How to Start a Business While Keeping Your Full-Time Job
Have you thought about starting a business but are afraid to leave your 9-5 before you know it can make you enough money? At Factora, we talk a lot about the importance of having multiple income streams and how the wealthiest people are often business owners. In this episode, we hear how Carlyle built a 53-acre retreat space in Texas while continuing to work in tech—and her plan to eventually go full-time in her business.
What you’ll learn:
How she came up with her business idea and got started
How she juggled starting a real-world business while working online
The numbers behind it all—from start-up to cash flow
Tips for women looking to start a business or go all-in on their side hustle
Featured in this episode:
Check out Serena and follow them on Instagram @serenatx
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LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF COFFEE & COIN
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This is a Allegra Moet Brantley, and you are listening to the Coffee and Coin podcast where women talk wealth. I'm the founder and c e o of factor, a company on a mission to lead 1 million women to 1 million in net worth because when women have more money, we'll have more. To be the change we want to see in the world.
If you're ready to hear real women share their real numbers and investment journeys and have a sneaky feeling, you should be doing a little more with your money, you are in the right place. Just sit back, relax, and turn me up.
All opinions expressed by Team Factora and podcast. Are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Factor Incorporated. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be used as the basis for investment decisions. Team factor and podcast guests may maintain positions in the securities or investments
discussed in this podcast.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Coffee and Coin. I have my dear friend Carlisle on the pod with me today. Hey Carlisle.
Hi Allegra.
So, I was actually waiting for you to jump on and I was noticing how much I look like an old Jewish Miami woman today for this recording, but I am freshly back from Miami, so I feel like leopard and headband and red lipstick is what I needed to wear.
So we actually just launched the Factora YouTube channel, which we are now putting all of our episodes. Up there in video format. So if you wanna see my super cool outfit, into the Factora YouTube channel. But I have Carlisle on the pod today because we are gonna discuss what it's like to run a business while keeping your full-time job.
And the reason I wanted to have that discussion is because in the well circle we have a session on business investing. That's one of the three main asset classes you can invest in. We've obviously heard of a lot of people getting very wealthy from starting businesses, and actually, if you look at the Forbes 400 list, it's usually upwards of 80 to 90% of people on that.
Who have built those super huge net worths from an entrepreneur endeavor because there is no ceiling. If you've got a good idea, you can just continue to run with it and make money from it. So I think business investing is something that can be really sexy. It can also be really daunting, and that's why we break it down in the wall circle.
But there's actually an assignment we do called a back pocket business plan. Where we just have every woman go ahead and consider what it would be like to have something outside of their regular salaried income that could bring the money. Cuz we all have different skills, we all have different interests, and we could totally apply those to create value and exchange it for money in the world.
And Factor is all about teaching women why it is so important to have multiple income. That does not mean we are saying go out and become an entrepreneur. Shit is hard. Carlisle and I are gonna talk about that today, but it is something to consider because that's how most people can build significant wealth within one lifetime.
So, One of the hardest things to figure out and to balance is when it makes sense to go full-time in your business if you've launched something on the side. And that is what I wanted to bring Carlisle on to talk about today. So without further ado, Lyle, could you give us a little details about your business?
Yes, absolutely. And I am very excited to talk about this today. Um, as you know, like Red's been many, many years of doing multiple things. Um, but I, yeah, I have a lot of things to say on like the benefits of both and, and different considerations that I've made along the way. Um, but my, so I work full-time, um, for a, uh, for a tech company, for a crypto company, um, but also on the side run.
Uh, 21 and up glamping retreat space about 45 minutes outside of Austin with my partner Zach. Um, we have five of the can, like big canvas safari glamping tents, and three going on four tiny cabins. Um, but the space overall is focused on outdoor communal amenities. So think like an outdoor kitchen, a outdoor dining space.
Um, a big shared kind of communal, yet private bathhouse. Um, an outdoor gym yoga deck and it's all on 53 acres. And Zach and I also live here full-time. Um, and we've been out here full-time since, um, let's see, since basically covid, so like March of 2020. Um, and the standard property usage is Airbnb, so we do kind of Airbnb rentals for weekend getaways, but we also co-host retreats.
