Just Turned 29 and Ready to Roll

[Jann]

As a Canadian lady, I admire all the posts that come from all parts of the world. I want to first off say thank you to MJ and for all you who share your story/updates. I am incredibly inspired and challenged to be in the presence of giants.

My 29th birthday was a few days ago and I told myself that now is the time to stop coasting and take ownership of my life. I called myself an "entrepreneur" but in reality, I was a dreamer...nothing that I ever did stuck. I hope that I can make a change for myself...even though I am aware that I tend to start things for a year or two and then eventually give up. Hopefully, I can continue to motivate myself to keep going through life's ups and downs.

BACKGROUND
TL;DR Married at 27, graduated from grad school at 28, paid off condo at 29
Worked 2 part-time jobs, started&closed 4 businesses, and completed grad school. Ate rice and beans according to Dave Ramsey. Became Debt Free.
Got a job in mental health. Trade time for money.

Business #1: Cleaning
No one wanted to go into houses to clean for fear of catching covid. News of my business spread like wildfire and I was booking appointments starting as early as 6am. I provided 3 tiers of cleaning: Basic (using client's own products), Deep (I would bring my own cleaning supplies), and Complete (cleaning/laundry services). I targeted busy moms because that is one of their biggest pain points. These jobs would be weekly recurring events which was easy to slot into my schedule.
Business #2: Nannying
With the same audience, I found that these families needed nannying services...especially overnight. Since I have a specialty in child & adolescent psychopathology and have worked at daycares in the past, I gave it a go. It was rough but paid very well (aka a few dollars above minimum wage).
Business #3: Plants
I had a love for plants and I knew that over the pandemic there was a huge upswing in plant prices. I sold exotic plants (i.e. hoya, cacti, succulents) online through kijiji and facebook marketplace for ridiculous prices (i.e. $100/plant). Clients would simply pick up their purchases and I didn't need to spend any additional money on shipping. It was a fun side gig growing and selling plants.
Business #4: Tutoring
Due to my background in psychology, I was able to support many youth with psychological disabilities/challenges through one-on-one tutoring services.

When I graduated grad school, things got way too busy so I closed businesses #1-4 to focus on my current job in mental health. I absolutely love my job and my clients...but I'm facing the same thing that I encountered in my "businesses". I am trading my time for money once again. If I don't see clients, I won't get paid. At the same time, I plan to have kids either next year or the year after. My dream would be a stay-at-home mom...so now the question is, how can I continue providing incredible value to my community which is devoid of my time? I'm anticipating not being able to work for at least 6 months as I recover and take care of a newborn.

I am not trying to toot my own horn. In fact, I am quite ashamed that I put so much effort in trading my time for money when I could've started growing my own money tree.

What I loved about these businesses was that I was adding value to my community. It made me feel extremely happy when I was helping others solve their problems. I loved working for myself which gave me complete freedom to plan my schedule and priorities. It helped me pay off my grad studies and my condo. At the same time, I experienced a few cycles of burnout because I was working myself very hard. When I turned 29, I told myself, "Enough is enough. Now is the time to put what I'm learning from MJ into practice. It's time to get into the fastlane." I understand that I am in a very privileged place where I have very little to risk right now. I have no dependents, my family is healthy, my husband is supportive, and we have no debt.

Here are some of my thoughts on growing a money tree:
1) Start a psychotherapy podcast

1. Grow my audience by serving first
2. Once I start getting traction (podcast, youtube, social media), I can start to provide some options for paid content depending on my audience's pain points (ie. webinar, courses, books, etc...)
3. Look into sponsorships (less control, but it's something instead of nothing) and other ways to generate monthly revenue
4. Over time, exit the business

Pros: low barrier to entry, people spend more time listening to podcasts compared to other media sources, work from any location with an internet connection, can do concurrently while working in my job for the time being (safer option), can scale over time
Cons: Podcasts are "trendy" right now, may not be able to monetize until a few years later, may not come up with a "good enough" digital product that people would purchase.

2) Build a multi-psychotherapist business

1. Get business license from the governing body
2. Set up business systems
3. Hire competent psychotherapists over time
4. Market the crap out of the business
5. Over time, exit the business

Pros: higher barrier to entry which means that there may be slightly less competition, can scale over time
Cons: need higher capital to start and need to hire/manage psychotherapists. Also, I signed a contract with my current job that includes a non-compete clause. If I start my own clinic, it can only be one year after I quit my job.

If you have any feedback, I'd humbly accept and listen. I am here to try, fail (better) and to learn from all the giants who go before.

 

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[Vamsi Interviews]

Thanks so much for sharing your story! I'm 28 years old and also in Canada. My career hasn't been nearly as successful as yours. I have no debt, but I also don't have a paid off home or any major assets of value. It's great that you've tried so many businesses already. Each one taught you some valuable lessons I'm sure.

I started a podcast about 1.5 years ago so I'm happy to offer whatever I've learnt so far on that front. My goals are different from yours since you want to exit eventually, whereas I want to find a way to do the podcast full-time forever. But the trajectory towards success will look similar either way. Another option either instead of or in addition to the podcast could just be psychotherapy content on Youtube. There are plenty of successful channels like this one. There are plenty of topics you could cover that people find interesting to learn about, like the recent growing trend of interest in narcissism and identifying narcissistic traits. It would help immensely to define your audience very clearly at first so that you know exactly who you're targeting and serving. The more specific your niche, the better.

 

[Jann]

Thanks so much for sharing your story! I'm 28 years old and also in Canada. My career hasn't been nearly as successful as yours. I have no debt, but I also don't have a paid off home or any major assets of value. It's great that you've tried so many businesses already. Each one taught you some valuable lessons I'm sure.

I started a podcast about 1.5 years ago so I'm happy to offer whatever I've learnt so far on that front. My goals are different from yours since you want to exit eventually, whereas I want to find a way to do the podcast full-time forever. But the trajectory towards success will look similar either way. Another option either instead of or in addition to the podcast could just be psychotherapy content on Youtube. There are plenty of successful channels like this one. There are plenty of topics you could cover that people find interesting to learn about, like the recent growing trend of interest in narcissism and identifying narcissistic traits. It would help immensely to define your audience very clearly at first so that you know exactly who you're targeting and serving. The more specific your niche, the better.

Hi Vamsi,

I just checked out your content and I'm incredibly impressed at your consistency in churning out stories of other entrepreneurs. I know that the riches are in the niches (something that Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income keeps drilling). Time for me to hone into my ideal client and target their specific pain points.