"I would define an entrepreneur as somebody who is willing to take a risk of time and money to make a profit and create a different life for themselves than the conventional path."
Johannes Larsson was grinding and hustling countless hours in front of the computer screen, but still, he couldn’t take his businesses to the next level and achieve his ideal life. The moment he shifted his focus from trying to make money to add value to people’s lives, he began to see results. With that in mind, he created Financer, a financial comparison company that runs it entirely remotely that generates him $1.69 to $2.25 million and growing.
To ensure that he will make Financer the biggest financial comparison site in the world, he applied the unconventional model of Intrapreneurship – which his team members of more than 50 people are self-motivated because of this model. In his blog, he shares his expertise in SEO, affiliate marketing, and finance with a wealth of free resources for digital entrepreneurs.
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Thank you so much for giving us your time! Before we begin, could you introduce yourself to our readers and take us through what exactly your company does and what your vision is for its future?
Johannes Larsson: It’s my pleasure! My name is Johannes Larsson, I’m the founder and CEO of Financer and run a personal entrepreneurship website where I share my insights and advice on all things affiliate marketing, SEO, running a global business, and making money online.
I created Financer, a financial comparison site, to help people make better financial decisions and see all the options that are open to them in a fair and unbiased way. I believe that everybody deserves access to a free financial education and resources, wherever in the world they live. With this vision in mind, Financer now has 26 country sites and we’re going to continue growing until there is something for absolutely everyone, whatever language they speak.
We have been growing fast and have no signs of slowing down, so stay tuned to see what we have in store for 2022.
NO child ever says I want to be a CEO/entrepreneur when I grow up. What did you want to be and how did you get where you are today?
Johannes Larsson: This is a great question and really made me think. I never really had a specific career in mind, like some people dream of being a footballer or astronaut. I just really loved to build things and knew from a young age I would like to be my own boss and be in charge of my life. I may have swapped lego for complex systems, but by building my own business I now get to make my childhood passion an everyday reality.
Tell us something about yourself that others in your organization might be surprised to know.
Johannes Larsson: People may be surprised to know I’m an introvert. Because I have good people skills and have built a business where I need to lead lots of different people, people might not realize this is possible or would be chosen from an introvert. However, I realized early on that the personality you’re born with should never hold you back in life, and that even if something is outside of your comfort zone at first, you can still master it over time. In fact, the more I grow myself outside of what I thought was possible, the better person I can become.
Many readers may wonder how to become an entrepreneur but what is an entrepreneur? How would you define it?
Johannes Larsson: I would define an entrepreneur as somebody who is willing to take a risk of time and money to make a profit and create a different life for themselves than the conventional path. Anybody who is brave and optimistic enough to make some sacrifices, knowing that it will all be worth it in the end.
What is the importance of having a supportive and inclusive culture?
Johannes Larsson: I try to imagine how I would feel if I was looking for a company to work for, what kind of organization would that be? What culture would I like to be a part of, the values and support available, and the kind of people that they hire? I’m in a fortunate position to get to decide all of that, and I take this responsibility very seriously because I know many people are not. So I work hard to create a very supportive and inclusive culture, hire kind, respectful people and show them the same kindness and respect in return.
I know how big of an impact that somebody’s work has on their life, so I want everybody in my team to enjoy their work as much as possible. People need to feel safe and respected to be creative and work hard without the fear of failure holding them back, so I make sure that people know they are allowed to make mistakes, ask for help and we can all grow together. I think your biggest is only as strong as your employees believe it is.
How can a leader be disruptive in the post covid world?
Johannes Larsson: Take the lessons Covid has taught you and apply them going forward. It could be that you found out that your team can work a lot more flexibly than you once thought and that you can continue to let people work independently. Or maybe Covid showed you the importance of mindfulness and taking the time to do things properly.
I think one very understated thing which people can remember from our experiences throughout the pandemic is the importance of asking people how they are and seeing them for more than what they can offer to us in a professional sense. Covid made everybody realize how precious our lives and health are, and as a leader, it’s more important to me that my team are healthy and happy in the long term than hitting strict deadlines and targets.
If a 5-year-old asked you to describe your job, what would you tell them?
Johannes Larsson: I own a business that helps people all over the world to be very clever with their money.
Leaders are usually asked about their most useful qualities but let’s change things up a bit. What is your most useless talent?
Johannes Larsson: Like most people, I can overthink very well. I would say this is my most useless talent because overthinking is one of the least productive ways to spend time and energy. If the thing you’re overthinking doesn’t happen, you have experienced it in your mind for nothing. If it does happen, you have put yourself through it twice and experienced double the amount of stress.
Thank you so much for your time but before we finish things off, we do have one more question. If you wrote a book about your life until today, what would the title be?
Johannes Larsson: “The Lifestyle Engineer”, by Johannes Larsson.
I believe in engineering my life to contain the things which fulfill me and bring me purpose and happiness. I don’t sit back and let life happen to me, or wait for things to magically fall into place. I carefully optimize my routines, living environment, workspace, goals, diet, and relationships to make myself the best version of myself I can be, and in return be able to give the most back to the world, my employees, and the people in my life. This is an option for everybody, and I feel passionate about helping others see that so much of life is a series of choices and habits that they have control over.
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Johannes Larsson for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Johannes Larsson or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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