The Side Hustle Turned Full-Time: Mr. Grant Money & The Entrepreneur Who Took the Leap
🎩 Summary Notes
This post highlights Tasha Reed, corporate manager by day, candlepreneur by night—founder of Southside Glow, a soulful, eco-conscious candle brand born in her apartment kitchen. The demand was real. The product, proven. But the capital? Nowhere to be found.
Tasha didn’t want to leap blindly—she wanted to build intentionally. When loans failed and crowdfunding fizzled, a pop-up market connection led her to Mr. Grant Money—the strategist who didn’t just write checks. He rewrote her exit plan.
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⚜️ Key Themes
🔹 Burnout Isn’t a Business Strategy
Tasha was:
💼 Overworked at a corporate job
🧼 Hand-pouring candles in her off-hours
📈 Scaling faster than her bandwidth
But she faced:
❌ Loan denials
❌ “Too early” feedback from accelerators
❌ No roadmap for part-time founders ready to go full-time
Until one vendor handed her a card—and a chance.
🔹 The Right Kind of Capital = Non-Dilutive Fuel
Mr. Grant Money designed a funding strategy specifically for her kind of founder:
🏙️ Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (Chicago) – For expansion + buildout
💪 Fearless Fund – Grants + mentorship for WOC founders in consumer goods
👩🏽 WBDC Microenterprise Grant – Up to $10K for side-hustlers transitioning to full-time
🌿 ComEd Energy Efficiency Grant – Perfect for sustainable production upgrades
Every grant aligned with growth she’d already earned—just not yet been paid for.
🔹 The Strategy Behind the Leap
Together, they:
📈 Built an inventory + fulfillment roadmap
📝 Rewrote grant pitches from “I’m tired” to “I’m prepared”
📦 Positioned her products for boutique retail and eco-market alignment
The result?
✅ $15K + $5K in grant wins
✅ Studio upgrade
✅ Full-time founder status in just four months
And the best part?
Her first full-time paycheck as CEO matched her corporate salary—without the 6 a.m. commute.
⚜️ Discussion Questions
💬 Why don’t more founders talk about grants as a first leap strategy—and how can that change?
💬 What invisible milestones signal “readiness” for full-time entrepreneurship beyond revenue alone?
💬 How can cities, mentors, and funders partner to create exit ramps for side-hustlers?
💬 What kind of support do first-gen entrepreneurs need—not just to survive, but to scale?
💬 If you had a “leap grant,” what would you build?
⚜️ Action Steps for Funders, Ecosystem Leaders & Community Builders
✅ Design part-time → full-time transition funds with coaching baked in
✅ Elevate stories of grant-funded businesses, not just VC rounds
✅ Build bridge programs for consumer goods founders outside tech
✅ Create grant directories tailored to BIPOC, women, and first-gen entrepreneurs
✅ Normalize non-dilutive capital as the foundation—not the fallback
⚜️ Reflection
Tasha didn’t hustle her way to freedom.
She structured her way into sovereignty—with guidance, grants, and grit.
Mr. Grant Money didn’t just endorse her dream.
He handed her the tools, timeline, and trust to fund it properly.
Because side hustlers don’t need more late nights.
They need a strategy that meets them at their level—and raises them into leadership.
