Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Terry Shanahan, Founder of Shanahan Management Group, located in Omaha, NE, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is investment real estate. I have four different branches of the business. The first branch is the acquisition team that acquires and buys distressed properties. Our customers on that end are people who have a tough situation and need someone to take the property off their hands as soon as possible. The second branch is the in-house construction team. While we don't do work for the general public, we use this same model for other investors and manage projects for them. The third branch is property management, and the fourth branch is a roofing company. It just makes sense for us to have a roofing company. Between my properties and the other three or four investors we work for, there are 400-500 properties, and there is always stuff that goes wrong with roofing and exteriors.

Tell us about yourself

I spent ten years in the health and wellness optimization world. It was a huge passion of mine. I have always been entrepreneurial. After facing a significant health scare in 2019, I decided that I really wanted to create a business that could potentially run without me and create residual income. That is what spurred and motivated me to get into the investment and real estate business. As I have reached my financial goals, I am now motivated to help my team members and business partners reach their goals. Overall, I am very growth-minded and strive to become better in all areas of my life!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment is two-fold. The first part of it was the massive rapid growth from 1 to 185 doors in just thirty-two months. They are mainly single-family houses, a few duplexes, one three-unit property, and one four-unit property. The second biggest accomplishment, which was a huge part of the massive growth, was building a great team. I am very proud of the team that I have built and the great people that I truly enjoy working with!

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

I would say one of the hardest things about being a business owner is that early on, you have to do everything. Early on, it was just me. It was hard because there were so many moving parts. There are just so many parts to the business: legal, accounting, marketing, operations, delegating, etc.

Another thing that I would say is one of the hardest things about being a business owner is managing the people that it takes to scale a business. You have to be willing to give up control and trust people. When you do find great people, it's an amazing feeling! However, you often have to hire and fire a lot of people to find the top performers. It can be very stressful, steal your energy, and be time-consuming!

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. When people say, "Follow your passion," I think that may actually be bad advice. I've done that before, and it didn't work out so well. I think the advice should be "find the intersection of what you enjoy enough or are passionate enough about, what you're good at, and what can make money." Find the sweet spot. I'm passionate about health, wellness, and working out; however, I don't feel like it was a scalable enough business. I just didn't enjoy the business of it anymore. I'll talk to people about their health, wellness, and fitness all day long. I'll talk to somebody for free about that. I love that part, but the business part of it is tough.
  2. Begin with the end in mind. You really have to have a vision for where you are trying to go. Too many people create a business that can only run with them. That's not a business. That's buying yourself a job. For example, I did that with health, wellness, and coaching. I became the expert. People wanted me. They wanted my time, and it was really hard for me to scale that. It was one on one coaching. It was a high dollar amount, but it was still just me. Make sure you are creating a business that can scale and is not 100% tied to your time.
  3. You have to find the right people. For example, you can only do so much on your own. You must build and develop a team. I think that is a very key skill for business owners. The skill of having the ability to recruit, hire, train, and manage great people is essential.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.theshanahanplan.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheShanahanPlan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshanahanplan/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terryshanahan/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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