End of Year Business Q&A
Hiii, it’s Remi!
Can you believe we are almost to the end of the year?! This year has been crazy, but Nate and I have both learned so much! We’ve grown a whole new business and made connections with so many amazing new people throughout this journey. This has definitely been a year to remember!
Now that 2020 is about to end and 2021 is about to start, we wanted to take a minute to reflect on the year and talk a little bit about how we’ve spent the last 9 months and what we hope to do in the future! I’m going to walk through your questions (thank you for sending them) and share a little bit more about our two businesses, Hōmebodies and rrayyme!
“What are your two businesses?”
Well, the newest addition to the Nate and Remi family is Hōmebodies! We own this together and it’s our online subscription-based workout program! My other business is rrayyme, which is all things content creation.
As he was eager to point out, Nate helps RRAYYME out a lot and is available 24/7 to do so. He deserves an #instagramboyfriend award tbh. He does so much to support me in that business in addition to all the work he does with Hōmebodies, both are super closely interconnected nonetheless. And sometimes it can feel like our work-lives and real-life boundary lines are blurred if that makes sense.
“What are some challenges you faced trying to figure out how to work with each other?”
I know it’s probably not that hard to believe (lol), but Nate and I have very different working styles. Nate prefers to work by himself in a room that has no distractions. I am the complete opposite! I prefer to work in a space where other people are working. I like a little noise in the background — it doesn’t distract me! I like to feed off the energy of other people working around me.
In the past, Nate and I have definitely experienced some conflict over this issue. For example, there have been times when he’s taken his computer to a different room to work without me, and I was of course offended lol.
To solve this problem, we’ve had to communicate and learn to draw a hard line between the “couple Remi and Nate” and the “business partners Remi and Nate.” During the day, we focus on being business partners, and we do whatever it takes to help us both be productive. But when the workday is over, we put all our work aside and just focus on ourselves as a couple. That way, we can respect each other’s work styles and balance both relationships well!
“Is the gym remodel a business expense since it’s for Hōmebodies?”
Yes, it is! Nate and I are excited to say that this year, we finally have an accountant to help us with business expenses! He told us that if we spent money for Hōmebodies by the end of the year, it would be a tax-deductible expense, so we decided to go for it.
By the way, if you’re starting a business, Nate and I have a piece of advice from you — get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS! We just got one for HomeBodies- so it’s official. We’re now able to open a separate bank account for our business, which is great because until now the business money has been moving in and out of my personal account. Unfortunately, there were many mix-ups for us, and it took almost five months to get our EIN! But it doesn’t normally take that long, so Nate and I recommend getting one as soon as possible!
“Where do you see Hōmebodies in a year?”
The amazing thing about Hōmebodies is that it wasn’t something we planned. We were showing up to workout with Pancake Fam every day, and eventually, Nate and I realized that we could offer a better quality product. So while we do have some longer-term goals, we’re trying to keep our minds on the present and just focus on creating the best product we can today!
The great thing about Hōmebodies is that we’re building it alongside all of you! We’re creating workouts based on community favorites and feedback and we love that collaborative aspect of it.
Reminder: Setting goals is great, and it’s important to have a vision for where you want to be in the future. It’s great to have something specific to work toward — goals like that will motivate you to keep going even on the tough days. But it’s also important to live in the present and enjoy where you are right now! Life is all about balance, so make sure you’re enjoying life now while continuing to grow for the future!
“How did you decide you wanted to bring on a new team member rather than doing it all?”
The truth is, I started to feel overwhelmed. With starting a new business and managing multiple projects for RRAYYME - I remember this one moment where I was sitting in the office at like 10 PM and feeling SO STRESSED, my anxiety was through the roof.
Anytime you’re running a business and the feelings of stress and overwhelm are affecting your everyday life, it’s time to ask for help. That’s especially true if you have to start turning down work. Of course, you need to make sure you can afford to hire a new team member, but consider the costs of not hiring — you don’t want to become so overwhelmed that you have to step back from the business.
When I found myself in a place where I couldn’t show up for you 100% , our new employee, Jessie, reached out to us for the first time! She was a fan of us and our work, and she decided to email us and offer her services. And we are soooo happy we hired her! Jessie is an incredible part of our team, and we absolutely love working with her. I fundamentally believe that everything happens for a reason, and Jessie reached out at exactly the right time!
