In this 2015 interview, host Kim talks with Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First, about practical financial habits and strategies for aspiring entrepreneurs. Mike advises overcoming the fear of leaving a full‑time job by “dipping a toe” into a side business using platforms like Uber or eBay, allowing founders to test ideas while still earning a steady income. When it comes to financing, he highlights alternative sources such as crowdfunding and loan aggregators but stresses the benefits of self‑funding, warning that using other people’s money (OPM) can lead to reckless spending. The biggest misconception he identifies is starting a business solely on passion without a proven consumer demand; successful ventures must combine personal enthusiasm with market need. He illustrates this with Sara Blakely’s Spanx story—starting conservatively in a kitchen, leveraging existing tools like Xero accounting software, and scaling methodically. Throughout, Mike frames these habits as simple, actionable steps that can turn entrepreneurial dreams into sustainable businesses.
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Starting a business is still very much a part of the American dream. And being your own boss can be as simple as just changing some financial habits, says an expert like Mike Michalowicz, who is the author of Profit First. He's joining us live this morning. And Mike, you have five easy to follow habits that will help anyone who wants to make their entrepreneurial ambitions a success. So for starters, let's just talk about the fear factor, because doesn't it sound great just to be your own boss and do something you love? But a lot of people are afraid to leave that full time job. How do you give them over the hump?
Yeah. So it is so much fun, right, to fantasize about it, but when you actually have to do it, you got to put your money on the table. So what I do suggest to a lot of people is dip your toe in the water while you still have that full time job. Start up a job using established platforms like Uber or ebay, where if you want to get into the transportation business, you can just use their platform to start driving cars. That's a good way to get started and see if you like to really be your own boss.
And Mike, what about someone who really does have a specific business plan? They're organized about all this, but they do need to get a small business loan. It seemed like in the news business, we heard for years following the recession that banks really kind of pulled in the reins and they weren't going to loan money to small businesses. Is that sort of over? Are we past that at this point in 2015?
Well, there's alternative sources. Right. So there was a big, big excitement about crowdsourcing. You can, you can put it out there and the community will fund you. So there's opportunities there. There's other aggregators out there that instead of going bank, they will go out on your behalf and find money for you. But still, I'm a big fan of funding yourself because when you use opm, which means other people's money, it's easy to spend and get yourself in a deep hole. If you fund it on your own, you'll be much more conservative and usually a lot more prudent.
And also, Mike, what is the biggest fallacy, what's the biggest misconception when it comes to starting your own business?
Well, the biggest misconception is to do it for your passion. I'm excited. I want to do this. And inevitably people are doing hobbies, but there's no consumer base for. So you want to get into a business where there's consumers that demand what you do and you love doing it. It's a combination of the two.
And let's just remember that Sara Blakely, who started Spanx in her kitchen, now is the head of a multi billion dollar business. So it can be done.
It absolutely can be done. But now think about it. She started very conservatively out of her kitchen. She used tools and products that were out there to help her facilitate her business. Products like Xero, which is an accounting system that's already taken care of for her other products. So all she had to do was make her simple Spandex product and do that one thing over and over again and scale to the point where it could become a bigger business.
Mike, you truly are an expert and now the only man I know who actually knows the genesis and the history of Spanx.
Well, I know Sarah personally.
Okay, so you're well acquainted then. Mike, thanks so much. We're going to put a ton more information that you have with starting up your own business on our website@mynews3.com, but have a wonderful weekend and we appreciate your time and talent this morning. Thank you.
