Personal Profitability Podcast

Hey everyone, this week we're welcoming back Harlan Landes from The Plutus Foundation! If you missed Harlan's last visit here, make sure to check out our previous podcast together, recorded live at FinCon. But today, we're here to talk about The Plutus Foundation. Tune in to the podcast to learn how they're helping people get better with their finances, and how you can help too!

The Plutus Awards started out as the FinCon industry awards among the finance blogging community. It's kind of like the Academy Awards of finance blogging. Just to toot my own horn for a moment, I was nominated twice for The Plutus Award for Best Freelancer/Contributor of the year!

The Plutus Foundation has grown into a great non-profit that does a lot of projects and fundings around the country. Harlan has been writing about personal finance and financial literacy for over a decade and started The Plutus Foundation just a few years ago.

Many years ago, Harlan worked for a non-profit 80 hours a week and wasn't even getting paid enough to afford rent and his bills. After losing his housing, his job, and his girlfriend, he needed to figure out a way to get back on track. In the process, he started a personal finance blog called Consumerism Commentary to talk about his money issues. He used the blog to share financial knowledge and to track his own net worth to hold himself accountable. Helping people with their money issues is now the focus of his Plutus Foundation.

The Plutus Foundation is a way to reach out to finance bloggers and podcasters who have projects that they want to work on. If a blogger wants to go into their community and work with people to spread the word on financial literacy, we try to help them out.

Our first grant went to Eva Baker, who has a website called Teens Got Cents. She is passionate about helping other teens learn about personal finance and works closely with students in her program as they progress. Getting started early with financial education is so important, and that's why The Plutus Foundation is supporting Eva in her efforts.

Another project The Plutus Foundation supports is Amanda Grossman's Mt. Everest Money Simulation, which is a great interactive way to teach budgeting and money management. We also sponsor events like Heroes At Home, which is an event for military members to help them learn how to manage their money, pay off debt, and build savings.

If you'd like to contribute, The Plutus Foundation has a campaign they're running until the end of the year. They have plenty of grants and programs in store, including Plutus Voices which will be unrolling in 2019. We'll be hearing from voices we don't normally hear from in personal finance, and cover topics we don't normally talk about. They need your support in order to make those things happen, and they are hoping to raise $10,000 by the end of the year. The Plutus Foundation's direct beneficiaries are finance bloggers and podcasters, so your contributions will help them spread financial literacy even further.

To donate, head to The Plutus Foundation to learn more about Giving Tuesday and to contribute whatever you are comfortable with. This is a non-profit that is near and dear to my heart, so if you have learned anything valuable from listening to this podcast, I hope you will pay it forward and consider a contribution!

Harlan Landes founded Consumerism Commentary, the first “personal finance blog,” in 2003 to track his progress with money anonymously. The website grew into a business that Harlan sold in 2011. He continues to consult for the financial media.

The Plutus Awards recognize the best in independent financial media and advocates for independent media.

The mission of the Plutus Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is to provide opportunities for the financial media to create, develop, and administer community-based programs that enhance financial literacy, education, and empowerment.

Hey profiteers! This week Sean Merron is back for his last episode of the month. We're diving into mastermind groups and we'll talk about our history with them. Masterminds have been a huge part of my online success and why I'm able to make six-figures while working from home. Listen to this episode to find out how Sean and I structure our mastermind groups, it's full of great tips!

Today, Sean and I are going to talk about our own mastermind groups. I’ve been in masterminds for about 8 years now, and Sean has been in mastermind groups for quite a while himself. 

Sean is in a mastermind group of software engineers. He met other software developers who had a passion for entrepreneurship, and they formed a mastermind group to help with both business and personal development.  

The second group Sean is in is a personal finance content creators’ group, with members he met at FinCon. It’s a great way to network and develop relationships with other personal finance bloggers, Podcasters, and YouTubers.

I also have three mastermind stories to share. The first one goes back to the first FinCon I ever attended. A guy named Jeff Freeworth came up to me, asked if I wanted to start a mastermind group, and we became the best of friends. We started a mastermind with Shane Ede from Beating Broke, and it lasted for quite a few years. Phil Taylor (founder of FinCon) was even part of our group for a while, as well as other FinCon members.

Another mastermind group I’m part of consists of online dad entrepreneurs. Our main topic is business but we also talk about personal issues, mental health, kids…pretty much everything!

