Meet Trailblazer Annie Sandmeier

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Sandmeier.

Annie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always had a love of being in front of people and used to dream of doing something big either on stage or screen, so I combined that with my love of current events and went to college for a degree in Broadcast Journalism. While I loved my classes, working at the college TV station, and then working for a local TV station, things just never felt quite right to me.

One thing I had always promised myself is that I wouldn’t get married until I was at LEAST 26 and would not have kids until after 30 so that I could first travel and have a career. Lo and behold, I was married a few months shy of my 23rd birthday and our oldest came less than a year later, so that is when I began looking into ways to work from home while staying home with our son.

I began writing for an amazing, well-known travel and entertainment website in April 2015 and have been with them since, making more money working a few hours a day than I was working at a TV station. What?! With this new job, I had friends and family ask if I knew of any other ways they could work from home, which is when I launched Side Hustle Mom, whose mission it is to “offer you with the tools, tips, and inspiration to start your own side hustle whilst staying home and raising your babies.” This October will be our 2nd anniversary and I am so thrilled by both the response we’ve received and the ways we have been able to help other moms.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The late, great John Lennon said it best when he penned “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Life never quite goes the way you expect it, so always be ready for bumps. While I am generally a happy and positive person, I often joke that I just go into certain things expecting them to fail so that when they don’t completely bomb, I feel good about it (the analogy that I usually give half joking is that when I get on a plane, I fully expect it to crash, so that when we do land safely, I feel joyous… I’m super fun at parties, I swear!).

While some people manage to succeed right out the gate, there are others of us who fail and learn, and then fail and learn some more, until we finally use what we learn to work our way to the top. All of this being said, just do the thing you want to do (don’t overthink it like so many of us tend to do — go get it!) and go in with the attitude that you may trip a few times, but you will come out stronger, smarter, and better for it.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a writer. I started out writing for my own personal blog, which transpired into writing for a popular Colorado site, and now for other sites like That’s Inappropriate.

In addition to writing, I help other moms find legitimate, work-from-home jobs, which I am most proud of. I’m not sure if it is financially smart on my end, but I have seen dozens of other sites that charge you a flat weekly/monthly fee to get access to the latest remote jobs, which we provide to all of our readers absolutely free (because c’mon; if you are looking for/needing a job, can you really afford to pay for it? I know I can’t)! It’s a lot of work, but if I can help a mom out there be able to stay home with her babies, it is all worth it.

Which women have inspired you in your life?
This is a tough one because I have so many incredible female role models in my life. Of course there is my mom, who had a successful career and traveled the world before getting married and being a stay-at-home mom (and now co-owns an engineering business with my dad!); both of my grandmas, who were incredibly strong, kind, and faithful women; several aunts who have inspired me to want to help others; and girlfriends that are amazing wives and moms who inadvertently challenge me to be my best self.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sidehustlemom.com
• Instagram: @thesidehustlemom
• Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/sidehustlemom/

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.