to your goal and staying focused on that goal. It’s giving a big middle finger to anyone who doesn’t believe you can get there. Even if that’s someone is the negative voice inside your own head.

Tiffany Barry (03:59):
Now my personal appearance of hustle culture doesn’t necessarily mean that hustle and hustle mindset doesn’t have its place. I do think that there is a place for some of it in the right doses and in the right way. In fact, there are times when entrepreneurs need that hustle, especially in the beginning. You know, I think hustle is really valuable when you’re starting from scratch or you’re really, really trying to break through to another level. And that period might be short, right? You have you know, you might have big goals in your business or you just need to prove yourself, especially to yourself. And these are all times when hustle mindset is incredibly helpful because hustle mindset is about dedication. Like I said, it’s about focus. It’s about determination. It’s about working towards a goal, even when, and especially when really no one believes that you can do it.

Tiffany Barry (05:04):
I remember starting my business in the last month of my maternity leave and side note. I say start in quotes because it’s really when I started to take it seriously and believe I could make a full-time income. You know, in reality I’d been side hustling and freelancing in entrepreneur worry my way through the previous, like 10 years of my life. Right. I had three older kids from toddler to teen. I had a brand new Velcro baby. I was desperate to be home with my family. I wanted to ditch the two hour commute to downtown Atlanta and my very anti remote job in tech, which was very strange to me. And, and so I was in the last month of my maternity leave when I finally decided I was done being the side hustle queen and I wanted to, I, I believed I could do this full time.

Tiffany Barry (05:57):
So I gave myself 21 days to match my corporate salary and I hustled my butt off. I worked in all the gaps of my day during nap time and after bedtime. I literally took discovery calls on the phone and on zoom while I nursed the baby, like I’ve never been more grateful for phone calls. I’ve never been more grateful for like camera angles on zoom. So I could nurse on like the down low. And, and I focused on generating leads. I marketed my business you know, while I helped my older kids with homework at the dining room table. So in those moments, I really did embrace the hustle because they needed big, big, big results in a very short amount of time. However, that kind of hustle as valuable as it was in the short term for me, and as valuable as it could be for you in the short term, it’s not sustainable.

Tiffany Barry (06:52):
And when I was just 18 days into that 21 day deadline, I hit my goal and put on my hustle breaks. I shifted from, you know, straight up, you know, to the wall you know, pedal to the floor, kind of hustle. And I shifted more into this hustle mindset where I was really determined and ambitious while trying to not put myself on the road burnout. And I’ve got some more stories on that, cause I actually absolutely did end up burning myself out much later down the road. But at this specific time I was really trying to be mindful. I wasn’t intentionally mindful of it, but I was just, you know, trying to be mindful of not killing my self. And so I started hiring help. I hired a VA and then I hired a nanny be, you know, and a house cleaner because I was like, you know, I, I need to take some domestic stuff off my plate.

Tiffany Barry (07:50):
Like I don’t wanna send my kids to daycare. I don’t wanna worry about packing lunches and fixing bottles and, you know, pumping and all of the chaos I wanted, you know, to have like a hub here. So I started, you know, building things in my life to make that happen, make it possible. But the key here for me was that, you know, hustle mindset is not hustle culture. I, for me, in my mind, those are two very different things. One is very toxic and damaging while the other is focused and driven. And, and I think that hustle mindset is really built for long haul success. So, you know, as an entrepreneur, you need to know the difference. So you can decide when it’s time to hustle and when it’s time to slow down. And for me, that’s kind of how this whole idea of hustle and for flow ties into marketing, because there’s a time in marketing when you’ve got a lot of balls in the air and you are the one juggling them.

Tiffany Barry (08:47):
You may be joining me during the next passion of profit accelerator and you’re learning all you can about growing and marketing your business. You know, you’re putting in the work while you’re still respecting your own needs and boundaries. You are in control and you’re deciding when to work longer hours to get a big payoff and when that’s not serving you anymore. And I think that’s a healthy way that you can kind of incorporate hustle into, you know, a, a growth strategy. And then there’s a time to relax into the flow. You know, there’s a time when you, you hit a level in your business where you’re delegating some of those balls or all of those balls. You may be hiring people like, you know, me as a marketing consultant for your business, or you’re bringing on additional team members. And so it’s important to know when that hustle is no longer serving you and when it’s gonna start becoming a barrier to the next level in your business or when it’s just gonna be a barrier to the life and the lifestyle that you want to, to live.

