Juggling multiple entrepreneurial ventures is no easy feat, but Jared Bauman has mastered the art of wearing many hats. As the Co-Founder and CEO of 201 Creative, LLC, Jared brings a wealth of expertise in business strategy, marketing, and SEO to the table. His entrepreneurial journey began long before his current role, having founded and successfully sold two companies before 201 Creative.
Jared’s passion for sharing his knowledge extends beyond the corporate realm. For over a decade, he has hosted the popular Niche Pursuits podcast, providing invaluable insights and guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs. His expertise has also been sought after by reputable publications like Search Engine Land, where he contributes as a writer.
But Jared’s side hustles don’t stop there. He owns and manages a portfolio of websites, further diversifying his entrepreneurial portfolio and demonstrating his ability to thrive in multiple business arenas simultaneously.
We were lucky enough to ask Jared a couple questions about his income streams, how he got started, how he manages his time, as well as advice for people looking to achieve the status of having multiple streams of income.
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Can you share your journey into entrepreneurship? What motivated you to start your own business?
I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship, starting at a young age. My path to entrepreneurship really kicked off in college with the founding of Bauman Photographers. I was looking for a way to pay for the expensive camera gear I wanted.
What started off as a small side hustle was a full business by the time I graduated college. This early venture was a hands-on crash course in business, teaching me invaluable lessons about areas like customer service and the power of innovation.
After over a decade of growth and success, I sold that business to focus on ShootDotEdit, a venture that further sharpened my skills in digital marketing and business management.
My entrepreneurial drive didn’t stop there; it propelled me to start 201 Creative. The inspiration behind 201 Creative was clear: I wanted to harness my accumulated knowledge in SEO and marketing to help other businesses succeed online. This venture wasn’t just about business growth; it was about leveraging my skills for the greater good, helping companies navigate the digital landscape to achieve real, tangible growth.
Can you break down the various income streams your business has? (By Revenue Or Percentage– however you’d like to break it down)
At 201 Creative, our main revenue stream comes from providing a suite of digital marketing services. This encompasses everything from in-depth technical website audits to crafting bespoke content strategies and executing comprehensive SEO campaigns for our clients. These services form the backbone of our agency’s revenue, driving the bulk of my overall revenue.
Alongside our core offerings, I’ve also ventured into side projects that complement our main business. This includes the Weekend Growth newsletter, where I share insights and strategies on brand and website growth, and my role as an Amazon Influencer, which, while more modest in revenue, allows us to test new marketing strategies in real-time.
And, not to be forgotten are our own portfolio of websites that we start, buy, build, and sell. We use the same principles to grow these as we do our client’s websites.
These additional ventures not only diversify our income but also enrich our main service offerings with fresh, tested insights.
As a percentage, our side hustles make up less than 20% of overall revenue.
| Income Stream | Description | Contribution to Overall Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Marketing Services | This includes a suite of services such as in-depth technical website audits, bespoke content strategies, and comprehensive SEO campaigns. These are the core offerings of the agency and drive the bulk of its revenue. | More than 80% |
| Weekend Growth Newsletter | A side project where insights and strategies on brand and website growth are shared. This complements the main business by providing a platform for sharing knowledge and engaging with a broader audience. With newsletters you could make good money from sponsorships, ads, affiliate marketing, and lastly by driving traffic to your blog or YouTube channel. | Part of the less than 20% |
| Amazon Influencer | The Amazon Influencer program is where you create videos about Amazon products and upload them directly to Amazon. When someone watches your videos and then buys a product you make a commission. Jared has a video series about this on his Weekend Growth YouTube channel. | Part of the less than 20% |
| Portfolio of Websites | The agency starts, buys, builds, and sells its own portfolio of websites, applying the same growth principles used for clients’ websites. This not only generates revenue but also enriches service offerings with tested insights. | Part of the less than 20% |
How Do You Manage All Of These Income Streams At Once? Whats your strategy for time management?
Juggling multiple income streams effectively boils down to strategic prioritization and efficient resource allocation. We dynamically adjust our focus between client projects and our internal ventures based on immediate needs and long-term goals.
Client needs always take priority, but we are careful to always have more internal resources than we need for client objectives. This fluid approach ensures that both aspects of our business receive the attention they deserve, keeping our team fully engaged and driving consistent growth.
Personally, I rely on a disciplined approach to time management, utilizing a combination of meticulous scheduling, regular priority assessments, and leveraging project management tools to keep everything on track. This disciplined approach ensures I’m not just staying busy but also making meaningful progress across all fronts.
How do you assess the viability and potential of a new income stream before fully committing to it?
When considering new income streams, I take a methodical approach, evaluating each opportunity against a set of criteria to determine its potential fit and value. This includes analyzing market demand, scalability, compatibility with our existing skills and resources, and the expected return on investment.
I also look at the competitive landscape and potential barriers to entry to gauge the feasibility of success. Starting with small-scale tests or pilot projects allows us to measure real-world viability and refine our approach before committing significant resources.
Time is always tight, but this minimally viable product approach (MVP) allows us to quickly test ideas for viability. We don’t have to invest too much time or resources into them, but we can see if they are worth pushing harder on.
There are so many different opportunities online to make money -Based on your experience, what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to diversify their income?
Diversification is essential in today’s volatile business environment in my opinion. But it’s important to approach it with a strategic mindset.
My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to leverage their core strengths as a foundation for exploring new income streams. Conduct thorough market research to identify opportunities that align with your expertise and offer genuine value to your target audience.
Be prepared to experiment, but also be disciplined in evaluating the success and potential of each venture.
Above all, take action. Don’t sit on the sidelines analyzing for very long. The vast majority of my side hustle success comes from the fact that I jumped in and learned as I went.
Remember, diversification should not dilute your focus but rather complement and enhance your core business offerings.
Tell Us All The Ways In Which We Could Find You
Agency: https://201creative.com/
Blog: https://weekendgrowth.com/
Newsletter: https://weekendgrowth.com/newsletter/
Speaking: https://jaredbauman.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaredbauman
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredbauman/
The Biggest Lessons We Learned From Jareds Journey
Based on the interview, here are some key lessons learned from Jared Bauman’s entrepreneurial journey:
- Start early and learn through hands-on experience.
Jared’s first business venture, Bauman Photographers, started as a side hustle in college and provided invaluable lessons about running a business like customer service and innovation. - Leverage your existing skills and knowledge.
Jared’s core expertise in SEO, digital marketing, and business strategy enabled him to start 201 Creative and provide valuable services while exploring complementary side projects. - Diversify strategically and validate opportunities.
Jared carefully evaluates new income stream ideas based on criteria like market demand, scalability, return on investment, and fits with his skillset before fully committing resources. - Prioritize, but leave capacity for growth areas.
Client needs are the top priority at 201 Creative, but Jared ensures having extra bandwidth to work on side ventures that can drive future growth. - Consistent action and experimentation are key.
Jared emphasizes the importance of taking action, using an MVP approach to test ideas quickly rather than overanalyzing, and being prepared to adapt based on results. - Time management is critical for juggling multiple projects.
Relying on disciplined scheduling, prioritization, and project management enables Jared to effectively manage his diverse entrepreneurial endeavors.