What if you woke up this morning to the following:
- 1/2 the emails to respond to in your inbox
- 1/2 the decisions to make for the day
- 1/2 the time you need to spend even working today
- and 1/2 the added stress and pressure
And then let’s say someone paid you in the 6 figures to receive all of this.
Would you take it? :)
Now let’s say you had to give up OWNERSHIP of a project for it that was relatively successful and a huge part of your life and business for the past 4 years, of which still has oodles of potential for growth and helping everyone in your community, thereby possibly going down as one of the biggest blunders of your entrepreneurial life where everyone from that point forward points and laughs at you every day for the rest of your life.
Would that change anything? :)
Well, either way, we’re about to find out as I officially sold the 2nd best website in the world this morning, RockstarFinance.com – a museum of personal finance articles and resources – effectively FIRE’ing myself from President and CEO down to humble little “Advisor.”
And I cannot wait to see what the future now holds!!!
(I put “FIRE’ing” there btw, because this move will not only open up 50% more freedom *time* wise, but also pushes us a tad bit closer to the epic freedom that all of us here are shooting for – *financial* freedom. We’re still not there yet, but this certainly puts us more into the running :))
Now of course there’s a lot more to the story here, which also affects a lot more people than just me, so let me try and brain dump everything on ya here and see if I can answer a lot of the questions that I’m sure will soon be bubbling up here in the next few moments…
If I miss anything, just hit me in the comments below as you know I’m an open book!
Take it away J. Money alter-ego…
#1) WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO, MAN???
I sold Rockstar Finance to a friend of mine in an attempt to trade my hustle card in for more of a living card.
#2) When did this all go down??
We signed everything last week, but we’re making it all public this morning which has been many months in the making. Pretty much since that fateful day of “The Hike” when I realized I had my priorities all kinds of backwards and knew I had to make some big moves if I truly wanted some big results.
I had considered handing it off a number of other times throughout it’s 4 year existence too, but I loved it too much and each time I just couldn’t pull the trigger as it never felt right.
#3) What other times are you talking about?
In 2015 I was handling every aspect of the site and almost sold the whole thing for $5,000 because I was close to burning out. Fortunately my friend Cait Flanders stepped in and convinced me to keep going, and with her on my side that is exactly what we did :)
Then in 2016 I got the “deal of a lifetime” where I originally accepted a million dollars for all my projects and a 2 year commitment to blog for someone else, which as you know I ended up dipping out of at the last minute and decided to go ALL IN with my own projects instead.
And this is what we did for all of 2017! We launched every single project I had wanted to do over the years, and we added it all to Rockstar Finance so it would have a much farther reach to people (and not attached to “me” specifically). This is when we launched our personal finance and blogging forums, our Directory that now tracks 1,400 other finance blogs as well as the most popular podcasts, apps and books, and then of course we rocked our Community Fund which ended up giving out over $14,000 of assistance to those who needed it in our community.
We were on fire!!! Until I almost had a break down – again ;)
#4) And this time you truly feel it’s “right”?
I do, yes…as close as 100% as you can get, at least.
#5) What would make it even *more* right?
If I knew no one would hate me for making this move!! :) Or I got like triple the money for it, haha…
#6) Speaking of money, how much exactly did you get for it?
In the (very) low 6 figures.
#7) I said Exact, don’t you play that card!
Hey – you know how these contract things go! But I bet if you pay attention enough to the numbers in our next net worth report you can get a pretty good idea :) Though don’t forget about the taxes or paying out some of my team members too which was important to me…
#8) How much tax will you have to pay from it?
About 25%.
#9) And the % you gave to your team members?
20%… wait a minute!! I see what you’re doing there!
*Takes a bow*
#10) Alright, now why was THIS TIME the right time to sell again?
There’s a handful of reasons, that when combined just made the most sense:
- I’m having a 3rd baby in a few months and really want to try being a stay-at-home dad
- But to do that I had to figure out how best to cut 50% of my time and responsibilities out, meaning one of my internet babies had to go :( And I just couldn’t give up the one site that started it all for me – Budgets Are Sexy! My first love! (And I also didn’t like the idea of just hiring on a new leader or team for Rockstar, because in my experience if you don’t have ownership of something you don’t give it all you’ve got)
- I also felt I took Rockstar Finance as far as I could with my energy and talents, and it was about to go into “maintenance” mode which would have done it a big disservice for people. Especially due to all its potential that we never got to tap. So handing it off to a new leader to continue its legacy just made the most sense to me.
- Lastly, and this is going to sound silly, but I REALLY want to enjoy the site and all the resources we put together as a “regular” reader without having to do any work for it! Haha… I built it exactly for us personal finance enthusiasts, but I’ve never been able to stop and enjoy it as I’ve always been in the thick of it during its entire lifetime… I’m so excited to get the daily digest tomorrow and not know what’s in it! :)
#11) I’m glad you mentioned this “new leadership”… Who exactly bought it from you and is taking over the site now?
My good friend, and blogger veteran, John from ESIMoney.com. Someone who’s not only been with this community longer than I have going on 12+ years now (!), but also someone I know is “in it for the right reasons” and not going to add it to the infamous Site Selling Wall of Shame, haha… Which let’s face it, most sites go when new owners take over!
#12) And how do you know this “John” character won’t be adding it to this Wall of Shame?
Because I know him and trust him, and I know on a list of his priorities, money is at the bottom of it as an early retiree with plenty of millions in the bank already :) Which is usually why sites go down in flames with new ownership – they just plaster it all with ads!!
And due to this new found “retirement”, it also means he has plenty of time to dedicate to it and is already working on a number of new features I was never able to pull off myself. It’s pretty much going to be a turbocharged version of how it is today, and at worst it’ll be the same as it is today if nothing pans out, which is a pretty good worst case scenario.
