Jeremy Launder
What was your dream career as a child?
Major League Baseball player.
Describe the moment you decided to become an entrepreneur.
I really got into car stereos and electronics when I was 18 (around 2000). I didn’t have a lot of money so I was looking for a way to get equipment for less. On eBay I found someone selling material on how to get stereo equipment at wholesale prices. The process is over to set up a business and get a seller’s permit. I followed the steps and got my hands on a few distributor catalogs and once I saw the wholesale prices, I immediately saw an opportunity to resell the equipment and make some money. This is how my first business Launder Electronics was born!
What drives you to work?
I really enjoy seeing our customers have that “ah ha” moment and do something they never thought possible or out of their reach. It is an amazing feeling to be able to impact someone’s life and/or business in a positive way with the products and services we provide.
What is the most exciting thing you are doing in your business right now?
I manage all technology and web development for our business. A product we offer is called Oh My, Hi (OhMyHi.com) which is a platform that allows our audience to easily create their own websites and blogs through a mostly fill-in-the-blank interface. We provide a number of templates for blog posts and pages to help get them up and running quickly. This project is something my baby and I spent a lot of time working on. We recently crossed 200 active users which is really exciting!
What does entrepreneurship mean to you?
This means more control over your time and your income. I mentioned starting my first business when I was 18, but that business lasted about a year. After that, I was a corporate employee for 15+ years. I had a good job as an electrical engineer. It paid well, I always had good managers and I really enjoyed the people I worked with. What I didn’t like was that I was absent with my children (they are 8 and 10 as I write this) and the decision was made how my earning potential was limited by the company I worked for. I wanted to spend more time with my kids, pick them up from school, go on field trips, not miss any baseball or softball practices and games, and ultimately have more control over my time. I took the plunge and went full-time into our business in July 2020. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been rewarding and I don’t miss anything anymore with the kids. And our business has been able to grow rapidly since it is receiving full-time attention.
I wanted to spend more time with my kids, pick them up from school, go on field trips, not miss any baseball or softball practices and games, and ultimately have more control over my time.
What led you to SPI Pro?
I have followed Pat for a long time. I remember listening to really early podcast episodes (I think it was somewhere around episode 15) where he was talking about different types of passive income streams and how you can make money online. It made perfect sense to me, but I had no idea what I could actually do to make an online business. I continued to listen and follow Pat, buying his books and learning. Finally, my wife and I started an online business around 2017 so we could start practicing learning. This business has grown to where I left my corporate job in July 2020. After about a year of working on our own business, I was missing and hanging out with people in the office (which I thought was weird since I’m a pretty big introvert). A SPI email about the SPI Pro community came at the right time so I jumped on it and joined. Pat has always attracted a good tribe, so I thought I would be a good fit.
I don’t have to struggle through anything or try to figure it out on my own. I can ask the experts and get on the fast track.
What is your most powerful interaction or learning moment in the community?
As soon as I joined, I was reminded how important and powerful networking is. One of the members who joined the same group dropped a booking link and wanted to meet people via Zoom to get to know everyone better. I met him and a few others who were open to meeting and had great conversations. Through these interactions, I started a SPI Pro Mastermind with a great group (shout out to the Spotted Owls !) Our mastermind has been together for over a year now and we’ve all grown a ton.
What role has SPI Pro played in your business?
The MBA program within SPI Pro has been a big help in our business. It was really valuable to be clear about the budget and strategic plan and to get input and insight from Matt and other members with businesses at the same stage as us. I don’t have to struggle through anything or try to figure it out on my own. I can ask the experts and get on the fast track.
What do you like most about SPI Pro and what sets SPI’s community apart from other entrepreneurial communities?
People! Everyone is willing to jump in and help and most importantly, in a nice and caring way. In some other communities I talk to a section of members who ask questions. The SPI community is welcoming which promotes further questions and collaboration.
What would you say to encourage non-community entrepreneurs to join one?
Building a successful online business is already difficult and doing it alone makes it even more difficult Getting an outside perspective on your business can uncover your blind spots and help put you on the path to success.
If you were to start a brand new online business from scratch today, what would it be?
I’ve never been an ideas person. I have always been the implementer of how to execute an idea. Because of that, I thought I would actually look into buying an existing online business that was interesting to me and that I thought I could grow.
If you had your start current Starting over today in business again, would you do one thing differently?
I will work on proposals to enhance or launch a major product. We tried to do too many things and launch too many products at the same time. It’s really hard to run multiple, completely different product lines in parallel with just you (or you and a partner). We had a subscription box with courses, a membership community, physical products, and was doing some consulting and web development work at the same time. It was too much and we were spread too thin. We couldn’t execute any of them as we would have liked since there was so much going on.
If you were given $1 million today, with no strings attached, what would you do with it?
I would follow my San Diego Padres on cross-country trips with family to every baseball stadium (my wife and I were both born and raised in San Diego). I’ll upgrade the family car and ditch the minivan I’ll take a bunch of that money and give it to my mom and dad so they can retire a year or two early (they’re getting close to retirement). I also think it would be good to reinvest in the maker community in some way. Either in companies that support the creator economy or maybe individual creators who need some capital to implement their ideas.
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