3 entrepreneurs share tips

Speaker 1 (00:00):

How many of us have thought, while working a nine-to-five job, I want to be my own boss.

Jeff (00:06):

Even though I enjoyed what I was doing, I didn't like having to work for someone else. That's a big reason why a lot of entrepreneurs end up getting started.

Speaker 1 (00:18):

That was Jeff Proctor, co-founder of DollarSprout.com, a personal finance education website.

Jeff (00:23):

We're helping people who are just starting to learn about money. We write about a lot of topics, such as saving money, making extra money, how to start investing for retirement. We're trying to be a good source for readers to learn about how to be a little bit smarter with their money. Most of what I focus on is managing our content team of writers, as well as working with different advertisers that we promote on our platform.

Speaker 1 (00:51):

Jeff started the company with his college friend, Ben Huber.

Ben (00:54):

I head off the social media marketing and like paid advertising analytics type stuff. So I kind of do the numbers and analytics portion of things, while Jeff kind of heads off more of the content creation.

Speaker 1 (01:05):

Jeff and Ben had always talked about eventually going into business together. But the path they took to starting a finance blog was a winding one.

Ben (01:12):

I went to school for biology. I ended up getting a degree in nursing.

Jeff (01:16):

So in college I actually studied biochemistry. I was wanting to go down towards the career path of something to do with medicine. And as time went on, I found that I really enjoyed reading and learning about personal finance, to where that was occupying all of my free time, rather than what I was supposed to be studying in school. After I graduated with my biochemistry degree in 2013, I was able to get a job working for a wealth management firm.

Speaker 1 (01:42):

Ben became a full-time nurse. While Jeff started working with high-net-worth clients.

Jeff (01:46):

I had liked working with people and helping people invest their money, but I really wanted to be able to help everyone, not just those with a high net worth. Even though I enjoyed what I was doing, I didn't like having to work for someone else. That's a big reason why a lot of entrepreneurs end up getting started, is they want to create their own thing and do things kind of your own way.

Speaker 1 (02:09):

The idea for DollarSprout.com and working for himself was planted. And Jeff began building up his savings. And he knew just who to turn to, to help him with the tech side of his startup.

Ben (02:19):

I had a background in technology, and I had run a hosting company during my years as a teenager. So I used my experience from that side hustle back then to help Jeff distribute his message of personal financing.

Speaker 1 (02:36):

Ben stayed in his nursing job, helping with the new business on the side until eventually deciding to join Jeff full-time. These two entrepreneurs are now enjoying the freedom and flexibility of being in charge. We talked with Jeff and Ben about the learning curve of starting a business and how they've managed the transition to being business owners. So Jeff and Ben, you both had a background in science and were working in pretty different fields from what your current business does. What was it like for you to make the leap? And what were some of the challenges that you ran into starting out?

Jeff (03:07):

The first entire year was just a massive learning curve. And when I look back on that experience, I really see that there was no shortcut for that. There was nothing I could have really done while working full time at my nine to five that would've truly prepared me for the learning that takes place, once you're fully on your own. As a result of that challenge, I started to deal with the stress of, you're not making enough money from the business to cover your personal bills. Your savings are running out. You'll tell yourself, "Okay, I've saved up a year's worth of money." And then when that sum actually starts to drop down, and then you've only got six months left of savings. And then three months left, two months left. It's quite a lot of stress.

Ben (03:51):

For me personally, working 50, 60 hours a week at the hospital, it didn't leave much time, literally in the day, to try to get things done. I was constantly trying to answer emails or work on a piece of content or trying to find a way to scale our marketing. And I think that that challenge is something that presents itself, is how do you balance good time management, devoting time to things that matter in your life and things that are mandatory. I think that it can get easy to get burned out, because sometimes you just kind of need to step back and think about how you can better prioritize your time.

Speaker 1 (04:23):

Did you guys experience that? What are some strategies you used to avoid feeling too burned out?

Jeff (04:27):

I'm always trying to keep a forward looking scope on where are we going to grow? Like where are we going to be three months from now, six months from now, a year from now? So being able to take that long-term perspective, also help mitigate some of that short-term burnout. But there's not really any way to actually totally negate burnout. But there might be a week or two weeks or a month or there might be a whole year where you're burnt out. But I think just keeping that long-term perspective is really important.