So between all that, and the fact he wants to pass this site down to his kids one day to continue its legacy, it’s the best a creator can really ask for :)
He actually has a post live right now too if you want to hear his side of the story – it’s going to be a fun project to work on together! Why I Bought Rockstar Finance
#13) Wait wait wait, what’s this “together” part here? I thought you just sold it and are moving on?
Nope. I sold it, yes, but I’m still helping out with everything, just more in an “advisory” type role than a day-to-day one. Which pretty much means I get to do all the fun parts like brainstorming and scheming and connecting the dots, only I don’t have to do any of the work in actually making it happen :) I’m actually quite impressed with myself in pulling this off! Haha… And as a minimalist, it’s actually a pretty freeing feeling because “stuff” applies to internet and brain assets too!!
But ask me in 6 months how it’s all going and we’ll know more then ;)
#14) How do you think it’ll be in 6 months?
I’m *hoping* that I’ll be much more relaxed and creative and our blog here will be flourishing even more at Budgets Are Sexy – since this is literally the first time in 8 years it’ll be the only project I’m working on! – and that I’m also hitting inbox zero every single day and have a baby who sleeps 12 hours straight a night, but only time will tell ;)
I can tell you out of every move I’ve ever made with work-stuff though, this one sets me up closer to the “ideal lifestyle” than any others… I’m literally getting paid to do half the work!! And I still get to be a big part of a community I helped create!
#15) Okay, we’ll come back in 6 months and see how it’s really going :) Getting back to the projects of Rockstar Finance again real quick, what about that Community Event you guys just launched where you gave 20+ bloggers $100 in cash to go out and do something helpful with it? Is that still going on or has something changed with it now?
Nothing’s changed! We’ve set up a page that highlights all the results from our Community Fund over the past 12 months, and we’ll be adding all these new blog posts that people will be sharing to the tippy top of it all. And we’re hoping it moves us from $14,000 of Good to almost $20,000 of Good! A great way to go out with a bang this year!
(I will note, however, that we are phasing out the Community Fund for the 2018 year as far as being attached to Rockstar Finance (I’ll probably keep doing The Good behind the scenes and/or move some of the project here to this blog), but as a big philanthropy guy, John is already coming up with his own replacement project which I have no doubt will be doing some great stuff… Back at one of his original sites, he used to give out ½ of his earned profit every month so I know his heart is just as big as ours, if not bigger. He really is a good guy.)
Okay, I’m running out of questions here so we’re going to enter the Speed Round…
SQ#1: What’s going to happen to Cait Flanders who works on it?
She’s sticking around for another month or two, and will then be leaving too to focus on her own projects, specifically her new book that’s about to come out: The Year of Less (now open to pre-orders!!!)
It’s so pretty!
SQ#2. How about Nate who was working on strategy and The Community Fund?
He took up a pretty solid gig earlier in the year that he’s doing quite well at, so in a way he’s hustled himself out of working on the side as well :) You can find him anytime here: NateStPierre.me (people from the Love Drop days will remember him!)
SQ #3. And Steve, Rockstar’s resident Tech Guy?
He’s in it for the long haul at Rockstar! And will be taking a much more active role with the site, particularly with the Directory and the Forums, on top of his own fastly growing blog – ThinkSaveRetire.com. He was one of the guys I had actually talked to as well about possibly taking over Rockstar during my initial talks with people…
SQ#4. What did that process look like?
Once I knew it was time for me to leave, I hit up about 6 or 7 people in the community that I thought could be a good fit for it, and then I just had a butt ton of interviews and questions and spent the better part of 4 months really marinating on everything until John’s name eventually crept to the top. It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do since being on the online world, but again – big dreams require big moves!
SQ #5. And where did your now famous Triad of Hustling come into play with all of this?
It was instrumental! Not in finding a new leader, but in getting me to the point where I realized what I had to do… Here’s the quick version of the Triad being applied towards Rockstar since I know you’re trying to make this a speed round ;)
- Did it take up a lot of time? Yup. 3-4 hours a day, if you count all the thinking too
- Did it make money? Enough to pay the team and a little left over, but not much. Though it was also not built originally to make money either – I had no idea it would grow to as large as it did!
- Was it fun? Yes. Most days at least :) But again, to pass the Triad it needs to hit 2 of the 3 areas…
- The Equalizer: Was it a HELL YEAH or a “no”? Well, the first few years it was close to a HELL YEAH, but over the past 6 months it turned into more of a Kinda Hell Yeah, which we all know it means some changes need to happen… And this is when the soul searching began.
You know, thinking about the Triad in terms of Rockstar I’m realizing that there’s one major factor that we haven’t even touched on: whether a project is successful or not.
Shutting down something that fails the Triad and is not successful anyways is one thing, but it’s a whole other when it IS successful yet still doesn’t make you happy in the end. Similar to the other years dilemma with me walking away from the podcast, M.O.N.E.Y. – remember that one?
So that’s also something for everyone here to be aware of, especially the entrepreneurs – just because your project is successful, however that may be defined, it still doesn’t necessarily mean you should be continuing it if in your hearts of hearts you know it’s not bringing you joy. I’ve shut down over two dozen projects or ideas over my 10 years in this game, but the only two I struggled with were the two that were booming on the outside! I think we need an equalizer for those beasts! Haha…
SQ #5: Last question … what do you want everyone to know here before we sign off and move the questions to the comments?
That no matter what happens with all this, know that I am so INCREDIBLY thankful for all of you here reading this, and for all of you who supported and encouraged me with Rockstar as well as all my other projects in years past.
Everything I’ve ever built has been to help our community here be as good as it can be, and I’m beyond grateful for the chance of even being *able to* do all this in the first place. Those of you who know my story know it was a pure accident* that I stumbled across this money stuff, but thank GOD I did and thank GOD I’m now surrounded with people I love and respect!! Some mistakes can be the best thing that happens to you! (Although I don’t want to test this decision in that department, haha..)
So thank you THANK YOU thank you for allowing me to do the one job I love more than anything else in this world, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for us :)
I wish John nothing but success ushering in the new era for the site, and I will see you guys here at Budgets Are Sexy every week going forward as usual too.
