So...a little nervous to throw my story up here, but I like the idea of a community of likeminded business people. I have lots of questions I'd love to bounce of you, so feel it's only fair to do my part and share my path (or at least my path so far).
I'm 36 now, started a business 10 years ago. I was a good student, went to a good college and on to a master's at a big name / big money university. That has been a blessing and a curse...because leaving school with $50,000 in loans doesn't put you in the right Fastlane mindset. It makes a regular paycheck sound like the right decision.
But luckily, my father had always spoken of entrepreneurship as the highest path...the only path that would give you control over your own life. And so I always knew that I wanted to start a business, I just didn't know what kind.
My husband and I married when I was 26, both of us working extremely poorly paid jobs at marine science labs. I think we made something like $50k/yr before taxes. But we knew we wanted a family, that we wanted to have the free time to raise that family, and that the path we were on was never going to lead us there. Obviously I hadn't read the Fastlane Millionaire yet (a decade before publication), but without describing it as well as the book does, I realized that I needed to be on a different road.
Before I go to the next step, I want to address the husband/wife partnership issue. I know there are lots, many, perhaps most cases where this would be a horrible idea destined for failure and probably divorce. Were we a bit naive getting into this? Yes, probably. But can it work? Absolutely. Business partnerships are often described as marriages, and so ours is both. We are both the same when it comes to passion, and stubbornness, and drive. We are different enough that we can handle the parts we're better at and produce a better whole system. So while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for anyone, it has been a huge factor in our long term success...us against the world, with something to prove and all the rewards to share equally.
So. We are both marine scientists, and noticed that one of the researchers we worked for was frequently approached for services (underwater mapping) that the university just wasn't set up to provide. The need was there, but there was no private venture to fill it, and public universities are not easy to "hire". We started doing our research in 2001...were there companies that did this in the private sector? Where were they? Would they be significant competition?
And the money questions...what would we need to get underway? In our case, at least 1 boat and $300k worth of research equipment. As you might expect, banks don't take 26 year old kids very seriously when they request $350k worth of computers that they intend to put on a boat. So we worked harder...I visited at least a dozen banks, called/emailed/stalked any kind of investor I could think of. It took 2 years, while holding other jobs, but in 2003 we got a SBA backed loan from a tiny local bank.
Within 2 months, we had our first job. The boat was still being built, the equipment was barely delivered (some wasn't), but we knew we had to make it happen. And we did, again and again...as a tiny startup, we knew we couldn't just collect the data, we had to nail it. We had to WOW every single client we landed. In operation just 4 months, we'd grossed $60k (more than our annual salaries), but there was a long road of education ahead.
Our main client was and still is the government...local, federal, state. At first we rarely could work directly for the govt, but would instead be a subcontractor. So that means there is at least 60 days, sometimes 180 days, between the time you complete the work and when you get paid. For the first 2 years, I worked two jobs...one that guaranteed some regularity to our income and provided health insurance, and the other that nurtured the dream of eventually owning my own time.
Even though the Fastlane Millionaire book doesn't support this idea, the business plan was key in the early years. We both came from a science background, with little to no education in business (which is criminal, BTW...why do we allow our kids to be educated without including basic money skills!?!). So the business plan was critical for shaping our fluffy cotton candy dream into a precise vision of what was possible. No, it didn't turn out how we planned, but formulating the plan showed us where there were huge gaps in what we knew, and prompted us to fill those gaps.
Our gross income doubled every year for the first 4, and since 2008 has leveled off between $1 and $2 million/year. Net profit is between 25% to 50% of that, despite consistent high reinvestment in the firm. With multiples in our industry that puts current business value at approximately $5 million. Illiquid, of course...which is why I appreciate reading Fastlane Millionaire: it reminded me to keep my eye on the prize...not a business for business sake, but as an asset that can eventually yield passive income.
I doubt that I would be the first person to sink into self-satisfied low velocity on the Fastlane. I started the business, I made it through the pedal to the metal all or nothing phase. And now the business is good...we have income of $20k or more per month. But it is not passive income. We both work to keep the business running smoothly, to keep employees happy, to keep clients happy. We've built a business, not a system.
But it can be...we've identified a huge area for growth, and while it will take some investment in new equipment and a few years of funneling our passion (both for the work we do, we're lucky that way, and for the end result of financial freedom), we can eventually build the company to a value of $10 million or more.
Long story short, from the time I was 25 to 35, I got married, started a multi-million dollar research services firm, moved to the beach, had two kids, and carved out my own road on the Fastlane.
I share my story in part to remind folks looking for the Fastlane experience that it is a commitment. Don't be discouraged! Start the process, but also don't expect to knock out a homerun in a few months or years. It takes time, it takes passion, it takes work...but it is worth it.
