Episode #012 - How Eliminating $52K Of Debt In 18 Months Launched An Entrepreneurial Calling…with Deacon Hayes
Deacon Hayes - Co-Founder of Well Kept Wallet, the financial education company that provides personal finance resources, author of the book You Can Retire Early, and the creator of the course “Dept-Free in 18 Months” - shares his extremely beneficial journey towards being a servant leader, entrepreneurial bread winner, husband, and father. Deacon shares how he moved from being an employee into being self-employed, what it took to build up his business successfully, and the power of applying your God-given talents and experiences in the service of others.
Show Notes:
- How did Deacon Hayes discover his calling and get focused on it
- Getting out of $52,000 of consumer debt in 18 months was Well Kept Wallet’s starting point
- What did it feel like for Deacon Hayes’ and his wife to be free from debt
- America has a “payment lifestyle” that keeps people accustom to debt bondage
- Deacon Hayes explains how he used his “Debt Elimination Chart”
- What was his transition from employee to self-employment like
- How did Deacon and his wife prepare for him to leave his job
- What was the market like for Well Kept Wallet when he dove in
- “The 100 Startup” by Chris Guillebeau and “The ONE Thing“ by Gary Keller are books that benefited Deacon and he recommends
- How does Deacon apply his method of achieving his goal targets
- What is the top habit that has impacted Deacon’s discipline
- Financial stress and selfishness can ruin relationships
- Be intentional about how you use the money that God allows you to use
- What has been the most character-building moment that Deacon has learned from in his entrepreneurship calling
- What would Deacon do differently as a father
- Why is it mission-critical to push yourself forward into your calling in life
- You may have more than one calling to live up to
- What are the three key pearls of wisdom Deacon would share to make men become their best
3 Key Points:
- Be on the same page with your spouse when creating your plan to leave your day job for entrepreneurship.
- Experiment with low cost / low risk concept to test demand and prove the market for your business first before investing heavily in it.
- If you don’t have the cash right now, you can’t afford it
Sharable Quotes:
- “For me, a calling is basically finding what my God-given talents are, and then being able to put those to work to serve others well” – Deacon Hayes
- “Declutter your life before you go into business for yourself.” – Deacon Hayes
- “Keys to becoming debt-free...map out a path, create your game plan and most importantly, set deadlines...” – Deacon Hayes
Resources Mentioned:
- Linkedin: Deacon Hayes
- Twitter: @deaconhayes
- “You Can Retire Early” book by Deacon Hayes
- Debt-Free in 18 Months course from Well Kept Wallet
- heedyourcalling.com