Meet Ram Finnegan | Special Education Teacher & Landscaping Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ram Finnegan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ram, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I am a full time special education teacher and I absolutely love working in education, but I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset. Having summers off provides a great opportunity to focus on building a business. After doing a lot of research and teaching myself how to edit videos, I came up with the idea “The Six Figure Summer” – a challenge to earn $100,000 in 100 days. I decided on creating a landscaping business and documenting my experiences through daily videos on Instagram. I passed out a few door hangers last spring and as soon as the school year ended, I began cleaning up customers’ yards. With little to no experience in landscaping, I learned something new everyday and I would share my lessons with my online community. I built a large following in a short amount of time and I focused on sharing not only my landscaping knowledge, but also each step I took to scale my business.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I always knew that I wanted to be a business owner and one of my greatest strengths is networking. I am a very creative person and I am always thinking of new ideas. Last January, I sat down and started brainstorming business ideas. I listened to podcasts and wrote down every idea that came to mind, which led to “The Six Figure Summer.” I committed to showing up every day, even the days when my energy was low or I began questioning if what I was doing would be worth it. I am just about to wrap up my 100 day challenge and what sets me apart from others is my drive to be consistent. In order to meet my goal of posting a video every day, I need to have a job to film. Landing jobs can be a challenge for a business owner, especially a new one. So I needed to make sure I had a job lined up for each day of the week. On the days where jobs took longer than expected, I would come home and commit the time needed to edit my daily video, post it, then interact with my followers. This quickly became my routine and I learned to love it.

One lesson I learned is that scaling a business is not easy and that a lot of people will tell you there is no “get rich quick” method. My music playlists were replaced with podcasts about self-growth and business advice. I joined an online community of entrepreneurs and once a week they host an online zoom call with some of the biggest names out there. I am able to ask one question per week to the entrepreneur that is on the call, and this has helped me significantly. Most people on the zoom call will ask for advice on scaling their business or what steps to take next. I will ask questions that focus more on that entrepreneur’s self-growth journey such as “Do you have any advice on how to find the energy you need when you are having low energy days, or you do not feel like working on your business?” The most important lesson that I learned is that it’s not about earning $100,000 in 100 days, it’s about the person you need to shape yourself into in order to earn $100,000 in 100 days.

Although many of the days I spent out on a job in the 95 degree heat this summer were challenging, I learned to embrace those moments and to appreciate them. As I reflect, some of the hardest days were the best days. I have learned to build and maintain relationships with my customers, business partners, and anyone who reaches out to me to help or to provide advice. I learned that I have to show up every single day, whether that is finding jobs, taking on jobs, networking, or sitting at my desk editing videos. Although I was nowhere near reaching my monetary goal this summer, I am already preparing to take on the same challenge next summer as I continue to scale my business. I have learned to love the entrepreneurial process and all that it entails!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting the area I would first take them to downtown Columbus and show them some of my favorite spots! I live north of Ohio State University, so the tour would start on campus. We would make a stop by the Shoe and if my friend was not an Ohio State fan, I would make sure to share how significant Ohio State football is. After that we would make our way through the Short North and make a stop at Pint House. Pint House provides a great atmosphere and the food is excellent. After that, we would wrap the night up with a live event such as an Ohio State football game, Columbus Crew game, or a Columbus Blue Jackets game. All of my friends are aware that my favorite hobby is fishing, so I would make sure to set aside some time for a two hour drive up to Cleveland for some fishing and potentially a Browns or Guardians game!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many supportive people in my life and I am extremely grateful for all of them. I want to dedicate this shoutout to my sister Grace. She has always been there to support me throughout my life and she has continued to support me as I have begun my entrepreneurial journey. She has an incredible work ethic and I have learned a lot from her. When I need to talk to someone or I am looking for advice, she is the first person I reach out to!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the6figuresummer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560432399236&sk=about

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ramoutdoors8204