And Serana is a venue space where you can rent it out for. , um, your own retreat for parties, um, and, and things like that. So we've, we've experimented with a lot of different ways to use the space over the last few years. Um, but yeah, that's what we've been working on for the last three years or so. Okay.
You
didn't mention the name until the very end. So for people who need to rehear that, this gorgeous retreat space 45 minutes outside of Austin is called Serana. You can visit them@seranaatx.com and we will link it in the show notes. You also forgot to mention your pool . I feel like a lot of these, a lot of these retreat spaces, especially out in rural Texas, don't have a pool.
And you do. And it's the best.
It's a good point. Thank you for keeping me honest. Um, it's, yeah, we have a
loveliest
saltwater pool, um, but we did not have a pool when we first opened, and so a large part of serana has been kind of chipping away at things and adding as we go, adding as we have money coming in.
and yeah, adding as we, as we have financial breathing room. So the pool we added in November of 2021.
Yeah, so I've been out to Serana many times and the first time I went was for a private summer dinner series where they have this communal kitchen. They had a chef come in and I only knew. You and my husband who I brought with me, and then we were sat at this beautiful outdoor table, um, with maybe, I don't know, was there like 20, 18, 20 of us.
Okay. So yeah, you, you keep them kind of like a perfect size. You can kind of have cocktails with everyone and then you sit down and you really get to know the people that you are sat next to. Not to jump around, but that night I also discovered that you have a second side hustle, which is a game where it's this beautiful kind of vase, what would you call that?
Yeah, vessel vase. Okay. Ceramic. Ceramic vase that has, um, Popsicle sticks in it with these beautiful questions. To get to know one another. So when you're sitting next to people that you don't know, there's always that standard, Hey, why are you here? What do you do for a living? But this is way deeper than that.
This is like if you were to come back in another lifetime, what would you come back? Like, I don't know, doing is not even the right. Give us an example of what your, your game questions are. Um,
so one of my favorite questions is, what is something that your younger self wouldn't believe about your life today?
Okay. Like
that just starts the most intimate, intricate, surprising conversations. And so that is called Meet Around the Table, which. Additional business that Carlisle has. So I guess it's worth introducing this early in the show that you are one of the most creative people I know, and you don't just have this retreat space 45 minutes outside of Austin.
You bought it with a farmhouse that had to be ripped down to the studs and rebuilt everything that's inside of it. You have Thrifted Facebook marketplace or. Done yourself. I'm talking shelving like she's always painting a wall or doing, doing something that I'm like, don't you just wanna relax? I mean, everything's already so beautiful.
Um, but that's just you, you are an uber creative and so you have this space and you don't just want that. It's like you want the people who come into this space to connect on a deeper level, not just with themselves, not just with nature. Cuz it is so beautiful. I'm talking. , they've got neighbor cows and just the sunsets are phenomenal, but also with the people that they meet when they're at Serana.
So let's just back it up a little bit. I would love for you to talk to me about how you even got the idea to create a retreat space. And at the time, I know you weren't living in Texas, so tell us a little bit about that. . Yes.
Um, so back in 2018, I guess beginning of 2019, um, Zach and I had been together for like six months or so, and we had the idea to invite 10 of our friends each, so 20 people total on a trip to Joshua Tree.
Um, Zach was living in Austin at the time and I was living in the Bay Area. Um, and we picked Joshua Tree because, uh, the timing was right. It was beautiful Spring, um, do some hiking. . Um, and there's a lot of cool properties out there. Um, but the idea was, you know, we're now bringing 10 friends, um, so 20 like kind of strangers, one once removed.
Um, but how do we create a trip that. Maximizes and inspires connection. Um, and it also invite friends to participate and share all their gifts as well. So basically gave friends the opportunity to say, you know, I am a yoga teacher, or I've been loving leading meditations. I would love to lead the group on a meditation one morning.
Um, and, or like, I would love to teach everyone like a dance movement class type of thing. Really giving everyone an opportunity to like, share their unique gifts and passions. Um, because everyone around us, and this is true in any, in anything, like everyone has beautiful passions and talents and things like that.
