Entrepreneurship and working from home are near and dear to Jason Milleisen’s heart for so many reasons. He’s been at it for almost 10 year now, and he considers himself lucky to have found business success. Home Business Magazine chats with Jason about his journey to launching a thriving home-based business.
What inspired you to start your home-based business?
From the time I got out of college, I always hated commuting to an office. It felt like I was wasting 2+ hours every day driving to and from work. I never intended to start a home-based business, but I’ve always been entrepreneurial.
Now that I have kids (6 and 7), there’s no possible way that I could go back to working in an office. Because my wife travels a lot for her job, the lead parenting roll falls squarely on my shoulders. I drop the kids off at school at 8:10am every morning, then pick them up at 2:30pm.
With that kind of schedule, there is no way I could work a “regular” job unless we completely outsourced all of our childcare. My wife and I are in agreement that for us, it’s more important for me to be there for our kids on a daily basis.
What did you do prior to starting the business?
I worked for banks as a commercial lender. I started out underwriting small business loans on Long Island for Bridgehampton National Bank.
In 2006, I moved on to the Bank of America middle market lending group in NYC, where I underwrote loans for businesses with up to $50 Million in revenue.
My last stop was for CIT, the largest SBA 7a lender (at the time), where I was a workout officer during the Great Recession. SBA loans were going in default at unprecedented levels, which was completely overwhelming because nobody was really prepared for it. Little did I know at the time, that experience was what finally allowed me to start working for myself from home.
Briefly describe your home-based business.
Distressed Loan Advisors (JasonTees.com) is a consulting business that assists small business owners that are in default on their SBA loans. Specifically, I help the business owner settle their debt through a process called Offer in Compromise or “OIC”. It’s my job is to find a reasonable middle ground between the lender and the borrower.
How did you start up and finance your business?
I started it on the side while I was working for CIT. I made a website, starting writing blog articles, and ran some Google Ads. Before I knew, I had a roster of clients and a steady pipeline of interested borrowers.
Luckily for me, there was no financing required. I paid for the website and initial Google Ads out of my pocket. Total investment was less than $1000, which I recovered with my first client. After seeing all the problems have with business debt, I’m averse to taking on debt. As a consulting business, I feel fortunate that it doesn’t require capital to run it.
How do you market your home-based business?
The vast majority come from organic Google searches, which I compliment with Google Ads.
Since I operate within a pretty small niche, I’ve found that best way to market my services is to put out answers to many of the questions that people are looking for. While it serves to educate, it also demonstrates that there’s a lot of nuance to it, which means many borrowers who find my site end up contacting me for a consultation.
Who are your customers?
Small business owners whose business has failed, but they still owe a significant amount on their SBA, and can’t afford to repay it.
What do you consider your best business achievement?
Building a business from scratch. I currently rank on page 1 of google for all the major search terms associated with SBA Offer In Compromise, which took a significant investment of time and effort.
On a daily basis, I reflect on how amazing it feels to make a living from a business that I built all by myself. I know luck always plays a role, by I feel more in control of my destiny than I ever did working for banks.
What are the primary advantages of working from home?
Time with my kids, for sure. Working from home gives me the flexibility to run them to gymnastics, take them to the park on a nice day, and attend school activities.
Having a home office allows me to run a lean business. Unlike many of my customers, a slow month is no big deal because I have no rent to pay.
Where do you see yourself with your home-based business in 3 years?
I’m hoping to grow revenues by 100%. I’ve been in business for 9+ years now, so I know it’s here to stay. My focus going forward is to remain focused on strong SEO, while also cultivating additional referral partnerships with banks and SBA loan servicers. The latter represents an opportunity that I haven’t previously explored, but early feedback has been positive so I’m optimistic.
Jason Milleisen is the founder and owner of Distressed Loan Advisors (JasonTees.com). Since 2009, DLA has helped hundreds of small business owners through the SBA Offer in Compromise process, resulting in over $50 Million saved. Jason is a former workout officer for the largest SBA lender in the US, where he oversaw a $400 Million portfolio of delinquent SBA loans.
