20 Questions with J.D. Roth, author of Get Rich Slowly
Friday, December 5, 2008 22:48 - By The DavidJ.D Roth, author of www.getrichslowly.org, recently answered 20 questions for me. I picked his brain about how to start a website/business, entrepreneurship, goals, the economy, and lessons that he’s learned over the years.
Most people reading this have heard of his site, but in case you haven’t, Get Rich Slowly is a blog that preaches sensible personal finance. Its message is that given enough time, anyone can get rich by living within their means. It’s one of the most popular finance sites, and was even been named “most inspirational money blog” by Money Magazine.
He has had a huge influence on me, both financially and personally. Not only has he helped shaped my outlook on money, but he’s also been a personal inspiration. By working hard at something he enjoys, he is able to make a living from writing – a passion of mine as well.
I’ve been a reader for a while, and wrote him after reading a guest post on the site. The idea of the post is that you can learn a lot from successful entrepreneurs. The author suggested taking one out to lunch so you can gain invaluable insight from them. J.D. ended the post by saying:
If you have the guts to ask, the rewards can be enormous
I took it to heart. I wrote him an email and offered him a gift card in exchange for answering 20 questions (we live in different states, so lunch is not an option). Sure enough, J.D. practices what he preaches. Within a day, he had gladly offered to help, and even declined the gift card.
I took a long time to think about it, and came up with 20 questions that focus on starting a website/business, entrepreneurship, achieving goals, the economy, and lessons that he’s learned over the years. Without further ado, here are 20 questions with one of the most influential bloggers on the net.
Starting a website/business
1. Why did you start Get Rich Slowly?
I started Get Rich Slowly because I was learning about personal finance, digging my way out of debt, and thought it might be interesting to share the things I was learning with other people. When I wrote about these things on my personal blog, they generated a big response, so I decided to do a spin-off blog.
2. How did you differentiate yourself from other finance sites?
I didn’t at first. I didn’t realize there *were* other finance sites. I just wrote what I wrote. It soon became clear, however, that I wasn’t the pioneer I thought I was, and that there were plenty of other personal finance sites.I never consciously attempted to differentiate myself. Because I’d been blogging for many years already, I just kept doing what I was doing: I wrote stories about my life, focused on psychology, and tried to summarize what I was learning for other people.
3. How did you establish credibility with readers?
Again, I didn’t do anything special. I’ve been honest from the start that I’m just a regular guy learning about personal finance. I don’t pretend to be an expert.
4. What was the best thing you did to help your site grow?
This one I know: I’ve tried to publicize the site laterally. Most bloggers publicize vertically, trying to spread news about themselves deep in their own niche. That doesn’t do much. Most people in the niche are aware of most other sites, and so you’re not going to grow your site that way. However, if you can find a way to attract attention laterally — outside your niche — then you can grow in a hurry.
5. What is the biggest challenge you had to overcome?
Perfectionism. I have a tendency to want to revise my posts endlessly. They’re never good enough. I’m having to learn to let things go.
6. When did you know that your site had made it?
I’m still not convinced it has. However, when the site had earned “replacement income” for six months, I felt pretty good. That made me confident I could quit my day job.
Goals and Passions
7. What were your goals when you started blogging?
Blogging in general or blogging about personal finance?When I started blogging, I simply wanted an outlet for my writing. I’d always wanted to be a writer, and this gave me a way to dabble in it. I was just sharing my geekiness with friends and family.When I started blogging about personal finance, my goal was to work through the things I was learning, sharing them with other people along the way.
8. When and how did you decide that you could make a living writing – something you’re passionate about?
I didn’t “decide” this. I observed it.Starting in April of 2007, about a year into Get Rich Slowly, I began earning “replacement income” — I was earning as much as my day job. After this continued for six months, with growth, I felt confident making the leap. I still waited a few months to be sure, though.
9. What’s the hardest part of making a living by writing?
The stress. When I had a day job, writing the blog was a hobby. It wasn’t critical that I post at a certain time every day. It didn’t matter. Now, though, I have self-imposed deadlines, and they really get to me. I’m trying to relax about them.
10. What do you think is the key to success – be it in writing, starting a business, or in life in general?
Do what you love. There’s nothing more important than that.
The Economy
11. What is your outlook on the economy – is the downturn temporary or are dire times ahead?
Perhaps both. I don’t think this is the end of the world. Every time there are economic downturns, there are people who come out and say “this one is different”. Well, maybe each one is different, but they’re all basically the same, too. I can remember the late 70s and early 80s, when I was just a boy. My father read a lot of stuff about how civilization was headed for collapse. He bought into some of that, too. It didn’t happen. It won’t this time, either.
12. Have recent economic developments changed your habits and outlooks?
No.
13. What’s something you wish you had done differently to prepare for the current economy?
There’s nothing I would have done differently. I’ve been learning and practicing sound personal finance, and those principles apply no matter what the economic conditions.
14. How will the current downturn affect your future plans, both personally and for the site?
The conditions don’t affect my personal plans. I’m already living a sustainable frugal lifestyle. They *may* affect my plans for the site if the income continues to drop (my site income has plummeted over the past two months).
15. What is your advice to others to recession proof their finances in the short term?
Make smart choices. Curb your spending. Avoid debt (and pay it off, if you have it). Make yourself valuable at your job. Learn to make and do things yourself. Practice frugality. The best thing you can do is create a wide gap between what you earn and what you spend. Save.
What are you reading?
16. If you had to recommend three financial books to read, what would they be?
Ah, there’s no way to answer this question without more detail from the asker. There are hundreds (no, thousands) of personal-finance books. The best books to read depend on the person wanting to read them. You can see some of my recommendations here:
17. What are some of the websites you check on a daily basis?
Personal finance or otherwise? Actually, I don’t read as many other personal finance sites as I should. I don’t have time. Instead, my web reading is mostly for relaxation. The sites I read are from family and friends, or are for fun. Some of the non-personal sites I read include:
Lessons Learned
18. They say you learn more from your mistakes than your successes. What mistake did you learn the most from?
With blogging? Hmm… I’m not sure on this one. In a way, I regret not monetizing my site more heavily earlier. Most people don’t realize it, but there’s some solid behind-the-scenes monetizing at GRS now. I try to keep it spread out, though, so it doesn’t overwhelm people. I wish I’d done this earlier. I feel like “threw away” a lot of money by not being serious about monetization from the start.
19. If you could go back to when you started GRS, what would you do differently?
Good question. I don’t have a good answer. The thing that causes me the most regret right now is that I don’t have a good blog theme. Seriously. I think the site is ugly, and a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff is very, very clunky. And because of the way I’ve done things, when I *do* upgrade to a new theme, a lot of stuff is going to break. It’s bad news.
20. If you could go back in time five years and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Start now! Whatever it is you want to do, start now.
So there you have it. J.D. created a successful blog/business in just three years by combining some of his passions; writing, finances, and helping others. The lessons are powerful.
My biggest takeaway is that you will be successful in life if you are passionate about what you do. If you want to start a business, find something you enjoy. It might even be something that you consider a hobby. Find a way to share it with others – be it by writing about it, selling it, teaching it, etc…. If you stay true to your passion, others will notice, and eventually you could be doing it for a living.
Stay tuned…hopefully this will become a series with other entrepreneurs.
Many thanks again to J.D., creator/author of www.getrichslowly.org.
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