Building a Successful SaaS Business with a Focus on Lifestyle over Growth with Jesse Hanley [The Opportunity Ep.139]
The entrepreneurial journey is an adventure filled with twists and turns. It's normal to try different paths before discovering what brings out the best in you \u2013 be it the right niche, a lucrative business model, or a monetization strategy. Yet, the allure of rapid growth can tempt entrepreneurs to abandon their hard-earned lessons and happiness for the sake of expansion.\xa0 Aware of this common pitfall, Jesse Hanley has prioritized calm over growth when building his new business, Bento. Bento was born out of Jesse\u2019s desire to learn how to code and to solve common problems he saw firsthand through his marketing agency. What began as analytics and ad tracking software soon morphed into an email automation platform as Jesse pulled threads, experimented, and refined his vision.\xa0 As the business grew, Jesse sold his agency so that he could devote all of his time and energy to Bento.\xa0 In this episode, we explore the organic growth of Bento and dive deeper into Jesse\u2019s desire to keep his business small. Jesse explains the dangers of a growth-at-all-costs mentality and walks us through how he has structured Bento to remain small but powerful in a competitive niche.\xa0 Lastly, Jesse explains that his \u201ckeep it simple\u201d philosophy also extends to email marketing. According to Jesse, \u201cIf you want to grow your business, send more emails. The people who make the most money are those who are sending emails every single day with simple, well-communicated offers. Just send more emails, run your ads, and keep it simple.\u201d This episode goes beyond the usual business and marketing techniques, taking a closer look at the entrepreneurial mindset and how goals and ideologies shift over the course of your business journey.\xa0 This no holds barred, honest discussion is one for the books. Enjoy! Topics Discussed in This Episode: Jesse\u2019s background and entrepreneurial journey so far (02:40) How the sale of Jesse\u2019s agency spurred on the growth of Bento (03:17) Building a \u201ccalm\u201d business that doesn\u2019t chase growth at all costs (10:20) The origins of Bento and how it stands out from the crowd (21:09) How Jesse structured Bento\u2019s pricing as the company grew (33:55) The marketing techniques Jesse uses to brow Bento\u2019s brand awareness (43:17) Why Jesse wants to keep Bento small (45:17) How to get better at email marketing (57:14) Jesse\u2019s advice to aspiring digital entrepreneurs (59:44) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcasts Empire Flippers Marketplace Schedule a call with our expert sales advisors\xa0 Create an Empire Flippers account Subscribe to the This Week in M&A newsletter Bento Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn the benefits of growing your business at a sustainable and steady pace.