Themes discussed in this episode

• Taking on more responsibility to earn a raise
• Recognizing and overcoming barriers to promotion
• Exploring side gigs and commission-based opportunities
• Strategies for career advancement

Episode Highlights

Timestamped inflection points from the show

00:23 – Making more money in 2025: The importance of increasing your value beyond your current role and making yourself indispensable.

1:19 – It’s about performance, not time: Longevity alone doesn’t guarantee a raise; taking on more responsibility and making your boss’s job easier is crucial.

2:35 – Barriers to promotion: A personal story highlights the importance of developing essential skills like client communication.

5:05 – Exploring side gigs: Consider opportunities such as selling products on platforms like Etsy or taking on seasonal retail work.

6:30 – Commission-based roles: Finding commission opportunities can lead to higher earnings, especially for those initially hesitant about performance-based pay.

8:02 – Increasing your income: Evaluate your job performance, consider changing positions, monetize hobbies, or seek commission roles if feeling financially stuck.

Top Quotes

3:35 – “Your current employer knows your strengths, but they also know your weaknesses, and that can be a problem.”

6:04 – “If you have an interest outside of what you do day to day, that you would enjoy something like that, feel free to add that to your roster. A lot of those kinds of positions, it’s commission based.”

7:06 – “I would advise that if you want to make good money, find a position that allows you to get compensated for bringing in business or for encouraging customers to make a purchase…”

8:12 – “Consider whether you’re doing enough at your current position. Consider whether it’s an appropriate time for you to move to a new position. Consider if you have a hobby or a passion you can monetize. Consider if you could take a job that offered commission.”

Links

Transcript

00:12

Hello, I’m Lori Jo Vest, also known as Work Mom. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Work Mom Says “Don’t Be an Idiot!” I am so happy you’re here. Today we are going to talk about what you should be doing in 2025 if you want to make more money. 

A couple of things to talk about. In a lot of cases when people are earlier in their careers, they may not understand that it’s really, really important that if you want to get a raise, you have to make yourself more valuable beyond the position you’re currently holding. 

Business owners and corporations have specific budgets for specific positions based on profitability and operations expenses, etc, etc. And if you can take the salary that you have and the job that you have to the very highest level, so you get to the top of that budget range and the top of the performance range, then you can talk to your boss about getting a raise or a promotion.

1:19

One of the things that I hear people say, as I’ve been doing this job for two years now, “I should get a raise.” It’s not a matter of time. It’s not about time. It’s about more responsibility. It’s about making your boss’s job easier, maybe being that one size fits all person that can volunteer to take on pop up projects. Those are the things that make you valuable to your boss in your current position, and it’s a great way to get a raise, is to just always be on, always have goals, always look toward getting the next promotion in how you perform your current position- you’re setting yourself up for success. 

So what if you’re at the top of the budget range, and you want to make more money, but you know, it’s not going to happen right away? Sometimes your boss is limited. Maybe there’s people that are in the positions they’d like to promote you to, but you’re ready, and that person’s not. Or that person is, you know, firmly ensconced doing a great job and happy. 

There may be some barriers to you rising through the ranks at your current employer. It can happen. What those barriers are? One is that your current employer knows your strengths, but they also know your weaknesses, and that can be a problem. 

2:35

And I’ll give you an example. I had a wonderful employee, probably 12, 15 years ago, absolutely wonderful guy, and he was really wanting to move into the next higher position at the company that would allow us to give him a raise. And he did get a few opportunities. We gave him a few opportunities to sit in that chair, and that position that he wanted to move into required client communication and client collaboration, and that can be difficult for some people, and sometimes early in your career, if you’ve not been trained, it can be really hard to be good at that. And we had allowed this young guy to sit in that chair and be on a project with a client, and it started to go a little south. 

Now, in the business I was in, I was in video production, it wasn’t unusual for there to be little missteps along the way, because we were always trying to bring a client’s vision to life. Creativity is very subjective, so you were always working towards something and asking the client along the way, are we getting there? And sometimes there are blow ups. I mean, you’ve got creative people. Sometimes, you know, a creative producer will have an emotional response to something that they see, that they don’t like. And this particular guy got really defensive when the client said they didn’t like what he had done. 

Oh, it was bad. Let’s just say I had to do a lot of apologizing, and I had to have a meeting with him and go through the reasons that I felt he wasn’t ready to sit in that client-facing spot yet. And he didn’t like what he heard. He didn’t like it. 

And I actually talked to him and said, hey, you know what, one of the things that you may have to do, and I understand it if you do, is move to a different company in order to get the jump that you want to jump. Maybe a different industry, there may be other opportunities out there, but this is what I’ve got for you now. I’m happy to work with you to help you gain those skills. But in my opinion, you’re not quite ready to be in a client facing position independently, yet. Soon as you are, I’ll promote you. Can’t promote you right now. You need to make more money right now, you may have to go somewhere else.

And it was perfectly normal to consider that. I mean, a lot of employers won’t go that far in a conversation with you, but I think they should, because you deserve an honest assessment of what’s happening at the company and what your opportunities are in the next three months, six months, one year. And so that’s one way- be the best employee. 

