Finding Success with Kelan from The Savvy Couple

Do you dream of a work from home career and are completely over the traditional office job routine? Maybe you have a side hustle or have been thinking about starting one? And you know, deep down, that if you could work your side hustle full-time you could turn it into a full-time income producing business.

If this sounds familiar, you are really going to like this interview with Kelan from The Savvy Couple. Kelan shared with me how he and his wife Brittany are finding success and taking control of their future by diving full-time into a personal finance blog.

Instead of waking up every day feeling stuck and disillusioned they help families manage their money to create the freedom to focus on the important things in life.

I’m always curious about what drives someone to walk away from a traditional job path and take the leap into becoming their own boss. Kelan was very open about his motivation telling me “I was sick and tired of bouncing from job to job after college. Over the course of 5 years, I was an Insurance Salesman, UPS Driver, Office Manager, and Jail Deputy. I also became a certified home inspector, Firefighter, and EMT.”

Having tried that many career options I was curious what makes blogging and operating an online business the right fit him. “We have always been passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of others and with our online business we get to do this each and every day. I also love the freedom it has created for us in our life. Starting our blogging business has completely changed our lives.

I gave myself a year to find success working from home. We saved up enough money that I could literally make $0 and we would still be okay. I did not give myself any other option than to be successful. Once we hit our first $5,000 month I knew we were onto something. Then, when our first $10,000 month happened I was ecstatic. I think it’s important to have lots of confidence as a business owner. It’s a roller coaster of emotions so being able to ride the highs and lows will help in many ways.”

If you are anything like me, you want to know how they made $10,000 in one month with their blog. I asked Kelan what their secret to successes is and he graciously shared them. “Facebook ads have been a complete game changer for us. We have learned how to get our CPC (cost per click) down to $0.02 on some of our campaigns. The traffic is very targeted to the people we want to build relationships with so we can help them solve their problems down the road on our email list. We have also focused pretty hard on SEO (search engine optimization) and have seen some incredible improvements over the last few months.

We got caught up in trying to “fit the mold” of a personal finance blog. It wasn’t until we ran into Sarah Titus and actually became good online friends with her that she gave us the confidence to be ourselves. In blogging, it is SO important to be yourself and share your own personal story. Everyone has similar content it is how you represent it that makes people become fans. No one wants to follow a follower. Don’t be afraid to be yourself!”

Earlier in our interview, Kelan brought up one of my favorite topics, the freedom being your own boss brings to your life. I had to ask how he and his wife manage that flexibility and freedom. “Honestly, it is one of the hardest things in running your own business. It never really “shuts off”. You don’t leave the office and go home to the family for the night. You are always thinking about it, tweaking things, finishing emails, etc. It can definitely become unhealthy if you don’t set boundaries and actually stick to them. I got into this online business world so I could have more freedom of my time and it has certainly provided that but it’s taken time to learn how to balance things.”

Before we wrapped up our interview I asked Kelan if he would share some business lessons learned and any other advice for others wanting to become their own boss. “Make a plan and get started as fast as you can. The longer you wait and give yourself time to talk yourself out of it the less chance of you actually getting started. Once you start your business understand the importance of patience. Nothing will come easy to you and everything will take time. Be in it for the long game, not the short.

I wish I knew more about revenue models and sales funnels at the beginning. If you really hone in on those two things before starting an online business you can find success very quickly. Focus your time and effort on the 20% that “moves the needle” for your business. 80% of what you do is far less important than you might think.”

If you would like to learn more about Kelan and Brittany you can find them at The Savvy Couple.

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