So just giving people a platform to actually be able to express those things, um, was something that was, uh, exciting to us and, and fun. . I would say like Zach and I are both like very passionate about bringing people together and thinking about ways to spark meaningful connections and relationships. And the trip was super fun and after the first one we agreed like, could we potentially make like a business out of this where it's like curated trips.
We kind of have like a retreat aspect, but it's, it travels to different locations essentially. So, um, , you know, we were excited about that idea. It'd be a great way to meet new people. Like could do like an entrepreneur focus type of thing. Um, but I realized as soon as we were excited about the idea that I was spending more time actually trying to find cool places to hold such a retreat that, um, you know, would accommodate this, the number of people that we, we wanted to do, but wasn't just like a big house with like 20 bedroom.
We wanted to be able to, to have something kind of unique and outdoor and outdoor kind of essence to it. Um, whether it's by like a national park or something like that. So anyway, realized that I was spending more time trying to find a property to actually do this type of business on, and, um, we were like, well, why don't we just create.
Um, so it definitely came out of the like create what you wish existed. Right? And that's obviously where, where so many amazing business ideas come from and, and where, you know, what so many entrepreneurs will talk about in terms of their inspiration. So that was very much the case for us. And um, yeah, so that was back in 2018 and we decided to start to look for property and we started in California and just kind of the southwest general.
Weather's pretty temperate. Um, and you know, I was obviously in, in the Bay at the time, so we were looking basically like within a 3, 4, 5 hour radius within like LA and, and San Francisco. Um, so like up in the mountains, up in, up on the coast. Um, and you know, there were some days where we would spend like 12 hours in a rental car, like driving around looking at properties that we had found on Zillow.
To make sure that they checked all the boxes. You know, we kind of had a quick list of things. And also, like Zach would spend a bunch of time on Zillow and Google Earth, like looking for the nearest telephone pole of like the rural land that we were looking at on Zillow. Um, and as we learn more and more about California and um, kind of the, a lot of the Southwest, Arizona, New Mexico, there's a lot of zoning restrictions, a lot of permitting requirements that it felt like we would spend potentially the first few years just trying to.
Be able to build on the land that we bought. Um, and again, Zach was living in, in Austin at the time, so we were kind of doing long distance and jumping back and forth. And Zach started to do research in Texas on zoning requirements and permitting requirements, and depending on the county, but more broadly in Texas, the great state of Texas, the requirements or restrictions I should say.
Much less than what you would find in California. Um, like and for context, like you can barely even build like a dog house in California, outside in your backyard without basically a permit for it. Um, so it led us to Texas, um, led us to the Austin area and, um, again, we did kind of the same thing driving around the, within probably an hour of Austin.
Um, looking at different properties. Obviously way more affordable. You can get much closer to a city, um, than what, what we would be able to do in like the Bay Area or la. Um, and yeah, ended up finding our, our property at the end of 2019. It had been on the market for a year, which is insane when you think about it relative to today, where, you know, land outside of Austin now gets gobbled up within like 20 minutes.
Um, so it's all been like very divine timing in that way, um, and feel really lucky for that.
Okay, so just to recap, you took friends on a retreat that was so inspirational that you thought of making it. More of a business, so you could do it more frequently. And because you couldn't find the right venue for hosting this, you decided to create your own venue to host this.
Yes. And when finding a place in California turned into buying a place in. Bastrop , Texas.
Yes, exactly. Okay. I love it for Gretchen .
Oh, but the, but the reason I'm just recapping it is because I think sometimes people feel like they need to land on the exact idea right away. And that was such a, not a roller coaster per se, but it just, it transformed from the initial idea to the manifestation of that idea.
And I think it's important to encapsulate, cuz I almost feel like sometimes people don't. allow themselves to iterate on their dreams. If the dream's not perfect, they just don't go for it. And really, I heard you say divine timing. I wanna dig into that a little bit because. I'm assuming, or I took that from the financial standpoint.
And this is the Coffee and Coin podcast. So can you share how many acres you bought and for what price and what you think that would be valued at today? Because you're saying you purchased at the end of 2019. Yes.
Yeah. Um, so we have 53 acres and at the time we purchased the property for $475,000. and basically the land and the property was valued as if the house that is current, as if the house that was currently on it did not exist.
