Taking the Leap: Navigating the Shift From W2 Security to Self-Employment with Anthony Lautanen of Auspi Group

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Chapters

• 0:00 Embracing Freelance Uncertainty
• 5:21 Found, Inspired, Succeeding Together
• 7:18 Local Networking with NCBI
• 10:10 Early Adoption of Business Tools

Transcript

0:00

When you go on your own, you're controlling your own destiny. And that's hard for some people because they can't grasp the fact that I don't know when my next paycheck's coming or, you know, when you're doing billables or accounts receivable. Right. Like you don't know when your next paycheck's going to come. And that's scary for a lot of people, my wife included. My wife thought I was absolutely bonkers. Welcome to another episode of Struggles presented by ncbi, the podcast where we navigate challenges together. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Struggles presented by ncbi. I'm Chris Smith. Idea Cleveland. This is Anthony Lautner with OSPY Group. All right, cool. So, Anthony, you used to have a full time job. I did. And you still have a full time job. But. But it's not that standard W2 work for a corporation. And that's what we're going to kind of talk about the journey of being from an employee to being self motivated. Because you got to work hard to make your own paycheck. Absolutely, Chris. I think it's one of the biggest topics for a business owner, for anybody that's trying to go out on their own. It's a challenging world. Right. It's challenging for a lot of people to take that secure paycheck every two weeks, regardless of what you do. You could do nothing for two weeks, which again, people do that. I don't. But you could do that and still get paid and still have that security blanket. When you go on your own, you're controlling your own destiny. And that's hard for some people because they can't grasp the fact that I don't know when my next paycheck's coming or, you know, when you're doing billables or accounts receivable. Right. Like you don't know when your next paycheck's gonna come. And that's scary for a lot of people, my wife included. My wife thought I was absolutely bonkers for going out on my own and not being a traditional W2 employee. And now she sees the benefit of it because she sees that I'm working towards something that I enjoy every day and I'm just loving what I do and talking to people and helping them out and yeah, it's just an overall cool thing. So what did you do before this? I've been in the industry for parcel negotiation. I used to be a Worldwide Express rep for the. On the UPS side, selling UPS products. So I've been in the parcel space my entire career. And over that time period, I just, you know, being a W2 employee, having the commissions, things like that, what always changed was the comp structures, the commission structures would change the. It'd be different. You know, we're going to change this, we're going to change that. You know, if you're performing well as a salesperson, you don't want to see your commission fall or drop. And I just felt like a lot of different factors came into play for me where I just simply said, you know what? I could do this. You know, I could do this by myself. So were you an employee and then you decided to step away or were you laid off? Yes, because that's how I became a freelancer. Solo entrepreneur to a business owner is. I was laid off. Yeah. Yeah. So it's actually a good. It's actually a pretty intricate story. So my father, he had a stroke 2015. And I was working with a company in Chicago at the time, and he just was struggling a lot with his health. And I took a step back and I really evaluated all that stuff. And I said, you know what? I'm going to put my two weeks in here and I want to spend some more time with my dad. There's a lot of stuff going on in his world. And that's kind of where, you know, it all happened for me. I stepped away, and then I did some, you know, freelance work in terms of, you know, like vice president of manufacturing at a company, just doing a contract work for them for a year. And then ultimately I came back to parcel and I was like, okay, this is. I want to be here. Like, you know, kind of find your way and find your path. And once you find that path, that's how I came to be a part of OSPY Group. BOM Image appreciates the opportunity to sponsor this podcast. BOM Image provides brand firepower, precision target brand messaging and visual identities, empowering small teams in the professional services space to attract their most rewarding and profitable customers. We work hand in hand with our client partners, implementing our unique set of processes, focusing on listening, raw objectivity and accountability to help them present a more impactful brand story. Our passion is inspiring clients to create their brand bomb image. Cool. So you're a part of it, are you? You're the explain what your role really is here locally? Yeah, yeah. The role locally for me is really just to, you know, I'm part of the expansion team. Right. So we help. I'm a strategic advisor for OSPY Group. We help companies all throughout the, you know, United States, but here locally, we like to have a local presence. So I want to be part of that expansion and growth within our company to be able to help them. So I'm basically the Cleveland office of OSPY Group. So I am the one stop shop here in the Northeast. Yeah, because you guys are based out of California, right? Correct. Correct. Yeah. So how did you go about finding them? Or they found you? Yeah, so they actually found me. There's two folks that, you know, I've been working with for a long time, and they reached out to me about a year or so after I, you know, left my former company, and they were like, hey, we'd love to have you. And, you know, I went back and forth for a while. And ultimately what made it happen for me was it's just you're doing your own thing. You control your own destiny, and you're working with people that you enjoy working with. I think those are the three main components that really help. And being able to do that with people that you care about and that you want to succeed as well, only pushes you to be greater. What's great about your story is that you found or they found you. But this