I'm 36 now, started a business 10 years ago. I was a good student, went to a good college and on to a master's at a big name / big money university. That has been a blessing and a curse...because leaving school with $50,000 in loans doesn't put you in the right Fastlane mindset. It makes a regular paycheck sound like the right decision.
But luckily, my father had always spoken of entrepreneurship as the highest path...the only path that would give you control over your own life. And so I always knew that I wanted to start a business, I just didn't know what kind.
My husband and I married when I was 26, both of us working extremely poorly paid jobs at marine science labs. I think we made something like $50k/yr before taxes. But we knew we wanted a family, that we wanted to have the free time to raise that family, and that the path we were on was never going to lead us there. Obviously I hadn't read the Fastlane Millionaire yet (a decade before publication), but without describing it as well as the book does, I realized that I needed to be on a different road.
Before I go to the next step, I want to address the husband/wife partnership issue. I know there are lots, many, perhaps most cases where this would be a horrible idea destined for failure and probably divorce. Were we a bit naive getting into this? Yes, probably. But can it work? Absolutely. Business partnerships are often described as marriages, and so ours is both. We are both the same when it comes to passion, and stubbornness, and drive. We are different enough that we can handle the parts we're better at and produce a better whole system. So while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for anyone, it has been a huge factor in our long term success...us against the world, with something to prove and all the rewards to share equally.
So. We are both marine scientists, and noticed that one of the researchers we worked for was frequently approached for services (underwater mapping) that the university just wasn't set up to provide. The need was there, but there was no private venture to fill it, and public universities are not easy to "hire". We started doing our research in 2001...were there companies that did this in the private sector? Where were they? Would they be significant competition?
And the money questions...what would we need to get underway? In our case, at least 1 boat and $300k worth of research equipment. As you might expect, banks don't take 26 year old kids very seriously when they request $350k worth of computers that they intend to put on a boat. So we worked harder...I visited at least a dozen banks, called/emailed/stalked any kind of investor I could think of. It took 2 years, while holding other jobs, but in 2003 we got a SBA backed loan from a tiny local bank.
Within 2 months, we had our first job. The boat was still being built, the equipment was barely delivered (some wasn't), but we knew we had to make it happen. And we did, again and again...as a tiny startup, we knew we couldn't just collect the data, we had to nail it. We had to WOW every single client we landed. In operation just 4 months, we'd grossed $60k (more than our annual salaries), but there was a long road of education ahead.
Our main client was and still is the government...local, federal, state. At first we rarely could work directly for the govt, but would instead be a subcontractor. So that means there is at least 60 days, sometimes 180 days, between the time you complete the work and when you get paid. For the first 2 years, I worked two jobs...one that guaranteed some regularity to our income and provided health insurance, and the other that nurtured the dream of eventually owning my own time.
Even though the Fastlane Millionaire book doesn't support this idea, the business plan was key in the early years. We both came from a science background, with little to no education in business (which is criminal, BTW...why do we allow our kids to be educated without including basic money skills!?!). So the business plan was critical for shaping our fluffy cotton candy dream into a precise vision of what was possible. No, it didn't turn out how we planned, but formulating the plan showed us where there were huge gaps in what we knew, and prompted us to fill those gaps.
Our gross income doubled every year for the first 4, and since 2008 has leveled off between $1 and $2 million/year. Net profit is between 25% to 50% of that, despite consistent high reinvestment in the firm. With multiples in our industry that puts current business value at approximately $5 million. Illiquid, of course...which is why I appreciate reading Fastlane Millionaire: it reminded me to keep my eye on the prize...not a business for business sake, but as an asset that can eventually yield passive income.
I doubt that I would be the first person to sink into self-satisfied low velocity on the Fastlane. I started the business, I made it through the pedal to the metal all or nothing phase. And now the business is good...we have income of $20k or more per month. But it is not passive income. We both work to keep the business running smoothly, to keep employees happy, to keep clients happy. We've built a business, not a system.
But it can be...we've identified a huge area for growth, and while it will take some investment in new equipment and a few years of funneling our passion (both for the work we do, we're lucky that way, and for the end result of financial freedom), we can eventually build the company to a value of $10 million or more.
Long story short, from the time I was 25 to 35, I got married, started a multi-million dollar research services firm, moved to the beach, had two kids, and carved out my own road on the Fastlane.
I share my story in part to remind folks looking for the Fastlane experience that it is a commitment. Don't be discouraged! Start the process, but also don't expect to knock out a homerun in a few months or years. It takes time, it takes passion, it takes work...but it is worth it.
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