A Six-Figure SaaS Success Story
March 26, 2020
You’re never too young (or too old) to venture into the world of online business.
After juggling a variety of side hustles, Jesse Schoberg shifted his focus at the age of 19 to Internet-based ventures.
At the time, he knew very little about the online business space, so his first step was to get a better understanding of how websites work. What makes them function? How do people make them look the way that they do?
“I started playing around with some HTML code,” says Jesse. Before he knew it, Jesse had a couple of Software as a Service (SaaS) products. SaaS products are an integral piece of cloud computing that allow people to run software products from any device without having to physically install a piece of software.
Some of the most popular SaaS applications include Netflix, Google Apps, Salesforce, Adobe, and Microsoft.
Jesse developed not one but two SaaS products!
Benefits of Online Entrepreneurship
Jesse quickly discovered the pros of being his own boss and working in the online world. He comments that freedom is his favorite aspect and says, “Being able to live anywhere, set your hours, and ride those inspiration moments when you get excited about a project” has allowed him to design the life he wants.
During his time as an online business owner, Jesse says he has appreciated “having the freedom to travel all over. I’ve been to 40 countries and gotten to know tons of interesting people.”
Unlike a traditional nine-to-five gig where you have to work a set schedule and be “on” all the time, Jesse says that when you’re your own boss, “You can push when you want, and take breaks when you need them.”
Challenges of Online Entrepreneurship
Jesse is candid about the challenges he’s faced as an online business owner, and he’s quick to point out two big ones:
- Staying focused. He elaborates, “It’s really easy to get distracted with too many ideas, different ways to promote, different avenues to go … ”
- Decision fatigue. When you make all the decisions, that can end up putting a lot of pressure on you. “There’s just so many things to decide all the time, and it’s difficult to know where to put your energy,” adds Jesse.
Deciding When to Sell.
After actively managing two SaaS companies, Jesse felt both of these challenges firsthand. Ultimately, he decided to sell one of his SaaS companies on the curated Empire Flippers marketplace, but the decision wasn’t easy.
“We had two SaaS products, and one of them, DropInBlog (a blog platform that embeds into non-WordPress sites), started to skyrocket.”
The second SaaS company was also performing well, but recognizing the challenges of staying focused as an entrepreneur, Jesse decided to sell it. Not only did working on only one project help him stay focused, but it also helped him have the “runway” to invest further capital into his other ventures.
He admits that offloading one venture to be able to focus on the core business has been a relief as well as a welcome cash infusion that has allowed him to reach the next level much faster.
Still, despite the immediate benefits of selling his business, the decision wasn’t an easy one for Jesse. He says that the hardest part was “getting over the mental hurdle that this wasn’t gonna be my baby anymore and that we were going to put the full focus on the other business.” He continues, “This has been something we worked on for a long time and put a lot of love into.”
For other business owners thinking of selling, Jesse’s advice comes from years of experience. He cautions prospective sellers to “make sure your business is ‘orderly’ because it affects the multiples” He also has this to say about his exit, “The guys at Empire Flippers made it pretty easy, and it sold ridiculously fast!”
He points to accounting, clear and defined processes, and established traffic sources as necessary components before listing a business on the Empire Flippers marketplace.
Today, Jesse continues to focus on DropInBlog and their launch of the new DropInBlog Shopify App, the company is doing better than ever. It’s safe to assume that Jesse has no plans to go back to side hustles in the offline world.
He concludes, “You have that freedom to do the things that you really want to do in life. It’s not just about work.”
Are you looking to make a potential exit from your business? Set up a time to chat with our exit planning experts and discuss how you can get the highest valuation out of your business.
