Episode 021 – How to Use Automation to Build your Business | Benjamin Schleier
Today’s episode is with the very inspiring Benjamin from Germany. An entrepreneur who started at the ripe young age of 19, he now manages several companies, has over 16 employees and uses automation to reach FI 😎
What we talk about:
- How Benjamin started at the age of 19
- His first customer and first employee
- Starting a business in Germany
- How he approaches leadership
- The huge role of automation in his business and life
- Ben’s future FI plans
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Benjamin started his company at the age of 19
He always knew he wanted to start a business, and so when he hit 19 he knew it was time to get started. Yes, he tried university at the same time, but after a year he realised his business was much more captivating and important to him. His company is a digital marketing agency, it cost him 20€ to set up and was completed in 5 minutes. 😱
With a few programming and website building skills, he got his first client in 3-4 months and 2-3 years later his first employee.
Both Mathias and I (Araminta) are impressed – at his age Mathias was working for The Party in Germany and prioritised the university degree. I am currently juggling studying online while interning and freelancing, university is my back up plan.
The nitty gritty of starting a business
Ben started like many other entrepreneurs: with no idea what he was doing. He tells us accounting for small businesses isn’t too hard, but he had no idea how to do a payroll when he got his first client.
Another challenge was leadership. After a few years of experience, he tells us his employees have a lot of freedom as long as they work with the same goals in mind. For him it’s all about the mindset. He has regular meetings with them and even some video courses to walk them through certain parts of the job.
For Ben, an employee is an investment. He puts in a lot of time to help them grow within the company. He also now makes sure everything is properly documented so everyone is (literally) on the same page.
The magic of automation
He now spends max half an hour on managing his business every day. Wow.
The thing is, Ben focuses on automating as much of each business process as much as he can. His new startup that he now spends most of his time on is literally just that: automation tools.
He describes every single tool his startup sells, from newsletter creation to music protection. He says that selling digital products is much more scalable than a digital marketing agency. Interesting. To check them out, see links below 😉
Future plans
Ben also knows that the markets are changing very rapidly. Truth is, in 20-30 years digital marketing agencies will look completely different. For this reason he focuses more of his time on digital products and automation, something that will work in the future.
What he really enjoys is building new companies, so his plan is to keep working and reach something similar to FIOR (Financial Independence Optional Retirement). We think he’ll get there very soon 😉
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3 thoughts on “Episode 021 – How to Use Automation to Build your Business | Benjamin Schleier”
Ok, maybe I am biased on the topic but this was the most impressing episode for me so far (sorry Mr.RIP). Kudos to you Benjamin. You had the balls to make that leap of faith which not many of us do. At 19 I was busy working my way to university and the next 7 years was spent in the illusion of the value of a BSc degree. I often think about how different could have been the things if todays’ startup fever were around back then. As it was said it is never too late to start your own business but later is is much harder. My current situation is very similar like Mathias’, full-time employed programmer dad with kids. We all have our projects in our minds which we hope to implement someday just it is hard to find the time. Anyway, I think stories like yours inspire even the late starters so thank you very much for sharing it with us.
I have two questions btw.
The first is how long are you working on your startup and how long did it take to put these four products together?
The second one is if you have experienced any hardships because of your young age? Like a client did not take you seriously or something?
Hi HCF,
The first is how long are you working on your startup and how long did it take to put these four products together?
=> Currently, I’m working on my start up in full time and more. I just really enjoy it. The product developement is ongoing since around one year, but as of today all products are very good, advanced and close to being finished.
The second one is if you have experienced any hardships because of your young age? Like a client did not take you seriously or something?
=> Not really. It has never happened. If you notice that someone is not taking you seriously, you can convince them with your knowledge and skills. All clients usually noticed quickly, that I’m serious about what I’m doing while consulting them. It also helps, to provide the clients with valuable advice. Today, being 24 years old, I can have meetings with large corporations and investors and I never have any issues with my age.