Sebastian Schaffer is the co-founder of dofollow.io, a premium link-building agency he started as a side gig and grew to 7 figures in just four years. In this episode, you’ll hear how Sebastian founded a successful business after initial failures, the business lessons he’s learned and incorporated into his business today, and the personal growth he’s achieved as a result of being an entrepreneur.Sebastian describes the way his early experience running two failed startups has influenced how he runs his business today, what he learned from using investor funding, how he was able to bootstrap his current business from the start, and the clarity he gained by discovering what customers really want.Sebastian discusses self-awareness as the most important process for a business owner, how owning a business has been a journey of personal growth, and why he targets clients who are in value alignment with his company.Sebastian shares how dofollow.io has been able to stand out in the SEO space, the growth approach that is working for the company, staying on top of things in the dynamic SEO industry, and the unique way he has positioned dofollow.io in the market.Finally, Sebastian talks about sustaining their company culture during rapid growth, the challenges of managing a completely remote team, the business goals he’s focused on for dofollow.io in the future, and the impact that running a business has on our personal growth.Skip to Topic:1:30: Painful lessons from two failed startups4:20 - Raising funding vs. bootstrapping6:12 - Bootstrapping your business when you’re first starting out8:55 - Finding the right problem to solve10:12 - The importance of self-awareness for entrepreneurs13:55 - Targeting clients aligned with your values16:50 - Standing out in the SEO market21:03 - Staying up-to-date in the SEO space22:26 - Positioning your business in the market24:07 - Sustaining your company’s culture as you grow28:33 - Managing a distributed workforce35:31 - Business ownership as a path to personal growthFind Sebastian  at:Website: https://dofollow.io/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianschaeffer/?originalSubdomain=deVisit Stephanie at: https://stephaniehayes.biz/Follow me on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | TwitterSupport the show