Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Craig Lewallen, Founder of Hashtag Renters Life (#renterslife), located in Portland, OR, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
This question is somewhat complex, but I'll try to boil it down. Hashtag Renters Life is a consulting company that works with rental owners and managers who have institutional investors and lenders (those who manage the money of others) that use environmental, social, and governance sustainability (ESG) investment and lending criteria. Essentially, the SEC has mandated that institutional investors and funds that claim to use ESG as at least part of their investment or lending criteria must now prove it in their annual reports.
We help institutional investors and lenders bring their rental property investments and loans into compliance. The environmental component of ESG has really been well developed over the last decade or so, culminating with certifications such as LEED and EnergyStar. Governance is well on its way with the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank. Our focus will be on the social element of ESG. This has been largely undeveloped, being overshadowed by the "green" movement.
Secretly, our main goal is actually to benefit the renters. Of course, we want to help landlords and property managers mitigate their risks as well. However, our organization's mission is to "help renters overcome their barriers to renting." We leverage the new SEC ESG regulations in order to gently nudge landlords and property managers in a more socially conscious and sustainable direction.
Tell us about yourself
Really, what first got me to conceive this idea and what drives me forward every day are my wife and my own struggles with overcoming our own barriers to renting. Some three years ago, an unscrupulous landlord withheld our deposit illegally. My wife, who was pregnant at the time with our first child, and I had to live in our car for a couple of months in midwinter while we built up enough money to pay a now-big deposit along with the other move-in costs and the first month's rent. Of the apartments that would even consider letting us live there, our deposit and rent had increased compared to other tenants because we were now considered high-risk renters due to a large balance claimed against us by our former landlord.
My wife and I had a demand letter written up by a free lawyer at the Northwest Justice Project in Vancouver, WA, and sent it to our former landlord. Their response was to send us to collections. Our credit has been thoroughly destroyed ever since. However, I am happy to say that after three years, we were finally able to go to court, and we won. A judge vacated the total amount we "allegedly" owed our former landlord. But the damage has already been done. This situation, along with a few others, led me to believe that there could be a better way.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
This is going to sound lame, but I think my biggest accomplishment as a business owner is simply keeping this startup alive and still progressing forward after nearly a year now. On its face, that doesn't sound that impressive. But moving a startup towards first sales and, ideally, venture capital funding comes with a lot of sacrifices and emotional highs and lows. In the news, you read about these big, sexy companies that just gained multi-million dollar investments and are ready to explode on the market. But this scenario is much rare than most realize.
Unless you are putting a person on Mars or have some unknown technology that fundamentally alters the way something is achieved, it is usually much messier. Venture capitalists want a solid team in place and a founder with past startup experience, even if the experience is from a failure. The problem is that attracting a solid team willing to work for free with a high probability of failure is extraordinarily challenging if you aren't a high-profile founder or well-connected in the industry.
Then, if the solid team and experience are there, venture capitalists still oftentimes want to see some traction. This means they want to see a few customers who will actually pay for and use what you have to offer. This in and of itself is a difficult milestone to achieve. Add to that the reality that, in the early prototyping phases of a startup, what you have to offer is extremely basic and may not function fully as intended. So, you can probably see what an uphill battle you face without funding to make something solid from the get-go.
Finally, venture capitalists want to see that you are all in. This is what is known as the "leap of faith." Eventually, you will essentially be required to quit your day job and fully focus on your startup. The same startup is likely barely making sales, if at all, and has received no or little funding to date. I hope I have put into perspective what an achievement it really is to simply still be in business at the eleven-month mark.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Honestly, the hardest thing about being a startup business owner, in my opinion, is putting your family in jeopardy. Before I started down this path, I asked my wife very seriously if she was okay with this. I told her it was going to be hard, but even I didn't know what we were actually getting into. My wife, of course, said she supported me one hundred percent. And, despite things being very rocky as of late, she is still standing behind this startup and me.
If I were single, all I would be risking was my own meal at night. Inherent in building a startup is an emotional rollercoaster with dramatic swings between lows and highs. If I were single, I could go home to my own apartment by myself, where my emotions wouldn't affect anyone else. But I'm not single. I am married with a 9-month-old and a toddler. I'm risking their meals every day, and I don't turn a profit with the startup because I have already taken the "leap of faith."
When things aren't going great with the startup, I can't just go home and brood about it or be depressed while I lick my wounds. When I open that door, I have to be there for my wife and kids. I can't let that upset or depression affect them. It really puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on you to have a family while building a startup.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Make sure your emotional state and ability to cope with stress are in order. I really underestimated this part of starting a business. The irony is that you can't afford a therapist to help keep you stabilized.
- Be prepared to lose everything. This may not be your experience. However, as many other founders and I have met, even if you succeed, there will be a period of extreme financial hardship. Eating ramen while living with way too many roommates and still paying your bills late has become commonplace during my journey.
- Building a business from scratch can be very exhilarating. And just know that the startup world is extremely forgiving. Failure is common and expected. So even if you fail your first go at it, you actually get more street cred the second time around. You will also frequently be welcomed into other startups that can pay you.
So my point is if you feel like you want to start a business, just go for it. You only live once, and money can be made again. But be warned: to be successful, you will really have to be prepared to keep pushing through some very challenging times. But hey, if you hit it right, you may never have to work again once you exit!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://hashtagrenterslife.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hashtagrenterslife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hashtagrenterslife/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtagrentlife
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-lewallen/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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