5:05

The next thing to consider, if you want to make more money is, do you have the opportunity to have a side gig? And I’ll give you an example: I have a client that is making a product that she sells on Etsy. It’s pretty expensive, and she’s doing pretty well, and she’s selling a ton of them. She’s hiring her friends and family members to come over for 25 bucks an hour, help her pack, you know, beautiful packages of her product to go out to her customers. And that’s an opportunity to make a little extra cash. I have a friend who is a huge fan of a designer brand, so let’s just say she’s a big Gucci fan. During the holidays, designer brands need help. So if you are a huge Gucci fan, go to Gucci in December and see if they need assistance, and if you can get on their list to be called in and work the floor at a beautiful Gucci store, or maybe at the Chanel counter. 

If you have an interest outside of what you do day to day, that you would enjoy something like that, feel free to add that to your roster. A lot of those kinds of positions, it’s commission based. So if it’s a product that you are really passionate about, you can hang out with people, talk about the product, make commission, make new friends who come back and buy from you repeatedly, and it’s a kind of a side hustle that can be part time and kind of a passion hobby/source of income. 

6:30

Another thing you can do is consider taking a position that offers commission. And that can be challenging. Some people are afraid of commission. They want, you know, big salary and a little commission. 

And I’ve been guilty of that myself early in my career, I didn’t like big commissions because I was always afraid that I would have those dips in pay and maybe not be able to make my bills. So I was particularly picky about where I worked based on the size of the salary over the commission percentage. And I mean, it worked for me, but I wouldn’t advise it to others. 

Honestly, I would advise that if you want to make good money, find a position that allows you to get compensated for bringing in business or for encouraging customers to make a purchase, or hire a service that you offer. Even if that’s not a direct part of your position, if you can figure out a way to influence customers and potential customers, prospects, do that. And then see if you can get a commission on that, bringing that in. 

It may not happen in a large corporation, but in a lot of smaller to mid sized businesses, if you can become a source of revenue by actually bringing in customers, you can add a percentage to your pay. And that’s not unusual at all. I know we do it at our agency. If you go out and meet somebody and they just end up becoming a client, then you get a little bump in your pay every month for as long as they’re with us. So there’s a lot of things like that that you can do. 

8:02

So if you think you’re stuck in your job, you can’t get a raise, you’re never going to make any more money, and it’s really depressing, it doesn’t have to be. Consider whether you’re doing enough at your current position. Consider whether it’s an appropriate time for you to move to a new position. Consider if you have a hobby or a passion you can monetize. Consider if you could take a job that offered commission. 

So those are four ways that you can increase your income in 2025. Work Mom says, you have it in you. If you want to succeed and you want to make good money and you’re willing to be as productive as you can, set goals, meet those goals, every day, you will be successful in your career. It’s just inevitable. It’s how it works. 

Because a lot of people out there are calling it in, they’re phoning it in, they are not showing up. They’re in the Zoom call, but their mics are off and their cameras are off and they’re not paying attention. Be the person that stands out, because you do want to be productive and successful and have strong relationships, and that will help you make more money this year and many years into the future. 

9:09

So that’s what I’ve got for you today. Again, I’m Lori Jo Vest. I have a website at workmomsays.com where I house my podcast episodes. You can also listen to me on my podcast on those standard channels, iTunes, Spotify, etc, and I am an open networker on LinkedIn. I’d love to hear from you there. 

Please give me a subscribe and a like. Comment, tell me what you think, I’d love to hear from you. I’m always willing to consider ideas for guests and topics, answer questions. There is a contact page on my website at workmomsays.com. I would love to hear from you. So take care, I’ll be back to talk to you again soon.

---

Who is our ideal listener?

This podcast is for young professionals who want to learn to play the emotional context sport of business and experience less drama and more success.

How can you be more logical and less emotional? Be strategic, and Work Mom Says can help you.

“I tell people to back up, put down the magnifying glass, and look at the big picture when you’re responding to something,” said Lori Jo Vest, Work Mom. “In doing this, you will understand that what’s really upsetting you right now will be something you don’t even remember next week.”

What value can people get from listening to this podcast?

Listening to Work Mom Says can help you grow your mood management skills, grow your ability to reframe situations, and look at things from a strategic point of view. This makes it easier to go into a work situation and get the most positive results.

On Work Mom Says, we also offer tips and tricks for creating connected positive relationships that last over time. People will want you on the team if you can create connected positive relationships and work environments. You become an asset, and you will be more successful when you’re an asset.

“I also like to talk about developing traits like optimism, persistence, tenacity, stick-to-itiveness, sticking with things, and approaching every project with a curious mind instead of a fearful mind,” said Lori Jo Vest, Work Mom

                                                                                                     

Why do I do this? A few more words from Work Mom

I do this because I naturally fell into the Work Mom role when I worked in the ad agency business and had so much fun with it. I also realized I had made just about every mistake there was to make. I don’t hold myself as a stellar example of truth and how you should be. I hold myself out there as someone who has been bruised, battered, and beaten up and learned some important lessons. I’d love to share these lessons with young people, so they don’t have to make those same mistakes or be the idiot I was.

I also want to help young professionals realize that many things our culture prioritizes aren’t really important. We talk a lot about what should be important and how to present your best face at the office so that you can succeed.

I’ve learned so much throughout my career, and it’s gratifying to share that with young professionals and help them avoid some of those mistakes and get to that success sooner.

Episode 26 – “The Origin of Work Mom Says (Plus a Sneak Peek at My Upcoming Book)” appeared first on Work Mom Says.