From Etsy to Empire: Dylan Jahraus’ 7-Figure Pivot

25:10A fresh broom sweeps clean like the first couple of months. Oh, it's great. Okay. Well, that's as good as it was. And then, you know, things start to deteriorate because it's not sustainable if they're not, it's not alignment. And so how long was that person there? How long was your number two there? It's your second interview, your first hire or one of your first key hires. Yeah. How long was that person there? Yeah. So I'd hired an executive assistant and then this was the second person. Okay. So he was there 11 months. Okay. And then what was the conversation letting him go? It was very challenging because I'd never let anyone go before.

25:45Okay. Yeah. So let's go back. So it was this, yeah, this isn't in alignment. My husband was there with me, of course, you know, support on the call. Yeah. Now getting to that point, was it a long time coming and you're still like more of the dreading? So I've been in two types of having to let somebody go. And one of it is like, it's just been this slow buildup and it's just like the drip that kills me, right? It's the drip that kills me. And then other times I'm like, this is a clear no, and I'm going to make this decision. For this role, that first time you let go somebody, which one was it?

26:15It was a slow buildup. It was a slow buildup. And I think one of the biggest things that I learned was you have to document things. Even if you're a small business and you're like a team of five to nine, like you have to document everything. Don't do phone calls, put this, you know, in writing. And I hadn't been doing that. And I felt like an imposter even. It felt like I was trying to be some corporate company doing performance reviews. It felt like I shouldn't be doing that because I'm a small business, but I should have been. Yeah. And so now what does your check-ins look like for your key stakeholders?

26:48Oh, yeah. 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, you know, constructive feedback, like not just glossing things over, noticing red flags and bringing them up to them. What's like a common red flag? Like in the 30, 60, 90 period, when you make a hire, what are you looking for? What are like some things that you're like, okay, already I can tell I'm gonna have to bring it up. Being a self-starter. If they're not a self-starter, if they have to be reminded of everything and these are your next three steps, you know, that's not going to be the right person in my type of company. Mm. Okay. That's good. So let's get into, you get into your key hires, you're building out a sales team.

27:28Now you are doing all of the sales at this time. What are you looking for as you start building out somebody like, this is the conversation of scaling. The show is really for helping people scale from seven figures to eight figures. But there are people right now who are in a similar situation. I dream of getting 40 ,000. I dream of a hundred thousand. And you, Would you say, I would say, the minute that you start making that level of money, bringing at least one person in to help move the thing? Okay, great. To move the ball down the field. Great. But as you're diversifying, you are the person who is doing all the sales.

28:00You are the frontline. You bring somebody in. What was some of the key learnings of bringing in and hiring a role to sell something on your behalf? Yes. I think one huge thing is really locking arms with them and making sure that they understand me because they're representing me. And even if they don't have the right tonality or something, or they come in with some hard sales approach, that's not really on brand. And so people feel like they know me from YouTube videos. So if they then get on a call with someone who's like, you don't seem like you'd work with Dylan. Is this legit? That's where trust can break down.

28:40So to maintain that trust and have someone else sell for me, they have to be similar to me in some ways. So spending a lot of time with them. I went to, I led the sales team for the first two years before hiring a sales manager from within. and then I still kept going to the sales meetings every day. And then I finally started letting go last month. Oh, yeah. It's super recent. Recent. It's super recent. What caused that? Seeing that the numbers are good. And when I see results, I trust. Yeah. So. So, okay. So you are building out key stakeholders. You're building a sales team. You are continuing coaching and you're continuing building out content.

29:22Yeah. You had many times in business, something will come along and it feels like it hits like a freight train. Yeah. It's like you kind of sort of maybe saw it or you just totally didn't see it coming. So like the first big juncture in this arm of the business is having a partnership that didn't turn out the way that you had expected. Yeah. So it forced you to kind of like regroup. Was there another opportunity or another instance where you were just like, oh, it shook the feet underneath you and then talk to us about the build. This is the stuff a lot of people don't talk about. Yeah. So I think there's a lot you can shoulder on your own for a certain period of time.

29:54But then at some point you realize like, this is not sustainable. And this is not why I did this. And I got to the point where I was not seeing my kids in the evening. They would say, mommy's on calls. Mommy's doing Etsy business. That's what they called it. Etsy business. And they could like hardly talk. But they missed me And I missed them. And I was realizing this is not why I built this. I built this for financial freedom, time freedom, location freedom, and to help people. And the structure that I have right now is not serving those needs in the long term. So it actually was a point where right before a call with a prospective client, I got a phone call.