Because that's how, that's how basically, um, in, in, that's, that's the bad shape that it was in, so to speak. Yeah. Um, there were some cow barns on the property as well, which had a little bit of value, but basically we had bought this property as if it was effectively raw land. Um, . So we have since, you know, put cabins and tents and a pool and the house is now a little 1600 square foot, three bedroom, two bathroom, um, house.
And I think right now our last appraisal of, you know, just the value of the land from the county was like 1.3, 1.4 million. . Um, and you know, that appraisal came in at the end of last year. So that's, that is just three years. That's amazing.
That's amazing. That's why I'm that well circle also has a , that's why.
Yeah. That's why we also talk about real estate. Real estate is a hard asset. Everyone uses it to live in. And we also all love to travel and go stay in other people's land and properties. So I think that that is, Really a testament to you guys turning this land into something so beautiful, but also three years later, that's triple the value.
Okay. Anyways, back to Serana. When you initially created it, what were some of the either first goals or plans you had and wherever You can interject some numbers because it is. Coffee and Coin podcast, please let us know, cuz I know you've invested a lot in this, in this property.
Yes, definitely. Um, so when we first started out, we knew that we wanted to have kinda little tiny cabins and um, a couple of tents.
So we started out with three tiny cabins and two canvas glamping tents. I think the canvas glamping tents, the original outfitter that we used, I wanna say maybe we're like four grand, five grand each, all in. Um, and then the cabins, originally we actually didn't set them up with electricity, so they didn't have heat or AC or lights.
Um, and we did kind of lanterns and um, you know, extra camp blankets and things like, , um, just to test, to see like what's, you know, let's actually ride out like a full Texas season and like see, see if we can get away with not necessarily needing, um, full electricity. And so the cabins just for the structure and, and these are like 120 square feet, so they're quite small, um, but perfect for like a bed and a little reading chair.
And those were around five to seven. . Now, keep in mind, when we were building lumber was at an all-time high. So if we were to do this again, it would be half as much. Um, so that was, that was a cost that we honestly had not been thinking about as far as how much the price of materials could impact, how much you could build.
Um, you know, had lumber been what it was at today, we would've built three more tiny cabins than what we had. Um, so very quickly, we've also found out like you. , you should probably have structures with electricity in Texas, . Um, so we had been kind of riding on our original idea of a lot of like outdoor friendly spaces, um, when we were thinking about doing this in California.
Um, so that, that quickly changed. Um, so I think adding electricity ended up being like five grand total, um, which was actually a lot less than what we had thought it would've been. Um, so one of the things that definitely. Uh, one of the things that we had not foreseen was how much the house renovation would be like.
We had to do a brand new foundation. We had to do all new electricity, all new plumbing. Like the house was, like I said, basically barely standing. Um, so that definitely ate away at our initial budget of like what we wanted to do and what we could realistically do. Um, and just. Just to reiterate, so Serona up to this point, has been completely self-funded by Zach and I, and I think that there are pros and cons to doing that.
Um, I think one of the things, one of the reasons why we wanted to do it to begin with is because I knew that I would be maintaining my full-time job, um, for the time being while we tested it out. And Zach was also working part-time slash full-time as well, um, doing, doing some of his own stuff and. I think by not originally getting a loan, um, made it so that we could be really flexible and really nimble.
Like if you are getting construction loans, there's a lot of paperwork effectively that's required to actually get a project started. So it was really Zach, I and a friend of ours who helped us started building in June of 2020, and we basically could just operate as quickly as we, as quickly as we could with the money that we had in order to do.
Um, and yeah, I mean it's, we, we definitely learned a lot. I think had we gone the route of actually getting investors or alone at the onset, um, it would've alleviated like a lot of the financial stress. But in some ways would we have been able to be as flexible as we have been in terms of how we want to experiment with different ways of using the property.
Um, you know, we don't have to answer to anyone at the end of the day, and so you. , definitely getting like a loan or investors is something that we still think about all the time is, um, something to maybe take us to the next phase of what we're looking for. But, um, that's, that's kind of where things started for us back, back in 2020.