Tiffany Barry (09:53):
You know, we, we want to get to a place where we aren’t building businesses and working our family around them. We’re working our businesses around ourselves and our family and our needs. A lot of the women that I work with are moms like me. And we’re, we’re seeking balance because we either understand or are coming to understand that that work life balance is. And it’s really just about, you know, prioritizing in the moment and understanding that not everything is going to be in perfect equilibrium and that’s okay. And so knowing when it’s time to hustle and when it’s time to slow down is really important. And, and, you know, like I said, hustle culture is not sustainable or desirable in the long run. So how do you shift gears? How do you know when it’s time to shift from hustle mode into hustle mindset?

Tiffany Barry (10:52):
And so, you know, there, I think there are some, some growth goals you can, you can look for, you know, when are you able to da delegate? When are you able to you know, bring on help or outsource some things. And, and then I think sometimes, you know, we put ourselves in a position where we have to, and so a few signs I find that are helpful to, to keep an mind you know, almost like symptoms that there is a problem that you need to fix right now is, you know, you’re, you’re exhausted all the time. You have no work life balance, you’re sacrificing your health or real your relationships. You maybe have lost sight of, you know, those goals that you had, maybe those shiny objects or looking real appealing right now, right? Anything to, to, to focus on something, cuz you’ve lost sight of the bigger picture for yourself.

Tiffany Barry (11:47):
You know, your business, maybe even suffering because of your hustle and your life might be suffering. You know, I really started to realize what was happening when my kids started asking me, you know, I thought you started your business to be able to work less and you’re working like every night, mom, you know, that was a wake up call for me. Because hustling 24 7 it’s it’s to you, your relationships, your family, and it’s not gonna get you where you wanna be in your life or your business. You know, like I said, it’s more likely to lead to burnout, to poor decision making and ultimately to failure, but healthy hustle is really all about being dedicated and disciplined in the pursuit of your, you know, instead of that, all out, sacrifice everything for 10 years to be a millionaire type of work ethic.

Tiffany Barry (12:39):
Right? So obviously I work in marketing, so , I joke all the time that marketing is kind of like the laundry and dishes of business. It’s the thing that you have to keep doing every single day, day in and day out. And so it can quickly feel like you’re trudging through it. So as you are kind of embracing that idea of healthy hustle and ha you know, hustle mindset instead of toxic hustle culture shifting into like a strategic mode, it becomes really important so that you you know, don’t end up having marketing that is kind of like a dull household chore that resets every day you know, and worse if you’re not careful and you’re not keeping those metrics, those, those goal markers for your progress moving forward, it’s gonna feel like you’re not making any progress. So that strategic mode of thinking is really important, especially in marketing.

Tiffany Barry (13:45):
Because, because for me, marketing and hustle are tied so closely together. Most of the time when people are hustling their butt off, they’re doing marketing and sales tasks because those are revenue generating tasks, right. But the cool thing about marketing and the thing that helps it not feel like your Sisyphus every day is that there is so much potential for it to be all about rejuvenation and connection and excitement in and with your business. So when you’ve got that healthy hustle mindset and you’re combining it with a killer marketing strategy behind you, again, we’re talking about shifting into strategy mode, right? You can hustle in a way that feels good and respect your boundaries. And you’ll actually see the needle move on an important things in your business, like your revenue, the number of people you’re helping your impact, the number of leads you have coming in of, of people who want to work with you.

Tiffany Barry (14:49):
So combining strategy with that hustle in the right way means that your hard work will actually pay off. And that is the kind of hustle that I’m all about. That’s the kind of hustle that I’m talking about. So I’m wrapping up this episode and I wanna leave you with this thought, not just what we’ve talked about, which is, you know, what is hustle culture and when is the time and hu when is the time to hustle, but I wanna leave you with, with this, if you’re feeling hustle, fatigue, or you are, you know, like stuck in a rut, it might be time to take a step back and assess your strategy, see where you can delegate or outsource some things and make sure you’re still hustling in a way that aligns with your needs and the kind of business and lifestyle that you want to have. Because at the end of the day, marketing and hustle and business growth are all just vehicles. So make sure they’re taking you where you actually want to go. Oh, That’s it for this episode of passion to profit. If you found it helpful, insightful, or just entertaining subscribe, wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. And if you’re ready to scale your business from passion to six figure profits, don’t forget to watch the free masterclass at tiffanyebarry.com/masterclass.