Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap | Jamila Souffrant from Journey to Launch

In today’s episode, Cody and Justin bring you a really interesting story full of dynamics different than their own lives. Jamila is a mother and an immigrant and both of those parts of her story helped shaped her unique path to financial independence. She was heavily inspired by the strong women in her life who passed down the qualities of saving and hard work.

Jamila also has a natural gravitation towards entrepreneurship. Whether it was previous companies she has attempted, venturing into investment real estate at 22 in New York City, or stepping away from a safe corporate job to pursue Journey to launch, it's clear that she has a passion to be different and take control of her own path.
Episode Summary

* Immigrated to the US at 18 months from Jamaica
* She had a happy childhood in Brooklyn
* Her mom had a large emphasis on education and reading
* She also gained a lot of inspiration from her grandmother
* Her mom didn’t really pass down investing but she did pass down the importance of saving
* She talks about the importance of passing down grit and making her kids financially responsible even though they’re growing up in a more privileged upbringing
* Fresh out of college she made an incredible real estate investment
* She put down a down payment on a new condo build in the DUMBO district of Brooklyn
* The unit she got was $338k and required a $30k down
* She lived with her mom for 2 years while the unit was built so she was able to save up the rest of the money she needed to close on the property
* The unit is now valued closer to $680k
* She tried starting a couple of small businesses including a magazine company
* Then she started a standard job that came with a really long commute
* Having children made her realize how important financial independence is to her
* She had a little breakdown on the way home stuck in traffic which was her “Ah-ha” moment
* After having three children she decided to step away from the standard workforce and go full-time entrepreneur through Journey To Launch
* She started Journey to Launch as a way to keep herself accountable
* Her recommendation for entrepreneurs is to just start because she learned so much from her early business failures
* For her early retirement doesn’t mean not working just not making it through the corporate world
* She is married and her husband still works which provides healthcare and the flexibility for her to build up her business
* Her plan is to really focus on Journey To Launch and if it doesn’t work out after two years she would be willing to go back into her corporate work
* She also thinks you should focus on increasing income and looking at your career to see if it’s better to avoid side hustles and spend that time to make promotions and bonuses or if side hustles are the better option
* Drake’s plan “God’s Plan” was the answer to the wildcard question but you’ll have to just listen to understand why!

Key Takeaways

* Learn from, improve on. We are often surrounded by people who influence us whether we know it or not. Some may be more obvious like parents but it may be a more obscure co-worker. It's important to always learn from them but then try to take it one step further and evolve their idea. Learn from them, but improve on their ideas.
* Strengthen your "Side-Hustle Muscle". Jamila hasn't had every entrepreneurship venture succeed and she hasn't had everyone fail, but she has refined her skills with each attempt. It's like any skill or muscle, it needs practice and work. Find something low risk and just start practicing your side hustle muscle and see what you need to work on for success.
* Keep your motivation front and center.