30:39This was back in January of the previous year, and it was that my dad had actually overdosed. So I know I just threw in like a big bomb to this conversation. But my dad has been a drug addict for well over 25 years. And he's in his 70s. And he had actually overdosed. And he was in the ICU. And I had to get on a sales call. I was like crying. I had to get on a sales call. And I did not have the team in place to support me. And I realized, hey, life is going to happen. My parents are older. My sister is disabled. I'm going to have to make sure I build this business so that I'm not needing to show up every hour of every day just in case.

31:22And that's really when the team went from probably like 20 to now 47. Wow. Yeah. And so when you start leading a team where it's doubled in size, who do you have to become to do that? What do you let go of? What do you say yes to? What are the mind? I've always believed that every time there's been a jump for me professionally, I had to become a different person to step into that space or create that space. And I think that you and I know each other now personally. We've gotten to know each other very a lot. What do you have to say to yourself? Who do you have to become? Yeah. So I think for anyone who's kind of doing a solo business right now, they don't have a team, it's kind of nice.

32:01Because you can keep to yourself. You have your own thoughts. You keep yourself accountable. And you don't have to worry about other people. So if you're an introvert like I am, that was really hard. that was so hard because I had to learn how to play into my energy in a different way where meetings I try to have them at certain times of the day or like certain days of the week and I just had to make sure that in order to show up for these people like I had to control my energy more and and play into that uh how it naturally would be how how did you do that yeah how did you control your energy?

32:37Like morning meetings. That's better for me than like a 5 p.m., 4 p.m. You know, certain meetings I don't lead, but I'll be there. Got it. You know, so it's that energy where I would just be like sucked dry. I don't know if you can relate to that. If you are on for 12 hours straight. Yes. Yeah. A hundred percent. And so now what I have done and specifically going into 2026, it will be that I am going to mandate for myself, just energetically, I will not do meetings on certain days of the week. Nice. Like hopefully two days a week. It's just like, this is because what I realized is like being on meetings is so soul sucking for me.

33:17It doesn't play to my strength. And then after I have given so much energy, I'm the best in the morning. But then I realized that when I do those morning meetings, I'm zapped of all energy to like create or to think or to ideate. And so I'm just like, okay, this is backwards because my afternoons are rendered useless for me. I'm just like a pile of mud. And so I think that starting next year in order to conserve energy, because I think that doing the same thing you had done is like starting to index. When do I give my best? How do I show up the best? But then I started realizing if I really want to scale this business, I need more time to be alone and do what my zone of genius is.

33:54And I wasn't giving myself time to do that. So those, your two tips, maybe adding mine is like in order to help protect energy. Totally. Protect energy. Yeah. So, so, and realizing that just because you're an introvert, I think a lot of us think, well, I can't have a big team because I'm not a people person. I'm don't, I'm sure I shouldn't hire people because I'm not a people person. Well, it's not, that's not true. Like there's so many great entrepreneurs who are introverts and you wouldn't even guess. Like I assume everyone I meet in this space is an extrovert because of how they show up online.

34:25in their content, but it's surprising. Our last conversation, I think there was two things that you were like, wait, what? When I had said, oh, I'm like super code red introvert. Like I am a hundred, I'm like level 12 out of 10 introvert. And then the second thing that you said was surprising was you said, you're really private. And I was like, oh yeah, I'm very private. Yeah. Like wildly so. And I think that maybe I give the impression that I am extroverted and like I share all the things and I'm like, oh no, it's like the LMO over here. It's like FBI. Yeah. Like people get like this tiny breadcrumbs along the way.

34:56Okay, so what happens as you're growing your team, as you're scaling, when you look at what's next for yourself? Yeah. Where are you at with that and how do you find the next path? Yeah, so I think the fulfillment is different now than it was in the beginning. In the beginning, I wanted, you know, hitting these big numbers and, you know, having my sights set on certain financial goals. But now it's like, I'm not happier when I hit a record month. I'm actually not happier. I'm kind of like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I got through that month. It's not necessarily a joy, a true joy that comes from hitting numbers.

