Financial Modeler's Corner
00:04:05 · Paul Barnhurst, Giles Male
[00:04:05] S0: You know, I always try to be the one that's willing to take the difficult time, especially if I've asked the person, you know, as much as I can. But... Yes. So what Giles is referring to, and I'll get back to the rest of my week, usually, there's a training in there. Usually, there is a webinar or some kind of speaking event and a couple podcasts. So on average in a week, I'm probably doing some kind of speaking event, podcast training, or webinar 15 times a month, roughly, maybe 17. You know, sometimes I've done as many as five in a day. And then I'm probably meeting with three or four vendors during the week, either talking about a marketing collaboration or just wanting to see their tool and talk to them, whether it's a spreadsheet software tool, whatever it might be, giving advice. And then the rest of the week, I could be working on a digital training. I could be working on, you know, web page for affiliate. I could be doing something on LinkedIn. But that typically the week for me, I usually finish my work between two and 5PM, depending on whether I gotta go get my daughter from school and what's going on about 02:30 and five, but I'm often starting between three and four. [00:05:09] S1: I think one of the things that I always observe about you is actually you're quite similar to Faye like this. You... Every time I speak to you, you've got a new idea or there's something else. It's another podcast or a... [00:05:20] S0: Yeah. Gotta be careful about I
00:05:20 · Paul Barnhurst, Giles Male
[00:05:20] S0: Yeah. Gotta be careful about I [00:05:21] S1: know. And I always think to myself, like, how do you find the hours in the day? So is that just your personality that you're constantly thinking of? What's the
00:05:29 · Paul Barnhurst
[00:05:29] S0: next It is little bit. I always have ideas going on and I have to step back sometimes. Can't do it all. I love being involved in a lot of things. Like, I've been told by many people, you need to scale back your business. You know, if you look at my business, I got three podcasts, which one, people think is crazy in and of itself. Then I have an affiliate business. I have a training business. I have a research and advisory that I do with software vendors, educational content, you know, doing digital and corporate training. And I will admit, for a few years, it has slowed growth. If I was more focused, I probably could grow faster. But I also... A lot of stuff I love, like, I've met with 400 vendors in those meetings. I haven't been paid for any of those initial meetings, but it allows me to build a brand that's unique. Like, if you look at others, they're usually very focused, which is probably a good thing. But you look at mine. Okay. Some people like, oh, he's an expert in modeling. Yeah. I debate that. You know, he's an expert in FP and A software. He's an expert in FP and A. And so they... Or he's an expert in podcasting. And so they see a lot of different things, and that can be hard from a business standpoint when you're trying to get people into a funnel. But it also is really nice in the sense of one area of revenue goes down. I have multiple other areas. And as I continue to grow, it creates, to me, a unique kind of business. What I've come to the conclusion has nothing to do with modeling. But when people ask what my business is, in many ways, I'm a connector. And what I mean by that, having talked to 400 guests on a podcast, having done... Talked to almost 400 software vendors, I am often contacted and I'm connecting people together and really helping them find the right resource. So almost like, hey. If you're in FP and A and you need a resource, even if I can't provide it, I can point you in the right direction. I can connect people.
00:07:14 · Giles Male, Paul Barnhurst
[00:07:14] S1: That's awesome. And you you mentioned the brand, and I have a question really going back to the start of this because I know you've been doing this for quite a few years now. But what was the spark? And I ask this because I think everybody that you and I speak to that we know who's kind of started a business, whether it's freelance or they've got people on their team, there's usually a thing that happens where they realize that they can't just sit in a salaried role anymore. So if you go back however many years ago that was pre beard, by the way, cause I know this was... You you were clean shaven before you set off on the FP and A Guy, but what was the spark and what was the kind of first steps of that journey? [00:07:54] S0: Yeah. So really where it all started, I'll say is 2016, roughly. I decided it was time to look for a new job. I'm working for American Express, and I'll ask you this, Giles. Have you ever bought a traveler's check? [00:08:06] S1: No. I don't [00:08:06] S0: even know what it is. [00:08:07] S1: I do know what they are, but I don't I don't think I've ever bought one myself. [00:08:11] S0: Okay. So it's 2016. I'm working in FP and A, and the product I'm supporting is the Travelers Check. Do you think that's a good opportunity to grow your career, to be supporting that product in 2016? [00:08:22] S1: Possibly not.