The latest mastermind started about a month before the most recent FinCon, so only about a few months now. We help each other address business problems, it’s similar to the first mastermind I was in.

Sean structures his mastermind groups in a few different ways. In his software developer group, they do a “round robin” in which all three members get to speak every meeting. Each person gets 30 minutes to discuss their business and personal wins, what they are currently working on, and then a problem they need help with. We all leave the meeting with accountability goals we hope to achieve. 

Sean’s other mastermind consists of 12 people, so doing a round robin is difficult. To make it beneficial for everyone, they always have 2 people in the hot seat for 30 minutes each and rotate for the next meeting. Each hot seat member is asked to share a tool or tip, whether they met their accountability goal or not, and what problems they are currently dealing with.

For both of my current mastermind groups, we use a hot seat format. One person gets the hot seat for the entire hour, and we rotate each meeting. After we finish a whole rotation, we’ll do a quarterly goals update call. 

We use a format in which every person needs to complete an outline before their hot seat. The other members will read the outline beforehand so we know what will be discussed. There’s a section to write down what you need help with, and a section to put some information about the situation. 

During the call, group members can ask questions to clarify the situation, and we’ll have a “gut reaction” period where each member gets two minutes to give the hot seat member their solution to the problem. After everyone responds, we will have a “synthesis” period where we have an open discussion and talk about what we will do by the next meeting. This format works great because it keeps everyone focused and gives us a lot of value.

It’s very important in these mastermind meetings to be respectful of other people’s time and to make sure we are both giving value and getting value. It’s also important to make sure you participate instead of just sitting back and letting other members take responsibility. A great idea is to rotate moderators every meeting, that way everyone can take part in the responsibility and make sure the meeting runs smoothly. 

Sean believes a mastermind group is the number one networking tool, and there’s no reason you can’t be part of one either. So head to Mastermind Hunt and find one, or create your own!

P.S. Don’t forget, you can get your first month of Mastermind Hunt for free with code “profits”!

I'm the author of The Early Retirement Roadmap, creator of FIREAgeCalc.com and co-host of The 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast. Once I discovered that I could access my long-term retirement accounts without a penalty before the age of 60 to retire early using my family's middle-class income, I never looked back. There are so many people that still don't know this is possible so I'm paying it forward, sharing my past mistakes and priceless knowledge I've gained over the years from my finance research and college education to help more people retire early.

I specifically chose not to become a certified financial advisor so that there would be no special interest to sell you products I'd get a commission on that don't put your best interest first. I call myself a “self-insurance” broker, teaching people how to save and invest their money to tackle any situation with the power of savings. I finally found my purpose and want to help you reach yours through financial freedom.

My family had $80,000 in consumer debt that we were able to pay off in just over one year and now compound interest makes us tens of thousands of dollars per year in passive income. We were living the typical American dream we're supposed to live before we broke out of the mold and took our time back.

Hey profiteers, in this episode we're back for week 3 with my Mastermind Hunt co-founder, Sean Merron. Today we’re here to talk about FIRE, or financial independence and retiring early. We touched upon this two weeks ago, so if you haven’t checked out that episode, go ahead and listen to that first. We'll talk about what you can do to cut your expenses and grow your income, so you can retire in your 40s or even 30s!

FIRE is a huge movement with a lot of people involved, including Sean. He’s on track for FIRE in his 30s, and today we’re going to pick his brain and get some of his expertise on the matter. Let’s dive into his 3 tips to help you get on track with your own FIRE plan!

It’s important to know where you are today in order to make improvements for the future. Even more important is accepting where you are today. You have to get over that fear of pulling up your credit card account and seeing how much you owe. So go ahead and pull up all of your accounts, run a free credit report, and understand where your money is going.

Sean uses Mint, which is a free tool you can use to monitor all your accounts and transactions in one place. He categorizes all of his transactions into different budget categories. This will give you a better sense of where your money is going. From here, you can set a budget for each category. Also, check out my guide on how to build your own personal balance sheet to help you track your money.

Make sure you keep your goal in mind and don’t let yourself get distracted. Also, figure out what your early retirement roadmap looks like. What are you going to do when you retire? Why do you want to retire early? How much money do you need? What will you do with your money? Ask yourself those questions. Once you have your end goal, you can just fill in the steps to get there.