35:35Really, the joy that I'm finding right now is from the team building aspect and the elevating other people and seeing them grow. That's what's giving me so much fulfillment. whether it's a client, like an Etsy seller that I'm helping grow, or my executive assistant, you know? So let's talk a little bit about the change of the business. In the beginning, you were doing all the things. One of them was to do your coaching. And now explain for people who don't know, like your coaching team has grown significantly. And when somebody joins your program, they're not actually getting coached directly by you, at least up to a certain extent.

36:10They're not getting coached directly by you. Explain the nature of it. Yeah. So it was all me for everyone all the time. And we do like daily 24 seven coaching. So that was a lot. That was a lot. My family definitely noticed. I was like, kids, be quiet. I'm making a loom video for this person. Hi, Sarah. Okay, so let's get into your shop. And yeah, they noticed. So it was a little bit over the top. So I hired a coaching team. We have 18 people on the team now. Wow. Yeah. They were all previous students. Biggest fear was people will be mad if I hire a coach to help. They were not mad. They loved it because they got faster responses.

36:52So if that's holding, if one of your listeners is held back right now, like I can't hire someone else to fulfill the service, they can actually improve the service because it can be faster. So that was a big like myth that I was telling myself. So the coaching team, 18 of them, still daily coaching. And then I hop on calls twice a week. And this is large scale group. So people, whoever is in any one of the programs, whatever tier they're in, they could still come to twice a week coaching with you. Yep. They still get me live twice a week and I answer all the questions. Got it. Yeah. And so is there a world in which you think that you would work yourself out of the business in that capacity?

37:30Yeah. So Alex and Layla, they said, okay, there's big key man risk. here? Like if you got hit by a bus, what would happen? And that was before we had coaches. Still now, you know, we played with bringing coaches into content, which I would love to do more of. But I do think there's something to be said for, hey, I still want to have this business. I'm not trying to sell this business. I'm not trying to work myself completely out of it. So I still like showing up. If I stopped showing up, I would lose touch, I think. Okay, so I know that your expertise, your most depth of experience is with Etsy, but you've also created a tech component to what it is that you do.

38:13Do you want to talk a little bit about that? Because to me, one of the things I found really interesting is our stories are very different and then a lot of similarities. It's like you're finding ways to add different components. I always say it's a tool on a tool belt of business. And building a piece of tech is, gosh, like not for the faint of heart. Talk about why you introduced it. what you've learned, because I want to talk about different iterations in the business. Yes. So I will preface this by saying I'm not a tech girl at all. I do not update my phone. I do not shut down my computer.

38:41I have a million tabs open. And if I need to update any software, my husband does that and I don't know about it. So the fact that we have a tech company is crazy. And the whole idea came about, it was actually a recommendation from the Hermoses. They said, create a software to go with the program for that same customer. So it was the same idea of serving the customer in other areas. And their biggest pain point was SEO. So we created an SEO software. Got it. And it's called Etsio. And we got the trademark. Thank God locked that in. That's great. Okay. So you have this coaching layer, you have a tech layer, you are de-risking the key man player, the key woman player in the business, but it's not that much in the forefront because you're like, I'm not trying to sell the business right now.

39:28So it's okay that I'm still being content forward. Exactly. Now the software company, that is something I would consider selling at some point. So we are not building me into the brand. I'm not necessarily the base of that brand. Okay. Yeah. And so now that you are, have diversified the business in so many different ways, and then you look at like what's next and what gives you joy is developing your team. What is the next version of you look like in the business? Yeah. More connection, connecting with people like you, connecting, getting on some stages, helping people in different ways, not only with Etsy, but beyond Etsy too.

40:07Like we did that first 10 million without any ads. And that's something that I didn't realize was unusual. So helping people with things like that or doing a lot of team building. So we're planning a team trip for the leadership team, doing things like that, that I would not have thought of before because I thought, well, that's not profitable, but that's fun. And I want to have more fun. And so you did your first 10 million without ads solely on the back of the content you were creating with the CTA to book a call? Exactly. And I didn't have a ton of followers. Like the first 10 million, I probably had less than 30 ,000 followers.

40:43yeah and so etsy is a very specific type of business and specific type of business owner but there's something that i find really fascinating about your insight you talk to a lot of business owners now some or most probably in etsy but a lot of other types of business owners what do you think are the three things that are getting in the way of people actually like they hear your story and they're like well that's her yeah she's special she's unique and maybe those things could be true but what i know of you and what i know myself and what i know of the people that we hang out with, we have a set of qualities, doesn't mean that we're better.

