Hey neighbors, happy Thursday.

Skip the traffic jam and just grab a helicopter. Uber announced that they’re adding Blade's choppers and seaplanes directly to its app, letting you book a 5-minute flight from Manhattan to JFK. I think they also announced this last year, so we’ll see if it actually happens this time.

If anyone plans to actually use this, let me know. I wanna be friends.

Anywho, on to this week’s stories 👇

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Profit Profiles are stories about NYC entrepreneurs building and running profitable side hustles and full-time businesses.

Origin story: Rebecca and Christina started their food content brand, Philly Food Ladies, before Rebecca moved to NYC. “We started as freshman college roommates and never expected to become big-time influencers. We just wanted to share our food photos with friends, and it kind of just went from there.”

First paid collab: They gained traction around 2020 after landing their first paid collaboration with a restaurant. “Around 2020 is when we really started taking our business seriously. Teaching ourselves video editing software like TikTok and becoming more professional with content creation.”

Stats: 150,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, with an audience that’s 60% women and 40% men, primarily in the Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey area.

The hook: “We’re really helping people decide where to have fun, where they want to eat, where they want to drink, where they want to go out. It’s about helping them plan the fun side of their day-to-day lives.”

Content strategy: “Content should educate, entertain, or inspire. Our content is highly shareable; people send it to friends or partners to suggest trying places. We focus on original videos highlighting local businesses.” Understanding and leveraging the algorithm is crucial. When social media platforms roll out new features (e.g., TikTok’s duets or captioning tools), you want to be among the first to use them, as the algorithm will prioritize videos that incorporate these features.

Revenue approach: “We don’t really have a specific revenue goal because this is our side hustle. However, our highest-paid collaboration this year was a $30,000 deal with a major company in exchange for just three videos.”

Ethics over dollars: Their biggest challenge is staying authentic. “We get offers from plastic surgery centers and political campaigns, but it’s up to us to decide if that’s something we want to publicly endorse. We’ve said no to a lot of collaborations even though we’re losing out on money because it’s crucial to be ethical.”

Expansion: Rebecca now lives in NYC (visiting Philly monthly) and has created a separate NYC Food Ladies account. “This year we were invited to brand trips at the Jersey Shore and in D.C., and we’re heading to North Carolina next. We’d love to increase revenue and work with brands we feel great about advertising.”

Five-year vision: “I’d love to see us get to 150,000 Instagram followers, getting international opportunities, traveling out of the country for collaborations, partnering with nonprofits, and winning a Philadelphia Magazine Award.”

Success secret: “I’ve never been very self-motivated; I don’t like working by myself. But I’ve been successful with groups. If you’re not someone who can be your own boss, work with people who can hold you accountable.”

Cash Confessionals are weekly stories where NYC locals peel back the curtain and expose their money habits.

Living situation: I rent for $1,500 in Williamsburg. I love the location and size of my apartment for the price, but hate how the building is falling apart. I love Williamsburg's proximity to a good amount of the city within 30 minutes, so I'd probably stay here if I could live anywhere in NYC.

Career: I'm a UX designer at a small, older tech company making $80,000 with no bonus. Not satisfied with my salary, lol. My career goal is to make more than $200k somehow and enjoy most of my job. Not sure if this will be in tech. I get some health stipends, a significant discount on therapy, and an unofficial learning and development budget.

Expenses: I try not to let my credit card bill go above $2,000 per month. I do need to formally set a budget without going over it constantly. My biggest expense after rent is food and eating out. I spend max $200 on groceries but mostly spend on food out, then transportation since my boyfriend and I do long distance and have to commute to each other, then drinks, shows, and movies. Once a year I'll spend on a trip, max has been like $4k.

Rich in NYC: I think comfortable living in NYC looks like at least $120k-150k base, being able to live alone in a safe area within a reasonable commute, and being able to save without stressing about spending. To me, "rich" in NYC is $300k+.

Best money decision recently: Continuing to max out my 401k each year. For me it's the easy way out versus actually figuring out a shorter-term portfolio because I just automate what comes out of my paychecks before I can touch it at all.

Debt: No debt 🙏

Saving & investing: I contribute $2k-3k to my 401k each month and max that out. Besides that, that's kinda it right now. I have a $9.3k emergency fund and about $130k in my retirement account. Not actively investing outside of 401k but trying to learn. I have a Vanguard account I don't use. My parents will contribute to my Roth IRA sometimes but don't max it out.

Money hacks: Automate things to come out of your paycheck and direct deposit into savings and investing accounts before you can access it. Do NOT Uber unless the train is down.

Side hustles: I used to walk dogs and made up to $500 a month at its peak.

What are your long-term goals? I’m saving for a property. Not sure where I'll be in five years, probably not NYC, honestly. Hopefully I'm doing something that makes me significantly more money and makes me feel more content than my current job.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition. If you have ideas for stories, know about new business coming soon, or want to do your own anonymous Cash Confessionals submission, let me know!

Josh

P.S.

Read something you like or maybe don’t like? Hit reply and let me know!