Controlling your emotions is another key part to getting your mind right. For example, if the stock market isn't doing too well, don't let it get the best of your emotions. Accept the situation and come up with a plan to move forward.

If you are on pace to retire at 65, but you want to retire much sooner, there are a couple things you need to consider. First, you need to consider expenses- how much you will need to retire. Then you have your income- consider how much you can increase your savings towards retirement.

On the expense side, cutting back on your housing costs is a big way to save. Cutting back on utilities and eating out are also great ideas. Since you can only cut back your expenses so much, earning more is a faster way to accelerate your retirement plans.

It's very possible to retire early with your 401K or Roth IRA savings if you are an employee. But if you are a self-employed business owner, that's a faster way to retire. Think outside the box, come up with a side hustle to earn more on the side!

Side note: If you're interested in early retirement, check out this great post by Jeremy Biberdorf of Modest Money. He shares how to use a conversion ladder technique in order to gain access to your retirement funds before age 59 ½ without penalty!

I'm the author of The Early Retirement Roadmap, creator of FIREAgeCalc.com and co-host of The 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast. Once I discovered that I could access my long-term retirement accounts without a penalty before the age of 60 to retire early using my family's middle-class income, I never looked back. There are so many people that still don't know this is possible so I'm paying it forward, sharing my past mistakes and priceless knowledge I've gained over the years from my finance research and college education to help more people retire early.

I specifically chose not to become a certified financial advisor so that there would be no special interest to sell you products I'd get a commission on that don't put your best interest first. I call myself a “self-insurance” broker, teaching people how to save and invest their money to tackle any situation with the power of savings. I finally found my purpose and want to help you reach yours through financial freedom.

My family had $80,000 in consumer debt that we were able to pay off in just over one year and now compound interest makes us tens of thousands of dollars per year in passive income. We were living the typical American dream we're supposed to live before we broke out of the mold and took our time back.

Hey profiteers, we're back with Sean Merron, co-founder of Mastermind Hunt. That's the app we co-founded together to help people find mastermind groups to join. If you missed the last episode with Sean, make sure you go back and listen to that first. Then come back here to listen to this podcast! This podcast will be particularly helpful for entrepreneurs and side hustlers, but you'll still benefit if you're not. If you just want a team to help you get inspired, give you fresh ideas about money, and hold you accountable, mastermind groups are great for that too!

So tune in now for our mastermind tips and get the code for your FREE month of Mastermind Hunt!

Sean and I are the co-founders of Mastermind Hunt, and we’re chatting about how mastermind groups can help your money. Both of us have had entrepreneurial and personal interactions with mastermind groups, and we’re really excited to get right into it!

Without further ado, here are our top 5 tips!

Telling your mastermind group members your goals helps keep you accountable. It also keeps you motivated and excited about hitting your goals. If you don’t have anyone to hold you accountable, chances are you’ll keep deferring your goals and end up finishing much later (if at all). 

If you’re writing a book and you tell your mastermind group you’ll finish 2 chapters of your book by the next time you meet, you’ll hear about it from your group members if you don’t hit that goal!

It’s important to break bad habits and form good ones. For example, not logging onto Twitter first thing each morning would probably help you reach your goals faster. 

Getting organized and scheduling are other areas many people have a hard time with. If you’re a morning person and have more energy early in the day, don’t waste your time on Twitter first thing in the morning. Start with your most important task first thing in the morning and get that done.    

Another good habit is making a to-do list every morning. Number that list in order of most to least important and make sure you finish the tasks on your list. Your mastermind group can give you more suggestions and keep you accountable for continuing these good habits. 

If you have a problem you are trying to solve, you can bring it up in your mastermind group. You have your own ideas, but your group members may have different ideas and you might not always agree. But the great thing is all these fresh ideas can lead to an even better solution. 

Go into your mastermind group with an open mind and listen to everyone’s perspective. Some people may have less or more experience in a given niche, but diversity is important. A newbie can offer a simple solution, whereas someone more seasoned may offer a more complex solution. It’s valuable to have these different levels of experience.

Mastermind groups can create business opportunities you might otherwise never encounter. Maybe you’ll meet your next business partner, or maybe you’ll find a six-figure job opportunity in your mastermind group (yes, this all really happened in our groups). 

Another benefit is the opportunity to cross-promote your business, it’s a great way to help each other succeed. Mastermind groups emphasize collaboration, not competition.

