[quote style=”boxed”]”Have heart. Don’t give up. Never be denied.”[/quote]
Daniel Wesley is the founder and CEO of CreditLoan.com, a website that educates consumers about various personal finance issues. Among some of the topics discussed are bad credit loans, credit cards, auto financing, and many other credit and financial help issues.
What are you working on right now?
I’m transitioning from a sole proprietorship to a team of nine. That basically means I’m engaged in ongoing auditing/reconciling/touching/training/mentoring everything the team has touched, along with redistributing and regurgitating SEO expertise.
Where did the idea for CreditLoan.com come from?
It came about from a “make money while you sleep” commercial and inspiration from an eBay auction in early 2003.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Collaboration is the key — having nine people counting on my vision and daily face time leads to lots of daily inspiration and revelations. It’s a level of commitment that is somewhat optional, a lifestyle driven as a sole proprietor, but it’s very worthwhile to develop these interpersonal relationships. That being said, I love this book: “Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative” by Austin Kleon.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
I love the impact new startups are having in helping new webmasters, as they reduce the barrier of entry to find qualified expertise in a situational/per diem approach. Crowdsourcing is another. Leveraging the masses — it’s just amazing how many tedious projects can be knocked out within minutes.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
I was changing tires in Florida summer heat. You don’t want to be doing this for a career (if you can help it). Work smarter, not harder!
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I’d probably change nothing if I could…it’s the classic NASCAR analogy of starting with a race car at the back of the pack without a sponsor. Now, with all our success, we can buy or build a race car that will occupy the pole position, with DuPont as a sponsor. It’s like comparing apples and oranges regarding how success can be replicated, and it’s 1000 times more likely to be bigger now.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Have heart. Don’t give up. Never be denied.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Gosh, I honestly can’t think of anything. It totally comes down to picking an idea you love and can/will be passionate about. That’s self-conceptualized and such an individual decision.
Tell us a secret.
Choose a job you love, and as the old saying goes, “You will never have to work a day in your life.”
What are your three favorite online tools and what do you love about them?
SEOmoz.org: It’s simply SEO management made easy.
Linkresearchtools.com: It’s the most advanced SEO link-building toolkit on the market.
Google Analytics: Google provides insights that matter. Measuring sales, conversions, and engagement are three of the many features offered by Google for free.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I’d recommend “Steve Jobs” an autobiography by Walter Isaacson. It speaks to me like George Bernard Shaw’s quote: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the conditions that surround him. The unreasonable man adapts surrounding conditions to himself. All progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
What’s on your playlist?
I listen to Metallica and Guns N’ Roses.
If you weren’t working on CreditLoan.com what would you be doing?
I’d be running a startup digital marketing company in the Tampa, Fla., area.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
To be honest, I avoid Twitter, mostly because it’s noise. It’s a distraction, and it can cause paralysis by analysis if you live and breathe what you hear. But if I had to pick three, I would say influencers like Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, and Jack Welch.
When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?
I laughed out loud last week when I caught our online marketing manager humming Justin Timberlake’s new song.
Who is your hero?
My hero is my grandfather, who came to the Land of Opportunity with nothing in 1969 at 45 years old, with seven kids, in the pursuit of a better life.
What is the biggest piece of advice you would give a new entrepreneur who is just starting out?
Stay optimistic. Keep your chin up. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it, right?
Since your run CreditLoan.com, what is your favorite personal finance tip?
Akin to having a yearly physical, be mindful of your financial health at least once a year. Ensure you have a “pulse” on your present-day conditions to ensure you are on a path to a comfortable retirement.
Connect:
Daniel Wesley on Twitter: @creditloan
Daniel Wesley on Google+:
Daniel Wesley on LinkedIn:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.