This week on The Big Leap Show we sit down with Rachel Schneider, co-founder of Bluebelle Concierge!
On the go? Listen & subscribe via iTunes | Stitcher
In this episode, she'll be sharing:
- How her company Bluebelle Concierge started with the intention of providing lifestyle support to older senior adults, but pivoted when their inquires started coming more from start up companies who were looking for help for their overwhelmed professionals.
- Her experience co-founding Bluebelle Concierge with her best friend and how their lives changed after they made the big leap.
- Why she feels it’s important not only to your happiness, but for the betterment of your company to hire out and not feel the need to do everything yourself.
- Her definition of success and what she recommends for others as they are looking to begin their journey into entrepreneurship.
Rachel's advice for big dreamers:
- Don’t quickly jump full time into your business without first researching and validating your idea idea. Rachel continued working part time for a full year researching, talking to people, and validating her business idea before she and her co-founder Laura made the full leap.
- Be honest with your market about why you are helping them. When Bluebelle first began, Rachel and her co-founder were only 22, so they really had to build up the trust with their clients by sharing their intentions and why they were passionate about helping their target population.
- Protect your time. Figure out what skills you need to know, and what things you can hire people to help you with. For Rachel and her co-founder they realized it was a better use of their time to hire out a lawyer, an accountant, and a web designer, so they could focus on the high value needs that they were passionate about.
- Figure out your business model. Making the jump is scary financially. It was important for them to not only figure out the pricing for their services, but also be creative with how they could diversify their income so that they generated enough profit every month.
- Build a strong brand. Rachel could not stress enough the importance of a clear and strong brand. Your brand needs to reflect who you are, what your company is all about, and be something that will stick with your customers.
- Have a support group. It’s important to have people that you can turn to so that you don’t feel alone when you’re scared, and help give you different perspectives when it comes to business ideas.
- Don’t chase opportunities that aren’t in line with your vision. As you grow there are constantly going to be distractions and new opportunities for you to jump on that might be good for your business, but if they aren’t good for you and don’t speak to what you love, Rachel advises you to pause before pursuing.