Okay. So I wanna tap into to two things there. Um, first I want to know how much you think you guys have invested into your business so far. Do you have any sort of. Yeah, I would
say business alone, probably around 300 K. And that's a, over the last three years or so. So the way that we have basically been treating SER is like money in, money out.
Like money in, aside from the kind of small amount that I invested by 401K these days, sorry, Allegra, um, , um, Basically goes into Serana. Um, so we we're, we're pretty frugal with all other areas of our life. Um, and the money that Serana makes, um, goes into and, and reinvest in Serana. And the excess cash that we have at the end of every month, the end of every quarter, whatever, um, from our, our other full-time jobs, um, also go into Serana as well.
Okay. Don't feel
guilty for the 401k thing. I think it's so funny, half the people that are my good friends that call me and talk about money, they're like, oh my God, Allegra, don't get mad at me, but I spent on this, or I turned down my investments. I'm not automating as much what I want. And I'm like, I'm not here to judge your financial choices.
Why did I get put in that position? I want everyone to do what worked for them, and clearly if you were over contributing to your 401k, you wouldn't have been able to put $300,000 into your business. So that is why. Personal finance is so personal and it's so great that you can, you know, pause on one goal to prioritize another goal.
So totally no judgment there. . But also, but also I do think listeners are gonna be like, she bought this place in 2019, it's 2023. They put in $300,000 of their own money. So I think we should talk. , um, how much income do you make and how much income does Zach make, approximately? And then how much do you contribute of those incomes because you're a very high income earning woman, which I love
Um, yeah, so I, let's see. I, I'm trying to think about kind of where, where to start because it's, it's a little bit of both, right? There was a, Savings component, right? Like this Serana has definitely been a like dump your entire life savings into this project or into this dream that you have, which has definitely been a, a, a big part of it and a large chunk of that 300 K, right?
So, um, I think we. We put in pretty much everything that we had from a savings perspective into Serana at the onset. And um, you know, and that had to pay for a lot of the like, big ticket expenses that come all at once, right? Of like the, uh, electrical, the, um, the pool, like things like that that like you have to write one single check, but when you have kind of the smaller things of the new cabin that you're building that gets built over two months.
um, you know, it's easier to spend the, like one k 1500 k or yeah, 1500, um, dollars per month to like, help pay for some of the smaller expenses that kind of come in and trickle in over time. Um, so right now might be salary is 160 K annually, um, and ZX is. Zach's an entrepreneur and works on a couple different projects, so I couldn't even like try to guess what his is.
Uh, cuz it's, it's a little bit different than mine, uh, as a W2 employee, so to speak. Um, but yeah, it, that, that kind of gives context of like the, how much we're making today, how that impacts and how we're able to contribute to, um, kinda some of these littler projects that, that trickle in over time. And then Serana is at the point now where it pays for itself.
So. For, for context there, like Serana doesn't pay us. We're not yet at a point where we are taking a salary or, or taking anything from Serana, but Serana sustains itself, sustains its overhead costs. Um, and we also, uh, are able to use the money that comes in via retreats and Airbnbs to again, invest in the property and make the property, all that we hope for it to be and, and want for it to be as we, as we go along.
So how much does make
today that it. Sustained. Its overhead.
Yeah. So right now, last year we were at like 45 K in revenue. . Um, and we even did some big builds last year as well. Um, so we, I don't think we ended up netting like really anything profit wise. Um, but it, it makes it so it's, we can feel like really happy and excited about investing all that money into Serana because we don't have to think about how is Serrano going to sustain us, and that's been one of the biggest decisions.
And like my biggest headspace with respect to. Keeping my full-time job is I want to invest as much as I can in Serana and make sure that Serana as a entity, as a like brainchild and creative child of Zach and my, um, basically gets as much put into it as we possibly can. And I will take care of myself for now while just continuing to work full-time and, and maintaining a w2.