Benefit from other people’s mistakes! If you share your mistakes or failures with your group, everyone can learn from them, and vice versa. If you want to try something new, chances are someone in your group has already done it. They can give you advice to help you avoid their mistakes, but also keep in mind the context of their situation and how it might vary from your own situation.

I'm the author of The Early Retirement Roadmap, creator of FIREAgeCalc.com, and co-host of The 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast. Once I discovered that I could access my long-term retirement accounts without a penalty before the age of 60 to retire early using my family's middle-class income, I never looked back. There are so many people that still don't know this is possible so I'm paying it forward, sharing my past mistakes and priceless knowledge I've gained over the years from my finance research and college education to help more people retire early.

I specifically chose not to become a certified financial advisor so that there would be no special interest to sell you products I'd get a commission on that don't put your best interest first. I call myself a “self-insurance” broker, teaching people how to save and invest their money to tackle any situation with the power of savings. I finally found my purpose and want to help you reach yours through financial freedom.

My family had $80,000 in consumer debt that we were able to pay off in just over one year and now compound interest makes us tens of thousands of dollars per year in passive income. We were living the typical American dream we're supposed to live before we broke out of the mold and took our time back.

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This post was originally published on November 14, 2018, and updated on February 17, 2022.

Please welcome this month's guest, Sean Merron! Sean is not only a friend of mine, but we actually co-founded a company together called Mastermind Hunt. You may have heard me talking about Mastermind Hunt before, which is a platform that connects people together to run mastermind groups. Please check it out, and listen to this podcast to get a code for a FREE month of Mastermind Hunt!

Now let's get back to Sean. He's going to be talking to us about masterminds, financial independence, and his plans to retire by 34! We'll find out about all those things in today's Personal Profitability Podcast, so make sure to tune in.

Sean has been working full-time as a software engineer for the past 15 years. When he discovered the concept of financial indepedence/retire early (FIRE) about 7 years ago, he decided to do everything he could to make that happen, including side hustles to make more money. He also became very passionate about personal finance and started a podcast called 2 Frugal Dudes, as well as his site The Early Retirement Roadmap. He also joined mastermind groups, and one group member convinced him to attend FinCon. We met at FinCon, became friends, and the rest is history!

Mastermind Hunt is something we created together, with Sean and his software development background, and my finance and marketing background. It launched this year at FinCon, a little over a month ago. Sean also started another mastermind group at the first FinCon he attended. He knew from experience that finding other people with similar goals and holding each other accountable for those goals was very beneficial.

He decided that starting a mastermind group with people he met at FinCon was the perfect opportunity to keep in touch and get to know them personally. The connections made in his mastermind group helped him and his fellow group members immensely, and really helped establish himself in the personal finance community.

If you couldn't tell by the name of Sean's podcast and site, 2 Frugal Dudes and The Early Retirement Roadmap, he is all about lean spending and bigger savings. But that wasn't always the case.

Out of high school, Sean got a job doing tech support for a bank and making $40,000 a year. For a 17 year old, that was a sizeable amount of money. With that, came opportunities to spend more money on a fancy new car, a big house, and other luxuries. After a while, Sean and his wife realized that they were oblivious to their finances. Once he discovered the concept of early retirement, he started doing everything he could to make it happen. This included being extremely frugal at first, but they were able to pay off $80,000 in debt! He and his wife are now feeling pretty good where they're at, and are on target for their early retirement.

When Sean decided to pursue early retirement, he first set up his long term goals, like what type of lifestyle he wanted to have. Then he determined what his expenses were, where he could cut back, and how much he needed to save. As he started accumulating wealth, he then determined his investment plan. He needed to decide what type of funds to invest in, what tax advantages he could have, and his portfolio as a whole. The most important thing is to write down a plan and stick to it. When he shared his plans with others, he was encouraged to turn his knowledge into something. This resulted in his first ebook, The Early Retirement Roadmap!

Next week, we're going to revisit mastermind groups. The week after that, we're going to talk about FIRE and getting started on your path to financial independence and early retirement. Check in next week to hear Sean and I chat about these great topics!

I'm the author of The Early Retirement Roadmap, creator of FIREAgeCalc.com and co-host of The 2 Frugal Dudes Podcast. Once I discovered that I could access my long-term retirement accounts without a penalty before the age of 60 to retire early using my family's middle-class income, I never looked back. There are so many people that still don't know this is possible so I'm paying it forward, sharing my past mistakes and priceless knowledge I've gained over the years from my finance reasearch and college education to help more people retire early.