Ben (04:57):

Even if you get into business with the best of intentions, when you make that transition to a full-time job, it can seem like work. When I made the jump, it was actually a huge relief for me because I was balancing two jobs, so to speak. I was going from a 90-hour workweek down to a more manageable 40ish-hour work week. And even then, I got burned out. One of the things that we're really intentional about doing is taking time off together and then time off apart. We both enjoy golf, so sometimes we'll go play a round of golf just to kind of mentally reboot. And then other times we spend time apart. We completely unplug, no email, no laptop, nothing like that. And it kind of allows us to come back with a fresh mind. I think that people have the pressure of, when they're running their own business, they feel like they can't step away at all. They have to be hands on all the time. And even if you're running a one-man show, you have to be intentional about taking time off.

Speaker 1 (05:59):

So what has being a business owner meant for your financial confidence?

Ben (06:02):

So I know for me personally, financial confidence has really been improved because of what Jeff and I do in our business. When you run a business or you're fortunate enough to have a partner in your side hustle, there's a sense of accountability that may not be present when you are dealing with your own personal finances. You've got a second set of eyeballs, for better or for worse that are are kind of critiquing your decision-making. And that's translated really, really well for me personally, to my personal finances, just because I apply that same discipline to my personal spending. And I'm constantly thinking, is this something I need versus something that I want? And that has helped me start to really save for future goals. I know that Jeff and I are both actually pursuing home ownership here probably in the near future. And the discipline I've gained from the business is translating well into my saving for my home.

Jeff (06:52):

I started to look at my personal finances as just a smaller part of a bigger picture of like my total financial life. Which involves Ben, my business partner. But then it also will tangentially relate to Ben's family and my family. So I think that extra duty of obligation has really helped improve my own financial confidence and managing my own money and making sure that I'm able to meet my personal goals and have the business meet its goals.

Speaker 1 (07:24):

So what other advice would you give to someone thinking about turning their side project into a full-time business?

Jeff (07:28):

I think that a lot of it is risk management. You're going to have to take risk at some point, but I think that a lot of people probably make the jump too soon and I was one of them, and it cost me. So for instance, let's say you're making enough from your side gig to cover your personal bills and maybe even fuel a little bit of business growth. So that's great. But I like to think about, if you were to quit your job today and let's say part of your business income or your source of income dropped by 50% the next day. Are you going to be okay with an instant drop in income from something outside of your control?

Ben (08:06):

Part of it kind of depends on what exactly your side hustle is. You know, say you're a freelance photographer and you're deciding whether or not you want to leave your day job. You've already got several clients lined up. Your risk is not the same as someone who is jumping into an online business with no customer base. I think it's almost like a two-step process. You want to have realistic expectations for what sort of income you're going to generate if and when you do make the jump. And then have a budget in place.

Ben (08:33):

In my nursing field, I was making about the national average for a nurse of my tenure. And I waited to a point where not only we could support Jeff's living expenses, but we could maintain a standard of living that I was used to.

Jeff (08:45):

I think month one is great because you're excited to be an entrepreneur, you're all in, everything's great. And then month two through 12 were a little bit stressful because you know now there's actually pressure on you to pay your bills and grow your business. But then going from year two to three and beyond, now I'm getting to really enjoy the fruits of our labor, basically of working nonstop that first year or two. I probably work a little bit less now than I did back then. We're still enjoying the growth that we've been able to achieve and the benefits that come with that.

Speaker 1 (09:23):

Thanks again, Jeff and Ben.

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Aha that light bulb moment. The moment when you say, "Hey, this side project that I love working on in my spare time, what if I could find a way to make this my real job?"

Jason Patel (00:12):

Ultimately, what's so exciting is that when you can add value to someone's life, you're scaling that passion you have in your heart, and you're giving it to someone else. That's a really beautiful thing to have a positive impact on someone's life.

Speaker 1 (00:26):

That's Jason Patel, Founder of Transizion, a college admissions assistance and mentorship company.

Jason Patel (00:32):

We provide bootcamps and tutoring on college applications, AP exams, SAT testing, resumes and cover letters, and internship and job searches. Naturally, our audience includes freshmen through seniors in high school, and we strive to take the anxiety and stress out of the entire college admissions and application process for students and parents.

Speaker 1 (00:56):

Jason is just one example of an entrepreneur who was inspired to take a side project and turn it into a full-time job.

Jason Patel (01:02):

So I was a working college student, which meant that I had to work to pay my bills. And I applied for the job at our university's career center. I worked as a career mentor, helping college students and graduate students, and also visiting students with resumes and cover letters and helping them find internships and jobs once they graduated college.

Jason Patel (01:23):

After I graduated school, I worked in political communication because that was my major. And I also had a volunteering gig on the side where I helped young people navigate the college admissions process and find jobs and internships.

