Kevin Schmidt is a former school teacher for the Okaloosa County School District turned entrepreneur with multiple businesses - from books by Schmidt to Combi-keg 30a. 

In the last decade he has made plenty of changes in his life - in order to pursue his dreams and have financial and personal independence. 

Kevin sits down with Adams Sanitation’s Crystal Boyles to talk about his entrepreneurial journey, bookkeeping as a business, learning in different ways and more! 

Before delving into entrepreneurship full time, Kevin Schmidt was a full time teacher at Fort Walton Beach High School with a background in accounting. How did he make a drastic change in lifestyle - and how can you do the same thing?

The Back Office Stuff

This is probably what elicits the most groans of any entrepreneurial venture - the back office balance sheeting that has to take place to make a business run smoothly. Its essential, but its also a struggle for many entrepreneurs. So what should a not-math inclined entrepreneur do about it? Take this advice from two accountants - outsource.

“It’s not personal, it’s just business”

Many small business owners set up their business and freely intermingle their business and personal finances. After all - it is super easy to do and it helps cut down on the amount of things you need to do (ahem, bookkeeping). But, there are plenty of longer term reasons you shouldn’t do stuff like that - 

-If you want to sell your business down the line, you are going to need all of that information about your businesses profitability (otherwise, who’s gonna buy it??)

-keeping accounts separate lets you know if what methods you are implementing are even working!

Keeping books aint easy, and it can be time consuming (especially if you do it yourself). But, keeping books has a lot of tactical benefits for your business. Primary among them is the ability to make smart decisions based off sound factual data. Having the touchstones of solid accounting can help you make investment decisions (like when to buy new equipment, and when to hold off) or how much to pay yourself or your employees! 

 of the Side Hustle 

So Kevin is probably the ‘King of the Side Hustle’ for the Destin 30a area. He started with Be my shopper when he was still teaching at Fort Walton Beach High School, built up Books By Schmidt and now has combi-keg 30a. He says that the side hustle, while its awesome for many reasons, is especially good for finding out whether or not you want to pursue that entrepreneurial route full time before you cut the cord with your 9-5.