I specifically chose not to become a certified financial advisor so that there would be no special interest to sell you products I'd get a commission on that don't put your best interest first. I call myself a “self-insurance” broker, teaching people how to save and invest their money to tackle any situation with the power of savings. I finally found my purpose and want to help you reach yours through financial freedom.

My family had $80,000 in consumer debt that we were able to pay off in just over one year and now compound interest makes us tens of thousands of dollars per year in passive income. We were living the typical American dream we're supposed to live before we broke out of the mold and took our time back.

Hey Profiteers, welcome to the September 2018 income report! If you follow the Personal Profitability blog, you probably know that I publish an income report every month. Normally, we post a video to YouTube as well, but this month we're going to do something special and run this as part of the Personal Profitability podcast!

This September, I hit my highest income, ever! This includes when I had my day job AND my side hustle. Of course, that side hustle is now my full-time business (mostly online freelancing). Are you ready for this number? The grand total is…$18,128! That's mindblowing!

We're going to dive in further and break down the profits and losses in this income report. If you're watching my YouTube video, I'll show a screenshot of my QuickBooks account. If you want to check out QuickBooks for your accounting needs, please check out my affiliate link to learn more.

My affiliate income was $208.70, which includes income from Empower (affiliate link) and an email advertising service.

I also made $50 from a quick consulting call, $3,600 from a live event sponsorship, and $625 in speaking fees from a few talks I did. Finally, the biggest chunk of my income comes from writing- a whopping $13,644! That all adds up to the $18,128 I brought in this month!

For advertising and promotion, I spend about $7 every month. Credit card payment fees added up to $28, and computer and internet expenses totaled $846.79 (accounting software, subscription services, website hosting, electronics, etc). The web hosting company I recommend and use is Siteground. Next up, I actually got a refund of $189 on a conference fee I prepaid for, but got a refund since I spoke at the conference.

Employee payroll doesn't show up on my regular income reports, but this is what I pay myself every month. This month, I paid myself $2,233.72. I do this because as an S-Corp, if I get a paycheck, I pay both sides of the self-employment tax. Profits I earn above my paycheck are taxed at a lower rate as pass-through income. This saves me money on taxes. For meals and entertainment while away on business I spent about $133, and $207 on outsourced labor. On postage and delivery I spent $13.

Next up, I paid $940 in payroll taxes (I don't include this number in my income reports). Telecom expenses (anything related to internet and cell phone use) added up to about $96. This breaks down into $44.99 for internet and $50.71 for cell phone service. If you want to learn how I saved 50% on my cell phone bill, check out my article about Google Fi here. Travel expenses including Uber, airport parking, and flights totaled $169.

The total for my expenses comes out to $4,483.97. But about half of that amount is my own paycheck. So really my expenses were only about $2,200, $940 of which were taxes.

My net income for September is $13,643.73, a record month for me! I'm thrilled that I've been able to build up my business to this point after just a few years. I never imagined I'd hit that $10,000/month goal, let alone almost double that amount at $18,128.

Going forward, my plan is to continue expanding the public speaking part of my business into the next year. And that's about it! If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email or sign up for my FREE Personal Profitability Bootcamp to get started on the path to personal profitability!

Today is the final episode with my very good friend, Sandy Smith. We're going to hear about her experience as a house flipper and a landlord…she has some really interesting stories for us! We'll hear about the time she had to kick a tenant out and almost lost the house to the city! If you are curious about investing in real estate, you won't want to miss today's episode. Sandy's going to drop some real gems of wisdom on us, so tune in now!

Getting profitable with real estate investing isn't always easy. If you want to get into long-term real estate investing, there is a lot you need to know. Sandy is quite experienced in this area, and she's going to share her 5 lessons learned becoming a house-flipping landlord!

Don't just get hung up on the location, size, or design of the house. Maybe you're paying a little more, but the house is updated and ready to go. Maybe you're getting a real bargain, but you need to fix it up quite a bit. The bottom line is, make sure the dollars make sense for what you're getting. You also have to negotiate, don't just buy at asking price.