Um, A W2 salary. Okay,
wait. Yeah, so let's get into that cuz that is really the main reason we're talking. I think so many people start a business with the idea that this side business will become their full-time business. And I'm interested to know if that is your plan in the future, but even before that, um, what you just.
which is that you don't have to worry about making certain decisions for the business because you already have your own personal income. That is good. You're solid. You know, you and Zack make enough income that. , you initially put your savings in to get Sana off the ground, then you got Serana into a place where it's comfortably making around 45,000 in revenue, and you're just reinvesting all of that back into serana plus putting in some additional of your own incomes when it makes sense.
Am I getting that correct? Yep. Yeah. Okay. But you're not really forced to make decisions based on Sara needing to give you income because the income is still primarily coming from. Your job's outside of Serana. Yeah.
That's great. Okay, so then just talk to me about,
um, is your vision to have Serana pay you guys in the future?
Or really, how did you get started and know that you were gonna keep your full-time job? Because you, you, I guess what I'm trying to say is you hear people say like, what's, what's the saying? Like, cut the bow lines. From Harvard. Oh gosh, what is it? It's basically like go all in on your business. That's the only way, way to make it thrive.
And it's like, no, that's one way to make it thrive. And also, and this is what we really emphasize at Factor, the Business investing asset class is so broad, like Factor is an informational product. We sell it online. There is no physical wealth circle. It's an online community and course, and you are talking to me about electrical and lumber prices and, um, foundation, not even repair, like putting a whole foundation on your house and building saltwater pools.
So that's way more cost and labor intensive, which means you knew at the start of this type of business you are gonna need a lot of. Like throughout, like it wasn't gonna stop if you were gonna continue building it into this retreat space. So give me, gimme kind of your thoughts around how you and Zach approached working and building Zana.
Yeah, definitely. And yeah, I think it's a very important thing to call out as anyone listening thinks about. , you know, should I quit my full-time job? Should I, you know, should I l launch into my own business? Like what I've, what Zach and I are working on is like incredibly capital intensive. Um, so that's been like a massive consideration for us as, as we've had to, as we've had to like, move through this process and, and look ahead.
I think when we started Serana, the idea is for it yes, absolutely. To replace our full-time jobs. Like we want this to be our full-time thing and we still want that to be our full-time thing. Um, I think we're at a place now where we know we want to build more, we want to upscale a lot of the, um, amenities and a lot of the, the structures on the.
My big theme is like, let's weatherproof this place. Like I think anyone in Texas knows, like we've been through a hellacious summer, we've been through hellacious winters. Like I just, I wanna make sure that anyone that comes to stay is like a hundred percent comfortable no matter what's going on, um, in the outside world.
And so a lot of our stuff's outside right now, so how can we potentially bring them indoors? So as I mentioned, that's when we potentially need to think about, you know, now let's think about loans. Now let's think. You know, looking at outside investors, um, to actually take it to the next level. And I think what I've appreciated about this process and learning about, um, you know, how capital intensive it is and how that translates to.
Revenue is, you know, we've been able to experiment and we've been able to figure out what works, figure out the business models that work, um, so that if and when we do want to potentially look for outside funding, you know, we know exactly the business models that work for Serrano. We have a proven track record of profitability and being able to have guests come here.
Five star Airbnb reviews, like all those types of things. So I think now that we feel confident in the business and like what we have, um, it makes us, yeah, it, it makes us feel more confident in, you know, what it would actually look like to get a loan or, or outside investors. But a lot of the modeling that we did at the onset was, um, you know, what would this look like?
2, 3, 4 years down the line to where we would be able to replace our full-time salaries. Um, and we're not, we're not totally there yet. Obviously, you know, making 50 K in revenue is definitely not enough to, to pay Zach and I, um, . So, but, but
just for quick math, I mean, if you've invested 300,000. and your business can now make 50,000 a year.
Your cash or cash return is paid back in six years, and that's not considering that you're gonna make more totally year over year, which I know you will, cuz that's the whole point of investing and updating as you go. So I guess I just wanted to point that out because starting a business is typically very capital intensive and you lay out a lot before you see your return.
I mean, when I started Factor, it wasn't as capital intensive. As building a retreat space at all. I mean, it was really, really limited, um, to start, but I didn't see any revenue or profit that I could even allude to start paying myself for 15 months. So we had to really budget between me and my boyfriend, not even husband at the time.