41:16It just means that we're different. So what do you think that you have, other people have, that you see like, man, these are the three things. Like if these three things in business owners were to change, what do you think that is? Because you see, you have a lot of students. Yeah. We have over 4 ,500 students. So I've seen what separates the successful from the ones who don't get that momentum. And number one thing is consistency. Like I always say, I'm not the smartest person in the room, but I will win on consistency. Like I will show up. I will outwork. Hey, man. That's my game, honey. That's my game.

41:50Yes. How many years of consistency? That's right. That's right. That is right. So I will, every time I don't feel like showing up, every time I don't feel like doing something, I think about my competition. I'm a little competitive. And I think they would watch Netflix right now. They would watch whatever. They would relax. They would, you know, do something that's not related to their goals. I'm going to show up because I know they're not and they're sleeping and I will go all gas, no breaks when they are slowing down. And that consistency game, like that is everything. That's why I'm so confident because I trust my consistency.

42:27So one of three, first one, consistency. Second reason that sets apart the people who go and get big results versus those who don't? I think, especially in the education space, it's a fear of giving too much. A fear, even in e-commerce too, a fear of giving too much. And if you hold things back, if you gatekeep, you're not going to be as competitive. My philosophy is give away for free what other people charge for. And that's how I grew so fast with a coaching business. I was sharing everything on YouTube that would be in someone's paid course. And then people thought, wow, you know, this is free.

43:06What's behind the paywall? So people are afraid to share too much. You know, even on Etsy, they'll put like a watermark on their painting. And I'm like, no one's bought it. No one wants it yet. Like just hold your horses, you know. Oh, that's funny. So consistency, giving away your best stuff for free. Yeah. And the third thing that would really help a small business owner like step into the next version of themselves is letting go of control of the things that you aren't the only one who can do it. So control of emails, admin. And I realized like, what are the one or two things that I can do that only I can do?

43:47Content. Even I thought for a while it was sales. It's not. It's really not. So the couple things that only I can do, prioritizing that, and then really letting go. And if you hire the right people, it's not going to make the business worse. And I thought, if I outsource, the results will go down, but they didn't. So letting go of control. I think if you hold on to control for too long, you become the constraint of the business. and people who grow the fastest, they get out of their own way. They deconstrain the business when they become the constraints. So we talk about those three things and those are three elements that you have maintained in every iteration of your business.

44:31And we talked about a partnership that didn't work the way that you had anticipated. We talked about a deeply personal, scary experience with your dad that caused you to go through something. What right now is the hardest thing in your business? Because I think that I want to demystify what it looks like to build an eight-figure business because people look at that and are like, amazing. That's a walk in the park. Or imagine how nice it must be just to have money to hire when you want. Different levels or different devils. So what's really hard in the business right now for you? People, mean people on the internet.

45:02That is really hard. That is really hard. People are so mean when they don't even know you. People assume the worst about you when you're successful in something. And it is hard as a sensitive person to read comments or to see people make assumptions or say something's not true when it's legitimate. Mean people, like that's the hardest thing that I've been up against. And I don't have super thick skin. It's gotten thicker. But I think no matter how big you get, certain things will get to you. So how long did you go before people started saying negative things? Gosh, I think six months. And then the more successful the business gets, does the rate of negativity stay the same?

45:50Or as the brand and business get bigger, does it also expand? You know, the rate probably stays the same. But because the eyeballs, there's so many more eyeballs, then it feels like a lot more. But the percentage is probably the same. But you told me something early on. I think it was our first call. Maybe you said, Dylan, I think you grew so fast that the negativity feels like it could come on fast. And people notice faster growth and they make other assumptions. And that kind of sat with me because it's only been three years that I've been doing this. and yeah if this had been 10 years 12 years or like a slower growth maybe I wouldn't have the same negativity I don't know has there been an instance where the negativity comes and then you learn something or what I've discovered is so if I were to look at you and say you're a zebra you'd be like okay I'm a zebra like fine it doesn't mean anything to you because there's no resonance yeah but if I had said something that was a kernel of truth I'm not saying for you, for me, is people will say mean and negative things about me all the time.

