{"id":98994,"date":"2018-05-12T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T17:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=98994"},"modified":"2021-04-30T15:13:51","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T21:13:51","slug":"seven-figures-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/seven-figures-from-home","title":{"rendered":"A Former Fortune Editor&#8217;s Advice on Making Seven Figures From Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>I like to interview entrepreneurs in these posts. By virtue of my job, I get to speak to some <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/money-sources-raise-capital-fast\/\" target=\"_blank\">pretty awesome people<\/a> from <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/millennial-entrepreneur\/\" target=\"_blank\">time to time\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 both in the real estate industry and out.<\/p>\n<p>However, there\u2019s one person who I&#8217;ve been wanting to sit down and grab coffee with for the past three years and hadn&#8217;t had the chance to:\u00a0Former <em>Fortune<\/em> editor Elaine Pofeldt is a legit rockstar in the NYC-entrepreneurship scene and a total badass. For starters, she&#8217;s 5-foot-3, a mom of four, an entrepreneur, and a taekwondo black belt.<\/p>\n<p>But she also created and ran <em>Fortune<\/em>&#8216;s business plan competition, and judged Crain&#8217;s New York Business <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crainsnewyork.com\/article\/20130414\/SMALLBIZ\/304149990\/delivering-the-perfect-pitch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Perfect Pitch Competition<\/a> \u2014\u00a0a Shark Tank-style competition at Columbia Business School.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6NdSmCuCasY\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Elaine Pofeldt is Still Killing It<\/h2>\n<p>So back in 2015, when I was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bisnow.com\/new-york\/news\/commercial-real-estate\/the-closing-new-york-real-estate-stars-come-out-to-play-50807\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">running a publication <\/a>and looking for editorial talent, her name would literally pop up everywhere\u00a0(<a href=\"http:\/\/elainepofeldt.com\/media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google her yourself<\/a>.)\u00a0Fortune, CNBC, CNN Money, Forbes \u2014 you name it, I\u2019d see it. <em>Holy s**t, she\u2019s like a freakin\u2019 Barbara Corcoran<\/em>, I thought.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to 2018, very little has changed: Elaine has written a bestseller\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Million-Dollar-One-Person-Business-Great-Money-ebook\/dp\/B06Y4V1L9D\/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1513260332&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">T<em>he Million-Dollar, One-Person Business\u00a0<\/em><\/a>\u2014 a book recommended by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/nextavenue\/2018\/02\/05\/5-great-new-books-for-your-career\/#25cc43e2730c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Forbes<\/em><\/a>, <em>Entrepreneur<\/em>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tim.blog\/2017\/12\/30\/how-to-build-a-million-dollar-one-person-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">even &#8220;The 4-Hour Workweek&#8221; author Tim Ferriss\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 detailing the new wave of bootstrapped seven-figure solopreneurs.<\/p>\n<p>She&#8217;s still hosting panels with seven-figure rockstars. And still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/elaine-pofeldt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crushing it as an entrepreneur<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Yet somehow, in a twist of ultimate irony, I finally got the chance to sit with her. (Insane.)<\/p>\n<p>After our interview, I seized the opportunity pick her brain on how to start (and scale) a lean business, and why real estate is a great avenue for first-time entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong><a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2015\/11\/13\/7-real-estate-books-beginner-investors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a07 Absolute Must-Read Real Estate Books for Beginning Investors<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-99050 size-main-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-05-09-at-7.49.37-PM-855x516.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"702\" height=\"424\" title=\"\"><br \/>\n<em>Photos courtesy of Eileen McNamee.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Here&#8217;s What Elaine Had to Say<\/h2>\n<p><b>BP: You\u2019re one of the premier authorities on entrepreneurship and the freelance economy.\u00a0WeWork is worth $20 billion. The gig economy is expected to double.\u00a0Why this change?<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Elaine Pofeldt: Big companies are increasingly realizing the value of adding freelancers to their bench, given the number of talented people who now freelance. At the same time, many more people are gravitating to the freelance lifestyle. This is contributing to demand for\u00a0coworking spaces and other businesses that serve freelancers.<\/p>\n<p><b>The idea that you can actually start and run a seven-figure business might sound crazy to some. How does this happen; how do you get to a one-person, million-dollar business?<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Many of the entrepreneurs in the book have used automation and the help of freelancer and\/or outsourced services such as <a href=\"https:\/\/services.amazon.com\/fulfillment-by-amazon\/how-it-works.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fulfillment by Amazon<\/a> to extend what one person can do with no employees.<\/p>\n<p><b>What makes a seven-figure entrepreneur tick? What&#8217;s their intangible?<\/b><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Many of the entrepreneurs value their time over money and they structured their businesses so they could enjoy whatever they were passionate about in life \u2014 whether that was their family, a sport, traveling, or something else.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-99054 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_6168-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"702\" height=\"527\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_6168-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_6168-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_6168-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>But What About Funding?<\/h3>\n<p><b>You talk about this in the book, but I want to touch on it anyway. A common complaint is funding: getting money to get started. What\u2019s the ideal business to get into for a first-time entrepreneur, especially if you don&#8217;t have lots of funding in place?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It really varies by someone&#8217;s talents and skills, but e-commerce seems to have the lowest barriers to entry for the average person.<b>\u00a0<\/b>However, there are many other areas where solo entrepreneurs and partnerships are breaking seven figures \u2014 among them professional services, personal services like nutritional coaching, informational marketing, real estate investment, and manufacturing.<\/p>\n<h2>Real Estate Entrepreneurship<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>You mentioned real estate investment, which is huge for our readers. Why&#8217;s that a good avenue for a first-time entrepreneur?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>It&#8217;s a great avenue because you can get into it while making a living some other way; it doesn&#8217;t necessarily require all of your time if you start small. For people who are <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/i-invested-in-snap-facebook-and-twitter-made-money-and-i-absolutely-hated-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">investing only in the stock market<\/a>, buying real estate can be an excellent way to diversify a portfolio as well. But if you&#8217;re new to real estate, I would recommend getting good advice from contacts who know a lot about real estate. Read up on it \u2014 and do your own research. Like any investment, real estate comes with an element of risk.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em><strong>Related:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2014\/12\/24\/best-business-books-2014\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">5 Business Books That Changed My Real Estate Investing Life<\/a><\/div>\n<h2>Taking the Leap<\/h2>\n<p><strong>We have a lot of readers looking for ways to become entrepreneurs; some who may still be on the fence \u2014 whether it&#8217;s real estate or otherwise. What\u2019s some advice you can give them to take the leap?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: georgia, serif;\">Start your business while you&#8217;re still employed. Most people find it hard to save up enough money to live on <em>and<\/em> fund a business during the startup period (which may last longer than you think). If you keep your day job but steadily work on your business, you&#8217;ll have your paycheck available to fund your efforts, so you don&#8217;t have to cut them short prematurely. Many of the entrepreneurs in the book started their business on the side, and then, when it was making enough to support their lifestyle, took the leap and went full time.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>If you&#8217;re in the New York area, check out Elaine&#8217;s May 10\u00a0panel with a lineup of seven-figure founders.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/real-estate-investment-calculator?utm_source=renewsblog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-91220\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/blog_ads-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"85\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/blog_ads-02.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/blog_ads-02-300x36.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>What do you think of Elaine&#8217;s advice?<\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>Do you have any of your own to add? Share with us below!<\/strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Super Mom entrepreneur wrote a Tim Ferriss-endorsed book on making seven figures From Home. We chatted with her about applying these lessons to your own business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105651,"featured_media":99103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4241],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-business-management","post_format-post-format-image"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}