Don't get fooled by those house flipping shows on HGTV. Also, don't get too attached to any house, especially if you're not the one who will be living in it. Business is business. If you have tenants that are messing around and not paying rent, don't hesistate to kick them out! If you listen to tenants' sob stories, you could end up losing the house if they don't pay rent!

Having the wrong team can cost you a lot of time, money, and energy. Sandy once had to fire a contractor that cost her $30,000 and six months' worth of time! She learned first hand how having the right team is super important. No one cares more about your money than you, so if they don't respect you and your money, fire them.

It's easy to underestimate the cost of everything. Whatever you think it's going to cost, add 15-20% to that number. Even double that number just to be safe! So if you think you need $100,000 to fix up that house, have $200,000 on hand just in case something goes wrong.

If you’re interested in using your IRA to invest in real estate, check out Rocketdollar!

The person who is most likely to damage your property is your tenant. That's why screening for the right tenant is extremely important (again, don't involve your emotions!). Sandy once evicted tenants because they were selling meth and crack out of her house. Not only that, but she was told the town had the ability to seize her house because of her tenants selling drugs out of it! This is only one out of many horror stories she has, so learn from her experiences.

Hi, I'm Sandy.

Way back when the dinosaurs roamed at the end of 2008, I started paying a little bit more attention to my debt. As the year faded into 2009, the idea to build a website to keep myself accountable to eliminating my debt burst into my mind. I hopped onto Blogger.com and created a blog that I named My Cheapass Blog. I really didn't begin my blog for anyone else to see; it was just a way for me to have the total amount that I owed at my fingertips. Here we are years later and have learned enough to help others with their own debt.

I started this blog with well over $105,665.31 in debt after a failed business and some massive student loans…at least, that's what I said that I owed. In actuality I owed a friend another $5,000 and I would receive a notice in the mail that I owed $10,000 in back taxes and penalties. This blog has been a chronicle of my journey of getting out of it without filing bankruptcy.

My $120,665.31 debt represented everything that I had done wrong. Now, I am here to help YOU get your finances together.

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This post was originally published on October 24, 2018 and updated on March 25, 2021.

Welcome back for episode 123! This is our third episode with Sandy Smith this month, and we're talking about something near and dear to my heart since I started blogging. Speaking of that, this month is the 10th anniversary of the Personal Profitability blog! On the podcast today, Sandy and I are talking about frugality, something she is quite an expert in. Tune in to get some great tips on how to be frugal and boost your savings!

Next time, Sandy's going to share some funny and interesting stories about her other job as a landlord- check back next week for that! In the meantime, if you like this podcast, please share it with someone who could benefit from better spending and budgeting practices (almost everyone)!

Sandy and I have both been blogging about frugality, budgeting, and other similar topics for over a decade. Blogging about personal finance eventually led to us finding each other and becoming friends, both online and in person. Between the two of us, we have a lot of valuable personal finance knowledge to share with you. So let's dive in to some money tips!

This is much more practical advice versus those who tell you to stop spending, period. Focus instead on spending money on things you value and reducing spending elsewhere. If traveling is very important to you but you still have debt to pay off, maybe try going out less on the weekends and save up for one big trip instead.

Living expenses can be a big win. Find the cheapest place you can live in, or consider downgrading your current place to a smaller one. Saving on your rent or mortgage can be huge!

Car payments are also an area you can win in. If you keep your old car after paying it off rather than trading it in every two years, you can save over a million dollars over the next 30-40 years! Remember, it's only a vehicle to get you from point A to point B. And, it will depreciate the moment you buy it!

Live at home with your parents, live on a few hundred bucks a month, etc. If you could get by with so little money back then, you can do that now. Even for just one year. Just because you earn more now doesn't mean your lifestyle needs to reflect that. Spend less than you earn, save and invest the rest!

You will end up paying SO much more on your debt when you accrue interest. This forces you to keep working more than you want, and taking time away from the things you want to do. The faster you can get out of debt, the faster you can have a baby, get a house, and just live your life!

Hi, I'm Sandy.

Way back when the dinosaurs roamed at the end of 2008, I started paying a little bit more attention to my debt. As the year faded into 2009, the idea to build a website to keep myself accountable to eliminating my debt burst into my mind. I hopped onto Blogger.com and created a blog that I named My Cheapass Blog. I really didn't begin my blog for anyone else to see; it was just a way for me to have the total amount that I owed at my fingertips. Here we are years later and have learned enough to help others with their own debt.

