Jeremy Launder
What was your dream career when you were growing up?
Major League Baseball player.
Describe the moment you decided to become an entrepreneur.
When I was around 18 (around 2000), I became really interested in car stereos and electronics. I didn’t have a lot of money, so I was looking for ways to get materials cheaply. On eBay I found someone selling gear explaining how to get stereo gear at wholesale prices. The process ultimately involved starting a business and obtaining a seller’s license. I followed the steps and got my hands on a few distributor catalogs and once I saw the wholesale prices, I immediately saw the opportunity to resell equipment and make money. This is how my first company Launder Electronics was born!
What motivates the work you do?
I really love seeing our clients have that “ah ha” moment and do something they never thought possible or was too out of reach for them. It’s an incredible feeling to be able to make a positive impact on someone’s life and/or business through the products and services we offer.
What is the most exciting thing you are currently working on in your company?
I manage all technology and web development for our company. One of the products we offer is called Oh My, Hi (OhMyHi.com), which is a platform that allows our audience to easily create their own website and blog through a mostly fillable interface. We also provide plenty of blog post and page templates to help them get up and running quickly. This project is pretty much my baby and I’ve spent a lot of time working on it. We recently passed 200 active users, which is really exciting!
What does entrepreneurship mean to you?
This means having more control over your time and your income. I mentioned starting my first business when I was 18, but that business only lasted about a year. After that, I was a corporate employee for over 15 years. I had a good job as an electrical engineer. It was well paid, I always had good managers and I really liked the people I worked with. What I didn’t like was how much time I was missing with my kids (they are 8 and 10 as I write this) and how my earning potential was capped by the decision to the company I worked for. I wanted to spend more time with my kids, pick them up from school, go on field trips, not miss any baseball or softball practices or games, and ultimately have more control over my time. I took the plunge and launched into our business full-time in July 2020. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been rewarding and I no longer miss anything with the kids. And our business was able to grow faster with full-time attention.
I wanted to spend more time with my kids, pick them up from school, go on field trips, not miss any baseball or softball practices or games, and ultimately have more control over my time.
What brought you to SPI Pro?
I’ve been following Pat for a long time. I remember listening to the very first podcast episodes (I think it was somewhere around episode 15) where he talked about different types of passive income streams and how you could earn money. money online. It made perfect sense to me, but I had no idea what I could do to actually build an online business. I continued to listen and follow Pat, bought his books and continued to learn. Eventually, my wife and I started an online business around 2017 so we could start putting the learning into practice. This business grew to where I left my corporate job in July 2020. After about a year of working at our own company, I missed interacting and meeting people in the office (this which I found strange since I am a pretty person). big introvert). An SPI email about the SPI Pro community came at just the right time, so I jumped on it and joined. Pat always attracted a good crowd, so I thought I’d be a good fit.
I don’t need to struggle with anything or try to figure it out on my own. I can ask the experts for advice and get on the right track quickly.
What is the most powerful interaction or learning moment you have had in the community?
As soon as I arrived, I was reminded how important and powerful networking is. One of the members who joined the same cohort dropped a booking link and wanted to meet people face-to-face via Zoom just to get to know everyone better. I met him and a few other people willing to meet and had some great conversations. Through these interactions, I created a SPI Pro brain with a group of amazing people (thanks to the Spotted Owls 🦉!). Our brains have been together for a little over a year now and we’ve all grown a lot.
What role has SPI Pro had in your company?
The MBA program within SPI Pro has been a great help in our business. Being clear on budgets and strategic planning and getting feedback and ideas from Matt and other members whose businesses are at a similar stage to us has been very valuable. I don’t need to struggle with anything or try to figure it out on my own. I can ask the experts for advice and get on the right track quickly.
What do you like most about SPI Pro and what sets SPI communities apart from other entrepreneurial communities?
People! Everyone is ready to step in and help and, above all, in a kind and caring way. In other communities, I am one of the members who speaks with contempt to those who ask questions. The SPI community is welcoming, which encourages more questions and collaboration.
What would you say to encourage entrepreneurs who are not involved in a community to join one?
Building a successful online business is hard enough and doing it alone makes it even harder. Getting an outside perspective on your business can reveal things in your blind spots and help put you on the path to success.
If you had to start a brand new online business from scratch today, what would it be?
I’ve never been one to have ideas. I have always been the one to implement an idea. For this reason, I think I would consider purchasing an existing online business that I was interested in and thought I could expand.
If you were to start your current today, what would you do differently?
I would work on growing a core product or offering to start. We tried to do too many things and launch too many products at the same time. It’s very difficult to manage several completely different product lines in parallel when it’s just you (or you and a partner). We had courses, a community of members, a subscription box with physical products, and were doing consulting and web development work at the same time. It was too much and we were spread too thin. We weren’t able to execute any of them as well as we would have liked since there was so much going on.
If you were given $1 million today, with no strings attached, what would you do with that money?
I would follow my San Diego Padres on a cross-country trip with the family to every ballpark (my wife and I were both born and raised in San Diego). I would upgrade the family car and ditch the minivan 😂. I would take a lot of that money and give it to my mom and dad so they can retire a year or two early (they’re nearing retirement). I also think it would be cool to reinvest in the creator community in some way. Either in companies that support the creator economy, or in individual creators who need capital to make their idea a reality.