Lessons Learned from 25 Years of Blogging | J.D. Roth

In today's episode, Cody and Justin interview one of the real originators in the personal finance space, J.D. Roth from Get Rich Slowly. Join them as they dive into J.D.'s financial backstory and learn how he took his own journey to conquer finances and turned it into a successful business. He gives us full transparency and shows that it hasn't always been easy or profitable.

When J.D. first started he was publishing articles daily...as bloggers ourselves that seems outrageous. We chronicle his financial journey and what it looks like to build up a digital business, sell it, and reacquire it all over again. You won't want to miss this one.
Episode Summary

* Started posting on the internet in the early 90's
* Began writing to document his journey in gaining a healthy relationship with money
* 2005 he writes an article titled "Get Rich Slowly" which really took off
* This article became a successful blog and he was able to quit his job
* Becomes devoted Dave Ramsey follower and works his way out of debt in 2007
* Recommends an emergency fund in an alternative bank with no ATM card for those that struggle as he did
* Get Rich Slowly grows to getting 1M+ page views
* The stress of the site, however, becomes too much so he sells it in 2009 for a large yet undisclosed amount of money
* He stays on to help run the site until 2012
* 2015 he returns to the blogging arena with his new site "Money Boss"
* In 2017 he decided to reacquire Get Rich Slowly
* Get Rich Slowly is currently losing thousands per month but he is developing plans to make it profitable without compromising his personal ethics

Key Takeaways

* Overnight success is an illusion. We see so many of these stories on podcasts like ours were someone makes a really nice living just by typing out some thoughts on a page. In reality, it's not that simple and it doesn't happen that fast. J.D. has been running a blog for 20 years and has probably spent more time working on the blog than I want to work in my entire life. Don't get frustrated when you're not earning profit right away, no one does.
* Personal happiness over profit. J.D. found himself in a dilemma that most people probably wouldn't find sympathy but that is still a real issue a lot of us have or will face. He was making really good money but his personal life wasn't following the same success. The pressure he put on himself to make the blog a success was too much. What is all the money worth if it takes away your happiness? As you do get off the ground and turn profitable, don't neglect the happiness around you that is so much more valuable.
* Authenticity is the best attribute. Looking to grow your audience? Let them see you. The real you, not the you that is always happy and makes every correct investment choice. Let them see you at your worst and your best. Invite them into your life and they will come away with a much stronger connection and loyalty to you and your brand.

Call to Action

Sit down and think about what you want your life or business to look like. What are you willing and not willing to do to succeed? What do you want to be known for? What value do you want to give other? Answer these questions early and commit to them. They will be much harder to make a priority if you wait until profits start coming in and turning away from your values can quickly cause the profits to evaporate too.

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