Questions/comments/concerns – drop them below or shoot me an email and I’ll hit you back!
XOXO,
******
*10 years ago I went looking for a 2 bedroom apartment to rent, and literally made a wrong turn bringing me into a townhouse community where I went on to buy a $350,000 place with no money down and no budget… Three months later I was online trying to get my act together, when voila – I stumbled across personal finance blogs! I’ve never been the same since ;)
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Oh wow congratulations ESI & J!!! This is the biggest news of the year!!! If it was April 1st, I would think you’re pulling our legs :-).
Looking forward to seeing where this takes the pf community.
Thanks so much :) I’d never joke about something like this! Haha… I remember back in the day when bloggers used to say they’re quitting or selling their sites on April 1st, and then a ton of people would unsubscribe from them thinking they were serious when they were not – d’oh. So never again did that thought cross my mind to try and do! :)
Congrats on the sale J$ and I hope your dream of being a SAHD becomes a reality! Of course, this brings you one step closer to Financial Independence too!
This is a huge move to make, and it’s impact on your life should be very large!
Congrats again! (So are we taking bets on how long it is until you start a new project?)
Thank you sir :)
It’s funny, when I told my family about all this yesterday they asked me the same thing! When the next project was going to come around?? Haha.
But nope. I’m going to try my hardest to stay focused and just *enjoy* and soak in “just” being a blogger and hanging out with you fine folks here every day…. It’ll actually be the first time in 8 years of only having one blog :)
So probably less than six months then? ;)
yeah, probably :)
At first, I was terrified, but you calmed me down, I am sure ESI will be the “good pastor” you were looking for. Not selling your baby for a million to a commercial devourer but for xxx.xxx to a friend to carry on the torch is one of the most heroic things I can image, have all my respect and kudos to you ;)
Congrats to both of you :)
PS: Go ESI Go!!!
Thanks man :) I really am feeling hopeful for the future of both Rockstar and Budgets now here… John is like a little kid on Christmas now thinking up all kinds of awesome ideas for the site and giving it renewed energy, and I’m feeling the same here with this blog too! Even though I’ve been at it for almost 10 years now! Haha… Interesting how life changes over time :)
1. Saw it coming with Baby #3 – I think you made the right move because any sane person with a clear vision to LIVE more would have done the same.
2. OMG its sold to ESI?!! That’s awesome!!! I’ve still digging through his millionaire interviews. I went from 30 and I’m reading #13. They’re amazing – he’s perfect for RSF and super honest guy. His first million / first 100k post was eye opening for me. Great comments and down to earth as anything. I didn’t know he’s been blogging for 12 years. Impressive!!
3. J $ you could have gotten more. John got a friend discount, didn’t he? Keep it in the blogging family instead of strangers
4. Caits book IS super pretty!
5. I honestly thought Steve was going to be the one to buy it haha.
Steve and I had REALLY good talks too and he would have done a fine job running things as well :) And the cool thing is he still gets to be a big part of it helping John grow it!
Yeah you can always get “more” for your projects, but “more” usually comes with a lot of different strings, so you always have to balance what’s most important to you and everyone else involved…. I’m pretty happy with how it all worked out :)
Wow. Huge unexpected news this morning.
I can always find great posts on this site.
It has been a pleasure and great help being involved in the forums.
I wish you the best in the next phase of life.
Thanks man :) And hopefully you still do find great and new blogs there and continue hanging out in the forums! I know I’ll be there a lot more these days now that I’m not hustling 24/7 haha…
Congrats, J – exciting and bittersweet at the same time.
Similar to what Lily commented above, I also thought something might be coming when you announced baby #3 (congrats again). Recent posts mentioning your decision / offer to sell the sites across the board alluded to the fact that it was a possibility.
Focusing on one less project sounds like it will be great for you based on all the questions / points you highlighted above.
Yup yup – was months in the making and wanted to share my mentality and thought processes leading up to the announcement and all so it all made more sense and didn’t just come out of the blue :) Even though there’s really no good way to do it without shocking people haha…
It’s all good! For the longest time, pressing “R” in my search bar always returned the most frequented site: Rockstar Finance. “B” still continues to be near the top on this site, but I’ve got another that I routinely visit that begins with a “B” as well :-)
HAH! Love it! Never even knew you could make shortcuts like that?
I’m so happy for you, J… it sounds like you found a really amazing opportunity to align your life with your priorities (isn’t that what we are all trying to do here?!?) :) Best of luck and have a great Christmas!
Indeed my friend :) You guys have a blessed one too!
Congrats, gentlemen. Looks like you did it the right way. Still is baffling to me how many blog or website acquirers think the best way to retain/build value is the alienate core readership. Glad we don’t have to worry about that here.
YES!!!! And is my complete nightmare with all this stuff… I literally told my whole team at Rockstar, as well as all potential new owners, that I’d literally just shut it all down vs it going into the hands of someone with the wrong intentions… It’s always been community-first for me and never about the money, it would have just sucked that the site never went on to keep helping people… which thankfully we don’t have to worry about now :)
Congratulations, J! So glad you’re keeping Budgets Are Sexy and I’m sure John, Steve, and Cait will continue to do amazing things with Rockstar Finance (with some insight and idea generation from you, of course)!
Enjoy being a stay-at-home dad, from what my husband says it is the most incredible, fulfilling and exhausting job in the world. :)
Sounds about right, haha…
Congrats on turning all the time you’ve banked in RSF effort into time you can use for your growing family. I’m glad it’s going to someone that will take good care of it.
Thanks Mike :)
Huge Congrats man! You’ve gotta have balance in life and your children are more important than anything else. Having your values in the right order is a life-hack of the highest degree :)
Glad to hear it’s going to John at ESI, his blog is great and I recently heard him on a podcast and have to say he obviously gets stoked about everything money and finances, so I know he’ll do the site well.