00:08:23 · Paul Barnhurst
[00:08:23] S0: Yeah. It's not exactly long for this world in 2016. And so I decided I need to find a new job. I reached out to a guy by the name of Ken Fick, and I said, hey, Ken. I'll give you a $20 Starbucks gift card for thirty minutes of your time. And he responded with, I'm happy to meet with you. I don't want your gift card. I want you to write an article for my website. And my thought was I suck at writing, but okay. So I wrote the first article. He liked it, and he actually offered me a $100 to write one a month. I did it for a couple months. I wrote a few. And I shared him on LinkedIn. And this was... When I shared him on LinkedIn, it was all about trying to get a job. Right? It wasn't, I'm gonna start my own business. And so what happened is that led to FP and A Trends had one of the biggest communities globally at the time on LinkedIn when groups were big, and they asked me to moderate the discussion. Then she asked me to be on a few webinars. And so I started to build a little bit of brand again, all trying to find a job, and I started posting more and more. And then I wanted to work for a software vendor. They'll remain nameless, but an FP and A software tool. And they... I applied for the job, and I shared something on LinkedIn following, like, 2,000 in hopes of getting the job. They selected the other guy. I was the one or two finalists. And then another FP and A tool came up, and I've always thought it'd be a fun area. I've always liked the mix of FP and A and tech, and so I tried to get that job. They talked to me, but they wanted someone that was local. I wasn't... They weren't willing to interview me. So, again, I shared something on LinkedIn about that tool. Then all of sudden, all these vendors reached out to me wanting me to see their tool. This was COVID. And so everybody was creating a tool because all a sudden cash flow and scenario planning were critical. If you worked in FPNA like I did, you were doing one every day going, when is this nightmare gonna end? Because you had no idea what your business was gonna look like tomorrow. I mean, I think everybody remembers that. And so that was really the impetus of where it started. And then from there, I had an Excel website at the time that I was just doing reviews of, hey, what's the best resources for learning Power Query? What's the best resources for this?
00:10:18 · Paul Barnhurst
Because I said, I could share my views on this, but there's already a million people that are better than me at Excel sharing their views. And I remember I paused one day and said, what's easier? Building a business talking about Excel or building a business talking about FP and A software as far as a brand? Not so much a business, the thoughts that entered my mind, but more of a kind of a brand in the sense of helping me with job, helping me with awareness. And as I continued to build, I started to realize, hey. This might turn into something. And in one month in December '21, three vendors reached out to me in a week in the FP and A software space. Two tried to hire me. One wanted to do a big collaboration. A friend... An acquaintance, I should say, the time, now he's a close friend, asked me if I could build some training on Excel, and someone else had a fifteen hour part time job. So one night, went to my wife, and I'm like, I think that I can turn this into a business. I might have had 5,000 followers at the time on LinkedIn, and I had a commitment for a $150 in revenue. That was it. My wife kinda looked at me like, wait. You think you could turn this into a business? I'm like, yeah. And I talked about the different things, and she was pretty nervous as rightfully so. And so we talked about it. I go, I'm not doing a business till you're a 100% comfortable. And then kinda out of the blue is about six weeks later, it's February one morning, she goes, I'm comfortable. I go, are you sure? She's like, yes. I trust you. I know you do a great job. I'm like, so I'm gonna put in my notice today. And I did. I put in my notice that morning, got out of there four months later, and here I am today. So that's kind of the backstory. There are other things in there, but that's the one that I think most people kinda enjoy.