Johannes Larsson is a 28-year-old self-taught online marketing entrepreneur, an SEO geek and an affiliate marketing expert. In 2016 he decided to focus his attention on only one project. He created Financer, a financial comparison company that assists people around the world make better financial decisions. It currently operates in 26 markets with more than 45 self-motivated team members because of Intrapreneurship’s unconventional model.
Johannes runs his company completely remotely, that generates him $1.69 to $2.25 million and growing.
One of his missions is to inspire entrepreneurs and digital nomads all around the world to create a lifestyle that is determined by their own rules and ambitions – to live the life that you want.
What is Financer all about?
My goal has always been to make Financer the go-to place for anyone who wants to compare a personal finance product.
We achieve that by assisting people in making better financial decisions and finding the best deals available. We do the research and provide our users with the most up to date information possible in the form of in-depth articles and our comparison search engine.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I knew that the traditional path of spending four years at university was never going to be a good fit for me. Before I had left school, I was already educating myself about online marketing and making money while others were doing their homework.
I implemented everything I learnt and made it my mission to make an income online so that I could work for myself and travel the world at the same time.
However, a real turning point for me was when I shifted my focus from simply trying to make money online to wanting to create real value for people. That’s when I created Financer.com with the purpose of helping people make informed financial decisions, and it was the best decision I could have made.
What was the top mistake you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
In my early twenties, I was running over 400 affiliate websites. My time and energy were being spread so thinly that I didn’t know where to focus.
When you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur, focus on doing one thing really well before even thinking about what’s next. Having your focus and energy all over the place and trying to juggle too many balls at once will always end in mediocrity.
What was the biggest problem you encountered with your business and how did you overcome it?
In 2013 I was living in Malta and building my business with my first two ‘real’ employees. I knew I should feel like I was living the dream, but really I was just a 9-5 rat. As strange as it might sound to some people, it had never been my dream to be a typical CEO. Being in the office first thing in the morning, watching over my employees, and checking the coffee filters – it wasn’t for me.
So, I made a big decision. I replaced my full-time employees with freelancers and spent six months traveling the world. I finally got a taste of the freedom I had been working towards.
Now I work solely with intrapreneurs, flexible and passionate individuals being paid from performance-based tasks and profit shares. We share the same entrepreneurial spirit and desire for freedom and we build the business together without anyone needing to be told what to do, or where to work from.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Most comparison search engines recommend the products and services that make them the most commission. At Financer, we do things differently. We include all lenders, companies, and banks, even if we are not affiliated with them. By using this different model and increasing trust, we are rewarded with repeat users.
We also aim to prevent decision fatigue by making clear what the best option is for each individual. This is a much more simple, straight forward and user-friendly way to find financial products than most websites.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Fail as fast as possible.
Minimum viable products are an extraordinary way to do that. What people usually do is try to make their product perfect before launching it. They waste so many hours on marketing, business plans, funnels, and analysis, eventually to find out that nobody even wants what they’ve made.
Instead I would advise you to do the opposite. Until you’ve gotten out there and spoken to your customer, you don’t truly know what they want. Make the minimum version of your product and test, test, test. Conduct low-risk micro experiments on real customers and work with real-time feedback to create the business your customers want, not the one you’ve dreamt up.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
Solve problems
There is a common misconception when we think about problem-solving. People think they need to create the next major business model or change the world, but that isn’t the only way to make a difference.
If you can simply provide value and assist people with something that matters to them, however small, then you can be successful as an entrepreneur.
Take action and balance input vs output
What distinguishes between somebody who is successful and somebody who isn’t is the ability to balance doing and learning, input and output. If you’re too busy consuming knowledge, you don’t have enough time to use it. If you don’t spend enough time learning, then what you’re doing might not be very meaningful.
Some practical advice to balance the two is to never consume information and knowledge that isn’t currently relevant to you. Keep it on your list, and go back to it when you’re ready. By taking immediate action on everything you learn you will retain the information much better.
Network
Networking and surrounding yourself with inspirational people will change your business and your life. It can also attract clients, partners, mentors and investors.
But networking can (and should) be about much more than going to networking events and giving out as many business cards as possible. You can meet people in all walks of life if you’re open and willing.
My best networking advice would be to always help other people before asking them for something. Even if it’s something as simple as connecting them to somebody in your network, people always remember the connector.
Be somebody that people are glad to have in their network, not just another unused business card.
What is your favorite quote?
I particularly resonated with Jeff Bezos’ quote – “You must love the grind, otherwise you will hate life – because life is the grind”.
The internet is full of ‘quick and easy’ solutions for making money. People promising success from working just a few hours per week. Although it’s possible, I don’t believe a real entrepreneur should aim for that.
Of course, don’t burn yourself out, either. I’m a big believer that you’ll make more money in the long term by being healthy. But you need to enjoy the grind too. Whatever you’re doing, however successful you get, they’ll always be hard work to do. If you can’t fall in love with that part, then entrepreneurship might not be for you.
Who should we interview next and why?
Tai Lopez.
Until the age of 21, I thought that books weren’t for me because I am such an action-oriented person, however, Tai was the person who made me recognize how important books are. If you are willing to listen to the wisdom and expertise of others you can avoid decades of mistakes and wrong turns.
How can we get in touch with you?
The easiest way to contact me is through Instagram and Twitter, where I record my on-going entrepreneurship journey and my DM’s are always open.
You can also visit my blog where I share insights about affiliate marketing, entrepreneurship, SEO and much more. Instagram: @mrjola Twitter: @mrjolar Blog: Johanneslarsson.com
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