Speaker 1 (01:37):

Even though it was just an unpaid volunteer project, Jason could tell how invested he was in helping kids learn, grow, and meet their goals.

Jason Patel (01:44):

I fell in love with education. I loved growing young minds and helping young people find opportunities that could help them succeed in their careers in the short and long term.

Speaker 1 (01:55):

One of the students Jason worked with ended up being accepted into a top university. That student's mother suggested to Jason that he could turn this volunteer work into a business. Jason took the message to heart. He knew there'd be some risk, but he also knew he'd regret it later if he didn't at least give it a shot.

Jason Patel (02:11):

Opportunity is everywhere. If we can increase the productivity and happiness of our customers, we're doing better for our community. And the more we scale this, the more people we help, the more we're doing for the people around us and the communities that we want to get involved in. And think about it as if 50 years from now you had a dream that you didn't pursue, how would that make you feel? And I think ultimately what's so exciting is that when you can add value to someone's life, you're scaling that passion you have in your heart and you're giving it to someone else. That's a really beautiful thing to have a positive impact on someone's life, to be a part of someone else's journey, someone else's ambitions. It's a really great thing.

Speaker 1 (02:54):

Jason was able to turn his passion project into a full-fledged business, but what does that really look like? We talked with Jason about the day-to-day realities of being a small business owner and building confidence in the face of challenges.

Speaker 1 (03:08):

So Jason, I'm sure it was really exciting for you to bring your business idea to life, but I know it was a lot of hard work too. What did you find were some of the challenges of turning your side project into a business?

Jason Patel (03:19):

The first problem that I had was that originally I started Transizion because I wanted to give workshops, other career and college services to schools and organizations. But the thing is that many of these schools and orgs already have an in-house person to help them with these tasks and with these challenges.

Jason Patel (03:37):

I was marketing to an already saturated market. I didn't validate the idea going into it. I went in with rose-colored glasses with this idealism that if I went in with energy and great intentions, that people would automatically latch on to the idea and sign up and enroll, and therefore grow my business.

Jason Patel (03:55):

But I didn't validate it. You don't know what you don't know. And I didn't know that there will be so many unexpected costs. I had to budget and account for things a little better. So cash flow and time flow really was a challenge at first.

Speaker 1 (04:08):

So how did you overcome these challenges? What helped you work through them and build up your confidence?

Jason Patel (04:13):

My parents came to this country in 1985 without any money. And my mom worked in fast food, and my dad worked at a gas station and went to night school, and my mom supported him through night school. They struggled for a long time when they came here, like many immigrants struggled.

Jason Patel (04:30):

My dad eventually got a job at a computers company, and my mom got a job at an insurance company. They took their savings and they started a small business. What my parents have given me is this value of self-reflection and learning from failure and learning from the grind really.

Jason Patel (04:47):

They're very honest about their failures. They're very honest about how hard it is to balance individual finance with business finances. And they're very honest about how you should self-reflect and think about why you failed at something and then how to best iterate from there.

Speaker 1 (05:08):

So if you stop and think about it for yourself, what are some of the lessons that you learned? If you were going to give advice to someone who was thinking about starting this process, what would you want them to know based on your own experiences?

Jason Patel (05:20):

Don't simply quit your job or start that business, pour a bunch of money into it, and then realize your audience never existed, or the audience doesn't want to pay for it. And then of course the worst problem of all, your idea has no merit for product market fit. And therefore you spent time creating this idea of bringing it to life that no one wants.

Jason Patel (05:42):

The second thing I'd say is before you're quitting your job, take up all of your expenses, add them together, and multiply by two and a half or three. Because that's how much you'll be paying. Business is about pragmatism and making compromise.

Jason Patel (05:55):

We place a strong emphasis on encouraging the students to take a practical approach to their dream. You will have to compromise. You will have people who are too hard on you, or you will have people who don't appreciate what you do. You have to remind yourself why you're doing this, remind yourself why you're taking on challenges and doing things most other people don't do and most other people frankly, will think you're crazy for doing.

Speaker 1 (06:17):

So how do you do that? How do you give yourself those reminders about why you're doing this?

Jason Patel (06:22):

I think you have to learn how to balance business with life. When you do that on a day-to-day basis, you will gain confidence by it through discipline and repetition.

Jason Patel (06:31):

When you're operating a business, you're juggling personal expenses, business expenses, and probably more important, you're juggling your time. So many millennials and other people really ask that same question about finding their passion and then retaining that spark as the day-to-day grind hits you in the face and occasionally corrodes your enthusiasm for what you do.