Kudos dude and take a breather!
Haha yeah – he’s like a giddy little kid stuck in a 50 year old body :) Couldn’t have found someone more enthusiastic about taking over the reins than him.
“he obviously gets stoked about everything money and finances”
Haha! Yes, I’m a total money nerd!!!
Holy $hit. Congrats J$. Selling your baby to focus on your dreams is the type of decision we all talk about as PF bloggers but who knows if we would ever actually make it. Thanks for setting up the site and community. You really nailed it with this one. Much respect.
Thanks man! I’m still pretty shocked that I actually went through it myself :) Guess that’s when you can tell how badly you want your dreams, eh?
Congrats on selling Rockstar Finance!!! I know it couldn’t have been an easy move but moving it to ESI Money seems like a really smart logical move. Hopefully the community will continue to be built and I’m glad to hear that it’s not going to a faceless corporation :)
Haha, thanks man… I would have shut it down before selling it to one of those :)
Making the right call J$, Anyway to free up time to spend with the family is a good call. Thank you very much for starting Rockstar Finance. It’s given my blog and many others much wider exposure. The first time I had an article shared on Rockstar back in April 2014 gave me the extra motivation to keep going. I had been pretty much “blogging in the dark” for 6 months, and I had started questioning whether to keep going. Getting recognized and receiving a lot more traffic and engagement made a big impact on my motivation to continue. It’s a great project and I’m thrilled that you found a way for it to continue to operate and grow.
That’s an awesome story!
Rockstar will continue to do the same for the entire community — sharing great content from both new and established bloggers.
In fact, you may want to be on the lookout for a Christmas surprise… ;)
Oh wow!!! Thanks so much for letting me know that man – I don’t think I ever knew that before… And thank God you did stick around as your stuff is great! Always enjoy reading it :)
Congratulations, Dude! All the best in your new adventures!!
Thanks Shin! Looking forward to sharing another beer with ya at the next FinCon :)
Dude! Congrats!!! Way to make hay on a very successful project. :-)
I’m fortunate to have been on the big 3 a couple of times, thanks in big part to your patronage. Go make some dad noise now, J. – That’s a project that’ll keep you more than occupied for a good spell.
Best!
Haha, indeed man, indeed…
That’s wonderful news. I know from my own life that when one door closes or, in your case,partly closes, (especially if you close it yourself), it opens up many more doors for you to walk through.
i’m sure whatever you do in the long run, you’ll be a success and having the opportunity to be a stay at home father will give you time and perspective to spark your imagination in a totally new and creative direction.
And your halfway to FIRE!
Thanks man :) Just paid off my car loan in one fell swoop and felt pretty damn good, haha… Had a pretty funny experience with it though that I’ll be blogging about shortly… It’s nice to have extra time and money after years of hustling!
Is it too early to raise a glass in a toast to everyone involved?
To J$, the hustlin’ Dad who’s got his priorities straight, to John who will no doubt make this transition look ESI, to Steve and his technical wizardry and more prominent role, to Cait for keen eye for “Rockstar content” and finally to Nate for helping this community do great things. Cheers! [echoes of cheers all around.]
-PoF
Appreciate that! Hope you’re back and settled into the groove. I’ll email you later this week with some updates.
*Tips Hat*
I will cheers you with a cup of coffee, my friend!
Hey, Cait, can you be bribed with coffee? If so, I may have an offer for you that you can’t refuse! LOL!
Congrats J$.
I often use the “if it makes you happy then it is good” test in my own life… but when the answer is no longer a definite “Yes” it is time to start questioning why.
Good luck with the full time Dad gig… that it proper hard work!
Oh yeah it is… with much bigger consequences too than a fun website on the side :)
congratulation J
Thank you :)
Crazy news! I’m so glad you’ve found a way to find balance, and time with family is always the most important. Looking forward to seeing the new, good things to come!
Thx Ms. Steward! It’s certainly a great first step towards it :)
Congratulations man! That is fantastic (hate to lose you at RSF) and it puts you one step closer to freedom. Plus, you will have plenty to do with Budgets are Sexy and a new kids. Congratulations again. What a great gift for the holidays.
Best gift you can ever give someone right? Time + Money :)
I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!! I heard a whisper of this possibility a while back and my first thought was how relieved you must feel. I know these sites can turn into your babies real quick but, similar to real babies, they take a lot of time!! I don’t know how you have been able to balance it all this past year (especially with the new projects) but you’ve done an awesome job!! With #3 on the way, it’s awesome you are able to free up some time and relax a bit. Haha – nevermind. Don’t you remember how much time babies take?!
As for John, that is going to be interesting in the best of ways. I had a chance to chat with him a couple times at FinCon and, though you are completely different people, you both have an intense sincerity and excitement about life that I love!! I look forward to seeing where he takes RSF and what the next years will bring. Cheers to both of you on this new road in your journys!
PS – Nobody could EVER hate you!!
Thanks!
Now get back to writing…I’ll be watching! ;)
What he said! I’m still waiting for a new post.
I’ll triple that!! WE MISS YOU, MS MAZUMA!!
And also – thanks for the kind words :)
Congrats! I was momentarily worried until you said who you sold to.
I reread The Hike, and the triad and I’m going to have to apply that to my side hustle. I refrained it when I read it today, in a way I didn’t look at it upon first reading it.
Wishing you all the best with your 1/2 of everything ! 1/2 more time, 1/2 less stress!
Thanks Jacq :) Believe me – the #1 thing I made sure was that it would go into good hands! I would rather sunset it vs taking that risk regardless of the money…
I sold my site (as you know, but most others don’t) nearly 7 years ago, and while I always wonder what it could have been, it was the right time without a doubt! I think you’ve made the right decision, regardless of whether Rockstar Finance blows up to something huge or fizzles away to nothing (or just stays at its current level). Never second-guess yourself; just work any knowledge gained into your future decision-making process.
