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Fireside Chats, Episode 53: Small Business Catharsis (Patreon)

Published:
2018-09-05 16:00:02
Edited:
2019-01-08 23:48:13
Imported:
2022-01

Downloads

Content

Owning a small business is hard work. Really hard work, actually. Today's guest, Kyle Eastman, reinforces this notion with his story of determination and grit. Eastman owns a used games and sports equipment store in Oklahoma, but his journey in getting there is an interesting one. Telling that story requires us to ask a series of questions, though. Is college really that important? Should people leap into uncertain situations with equally uncertain outcomes? What's more important: Money or happiness? We discuss all of that and more. But in reality, this episode consists of two small business owners trading war stories and commiserating. Small Business Catharsis, if you will.

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Comments

Anonymous

Excited to hear this one.

Anonymous

I dropped out of college a few years ago to focus fully on my channel, KnowledgeHub, and it’s certainly a scary ride. The unpredictability of self sustaining income is a constant threat, but I feel that the risks can be well worth it considering the alternative traditional education route. To be in control of your hours and workload comes with its own benefits and hardships.

Anonymous

Interested in hearing from a fellow Oklahoman. Out of curiosity, which of your other guests were from Oklahoma?

Lucas Gremista

It's a weird feeling to kinda hope some places in the middle of the country do not "evolve" (with all due respect) that quick so good people like Kyle are able to make a good living until they can finally retire. A store like that would probably be eaten alive here in South Florida, but I would definitely be a customer!

Anonymous

Being a small business owner myself I can't wait to listen to this!

BettyAnn Moriarty

What a wonderful chat! I thoroughly enjoyed listening and learning. I’m sure it’s good to know that other small business owners face the same sort of things no matter the ‘type’ of business. Always good to have someone to ‘talk shop’ with. Nicely done, guys. 👍🏻💞

Ian (616Entertainment)

This one was sooooo good. I've worked at a game shop for 7-8 years myself, and so much of what Kyle was saying had me audibly replying, "Yep, that's what we do." Kyle, if you read this, you did a great job and made for an excellent episode. Awesome pick, Colin.

Andrew

I love it when you have "business" centric podcasts like this Colin... They're just fascinating and relatable. I'll also share a personal story in terms of going to college etc. When I finished high school, I was done with school and wanted to take a year off so I started working in retail for a major chain. I put my head down and busted my ass, picking up extra shifts whenever asked, sacrificing weekends or working shifts I didn't want to work and within 3 months on the job I was promoted to a managerial position, and within a year I was put on the fast track to be trained to become a store manager and eventually a store owner (it's a franchise retailer) I left that job and took a year off to travel the world/enjoy life after working their for 4 years and because I had a lot of money saved. I decided after that year to see if college was me and signed up for a business program. I didn't last more than a semester. Everything they were teaching at the college I went too is stuff I learned being a manager at the retailer I was at. I dropped out and got back into retail in a managerial position and I'm still in the retail industry to this day. TLDR - college etc isn't for everyone.

Anonymous

Colin thanks so much for having me on the show I had an absolute blast! Thanks also to everyone for all of the nice comments. It’s so awesome (and humbling) to see that it is resonating with y’all!

Ryan T. Mandle

Awesome chat! My experience with college was overall positive and very relevant for my work but it wasn’t a traditional college experience. I worked in my field while going to night school. Night classes were cheaper so I received my degree with half the debt a traditional student would have with the same degree. Most of my professors were adjunct teachers who worked in the field. The students in my classes were also working professionals. I was able to learn from all these real life experiences and it was tremendously valuable. In my opinion, this is the way to go to get the most out of college.

Anonymous

Loved this episode and had no idea beforehand that I had interest in the topics that would be discussed. Both of you are super relatable, and I'd guess that this episode was cathartic for a lot of listeners, too.

Michal Dudic

literal entrepreneur nerds. entrepreneurds.

Anonymous

Awesome episode, Colin! I’m actually a junior accounting student and I’m working on getting an internship with a local accounting firm that deals with mainly small, locally owned businesses. Hearing you guys talk about how much of a head ache the bookkeeping/accounting side of running your businesses is what made me want to go the small public accounting firm route. This really resonated with me and makes me excited to help out passionate entrepreneurs like yourselves.

LastStandMedia
>>15255892

It's horrifying. Truly. It takes getting used to, and most people are not built for it. A lot of people don't have what it takes, and I don't mean that from a skill or knowledge standpoint. I mean that from a mental toughness standpoint. I'm sometimes surprised I've managed to hang in there, because there's nothing quite like having it all ride on you, and you alone. No one to blame. No one to help. No one to pass the buck to, or hold a hand out to, or expect anything out of. It's incredibly stressful, and it totally wears on me. Now, to be fair, I've been a saver for my entire adult life, and I've done and continue to do very well for myself. So I don't have any imminent financial worries and all the hassle and fear that comes along with it, and for that, I am both grateful and fortunate, because a lot of people don't have that luxury (although it's a luxury I worked hard for and risked everything TWICE to attain). But I squirrel my earnings away instead of enjoying any of the fruits of my labor now because I'm afraid of losing what I have. I feel like it's a battle every day. The better I do, the worse the stress becomes. It's interesting.

LastStandMedia
>>15259387

Yeah, I'm glad we got to touch on that. Here in LA, a store like that simply wouldn't and couldn't thrive, with rare exception. Same on LI. I think it's cool that retail thrives elsewhere.

LastStandMedia
>>15268365

Interesting story, Andrew. I'm glad you left it all on the field, and that it paid off for you. I've long said it: College is overemphasized, and too many people go. And I say that as someone who went to a great school and got an education. So I'm not disparaging that path. But... not everyone needs a degree, as you know firsthand.

LastStandMedia
>>15277833

My dad did his undergrad at night, and both of my parents got their grad degrees at night. It's a viable -- and some might even say preferable -- path. I'm glad it all worked out for you, and I wish you much prosperity!

LastStandMedia
>>15290900

Dude, hear me: If you are reliable in your skillset, efficient, answer e-mails and phone calls promptly, have a kind and patient disposition, and listen to your clients... you are going to make fucking bank. I paid $5,000 to get my business and personal taxes done, and it was $5,000 very, very, very well spent. (I should note that this fee also included bookkeeping.)

Andrew
>>15268365

Man, I was SOOO pissed off when I went to college... This was back in like 2010? I graduated high school in 05 and worked for 4 years in retail until 09... I was so pissed because I paid like $1500? for tuition for that one semester and I was like " I'm not f'in learning anything! I know all this shit already! " I asked around what the next couple of years would be like and the professors were just mentioning things I already knew about.

Marcus Brown

This was a very fun, and educational show! Great stuff.

Anonymous
>>15262203

done and done. Never let a good accountant get away... ever.

Jimmy Valentine

I haven't had the chance to listen yet, but I'm very interested in it. I'm on a path to mid/higher level management of a large fortune 500 company, but the idea of running something on my own is very intriguing. I think there will be a day, when I have enough money saved, where I branch out on my own in something to try it for a few years.