Entrepreneur: Grant Sabatier
Tilt: Financial freedom
Scene: Website, Financial Freedom (book), Inner Entrepreneur (book coming in 2025), podcast, community
Snack Bites:
- Grant saw an opportunity when he noticed a tiny ad at the top of a search engine results page. He learned to be a Google ads manager using free tools, quickly landed a job, and started side hustles (eventually 11).
- Early on, Grant saved his money so he was no longer reliant on a traditional full-time job, and he turned what he had learned in the process into a content business.
- A big believer in community, Grant says it can be the change accelerator, an action motivator, and a currency that grows as it’s cultivated.
Why We Stan: Grant knows diverse revenue streams are a cornerstone of a successful business. We also appreciate the power of community. Whether paid or unpaid, your peers and cohorts can be big contributors to your success.
The Story of Grant Sabatier
Grant Sabatier got fired from his job and had to move back home with his parents.
Then, he did a Google search and saw something he hadn’t noticed before – the ad at the top of the results.
“I was curious about how I’d been so well targeted and wanted to learn more,” he writes.
After a few minutes of research, he learned about the role of a Google ads manager, where he could make 15% to 20% of the ad spend and run an entity’s campaigns. Even better? He could learn by watching YouTube videos and getting certified without spending any money. Plus, demand was high for people who could run digital marketing campaigns.
Within 45 days, Grant says, he was working at a digital marketing agency in Chicago, making $50K. Within a year, he was earning $300K with that full-time job and side hustles.
Five years later, his net worth was over $1.25M. CNBC called him “the Millennial Millionaire.”
At that time, he also started teaching others how to create financial independence. “I think it’s resonated because I’m a normal guy who graduated from college and didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life, then lost his job and had to move back home with his parents because he was broke and had to start from scratch,” he tells Forbes.
His first book, Financial Freedom, debuted in 2020. Next spring, his second book, Inner Entrepreneur: A Proven Path To Prosper and Peace, will be released.
Grant also hosts the FIpreneur community. The paid membership includes a one-on-one with Grant, twice weekly group coaching calls, weekly accountability working sessions, and more. Interested parties cannot buy the membership online; instead, they can sign up for the waitlist.
He explains in this article why a community is a must for entrepreneurs. “As an introvert, I get exhausted just thinking about how much effort people like [my extrovert friend] Brad put into building and maintaining relationships. As an entrepreneur, however, I understand first-hand the power and the necessity of cultivating a community,” he writes.
“At the very least – even if you walk the path of solopreneur and build everything on your own as I did for many years – you need a community to buy into your idea. You need people who trust you and what you’re selling and tell others about it. And you need to cultivate that community for it to thrive actively.”
Grant says community presents multiple benefits – an accelerant to change, a motivator for action, and a currency that increases in value when cultivated.
However, even passion and a community aren’t enough to achieve success. Grant writes, “You have two choices: what’s easy or what’s going to help you grow.
“Easy is the enemy. And so are apathy and convenience. So many people coast through life and wonder why they’re unhappy. Financial Freedom doesn’t come from easy. It comes from struggle and growth. It comes by doing something that counts, something that’s meaningful.”
About the author
Ann regularly combines words and strategy for B2B, B2C, and nonprofits, continuing to live up to her high school nickname, Editor Ann. An IABC Communicator of the Year and founder of G Force Communication, Ann coaches and trains professionals in all things content. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.