HEY DUDE!!!! Wow… what a surprise today! Thanks for stopping by man – appreciate the note and insight :) Give me a shout sometime on email – would be cool to catch up! I feel like we even may be living around each other now?
Oh wow congratulations on pulling the trigger, J! I know it wasn’t an easy decision for you, so I really respect your courage and honesty in sharing your thoughts with us.
I hope and believe that Rockstar Finance will keep going strong and continue to be successful under the new leadership. Best of luck!
Thank you! Tough call, but all for the greater good! :)
Congrats J$ !!!
I am glad you followed your heart and took the time to find the right person to take this project over!
Thank you :) Heart always has to come first, right?
I knew something was coming but ESI was a surprise, a great surprise though. Congrats J$, thrilled for you and your family.
Should we now be calling ESIMoney John$? ;)
haha… I think he should be J$ III since we already have J$ II (Jim – route to retire), but to make it *official* we need to see John do some shaving!
Ha!
How about J$$$? More dollar signs!!!!!
Even better ;)
Congrats, Jay! You were working crazy hours. I still can’t believe you wrote back to all of my emails, haha! Excited for you that you’ll get to spend more time with your family – how exciting, with a new baby coming along!
The people are what’s most important – I’ll always respond back to everyone no matter the time :)
Gotta love your motivation for stepping back, Jay. We only have one life, and the more time we get to spend with those we love, the better. :)
You know it man :) Thanks for believing in the site and helping take it to the next level! We killed it this year, didn’t we??
Really excited for you J. At the end of the day family is always first. I think you are making the right decision as being a dad only happens once. Can’t wait to see pictures of the new little one in a couple of months.
Thank you so much!
Hey J$, I was certainly surprised by this news first thing on a Monday morning. For a second I thought someone spiked my coffee!
But all kidding aside, I’m happy for you because you’re selling RF for the right reasons. You know where your priorities lie (with your family) and you’re making sure you have the time to commit to them. I can’t blame you one bit for that.
Just please don’t stop blogging altogether, you’d be missed way too much!
Best of luck!
No chance of that happening – this is all I’ve got left online! :) And the original J. Money Baby haha…. (But I did spike your coffee! You’re welcome :))
J, Congratulations and thank you for taking the time to share the details for those of us that love the Rockstar community.
It takes guts to make a change, and it’s incredibly inspiring to see you following your values. Wishing you the absolute best in your next chapter!! <3
Thank you so much :) There’s so many people that get affected when sites change hands, and the most important being the *community* that goes to it every day. So the least we can do is share our perspectives so everyone understands! It’s the worse when sites get shut down or left in the dark when people move on.
Huge congrats J, this is awesome news for you. The entire point of FIRE and just FI in general and managing your money well is to allow you to do the things in life that you want to do. It’s amazing that you’ve got the opportunity to hand over (sell) the reigns to someone in the community who will usher in some growth for Rockstar, while you get to spend time on the most important job of all.
Keep up the awesome work, I’m looking forward to see what Rockstar’s got in its future, and will keep catching you around here. You’ve built an awesome legacy that’ll survive even without you at the helm.
And hey who knows maybe in a few years you’ll pull a JD Roth and buy it back! LOL!!
HAH! I did tell John it would be funny if it just explodes even more now with him leading it and he ends up hiring me back full-time later :) But only if I didn’t have to do any of the work for it and just gave ideas all day long! haha.. it’s the executing that’s the hardest of it all.
(Also – glad you feel that way about the legacy part of things. When I first built it that was exactly what was going through my mind: create something that you’re not in the center of so it can continue on for years no matter who’s running it. And unlike this blog here, I think it’s set up pretty well to do that! :))
$1 million!!!!!!!
Nicely done – congratulations! This is a win for you and John, and I’m glad you’ve chosen such a good steward for your “side” project :-)
Thanks man :) I love how you put “side” like that too haha… it used to be a side one! Funny how they so easily turn into full ones over time…
Omg this is the biggest news of the day!!!!!! Congratulations on the sale! I’m very excited to see your NW update in January now!! Lol. Huge increase!
When I sold my original blog in 2012 I stayed on as a writer until this year. It gave my good options because I could still write without having to deal with all the technical stuff. Will you be staying on as an advisor forever or is there a set time in the contract?
Then in 2017 I stopped writing and missed it and started a new blog which is reminding me why I sold the first one haha it all takes up so much time! This is an amazing move for you and your expanding family- you get to work on budgets are sexy still and you get to add to your FIRE!
Congratulations!!!!!
HAHA yup – sounds about right :) It’s a dream to just write your heart out and not have to deal with anything else!
I’ll be staying on as an advisor to Rockstar at least until the baby comes in 4 months, and then from there taking a month break and then regrouping with John to see what makes the most sense. If we’re jiving and my help is adding a lot of value to the site I’ll probably come back and enjoy doing all the fun parts, and if I’m no longer needed I’ll just redirect that energy right back into this blog here and other consulting stuff I do on the side :)
Congrats! Another step toward FI is a huge accomplishment. I haven’t been here as long as others but you’ve made me feel at home, so thanks for that. I’m glad BAS is going to be getting even more of your time. Enjoy being a SAHD and I hate to break it to you, but the newborn who sleeps 12 hours straight is nothing but an urban legend.
Take care of you.
Oh good!! I’m glad you feel at home here :) That’s the most important to me, with FIRE being a (really) close 2nd – hah.
Congratulations to you both! I love it when people make the right decisions and for the right reasons. It gives me the warm fuzzies.
And, on a related note, congratulations to the RSF community because it means we’re in good hands, now and into the future.
You sure are :)
This was the perfect start to my morning. :) I’m so incredibly happy for you!!! The whole point of this money thing is being able to live our ideal life that lines up with everything that matters most. This seems like a long step in the right direction.
thank you! it feels “right” so far :)
Good for you! This is what life is about…. changing, starting up, winding down, evolving…. and then doing it all again. :)
I love what you wrote here: “And as a minimalist, it’s actually a pretty freeing feeling because “stuff” applies to internet and brain assets too!!”
