Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance website that helps readers learn how to save more, earn money, and live more. She left her day job around 7 years ago to pursue her online business full-time. She currently travels full-time with her husband and two dogs via sailboat. 

Can you tell our readers about your background?

My name is Michelle and I run the blog Making Sense of Cents. I am originally from a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, but have been traveling full-time for several years now.

I paid off my $40,000 student loan debt in just 7 months, left my day job to blog full-time, and I’m a full-time financial writer now. 

On my blog Making Sense of Cents, I talk a lot about different ways to make extra money, the best ways to save money, achieving your dream life, travel, and more. I love running Making Sense of Cents and I am very happy that this is now my full-time career, my business, and pretty much my life. 

What inspired you to start your business?

In the summer of 2011, I started my blog with the aim of teaching people how to save money as well as journaling my personal finance journey after reading a magazine that featured a personal finance website in one of their articles. I became extremely interested in that website and my interest in blogging just grew from there. This is interesting and hilarious because, before that same summer, I had no idea about what blogs were, that they could even make money or anything along those lines.  

I did not create my blog with the intention of making money blogging. It was all just a hobby and an outlet I then realized how much I loved blogging and realized that it was for me, so now I am a full-time blogger! I went full-time in October of 2013 and I haven't looked back once. Blogging has completely changed my life for the better and it's something that I recommend everyone try if they are interested.

Where is your business based?

My business is online, and I travel full-time, so it’s not really based anywhere.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I started my business on Blogspot for free, as I had no idea what I was doing. Eventually, I switched to self-hosted WordPress once I started to take my business more seriously. Then:

•        I created social media accounts for me and my blog (such as a Facebook page, a business Pinterest account, and so on).

•        I started to find ways to monetize my blog, such as through affiliate marketing, sponsored partnerships, display advertising, and so on.

•        Started focusing on even higher quality content that would help my readers.

And more. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

I wouldn’t say there’s just one way that has helped me, as there have been several. This includes:

•   Writing high-quality content. I always make sure that my content is of high quality.

•   Sharing on social media. I am active on social media, such as Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and sharing on social media has helped me to reach new readers.

•   Taking part in interviews. If I’m asked to be in an interview, I almost always say yes, whether the interview be through email, Youtube, or a podcast. I only say no if I don’t have cell service or if I am just too busy. But, 95% of the time I am able to do them.

•   Learning SEO. Many of my blog posts rank on Page 1 on Google, which helps to get more traffic as well.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

I started Making Sense of Cents entirely as a hobby, so I got over a lot of challenges by making some big mistakes! One big mistake was starting on Blogspot, and not even owning my domain. About a year after I started my blog, I paid someone who is much more technical than me to switch to WordPress.  

How do you stay focused?

Focus has always been something that I have struggled with. When I find that I can’t focus, I usually just stop working and do something else, such as walk my dogs or go for a hike, as that helps to clear my mind of whatever may be bothering me. For me, that is the best way for me to get back to whatever I was doing and be able to focus. 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Personally, I don’t really see other bloggers and writers as competition. I think there’s plenty of room for everyone.

Everyone has their own story to tell and their own way of sharing. 

I do think that this mindset has helped me greatly in the blogging world, as so many bloggers see everyone else as competition. This can hurt your ability to network, which is so important in this industry. And, it’s simply just not fun for me to see everyone as competition

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

My best piece of advice would be to just go for it! If you are thinking about starting a business, then I recommend trying your best to make that happen. That may mean starting it on the side of your day job (so that you still have the comfort of your full-time income and benefits) and making a business plan. 

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app is probably Instagram because I am able to see everyone’s photos from around the world. I find this refreshing and fun.

I have too many favorite blogs to list, but one of the best would have to be my sister’s. She blogs at www.FITnancials.com.

One of my favorite books is Work Optional. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in retiring early. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

My favorite business tool is probably Convertkit. They have a very easy to use the platform so that I can email my readers. They also make it easy to segment my readers so that they are getting only emails that they are interested in.

How do you balance work and life?

For me, there are two things that really help:

1)   Getting ahead in work as much as I can. This means writing content ahead of time (I usually like to be at least a month ahead in content), scheduling posts for social media when I can, and beating deadlines.

2)   Outsourcing certain tasks to make my life easier. I try to hire out for day-to-day tasks, so that I’m not required to do repetitive tasks, as well as not be bound by the internet (because the internet can be hard when on a boat).

These two things are life-changing for me! 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Going for a hike, mountain bike, sail, snorkel, or pretty much anything else outdoors helps me to decompress.  

What do you have planned for the next six months?

For the next 6 months, I plan on taking the steps that I can to improve my website traffic. I’ve taken the last couple of years kind of “off” in order to spend more time sailing, so my traffic has been a little stagnant. My plan is to revive my traffic and help more readers. 

How can our readers connect with you?

You can find me at makingsenseofcents.com, on Instagram at http://instagram.com/michelleschro, on Twitter at http://twitter.com/senseofcents, and via email at michelle@makingsenseofcents.com.