Jason Patel (06:52):

Passion will keep you going at first, but it's not the thing that will sustain you over the course of six months to two years to six years to 10 years. Discipline's the thing that we'll do that.

Speaker 1 (07:05):

So what are some things that people can do to help achieve that balance. Is there anything that you do for yourself?

Jason Patel (07:11):

Read a lot of books. Do nighttime reading to help you relax and get your mind off the challenges that you encountered earlier in that day. Find a hobby. I know it's sort of a cliche for some entrepreneurs to say, I work a hundred hour weeks, 120 hour weeks. I have no time.

Jason Patel (07:28):

Having a hobby is really important because it takes your mind off the challenges you encountered early in the day. The same way books do that. My hobby is that I'm a jujutsu and Muay Thai competitor. Athletics gives me that chance to refine my competitive edge. It gives me a chance to iterate on something other than the business. It gives me a chance to meet people. It gives me a chance to make me a better person.

Jason Patel (07:53):

Always consider yourself a work in progress. You're always developing, and there's no limit. There's no ceiling for you to hit. You're always going to be better. There's always a new journey or a new challenge to take on.

Speaker 1 (08:04):

Great, thank you so much, Jason.

Speaker 1 (00:00):

How many of us have thought, while working a nine-to-five job, I want to be my own boss.

Jeff (00:06):

Even though I enjoyed what I was doing, I didn't like having to work for someone else. That's a big reason why a lot of entrepreneurs end up getting started.

Speaker 1 (00:18):

That was Jeff Proctor, co-founder of DollarSprout.com, a personal finance education website.

Jeff (00:23):

We're helping people who are just starting to learn about money. We write about a lot of topics, such as saving money, making extra money, how to start investing for retirement. We're trying to be a good source for readers to learn about how to be a little bit smarter with their money. Most of what I focus on is managing our content team of writers, as well as working with different advertisers that we promote on our platform.

Speaker 1 (00:51):

Jeff started the company with his college friend, Ben Huber.

Ben (00:54):

I head off the social media marketing and like paid advertising analytics type stuff. So I kind of do the numbers and analytics portion of things, while Jeff kind of heads off more of the content creation.

Speaker 1 (01:05):

Jeff and Ben had always talked about eventually going into business together. But the path they took to starting a finance blog was a winding one.

Ben (01:12):

I went to school for biology. I ended up getting a degree in nursing.

Jeff (01:16):

So in college I actually studied biochemistry. I was wanting to go down towards the career path of something to do with medicine. And as time went on, I found that I really enjoyed reading and learning about personal finance, to where that was occupying all of my free time, rather than what I was supposed to be studying in school. After I graduated with my biochemistry degree in 2013, I was able to get a job working for a wealth management firm.

Speaker 1 (01:42):

Ben became a full-time nurse. While Jeff started working with high-net-worth clients.

Jeff (01:46):

I had liked working with people and helping people invest their money, but I really wanted to be able to help everyone, not just those with a high net worth. Even though I enjoyed what I was doing, I didn't like having to work for someone else. That's a big reason why a lot of entrepreneurs end up getting started, is they want to create their own thing and do things kind of your own way.

Speaker 1 (02:09):

The idea for DollarSprout.com and working for himself was planted. And Jeff began building up his savings. And he knew just who to turn to, to help him with the tech side of his startup.

Ben (02:19):

I had a background in technology, and I had run a hosting company during my years as a teenager. So I used my experience from that side hustle back then to help Jeff distribute his message of personal financing.

Speaker 1 (02:36):

Ben stayed in his nursing job, helping with the new business on the side until eventually deciding to join Jeff full-time. These two entrepreneurs are now enjoying the freedom and flexibility of being in charge. We talked with Jeff and Ben about the learning curve of starting a business and how they've managed the transition to being business owners. So Jeff and Ben, you both had a background in science and were working in pretty different fields from what your current business does. What was it like for you to make the leap? And what were some of the challenges that you ran into starting out?

Jeff (03:07):

The first entire year was just a massive learning curve. And when I look back on that experience, I really see that there was no shortcut for that. There was nothing I could have really done while working full time at my nine to five that would've truly prepared me for the learning that takes place, once you're fully on your own. As a result of that challenge, I started to deal with the stress of, you're not making enough money from the business to cover your personal bills. Your savings are running out. You'll tell yourself, "Okay, I've saved up a year's worth of money." And then when that sum actually starts to drop down, and then you've only got six months left of savings. And then three months left, two months left. It's quite a lot of stress.