I’ve definitely cut waaaay back on the internet. But also, I’m starting to feel like I want to downsize my real estate holdings. Real estate investing used to be a really big passion of mine, but lately, I’ve been feeling like ‘meh’. We’ll see. I’m not quite where you are at being 100% sure mark for making a move yet. :)
Oh yeah – exactly why I don’t do real estate! Just knowing all those “things” are out there needing me – even if it’s all mental – just screws up my head too much… Which sucks cuz I know how good of an investment they can be! So at least you’ve got the $$$/biz part down! haha…
Great stuff guys! Makes a lot of sense with baby three on the way and early retirement time with things to do for ESI. I’m sure the site will continue to live on and do well.
I commend you for growing rockstar finance into what it J and having an exit! I try to do it with Yakezie.com Back in 2000-2002, but failed because I didn’t have enough energy and my technical guy joined Google!
All the best!
Sam
appreciate that man :) and believe me – it gets easier with kids!!! you’re in the hardest phase right now where sleep is jacked and they can’t do a thing for themselves, haha… once they start talking and moving the only thing you need to worry about is them stealing all your beer and taking your car out ;)
I think I just read the definition of the American Dream right here. You had a passion that you built up into an empire that pushed you to your creative limits and helped a lot of people in the process. Then, when you realized you found a new, deeper passion (your family), you decided to give your life to fulfilling this new calling. This is the American Dream I am striving to live, and I give you all the honor for living it to perfection, and showing me how it’s done. Rock and Roll, brother.
Oh $hit man, trying to make me tear up over here! if anyone I know is on the path to their Dream, it’s you sir… you’ve overcome hardships I can’t even begin to fathom and seem to be the happiest person on Earth now that you’ve got your freedom back :) life is good for both of us, and very happy to know you man.
My dear friend, I know I’ve said this many times already, but I am so unbelievably happy for you. And I’m also going to be totally sentimental, because that’s just what I do!
I will never forget when you emailed me at the end of 2014 and said (and I quote!): “So, I’ve made a decision to sell the site completely, however I’m not entirely sure the deal will go through with the buyer I have lined up…”
As everyone can see today, *that* deal didn’t go through. Instead, you decided to carry on and asked me if I was interested in helping – and, of course, I said I was. Not only because you’re *you*, but because I knew how special this project was for both you and the entire community.
Now, three years later, I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve had this conversation, haha. But you didn’t sell the site all those times either, and instead have grown it into something even bigger and better! And I can share here with everyone how passionate you’ve always been, and how much integrity you’ve had with every single decision that’s been made about how the site runs, what we do and why we do it – including the biggest decision, which was who to hand the reins over to!
Honestly, it wasn’t until typing up this sappy comment that I realized you are one of the people who has taught me how important it is to trust your gut and do what feels “right” – for you, for your family, and for your community. When you refuse to do things the way “experts” tell you to, it can feel a little lonely and you often wonder if you’re making the right decision. You have always reminded me that I am, simply by modelling that behaviour yourself.
In that first email in November 2014, you closed by saying: “And if we move to Plan B here and you still have the bandwidth, then I’ll consider myself a lucky guy.” But I was the lucky one, my friend. I’m so grateful for your friendship and for your support all these years. It’s going to be weird not working together every day anymore! But I will never forget what you said at the closing party at FinCon this year: whatever happens, we did good.
You did really, really good. xoxo
“You did really, really good.”
Here here.
jeeez, queue the eye leaking! Haha….
you have been so SO good to me throughout this whole thing, always encouraging and HELPING me to follow my gut and remember what’s most important along the way. That note probably would have ended in me selling it if you didn’t jump in and save me! :) And i’m SO GLAD for it because now we got to see all this cool stuff that we always wanted to see – so so happy for that.
We def. did good, my friend, and I’m so thankful you’re in my life, now and forever… I have a feeling we’ll be working on many more Rockstar Finances in our lives as time goes on :) Thank you for being you and always encouraging me to be the best that I can be.
I love you so much, Cait!!
You know I got the vibe something was changing for you but this really surprised me. Congrats on the new found freedom. Enjoy every moment with the little one.
wonder no more :)
Congratulations! I think it’s a great move. You need time now with a baby coming along. I’m sure you can start a new project later. Great job.
Haha yeah – will def have to remind myself to keep my hands tied and not jump into anything new :)
This is really exciting news, friend! Congratulations!!
Thanks Kendall!
Congrats to you. You built something amazing and now have different priorities. As someone who is involved in many different projects myself, the clarity and piece of mind from just having 1 project and your family is a freeing experience.
Thanks for all you’ve done for the community and looking forward to seeing you in 2018
You too sir! Glad to have linked up at FinCon the other month!
Congrats! I hope that time with your growing family deepens your resolve to make this choice. It sounds wonderful.
Thanks ZJ – we shall find out sooner than later :)
Congrats J$. It was probably a very tough decision to let go of this project, but the better work-life balance is a priceless thing to have!
However, with the newfound time, I wonder what project you will start next ;-)
DGI
Stop tempting me!!
Hey J Money!
Congrats on the move! I’m really hoping this will allow you to spend more time with the kids. That’s awesome, man! More freedom now. Yay!!
Thanks, Panda!
Congrats j money. Its awesome that your doing this for your family. Look forward to seeing what you do with this site as well as what esi does. Congrats again!
Thanks! Super excited to devote more attention back on this one for sure… I’ve neglected it here and there and have to remind it that I’m still its loving father ;)
It’s wonderful that you’re putting your family first. Your kids’ lives have been positively impacted forever with your decision. Way to go, J$!
Clearly, you’ve considered your online community in the transition to your new life. Thank you for doing it with such care. It sounds like we’re in good hands with John!
Congratulations on your new adventures! Cheers!
Thanks Amy! Hope life/biz going well for you too over there!
