WHAT IF ?
Wagner ’ s wife pitched in , too , helping set up social media and digital marketing tools for Locals Lawn Care , which fastforwarded business even more , Wagner says . His LLC went from 120 to 200 customers in a single season with the effort .
When Wagner initially took over the accounts and started Locals Lawn Care , he was anticipating several months off during winter for surfing and snowboarding trips . Now down to business , the company is a year-round venture . What ’ s next for Locals ? Wagner is rolling with it .
WHAT IF A SIDE HUSTLE EVOLVES INTO A DREAM BUSINESS ?
Leaving a stable career is never an easy decision . What if you can ’ t pay the bills ? What about health insurance ? What if your spouse is a business owner , too ?
Daniele Haley took the leap — after she ran through these what-if scenarios with her husband and their financial advisor .
“ What if I quit my job in five years ?” she asked . She had been working for Somerset County Public Schools as the facility planner , overseeing school construction and maintenance .
At the same time , she was operating her business , Haley Architecture , as a side gig . The district job afforded her the opportunity to pursue private clients , which was not possible when she worked for a firm prior to joining the schools because of a noncompete agreement .
By going out on her own full-time , Haley would lose her public service loan forgiveness program benefit , and she was seven years into a 10-year plan of qualifying for forgiveness . “ I could have stuck it out for three more years and hopefully gotten my loans forgiven .”
But instead , she decided to aggressively pay them off within a year rather than waiting to make a life-changing career decision . She gave up the benefits and pension plan , and then she and her husband discussed health insurance . Her husband is a realtor , so she was carrying benefits for the family , which consisted of a young one — and now two children .
“ With both of us self-employed , we went out into the open market for health insurance for the entire family , and then I started to learn about other insurances I needed for my business ,” Haley says .
She had General Liability coverage in place already , and Deeley Insurance Group advised that in her line of work , she needed Professional Liability insurance that covered the services she offers . Then the Haleys purchased an office as an investment building , so they needed additional insurance plus coverage to protect their property as they renovated the building . The firm grew , leading Haley to bring on summer interns , which also required coverage .
“ Deeley has helped me put together all of these pieces as my business evolves ,” Haley says .
And has it ever . Today , Haley ’ s business is half renovations and half custom home design in partnership with local builders . Turns out , committing to her own business full-time during the pandemic was ideal timing .
“ A lot of people in our area figured out during the pandemic that they maybe didn ’ t need to live in a major metropolitan area and could live at their beach houses and work ,” Haley says , relating how this led to whole-house renovations . Because she was born and raised in Ocean City , she knows many others with growing families who are ready to build their first custom home or renovate their starters .
Haley ’ s dream was to run her own architectural firm . She went after it and is thriving . “ It was a very scary leap , having such a young family , but we have done more than I ever thought we could .”
WHAT IF WE COULD ADD POSITIVE AMENITIES TO THE COMMUNITY ?
It was a loss — and a major win . Tony Weeg put his hat in the political ring for the first time in 2020 , running for town council . He created a Facebook page , We Berlin , to engage townspeople , who took to the concept and conversation .
“ I lost that race but still had this group , so I parlayed that into , ‘ Let ’ s do some good for Berlin ,’” relates Weeg , who runs an award-winning portrait , wedding , and destination photography business .
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