Chuck Rylant is a CA based Marketing Consultant, Financial Advisor and Motivational Coach. Through his blog, Chuck helps small business owners live an extraordinary life. He guides them in managing their money, generating more income and motivating them to make the most of their small businesses. His blog is read by self-employed entrepreneurs having an open minded approach with a will to be a face in the crowd. 


We are enlightened to have him as 'Blogger of the Week' on our blog. Catch his interview below and be ready to get inspired:

 Chuck, please introduce yourself to E-junkies.

I live on the Central Coast of California with my wife and two kids. I run a fee-only financial planning practice that is quickly evolving into a consulting practice for entrepreneurs. Most of my clients are small business owners so we work on marketing to increase their income and use financial planning to grow their net worth.





















What motivates you every day?

I love learning new stuff so I always have new projects that push me outside of my comfort zone. I learn a lot through working with my clients because each has unique challenges and it’s inspiring to see their progress.


Firstly, let's talk about your wonderful blog. What is it all about?

My blog is loosely targeted to entrepreneurs and topics that will improve their lives. To be more specific, I try to stay within three categories; marketing strategies that will bring in more revenue, personal finance strategies to help them increase their net-worth, and some inspirational articles to keep them motivated.


What inspired you to start blogging? We would love to know about its inception.

I wasn't as clear when I started as I am now. My first my curiosity was probably the dream of making money from the beach drinking Margaritas. I've done that, but as most of us quickly figure out, earning money, on or off-line, is much more work than it appears.

I knew I wanted to use the blog to promote my business, and eventually my personal finance book, but back then I wasn’t sure how that was done. I also wanted to do more writing and decided to use the blog as a place to practice and flesh out some of the ideas in my head. Writing a blog is perfect writing practice because if forces you to get to the point succinctly.


How has been your experience with blogging so far? Would you like to share your journey with us?

Blogging is so much work, but it is incredibly rewarding. It’s one of those things that grow like a snowball—at first there isn't much there, but then it increases rapidly. In the beginning, very, few people read what I wrote, so the reward came from little things.

For example, I would spend a lot of time writing, editing and formatting a post and got excited just to hit “Publish” for a new post. I was equally pleased when I figured out how to make a tweak in Wordpress or install my first plug-in.

The rewards were very small in the beginning, and it takes a lot to stick with it, but I used each little challenge as an opportunity to learn something new. Later, when I started getting traffic to my blog, I was excited when two or three people visited each day. Eventually that lead to the first comments and soon thousands of people were visiting daily, commenting, and sharing my articles in social media.


When you started your blog, did you ever think that you'd be known for your blogging skills?

Great question. I had no idea I would ever be asked for blogging advice. I’m not an expert blogger, in fact I’m always learning, but when I wrote a guest post on the Problogger site, I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback. There were over fifty positive comments from people that appreciated the tips I shared and that was very rewarding.


What do you think makes your blog stand out?

Everyone who writes a blog tries to be different in some way. I do two things. First, I write longer, more in-depth articles less frequently than many bloggers. I post three to four times a month instead of daily. My word count is as high as 2000 words per post whereas many blogs are daily quick tips. Neither is right or wrong, just different.

Second, instead of only providing the tactical, “how to” strategy of business and finance, my aim is that all of the technical stuff is tied to some greater purpose. For example, instead of a tip about saving money, I aim to connect saving money with spending more time with your kids. That is just an example, but people are more successful when their actions are in-line with their desired lifestyle.


Let's have a rapid fire:

5 things you can't live without?

Wife, kids, chocolate, aspirin, computer.

1 blogging tool you can't do without?

Wordpress.

1 blog you look up to?

Four Hour Work Week.

1 thing that puts you off about blogging?

Occasionally there are people who are negative just to be negative.

One line/phrase/word you often use? 

When I was a kid, my Grandfather always said, “If you’re going to do something, do it right, or don’t do it at all.” It stuck.


What do you like to do in your free time? What are the other things that interests you?

My 4-year old son and I play a lot of Legos. I love traveling with my family. We spent a month in Mexico each of the last two years and have been to Costa Rica, Brazil, Columbia and a few other places.


What has been your fondest memory through this blogging journey?

I just launched my first book, “How to be Rich: The Couple’s Guide to a Rich Life Without Worrying About Money”. I worked hard on that project and I’m proud of the final product. When I first blogged about the book, 95 people shared that post on Facebook to help promote it. It’s rewarding to build a community of people that value what you write enough to share it with their friends online. That’s just cool.


What are your dreams/vision for your blog?

I want my blog to create a large community of like-minded people. My blog will be successful if it inspires a lot of people to create the lifestyle they want. I’ve often tried to set statistical goals for my blog, but realized it’s a waste of time because I never know what will be a hit and what won’t, so I’m happy when I receive feedback from people saying something I shared improved their life in a measurable way.


Many other bloggers would look up to you for inspiration. What message do you have for them?

Blogging is hard work so it’s important to write about something you’re passionate about. I think it would be very hard to blog solely with profit in mind. At least in the beginning, it would be more profitable to work at a coffee shop when you measure the time you put into it.


And a final word for our readers?

In 2005, Steve Job gave a commencement address at Stanford. He concluded the speech by saying, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” It’s a great speech, but that’s excellent advice.


Chuck, thank you for sharing your blogging journey with us. It is indeed an inspiring one. We wish you all the best for your blog and other future projects.

Chuck Rylant: http://www.chuckrylant.com.

You can follow Chuck Rylant on Facebook and Twitter as well.