Congrats on turning all the time you banked in effort put into Rockstar into time you can spend on your growing family. Glad to see the site will be in good hands.
Thanks man!
Simply being listed in the Rockstar directory has brought our site a lot of visits, many thanks for that J $ and team. Looking forward to the future and wish everyone the best ahead!
Rock on! Love to hear that – means the plan is working :)
Sounds like a great move for you, your business, and your family. I wish you the best of luck in the future! :)
Thanks Michelle :)
Congratulations, J! If it wasn’t for you and the support of the community you helped bring together, I probably wouldn’t still be blogging. I’m happy to see the site will be going to good hands :)
Maybe now that you’re flush with cash, you can buy that coin collection off of me :) Cheers, and I hope you enjoy all of your new found free time!
Haha… I am trying really hard to stay away from eBay these days :) And REALLY glad you’re still blogging as your site is so refreshing!! Love reading your blog.
Super excited for you! Becoming a full time dad that blogs on the side is pretty good to me.
John’s a great guy. Rockstar will be doing great with him on the helm.
Thanks Tawcan – it’s the best we can hope for :)
Wow…big changes. Congrats! I hope this decision brings you peace and time for the important things in life. But I’m glad we’ll still see you here at Budgets are Sexy!
No doubt. This will always be my original home :) And now my ONLY home for the first time in almost a decade!
Congratulations J$! I wish you the very best in this new phase of your life, and I want to say thank you for creating Rockstar and for giving me the opportunity to write for it in my early days as a blogger. Your encouragement meant a lot.
No doubt. This will always be my original home :) And now my ONLY
This is huge! I’m so proud of you! You’ve done some pretty awesome things over the years, and to be able to sell it for real money and focus on your family is such a worthwhile payoff. Making the right decisions for the right reasons – all the thumbs up.
Thanks friend- you’ve been with me the entire decade online! :)
*Old-timer fistbump*
*fist bump*
I wish you all the best! Cherish the time you get to spend with your kids. They grow up SO fast!
That’s what I keep hearing! And even our *own* time with ourselves too – I swear I’m still 18 in my mind haha…
Congratulations ! I am assuming you must be going thru an emotional roller coaster ?:) Enjoy your kids while you can, they DO grow up quickly.
Your assumptions are 100% correct. My brain is all kinds of crazy right now!!
Congratulations on the sale. I’m so glad to be part of this community and have interacted with a lot of great people. There is always a time for transition and it appears this was the right time. Best of luck on baby #3.
Thank you! And welcome to the community – you’ve got a great online name here that will be hard for people to forget :)
Good for you! Life changes and congrats on launching something that will go on. One question, you said the site made just a little money. Why would someone pay a large amount if it was minimally profitable? In other words, what will change to get a return on that investment? We’ll still follow you here too. Congrats!
Great question, and a few good reasons :)
First and foremost, it’s a pretty solid site with a lot of traffic and connections in our space here, so money aside there’s a ton of benefit to owning it and being in the middle of things.
Secondly, the only reason it didn’t make money was because I didn’t prioritize it and/or try much. There were some months where it made thousands and then others where it went into the negatives – but it was all done consciously and without focus. If you truly wanted to make money off it you certainly can as the potential and traffic is pretty awesome :)
And then lastly, especially for a site like this, it’s all about being passionate and wanting to be a part of something bigger. Unlike personal blogs, Rockstar was built to help an entire community and there’s not one main “face” behind it by design, so you have to be in it for the greater good and reasons outside of the business side of things or it would never work.
So it’s definitely not a project for everyone, and certainly not a typical “business”, which again meant finding the “right” new leader for it was even more important than ever… Based on the profit alone it would only be worth a fraction of what we ended up getting for it.
Thanks for the explanation!
It was a VERY good question :) This transaction/site is anything but ordinary.
Wow – this is news! Thanks for sharing all the details, J. Your generosity to the others in the blogging community has always been off the charts. I really appreciate all you have done for me through Rockstar – from featuring articles early on to giving great advice. Your feature of an article in December 2015 was what really jump-started my site.
I wish you the best in your next phase of life as dad of baby #3! So, cool (although I’m going to pass on that opportunity and stick with 2:). Can’t wait to see what the future brings for you and budgetsaresexy.com.
Thank you sir!! So wild that we had such an effect on your site but SOOOO glad to hear it because you’re doing amazing things with it man!!! I really enjoy reading it and hope it’s just the start of something even greater down the line :) Stay in touch man! I’ll still be doing my thing over here – can’t get rid of my fully, haha…
Kudos for making the tough decision, i.e., the RIGHT decision for you and your family.
We’ll still be reading, John.
Thanks! Appreciate that!
Thanks friend!
Congratulations to you both! I am super excited to see what the future holds in store for each of you and for RSF. Best wishes for a most prosperous 2018!
Thanks Cody!
Congrats man. I love Rockstar Finance and I hope it continues to flourish. Enjoy your low 6-figures and life with a 3rd kiddo! :)
So glad you’re enjoying it!
I’m digging your hair :)
Congrats man! Seriously. To make an active decision to leave something you like and focus on family is great. May more of us do it going forward. I think selling to ESI money was also brilliant and look forward to seeing how the future of the Rockstars goes.
Thanks man :) Always harder to walk away from something doing great than crappy! Haha…. And now we gotta make sure to get you featured on it, jeez!!
Congrats on the sale J. RSF will be in good hands and you will still give advice on anything that relates to it. Now you will be a full time dad and have #3 on the way, zone coverage all the way!!
Will still be reading like I usually do!! Enjoy Christmas my man!
Haha… rock on. You too :)
That’s a beneficial outcome for all parties involved, and completely understandable given the amount of your internet babies and actual babies combined :-) You were one of the first iconic personal finance brands I discovered years ago on my journey and now, after starting my own blog, you were the first to make me feel a part of the community. It’s a great hub for creators and curated content and I think in the hands of ESI Money, it will continue to thrive.