partnership with already a successful brand, a lot of people think that if I'm gonna create something, I'm gonna have to be on their own. They have to start from zero. But it's amazing. Cause you have this company in California that's supporting you in creating the local. It's a different story than a lot of people have. Yes. I mean, they have gone through a lot of struggles. Right. This is a struggles podcast. They've gone through a lot of struggles. And me coming in a little bit later to the party, I think that it created its own struggles. But it also, again, like you said, I had that support from those two and this company in general, I had support from everybody, all the employees there. And they supported me and lifted me up. And I already knew them from my past life, so I trusted them. And, you know, they are trying to make sure that I am successful in every way possible. So I kind of have that corner. It's a very unique situation for me. It is because a lot of people think they go on their own, they got to be on their own. But there's many successful State Farm agents and they have the company backing with them. Right. So if you're thinking about maybe you're struggling currently in your business, maybe there is a larger entity maybe you can partner with and become the local branch of. Exactly. I Mean, that's why, honestly, that's why I reached out to NCBI to begin with was because, sure, they're in California, but I don't see them every day. I talk to them every day, but I don't see them every day. And having the ability to be a part of a group like this, I'm able to go to these events, go to these luncheons, talk with people locally, build relationships, and meet with people that are going through the same things that I'm going through. And to be able to have them walk me through how to go through those challenges and adversity is huge. So I think a local presence here with networking is huge, but also the backing is just as good. I made a mistake. I tried building a business without ever networking. I thought I could just sit at home and magic things would happen. And then I was like, this is stupid. And I went out and I started networking. And yet, having the community around you is the only way you can grow a business 100%. And a lot of people don't know this. Chris, I'm sure you're very well versed in this, but a lot of people don't know Cleveland, just Cleveland in general. I tell people all the time, even my co workers, my colleagues, like, Cleveland's a different place. People here care about other people a lot. And when you come and you network with people in this area, they just want to help. And that's what's great about Northeast Ohio, and that's what makes this city great, is the ability for other people to come in and want to help. Yeah, absolutely. And then when you come to events like NCBI is, the people that are there want to find out, hey, who do you want to meet? Who's some strategic partners? Who can I introduce you to? Who can you help that's in my circles? Who can. My circles can help you. Right. It's such a giving business mentality, and there's so many people that are competing within circles, but I know I get into those circles with those people and we just have shop talk. That's it. There's plenty of work for all of us to succeed, and success is different for each one of us. So I think that is a different mentality that a lot of people in NCBI and Cleveland have. And yeah, for sure. I mean it. Definitely you hit the nail on the head on that one. In Cleveland alone, I mean, just. Even if I run across somebody that does something that I do, I'm picking their brain. I mean, we're all in this Together. My main goal is to help a client, you know, or a partner or company save money, and save money, naturally, and put that money back into their business and reinvest it. So if somebody's doing the same thing I'm doing, they're essentially doing my mission, my work. So I want to pick their brain to see what they're doing. And it's a friendly environment, and I love being a part of it. I mean, I got my CPA from, you know, networking. I got a bunch of people that have helped my overall growth as a sole proprietor just. Just on networking alone. That's awesome. What's one thing that you wish you'd have done different? That's a great question. You know, I think one thing I could have done differently in the beginning stages is tracked better on my overall business. And what I mean by that is I didn't have QuickBooks for probably eight months or nine months in the first year. So I really just was tracking things on paper. And I think spending the money early on, things like QuickBooks or things like a management system, something like that, to help you keep track of things is huge. And I just wish I would have done that earlier on because now I'm cruising. Everything's in QuickBooks, everything's categorized, everything's already done. For me, it's just a matter of going to my CPA and getting everything done. No one's ever created a company so they can do books. Right, Right. I'm just gung ho. Yeah, yeah. That's what. That's what happens. And that's. That's everyone's beginning struggle. That and marketing. How do I get people to know that I'm even open for business? That's true, too. I mean, putting your face out there, getting to know people. The biggest thing for me, marketing wise, is, and especially in my industry, is doing the right thing. If you do the right thing for a company and you help them and you really want their best interest in mind, you're gonna get business tenfold. I'm a firm believer in that. So if you, you know, karma is a huge thing for me. So if you do well for others, they're gonna treat you well back. Well, this has been a fun conversation. Absolutely. Yeah. And thank you for joining me. And thank you all for listening. And please tun for the next episode of Struggles presented by ncbi. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Struggles presented by ncbi, where we navigate challenges together. Don't forget to subscribe, listen and share this podcast with others who might benefit. We'd love to hear about the struggles you're facing or have overcome, and we'd be thrilled to have you as a guest on a future episode. So let's continue this journey together.