Ben (03:51):

For me personally, working 50, 60 hours a week at the hospital, it didn't leave much time, literally in the day, to try to get things done. I was constantly trying to answer emails or work on a piece of content or trying to find a way to scale our marketing. And I think that that challenge is something that presents itself, is how do you balance good time management, devoting time to things that matter in your life and things that are mandatory. I think that it can get easy to get burned out, because sometimes you just kind of need to step back and think about how you can better prioritize your time.

Speaker 1 (04:23):

Did you guys experience that? What are some strategies you used to avoid feeling too burned out?

Jeff (04:27):

I'm always trying to keep a forward looking scope on where are we going to grow? Like where are we going to be three months from now, six months from now, a year from now? So being able to take that long-term perspective, also help mitigate some of that short-term burnout. But there's not really any way to actually totally negate burnout. But there might be a week or two weeks or a month or there might be a whole year where you're burnt out. But I think just keeping that long-term perspective is really important.

Ben (04:57):

Even if you get into business with the best of intentions, when you make that transition to a full-time job, it can seem like work. When I made the jump, it was actually a huge relief for me because I was balancing two jobs, so to speak. I was going from a 90-hour workweek down to a more manageable 40ish-hour work week. And even then, I got burned out. One of the things that we're really intentional about doing is taking time off together and then time off apart. We both enjoy golf, so sometimes we'll go play a round of golf just to kind of mentally reboot. And then other times we spend time apart. We completely unplug, no email, no laptop, nothing like that. And it kind of allows us to come back with a fresh mind. I think that people have the pressure of, when they're running their own business, they feel like they can't step away at all. They have to be hands on all the time. And even if you're running a one-man show, you have to be intentional about taking time off.

Speaker 1 (05:59):

So what has being a business owner meant for your financial confidence?

Ben (06:02):

So I know for me personally, financial confidence has really been improved because of what Jeff and I do in our business. When you run a business or you're fortunate enough to have a partner in your side hustle, there's a sense of accountability that may not be present when you are dealing with your own personal finances. You've got a second set of eyeballs, for better or for worse that are are kind of critiquing your decision-making. And that's translated really, really well for me personally, to my personal finances, just because I apply that same discipline to my personal spending. And I'm constantly thinking, is this something I need versus something that I want? And that has helped me start to really save for future goals. I know that Jeff and I are both actually pursuing home ownership here probably in the near future. And the discipline I've gained from the business is translating well into my saving for my home.

Jeff (06:52):

I started to look at my personal finances as just a smaller part of a bigger picture of like my total financial life. Which involves Ben, my business partner. But then it also will tangentially relate to Ben's family and my family. So I think that extra duty of obligation has really helped improve my own financial confidence and managing my own money and making sure that I'm able to meet my personal goals and have the business meet its goals.

Speaker 1 (07:24):

So what other advice would you give to someone thinking about turning their side project into a full-time business?

Jeff (07:28):

I think that a lot of it is risk management. You're going to have to take risk at some point, but I think that a lot of people probably make the jump too soon and I was one of them, and it cost me. So for instance, let's say you're making enough from your side gig to cover your personal bills and maybe even fuel a little bit of business growth. So that's great. But I like to think about, if you were to quit your job today and let's say part of your business income or your source of income dropped by 50% the next day. Are you going to be okay with an instant drop in income from something outside of your control?

Ben (08:06):

Part of it kind of depends on what exactly your side hustle is. You know, say you're a freelance photographer and you're deciding whether or not you want to leave your day job. You've already got several clients lined up. Your risk is not the same as someone who is jumping into an online business with no customer base. I think it's almost like a two-step process. You want to have realistic expectations for what sort of income you're going to generate if and when you do make the jump. And then have a budget in place.

Ben (08:33):

In my nursing field, I was making about the national average for a nurse of my tenure. And I waited to a point where not only we could support Jeff's living expenses, but we could maintain a standard of living that I was used to.

Jeff (08:45):

I think month one is great because you're excited to be an entrepreneur, you're all in, everything's great. And then month two through 12 were a little bit stressful because you know now there's actually pressure on you to pay your bills and grow your business. But then going from year two to three and beyond, now I'm getting to really enjoy the fruits of our labor, basically of working nonstop that first year or two. I probably work a little bit less now than I did back then. We're still enjoying the growth that we've been able to achieve and the benefits that come with that.

Speaker 1 (09:23):

Thanks again, Jeff and Ben.