46:57And I'm like, I'm a zebra. And then if somebody says something and it really stings, and it doesn't cripple me, but it stings, I have to immediately go into a deep dive. I'm like, what about that comment? Is there a kernel of truth? And oftentimes, if I look objectively in the mirror, I realize, dang it. The reason it hurt was because it was a kernel of truth. And so I always think Like every time I get that, it hurts, it stings. I hate it. I do the deep work. I forgive myself and it'd be like, game over. Like game over. Thank you for making me better. It hurts and it sucks that it's out there, but I'm better.

47:32How do you come back? And do you feel the same way? Or what about the mean comments? Because there's some of you know how much you read and you're like, and then there's others that sting. What's the difference for you and how do you bounce back? Yeah. So one theme of the mean comments when I started was she's coughing in her course. Like she didn't - Coughing? Yeah, I know, I know. Like coughing? I know, I know. Okay. Okay. Because I actually, you know how I built the course as people were joining it? Yes. I had to do one module a week. Yes. I was filming this in my closet. I was burning the candle at both ends.

48:01I actually got pneumonia. I know. So I'm like filming the course, but I have pneumonia and I'm, yeah, I'm coughing. Yes. Yes, I'm coughing, guys. I'm like literally running a marathon with a broken leg, but I sold this program. I have to make the course. So yes, I'm coughing. Yes, I edited the course on my own. I'm not a video editor. So anyways, I filmed a new course. Thank you. I'm better now. This one, no coughing or quasi-coughing? When you redid it again, any coughing included? No coughs. Yes, it is perfect audio. So they made it better. They made it better. And so when you hear negative things now, truth, kernel truth, no truth, how do you come back?

48:50Yeah. Honestly, I think about people like you. I think about people like Amy, Jenna, people who've been in this space much longer and who it didn't take them down. you know and I know they you got through it look at you like they got through it look at them and I don't I try not to take it personally and I realize like it's not only me who deals with it but people don't talk about it and if you're gonna show up like you're gonna welcome those people the crazy people who have time on their hands to to you know go through a hundred of your videos and comment the same thing like how did someone have an hour to do that like why were you that important to them to do that.

49:31So I just remember you've, you know, people like you've gone through it too. I always tell myself that nobody more successful of me than me, I'm gonna say that again, because it deserves to be said right. Nobody more successful than me is leaving a main comment. Yeah, totally. That's it. Like if you have that much time and that much work, you are not doing anything. So continue to say my name, give me a link, spell it right. I'm gonna I'm going to keep on doing my own thing. So right now, you have created a lot of resources. But one of the ones that I was most excited to share with your permission is the organic growth mastery checklist.

50:07Because when you told me you got to$10 million, a$10 million business without ads, I was like, this is amazing. I want to share this. So we're going to link it in the show notes. But what was the inspiration behind this? What are you sharing in this? So the biggest question I get is, how did you actually do that without ads? What was the secret? and it's not one thing. It's not like YouTube was the only thing. There's a lot of things. And so this is a whole list of all the organic things that we've done and that if you add those in, like it's gonna work because it's logic basically. And we already know that you share your best stuff for free.

50:44I do. So you will find a link in the show notes. Dylan, where do people go to get more information and learn about you and just watch the growth of your business? Yes, we're growing fast right now on TikTok and Instagram. So definitely check those out. We have some interesting strategies that we're testing live. I mean, one of them got like 15K people in two weeks. That's nothing compared to you. But for us, that was huge. That's huge. We're testing out some really cool things over there. So check out what we're doing. Funnel Hacker Funnels. Come on in and check us out on YouTube because that's really the core of our growth.

51:19That's great. So where do they go on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube? Dylan Jarrus for all of them. J-A-H-R-A-U-S. Great. We'll be sure to link all of that in the show notes. Dylan, thank you. Thank you. I am so happy that we developed a friendship and I'm happy that you've spoken into my business and I'm very honored that I've spoken into yours. But the reason I wanted you to come specifically is you've done something pretty magical. And I think that you're just proof in the things that I believe. It is no one is going to save you. It is your level of consistency determines your rate of success.

51:49It is getting the negativity and moving past it. It is stepping into new versions of ourselves and rewriting and holding space for the next version of us. So thank you for being along my journey and it's an honor to be along yours. Thanks, Jasmine. Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you for watching and listening to The Jasmine Starr Show.