How are we gonna afford life and not dig into our investments while creating a wealth building company for women? , um, which I actually realize we skipped over something very important. You have a business partner, his name's Zach. We've been talking about him, but we haven't talked about what is your business partnership in terms of, are you guys 50 50 or what?
And could you please let everyone know your couple's status?
Okay. Yes. Yes. So Zach, Zack is my boyfriend. Um, we are not married, uh, but I always joke with people we are wedded in land because when you buy 53 acres together, you might as well be married, , um, even if it's not recognized by the state. But, um, yeah, so Zach and I are 50 50, um, on, on the ownership of the business and at this point, kind of do our best to split roles as much as possible.
I think. , there are certain things that he owns. There are certain things that I own. Um, but it's, you know, we, we both live here, so we kind of live and, and breathe Sanaa pretty much every day, um, which is what we wanted and, and why we wanted to live here, um, or live onsite when we did decide to do, do Sanaa.
Yeah. And I just, I wanted
you to share your non-marital status because I think some people think they can't go into business with someone that they're not already. Married to, and I mean, at Factor we're like, if you can't afford a house by yourself, find a partner. Doesn't even need to be a a, a relationship partner.
Could be a sister, could be a friend, could whatever. Basically my theory, which is not a theory, it's pretty much all over is that the faster you can accumulate assets, the faster you can build your net worth. So I love that you and Zach decided to go in on this as 50 50 partners before you're even married.
And then I do think it's funny that you're like, yeah, but we're wedded in land because truly, if you own 53 acres with someone, and I mean we go out there and they're. Blow torching stuff and painting stuff like they are project people. I mean, before she came to this podcast, she was rescuing a cat that ended up on their property and they've had wild dogs end up on their property and there's no limit to stories of living out in.
I mean, I'm joking when I say the sticks cuz bash up really isn't that? But you know, it's very different than where Jake and I live in the city. So I just think it's cool that you didn't wait to get married to start this vision, that you guys figured out a way to do it when you wanted to. And by the way, we didn't even get into the fact that you were living in SF at the time.
Your job prior to this. A in-person job in sf and you were traveling here on the weekends and traveling back for work. So I mean, Carlisle, you really were committed to keeping a full-time job while you started this, but I do love to hear that this is the end goal where S can cover your. From those jobs, but that you're, it doesn't seem like you're in a crazy rush.
Like do you have a certain number you want SER to make where you would be comfortable leaving or is there an ultimate number that you think Serana could make annually? It's a good
question. I don't think we're at a phase where we're like, this is our number. I think that it's, it all feels like very circumstantial cuz like, yes, even if we're hitting our number in revenue, but I now have this new idea that we wanna create like, Some brand new, like crazy cabin idea or like a natural swimming pool or something that's like capital intensive.
I might still think that it makes sense to like continue to save up money to continue to reinvest in Sanaa. Um, you know, I, I do love the job that I'm at. I work fully remote, um, which is a, obviously like a big, a big game changer, um, from, from my previous job where it was all in person. Um, but I think that, you know, it's all.
it's all about like time management, right? Like I spend the mornings working on Serana stuff. So from like 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM is serana things. And then from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM is like computer, computer job as I talk or as I refer to it as. Um, but it's, you know, it's for now is like as I can continue to find the time.
And what I will say is like you will always find the time if it is something that you are. Passionate about and excited about and, um, lit up by like, you will always find the time. Um, the time will always be there. Yes, I have gotten very good at time management, um, and try to protect my time as much as possible.
Um, but it's, it's always doable. You'll always find a way. I love it.
So I guess to wrap up, are there any recommendations you have for women who might be in a state of flux considering what to do with a full-time job and a business that they are passionate about? When to fully go to that or just, you know, any advice you might have that you've experienced?
Yeah,
yeah. So the first one, and this is something that's helped me with, uh, serana thinking as well, is, you know, obviously have a really rough and clear understanding of like what your revenue is and what your overhead costs are. In a, as I've thought about it, a base case, a realistic case, and a best case and.
I went, I would go through the mental exercises of like, if I'm only meeting my base case for one or two years, do I still want to pursue this? Because the base case to me implies that you know, you're probably gonna need to maintain your full-time job because you're not hitting the revenue numbers that could potentially help you switch to full-time.