Take a vacation, you deserve it!
Beautiful!! Good job starting your own adventure online now yourself – love the blog name/theme you’ve got going on :)
Hey J$,
Thank you for your awesome stewardship of Rockstar Finance! I’m really glad to hear it’ll continue to be in good hands.
I’m so happy for you and your family, and looking forward to the future!
Thanks RM! Always laugh at your name every time I see it, haha…. brilliant marketing :)
“just more in an “advisory” type role than a day-to-day one. Which pretty much means I get to do all the fun parts like brainstorming and scheming and connecting the dots, only I don’t have to do any of the work in actually making it happen”
As a teacher, I read this and thought “oh, you’re that kid in a group project.”
Congratulations on making this work for the community, you, and your family.
Hah! If only “that kid” was doing all the work and leading the entire classroom for the past 4 years beforehand ;)
Congrats to both of you! I’m excited to see how ESI changes things up. Thanks for building it in the first place J!
You’re very welcome! It was always something I wished were around in our community, and one day I just decided it was time to stop all the wishing and actually do something about it :) Pretty cool to see how far it went over the past 4 years!
Sounds like a nice move J!
It’s all about the balance in life and although it must be hard to give up one of your (internet) babies, the increased time with family plus a cash boost to the Net Worth sounds like a win/win from your current situation.
And good luck to John in taking Rockstar from strength to strength :)
You know it man :) Love so much that you’re still around blogging all this years too… what’s it been now, 9-10 years for you? I remember reading your site in the early stages of mine.
J, what a great move – I’m so glad for you and your family. At first, I personally worried that it might be bad for Rockstar – but then you sold it to John, of all people. I am confident this will go well, and he of all people understands why you’d love to make that move. I’m very happy for both of you and for the future of the site – I hope to continue supporting it even more in the future. Enjoy your well-earned time off from it! (Though, with that said, it won’t be quite the same without you being the life behind it!)
Thanks man :) Believe me – I wouldn’t have passed it off to just anyone! It’s like my 5th (?) baby… Have to know it’s in good hands or it stays inside the nest :) Thanks for taking the time to drop a note.
You are actually in the best position to analyse your decision. All what I can do is to congratulate you.
Thank you :)
Congrats man! I think it’s in a good place going forward, especially if you’ll be advising.
And best of luck with baby #3 – you’ll be one ahead of us!
Thank you sir! You’re always welcome to come take one of ours away for a week if you want to see what having 3 is like ;)
Good move brotha. I respect a family man.
*tips hat*
THIS IS HUGE J.
Dude. Congrats to you both.
There’s something you alluded to with your previous 1M buyout…that I seriously applaud you for…and that’s courage.
Knowing your connection w/ RSF (and this site in 2016), and can’t even imagine how terrifying this might have been to think about. I feel like it would take a massive amount of courage and self-confidence to let go, even if it IS the best decision for you.
Really happy to see you focusing on authentic content here, and also super excited to see what John does as well. Going to be fun for sure!
I love you,
Pete
Thanks man :) I love you as well. Was really fun getting to know you a little more over FinCon and enjoy the unique angel on things you bring to the community. So here’s to continued – and fun! – success to both of us!
Wow…just joined Rockstar last month or so…glad you will continue on with an advisory role…congrats on the growing family …Michael CPO
Thanks man! You’re in for a fun experience over there :)
Way to go J.Money ~ Merry Christmas with this achievement
Stoked to see the focus back into B.A.S.
Yeah man – it’s on now!!! Going back to the first true love!
A very merry Christmas to you and your family too :) Glad you’re in my life, man.
Aw, it’s the end of an era, J! :'( Can’t believe the changes that have been happening lately! But I know it’s all for everyone’s improvement.
Wanna specifically thank Rockstar Finance for being a platform where bloggers like me can be found by random people all over the world looking for a buddy in their finance journey! Really hope all the good stuff will still be retained. :)
More power to you! And happy holidays! Cheerios!
Thanks Maven :) I love how you put that – “a buddy in their finance journey!” Great way to look at it!
Wow! I took a couple weeks off to spend some time with my family over the holidays, but it sounds like you know just what you are doing with this change. Family matters more than anything else. We can always make more money. We can’t always go back and make new memories when our kids are young. Bravo to you for following your gut, and setting a great example for your readers!
Thanks Krystal :) And welcome back to the fun here! Haha…
I miss you and Cait already! But good for you.
You are doing it all for the right reasons. Good things are in store for you and your past projects!
Thanks Doc, we’re definitely at peace with it :)
Congrats man!! That’s awesome
Congrats! I knew R*F had great potential the first time saw it.
Thanks man. And for all your encouragement over the years too – was def. appreciated :) Now come back to blogging – we miss you here!
Holey Moley! Congrats J$! Man I’m certainly a bit behind on the news – just discovered this from your latest net worth post! (Now I know where that little rocket in the last 2 months came from!)
So thrilled to hear you’re focusing more on ‘living’ given the major hustling you’ve been doing over the years. That is why we all do what we do – to make this experience of ‘living’ as good as we can.
Thanks Frankie – trying! :) Hope your new year is starting off well too!
Congrats J and thank you for all your hard work. You’ve helped a lot of people – including me. Bizarre, but at the same time you were making your big change I was too. I got an offer I couldn’t refuse to get paid blogging and coding.
It was a tough decision because all of Joe Strummer’s lyrics were rolling through my brain like a ticker tape of shame. I was LITERALLY selling out!
But I justified it this way;
– now I can get paid to do what I love the most
– I can help people by steering them away from predatory lenders
– no contract so if it sucks I can bolt
Either way – it still hasn’t got weird enough for me.
Good luck with EVERYTHING!
Haha love it man! Gotta go with the flow of life sometimes, and sounds like you made the right call for yourself :) Really glad you stopped in to say hello as I’ve been wondering where you were lately! I miss your raw posts!