Bobby and Coral Hoyt join Jillian to share their story with the hopes that it will inspire you as this season comes to a close. Bobby is the founder of both Millennial Money Man and Laptop Empires, and his wife Coral runs a YouTube channel focused on home design.
Both Bobby and Coral were teachers before they started their entrepreneurial careers. They made the decision to live with Coral’s parents for a while. They started by staying while they tried to figure out what path to take next, and they continued to stay in order to help pay off school debt and save for the wedding. Since she didn’t have to rent an expensive house or apartment, Coral was able to put half of her income into savings.
A lot of friends questioned their decision, but there was more to it than finances. Coral’s father was diagnosed with a disease around the time they moved in, and her mom needed help. Her father was in a wheelchair, and they stayed so long in order to help out where it was needed.
“Looking back, I’m so thankful for all of that time that we spent there because it’s so much more time that I got to spend with my dad that we wouldn’t have gotten if we had not lived there.”
One day, a successful family friend invited them out on his ski boat. Bobby quickly bonded with the family friend and was taken under his wing. The friend’s biggest piece of advice was for Bobby to pay off his student loan debt. Bobby figured that since the friend was successful, he couldn’t go wrong with that advice, and not only did he put money aside from his income to pay off his student loans, but this was the starting point of his interest in and journey with personal finance.
While Bobby and Coral enjoyed their teacher jobs, it demanded a lot of time, work, and stress. After his first year of teaching, Bobby realized that he wanted to do something else. He was very independent, and he wanted to have the freedom and flexibility that comes with being an entrepreneur.
He came home one day and announced that he wanted to quit his job. Coral wholeheartedly supported his decision, and the next day he quit. Three years later, their business was bringing in a substantial income, and Coral decided to quit teaching to pursue something she was more passionate about.
With any entrepreneurial endeavor, there’s always the fear that something might go wrong and it won’t be substantial or work out, and Bobby struggled with that.
“What I found is that when you’re scared about things, at least me, that’s when I get the most stuff done in my business; when I’m terrified, that’s when I innovate.”
After she quit her job, Coral dived into learning about and managing Bobby’s business on Pinterest. It gave her a transition from her full-time job to working at home. However, it wasn’t something she was passionate about or thoroughly enjoyed, and Bobby suggested that she stop and follow her passion. He was doing what he loved; she should be able to do what she loved.
At first, Coral wasn’t sure what to do, and she began to get discouraged and depressed. When Robert Fairington offered to hire her to do some videos, she was excited about the new opportunity, and although it didn’t end up working out, it opened the door that led her to start a YouTube channel dedicated to one of her big passions: home decorating.
Bobby and Coral’s story is a great example of how life can be a little messy, but we just have to keep making progress and help each other out along the journey.