“Who manages the books, and how is he or she learning?”
Nate manages the books! He’s been learning the flow of QuickBooks and using different apps to manage our budget, but again, now that we have our EIN, things have been much easier.
“What did you aspire to be when you were younger?”
I aspired to be an interior designer! I have always loved interior design ever since I was little, and it’s something that I still love!
When Nate was little, he wanted to be a rodeo clown lol!
“Do you have a degree? What did you study?”
I went to UC Irvine, and I majored in International Studies. Yeah, I don’t really remember anything lol.
Nate tried going to college for a couple of weeks after retiring from the Marines, but it just wasn’t for him. He was processing and learning faster than the professors were teaching, so he didn’t feel that college was the right fit for him. So, he doesn’t have a degree, but he’s one of the smartest people I know!
If you want to learn more about Nate and me individually, you can check out the blog posts “All About Me” and “All About Nate!”
“Did you have to take out a loan or make a monitoring investment to launch your business?”
No! That’s the sweet thing about online businesses. Because both of our businesses are completely digital, we didn’t have to invest very much money to get them up and running. We only had to pay for the platform to host our workouts and for a business PayPal account.
While it didn’t cost a lot of money up-front to start our businesses, we did ultimately decide to invest in a business coach. This has been our priciest investment yet, but it is sooo worth it! We’ve been working with Jess Glazer, and she is an incredibly inspiring person. I recommend checking out her Instagram, where she posts great tips on how to be an entrepreneur every single day!
“How do you find important people to help build your business like a CPA, lawyer, etc.?”
The truth is, when you start building a business, those people just come to you. You start to gather like-minded people around you, and eventually, you can share connections and find the right people to help you in your business.
Have you ever heard of the law of attraction? It basically means that when you send good vibes out into the universe, those good vibes come back to you! When you’re working hard and putting time and effort into building a business that is going to serve so many people, the universe will send help your way!
“How long were you working another job before switching to full-time wellness?”
I was in fashion for three years doing district managing, then I was unemployed for a year, and then I spent another three years doing office management work at an interior design firm before I switched over to my blogging business.
Nate has worked pretty much every job you can think of! Before he went into the Marine Corps, he worked in a door-painting factory! He also worked in a furniture store. Then, after the Marines, he worked as a day laborer, security guard, and so many more jobs. For a long time, he didn’t think he’d ever work in fitness again, but he’s so happy he does now!
“What are your qualifications / what certifications do you have?”
Nate has all of these! (Wow!!!)
Pain-Free Performance Specialist
ISSA — International Sports Science Association
NASM — National Academy of Sports Medicine
ACE — American Council on Exercise
AFPA — American Fitness Professionals and Associates: Nutrition and Wellness
Crossfit Level One
USA boxing
TRX suspension trainer
“Do brands approach you, or do you reach out to them?”
In the very beginning of my blogging business, I didn’t think I could actually make money! I was literally just blogging to share. Then one day, a brand offered me $39 to post about their white wine. From there, other brands started approaching me, and I just charged them $39 each time!
I always worked really hard with these deals and made sure to over-deliver and send things way ahead of schedule. I developed really strong relationships with these brands, and over time, that led to me getting more brand deals! My original clients turned into long-term clients, and I found more and more people to work with. Eventually, I learned that I should charge more for a brand deal, and I was ultimately able to leave my job at the interior design firm to be a full-time blogger!
Welcome 2021!
I hope this post gave you a little bit of insight into the inner workings of our businesses! Nate and I have learned sooo much growing these two businesses over the course of this year, and we’re incredibly grateful to have each and every one of you along for the ride.
Looking ahead to 2021, we’re more excited than ever! This year is going to be great, I know it! We’re moving full steam-ahead with Hōmebodies and rrayyme, and we’re hoping to build more connections and continue serving you all in bigger and better ways as we grow.
Do you have any other questions about the businesses? Do you have any other tips or strategies you want to share? Leave a comment below this post or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme — I’d love to hear from you!
And as we approach the end of the year, I hope you’re thinking about your goals for 2021! How are you going to make next year the best year ever?!
I love you all!
