Meet Casey Ferrand McGee, former reporter who spent five hours a week on a side hustle that nearly matched her $60,000 salary; how she built a business after 14 years in TV news

Casey Ferrand McGee is a former television news reporter and has several years of experience in the field. She started a public relations and media consultancy side business while working in TV news. She initially had to spend around five hours a week on the business, but, years later she had generated approximately $52,000 in revenue. She later decided to leave her job and focused on her business full-time.

Who is Casey Ferrand McGee?

Casey Ferrand McGee is the founder of CFM Media. It is a media coaching, public relations and communications consultancy based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She used to work as television news reporter for 14 years. She had covered hurricanes, tornadoes, gun violence, police protests and other issues during her working days.

During her journalism career, she noticed that businesses and nonprofit organisations were struggling to hear their initiatives and stories covered by local news organisations. Then, she decided to use her reporting skills to help them gain media attention.


Later, she launched her business in 2019 while continuing to work full-time. At first, she used to spend around five hours a week building the side hustle alongside her job.

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How much did she earn?

According to Forbes, in 2022, her side business generated around $52,000, compared with her annual salary of $60,000 as a nonprofit communications director.

The revenue made her realise that running her own business could eventually become a safe alternative to working for an employer.

She later took a chief communication officer position at a government agency. There, she reportedly earned $150,000 annually, along with benefits that included a company car and fuel allowance.

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Why did she go independent?

She had a decent paying salary, but she wanted to focus on other things as well. She wanted to spend more time with her son. This reason led her to focus on her own business in May 2025.