CNBC Make It

Starting in 2010, Tess Waresmith spent three years working on a cruise ship, first as a high-diver and acrobat, and then as a shopping guide for vacationers. For someone who had graduated from college a year earlier, it was a huge opportunity, Waresmith says. Not only was this a paying gig in an economy otherwise ravaged by recession, but food and living expenses on the ship were covered. “Over a couple year period, I thought to myself, ‘This is my chance to save as much as possible,’” Waresmith says. After a couple years of dutifully socking away cash, a friend aboard the ship suggested that she could be doing more with her funds than let them sit in the bank. Waresmith, now 36, took that advice and ran with it. She currently has more than $1 million in stocks, real estate and other investments. In 2021, she founded financial education firm Wealth with Tess, with the aim of helping others follow her path while avoiding some of the pitfalls. In those early years, Waresmith remembers one pitfall in particular. ⬇️

How long $1 million lasts in retirement varies widely across the U.S. — stretching more than 80 years in some states but running out in less than 20 in others. Those are the findings of a recent GOBankingRates analysis, which examined how far $1 million in retirement savings plus Social Security benefits would go in each state. Take a look at how long $1 million could last a single person in every state: ⬇️

Howard Schultz’s advice for CEOs on weathering economic uncertainty is simple: “Serve every customer and partner beyond their expectations,” the former Starbucks CEO wrote in a LinkedIn post. That’s what Schultz tells the business leaders who reach out to him for insight into handling the global markets’ current uncertainty, amid President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, he wrote. “I’m not sure there is a playbook other than staying true to your values and a maniacal focus on the things you can control,” he added. Schultz would know. He led Starbucks through a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis — relying on advice he now “vividly” remembers from Costco co-founder and former CEO Jim Sinegal, he wrote.

Billionaire philanthropist and investor Melinda French Gates is no stranger to major life changes and uncomfortable transitions. “I’ve gone through a tremendous amount of transition,” she said on an episode of Simon Sinek’s “A Bit of Optimism” podcast. “I left a marriage. I left the foundation. I’ve struck out on my own in philanthropy ... There’s so much to learn in [any] transition, and so much growth that can happen.” Here's her tactic for being resilient in tough moments at the link in bio.

For Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley, who runs one of the largest U.S. auto manufacturers, chasing a competitive edge in the electric vehicle race can sometimes mean getting behind the wheel of a competitor’s car. Ford has spent years, and billions of dollars, making inroads into an electric vehicle industry that’s currently dominated by Chinese company BYD and Elon Musk’s Tesla. Part of that effort has involved driving Chinese cars to scope out his competition, Farley said during a speech at Stanford University in March 2024. He once spent at least six months driving an electric vehicle made by Xiaomi, a company more well-known for its smartphones and consumer electronics, he added during a podcast episode of the “Everything Electric Show.” “We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now and I don’t want to give it up,” said Farley, now 62. Here's how the strategy of testing your rival’s products can be useful, according to one leadership expert.

Megan Walsh, a lifelong crafter, opened her Etsy shop MegansMenagerie in 2009. In 2023, the shop — which currently specializes in plant-themed wall decor — brought in more than $121,400 in revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The shop isn’t always popular. Sometimes, Walsh finds a type of craft that sells well, and revenue jumps. In 2012, for example, she found success selling chevron scarves — sewn with the same Singer machine — and made enough to buy a then-new Dodge Journey SUV, she says. Other times, the shop is simply a place for her to offload her art and get a little help paying everyday bills. The side hustle has helped cover monthly student loan payments, a used car for one of her daughters, vacations and a vow renewal ceremony, says Walsh. Since Walsh began selling wall decor in 2021, she’s pocketed roughly $60,000 per year from her side hustle, she estimates — close to what she makes annually as a part-time nurse. She works about 12 to 24 hours per week on her shop and 24 to 32 hours at a hospital, she says. If her Etsy income falters, she can pick up more nursing hours, she adds. Walsh discusses juggling her side hustle with her nursing job, avoiding burnout and why she’s happy with a side hustle isn’t guaranteed to make money forever. 👇

If you want to save more money to buy a home or retire early, you can start by reducing your discretionary spending — but there are only so many minor expenses you can cut. The way to make real progress is to focus on “needle movers,” Rachel Camp, a certified financial planner and owner of Camp Wealth, previously told CNBC Make It. Increasing your income is one way to really help move that needle, Camp said. As long as you’re not inflating your lifestyle with every raise, boosting your earnings can help you put more money toward your financial goals. Cinneah El Amin understands this well. The 30-year-old product manager and entrepreneur behind career and financial education platform Flynanced more than doubled her annual salary from $72,000 in 2017 to $186,000 in 2021. Now, after nearly two years running her own business full-time, she makes about $190,000 as a senior product manager for the federal government. Here are three strategies El Amin recommends to move the needle on your income.

Tanese Orr and her husband, Robert Lashley, had lived in New York City’s public housing for over 20 years when Orr entered the city’s housing lottery. Since 2015, the Small Homes Rehab-NYCHA Program has facilitated the purchase, rehabilitation and sale of FHA-foreclosed homes under NYCHA’s ownership to first-time homeowners. 61 homes have been renovated and sold to low- and moderate-income families since 2015. In November 2022, three years after signing up, Orr logged into her Housing Connect profile and saw an active lottery for houses that the city was restoring. Less than two months later, Orr received an email request to submit a list of required documents. After submitting the application, the couple viewed two homes: a three-family house and a two-family house, both in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. Orr and her husband took out a $691,000 mortgage with a down payment of $36,369 and $23,395 closing costs for the two-family house. The house itself was valued at $1.1 million and the Department of Housing Preservation covered the rest of the purchase price in the form of a second mortgage. They also received a down payment assistance loan in the amount of $15,000. Read about the lottery process that turned Orr and her husband into homeowners — and take a look inside the house: ⬇️

As a leadership consultant who studies workplace psychology, Stefan Falk has spent more than 30 years helping thousands of individuals and CEOs at multimillion-dollar organizations. Falk has always been observant of the different personalities he works with, especially when he was an executive himself. During team meetings, extroverts always jumped in first, eager to lead the conversation. They often brought energy, but not much more. The people who earned his trust were the ones who listened and then spoke with precision. Almost every time, they were the introverts. To understand why introverts often communicate — and execute — more effectively, you need to understand that their brains work differently: It often resists discomfort, but it also performs best when it’s forced to confront that discomfort, says Falk. So interacting with people, for example, especially in groups or without preparation, is uncomfortable. But that very discomfort pushes them to think more deeply, plan more intentionally, and choose their words more carefully. The result is communication that’s precise, thoughtful and far more impactful. Here are five phrases introverts use that make them more successful than extroverts, according to Falk.

If you want to earn six figures while working from home, you might want to consider a career in data analytics. Data analysts collect, organize and interpret raw data to better understand how a business is performing. They use tools like Excel, SQL and Tableau to identify trends and create visualizations, and look at metrics like sales, website traffic and regulatory risks, to help organizations work smarter. Here’s why the data analytics field is rapidly growing, how to land a job, and where to find the best opportunities. ⬇️