Um, so that's when you kind of get into the more like, philosophical aspect of it, of like, why am I doing this? Am I really passionate about it? Like, do I still feel really excited about it if I'm only hitting my base case for the next like, one to two years? Um, and my answer was yes. And so, you know, to me it's, it's worth it.
It's worth having my own creative project, my own creative outlet. Um, so it's. you don't, it's never be intimidated by potentially only meeting the, the base case if you're still lit up and, and excited about it. Um, I think another thing is don't be afraid to hire someone to help you, even if it's just hourly.
Like, I think we tend to, or for me at least, like I tend to want to own everything and do everything, and that's not always the right. . Um, there are people who are highly specialized in certain aspects, whether it is property maintenance or social media management that, you know, paying them to do the skills that they have and the gifts that they have to help you so that you can focus on other things is.
a good thing. And that's, that's what I'm finding as well is like if I can also use part of my W2 salary to pay someone hourly to help out with certain things, um, do that. It's, it's definitely been helpful for me. Um, and I think also, like I talked about time management, but like getting really clear on time management and not feeling guilty about investing in investing your time in your business while you're also maintaining a full-time job.
Um, Like, just don't feel guilty about it. It's, it's a form of self-care if we wanna bring it into, if we wanna bring it into that, um, to that mindset. But, um, yeah, just having really effective time management and, and not feeling guilty about investing in your business is, um, is, is definitely worthwhile.
And I think just for also anyone listening that's like debating. even starting a side hustle while they have a full-time job. Just do it. Definitely. Um, I like, yes, it's a ton of work, but, um, you know, make a business plan. Figure out your budget, figure out what feels most comfortable for you financially in order to do it.
Um, like I mentioned earlier, like you will find the time. You will always find the time. Um, even though it seems like you might not, um, you'll, you'll always find the time. . I highly recommend it. If anyone out there has like an idea of what they wanna start and, and just try, it's, it's very gratifying to have something to work on that's yours, um, while also benefiting from the security of a full-time job
paycheck.
I love it. I think that was such a helpful list of things to wrap up with. I really liked the leverage other people's skills when you need to, cuz you said we. and then you change it to I. But when you said the we, I was assuming you were referencing women, we women love to pile it on. Yes. Oh, don't let someone else do it.
If I could theoretically figure it out myself, and it was a game changer for me when I started to hire people because I needed their skills instead of. , you know, and that goes back to the time management. I was so obsessed with Factor. I still am, but I have a way more balanced schedule now. I used to work on Factor until 11:00 PM at night, and guess what?
I was really bad at everything I was doing because I was doing it all for the first time. Totally. So when I finally got to win to help me win, um, using our learning management tool, because they were proficient in it, it got me to build the course a lot faster. Those little things are just, I, I, you.
Listeners, you're getting the permission from us now. Make a dollar, spend at least half of it on someone else who can help you. Totally go further. And then I really just love the last thing you said about if you have an idea that you want to put in the world, if you think that it is exciting and you're passionate about it, and it could add value to even one other person, I 100% agree with Carlisle, do it.
Serana, for example, is one of the most beautiful spaces I've ever been, and you built that from scratch. You built that from your mind's eye with so much love, so much intention, and it's completely obvious, and you feel that the moment you walk on the property. So you, I did the same with factor. I live it, love it, breathe it every day, and I'm so grateful that I've become closer with people like you who have taken the well circle.
So with that said, thank you so much for coming on and sharing all about how you manifested your beautiful space into reality. If you guys wanna check it out again, it's serana atx.com and we'll link it in the show notes. She also has that really cool game that's all about getting to know one another.
It's called Meet Around the Table. We'll link that to, but yeah. Lyle, what were you in the saltwater pool? . Anytime. Water's warm. The weather's getting good. All right. Thanks for coming on today. If you enjoyed this episode, come join us in a well circle. It's our live online 12 week course and community where we teach you how to create a personalized financial plan.
Alongside hundreds of other women building wealth, it will change your life and your money for good. You can apply@factorwealth.com slash wealth circle. That's factor wealth.com/wealth circle. See you in the next episode.
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