I started this blog with well over $105,665.31 in debt after a failed business and some massive student loans…at least, that's what I said that I owed. In actuality I owed a friend another $5,000 and I would receive a notice in the mail that I owed $10,000 in back taxes and penalties. This blog has been a chronicle of my journey of getting out of it without filing bankruptcy.

My $120,665.31 debt represented everything that I had done wrong. Now, I am here to help YOU get your finances together.

Hey ladies and gents, we're back this week with Sandy Smith to talk about a great way to get profitable…building a product business online! Last week, we caught up with Sandy on what she's been up to since episode 51 (the last time she was here!). She became a parent and transitioned into working for herself online, full-time! One part of her business is selling products online, and she's here to give us some great gems on running this kind of business.

Sandy Smith is no stranger to online product businesses. She started out with her first product business in college selling Beanie Babies. For those of you old enough to remember, Beanie Babies were the RAGE back in the day. Sandy would frequent a nearby Hallmark after work, buy up the hard-to-find Beanie Babies, and sell them online for a profit.

Sandy's certainly learned a few things about starting a product business since then. Here are her top 5 tips for building a profitable product business online!

Pick a product that appeals to other people, not just yourself. You might think a product is the coolest thing, but make sure at least a few other people think it's cool too. Otherwise you might not be able to sell it.

Market research is very important. You need to find out if your products are overpriced or underpriced. You also need to find out if your product is unpopular and no one is buying, or if it's super popular and there are too many competitors selling the same thing. Don't copy your competitors, but use them as inspiration to come up with something different.

This depends heavily upon what type of product you have. If you are sourcing a product that is very pro-American (ie political mugs and T-shirts), the last thing you want is something that says “Made in China”. People are paying attention more than ever to where a product is made. There are also many barriers of entry to importing a product from another country. The time difference, language barriers, and low product quality are just some of the potential issues. Try finding a distributor in the U.S. first before you look for a lower acquisition price elsewhere.

Generally you want to go where you can get the most eyes on your product. However, big marketplaces like Amazon have a lot of competitors. So you want a good balance between the two. Sometimes you just need to test it out and try multiple sites like eBay, Amazon, Etsy, etc. What works on one site may not work on the other. Here's another secret: the same product may sell for super cheap on one site, and a lot more on another site.

Also consider where your target audience is hanging out. If it's Facebook, consider using the Facebook marketplace, etc.

One more thing- don't forget to diversify your income streams and don't rely only on one platform. If you sell all of your products on Amazon and Amazon decides you can't sell your stuff there anymore, there goes your income!

You must incoporate all four things into your business strategy. Keep in mind that the four Ps are something you need to constantly adjust. None of these things are set in stone.

You may not be able to sell your product in a certain marketplace. For example, if you sell political commentary T-shirts, you may not want to sell something potentially offensive like that on Amazon, but rather on your own website.

Selling too many of your products can be a bad thing- it might mean your product price is too low and you need to raise it. You can still end up making more by selling fewer products. If you sell on your own website, you can lower your price because you won't be losing a percentage of your profit to the marketplace you were selling at.

Another benefit of having your own website is you can run a promotion whenever you want to, and don't have to rely on the marketplace.

And that's it for this time! If you want to see what Sandy's been up to lately, check out her gear at If You Stand for Nothing (linked below). Next week Sandy and I will be back with frugal money saving tips to boost your savings (try saying that 3 times). See you then!

Hi, I'm Sandy.

Way back when the dinosaurs roamed at the end of 2008, I started paying a little bit more attention to my debt. As the year faded into 2009, the idea to build a website to keep myself accountable to eliminating my debt burst into my mind. I hopped onto Blogger.com and created a blog that I named My Cheapass Blog. I really didn't begin my blog for anyone else to see; it was just a way for me to have the total amount that I owed at my fingertips. Here we are years later and have learned enough to help others with their own debt.

I started this blog with well over $105,665.31 in debt after a failed business and some massive student loans…at least, that's what I said that I owed. In actuality I owed a friend another $5,000 and I would receive a notice in the mail that I owed $10,000 in back taxes and penalties. This blog has been a chronicle of my journey of getting out of it without filing bankruptcy.

My $120,665.31 debt represented everything that I had done wrong. Now, I am here to help YOU get your finances together.