I first met Michael Hall in 2015 and was impressed with his story. He’s a 38-year-old entrepreneur that co-started and sold a software company that vaulted him into the millionaire club. But Michael is much more than that. He’s an avid learner, believes in random acts of kindness, and is a family man.
I asked Michael to share his story with our readers. Although he has accomplished an incredible amount already, he has bigger ambitions as you will learn in this interview.
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1. Michael Hall: tell our viewers a little about your story.
My name is Michael Hall and I am a 38-year-old entrepreneur currently in hibernation. I previously started and ran an I.T. management and consulting company for a little over a decade. After selling the company in 2012, I decided to take a few years off to hang out with my kids (3.5 and 1.5 years old).
After a lot of soul-searching, I came to realize that my next business will revolve around the success of others. Thus, I recently launched my own financial/personal development coaching service. My mission is to help as many people as I can achieve financial freedom (quickly!) while ensuring they are living life with a purpose. Helping people to step into their full potential is what really excites me these days!
As a related resource, I started a blog several months ago – FinanciallyAlert.com. At this site, I talk about personal finance, early retirement, and tracks my financials with full transparency.
2. Please trace your professional journey until now.
I grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs and went to University in San Diego (UCSD). After graduating with an Economics degree, I realized I didn’t know what to do! So, I decided to flip things around a bit and pursued a career in technology.
After working at an I.T. company for a little over a year, the “Dot.com boom” fell apart. My company began to implode quickly, so a couple of my friends and I decided to make the jump out on our own.
We grew the business steadily for over a decade, during which time I had the opportunity to wear many different hats, including – Systems and Network Administrator, L3 Support Tech, IT Manager, Technical Project Manager, CFO, and President.
3. Tell us more about your work right now and what made you choose this path.
At the moment, I am a stay-at-home dad which is incredibly fulfilling. However, I know I’ve been called to do more and had multiple epiphanies during a couple of Tony Robbin’s seminars I attended recently.
So, I recently decided that I’d like to pursue life coaching with an emphasis on personal finance. I would be so fulfilled to help others grow past their own limiting beliefs.
4. Tell us about the challenges you faced while carving out this path.
I’ve always had a strong faith that things happen for a reason. But, sometimes it’s harder to see the bigger picture. When I was selling my company, it was tough because I needed to stick around for the transition to ensure my team was okay, but my heart was elsewhere. What I came to realize was that I needed to put forth my best effort regardless and extract the juice out of every experience.
5. How has your journey affected you on a personal level?
The journey has certainly been fun and I can’t really complain, but there were certainly challenging times. Taking a leap of faith and having the courage to pull the trigger even when the outcome is uncertain is critical to moving yourself to the next level. Behind this leap of faith are where some of life’s greatest treasures lay hidden.
There is a shortcut however: it’s simply following your heart to pursue your passion and purpose. Once you figure that out, find other people in the field that have accomplished a lot, and then model their success.
6. What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
I have a big goal of hitting $10M of net worth by the time I’m 50. I’m 38 now, so I’ve got a little over a decade to get this figured out. However, being that my next business will be coaching and helping other people, I feel like reaching this goal is much more important than just reaching it for myself.
If I’m truly helping and making a genuine impact on others, it will be reflected in my net worth over time. In fact, it’s quite exciting!
7. What do you like to do with your free time?
I love to fish in my spare time. Luckily my whole family enjoys it too, so we’ll enjoy family trips to the mountains to do some stream fishing in the summer. I’ll also got out on my own to absorb nature alone sometimes.
There numerous lakes in San Diego with a healthy population of largemouth bass. I also enjoy the challenge of fly fishing in the Sierra Nevada’s.
8. What are some website or blogs that inspire you?
Well, other than this awesome one (weretiredearly.com), I typically frequent sites like:
(My entire list can be found here)
9. What’s your favorite piece of technology you use?
This might sound a bit strange, but it’s my scanner! Yup, my Fujitsu document scanner has changed my life for the better by eliminating the majority of paper in my life and taking me paperless. In fact, I wrote a post about it here – How to Eliminate Financial Clutter For Good!
10. Where has been your favorite place to travel and why?
Oh this is a tough one. I’ve been blessed to travel a lot. But, if I had to choose one, it would probably be San Sebastian, Spain. This is located in the Northern coastal part of Basque country. It has a stunning coastline, great weather, beautiful architecture, and the food here is divine.
It is the second city with the most Michelin stars per capita in the world (only behind Kyoto, Japan). Life here is good and meant to be enjoyed. I also love that you can walk everywhere, or take public transportation when needed. Restaurants and tapas bars are open super late and there’s always something new to feast on (can you tell I love food?!).
11. How can our viewers learn more about your story?
The best place to learn more about my story is on my blog’s about me page.
About this Blog
We hope you enjoyed this inspiring interview with Michael Hall. Steve and his wife built a software company, sold it and retired early. Steve enjoys blogging about lifestyle freedom, financial independence, and technology. If you like this blog, subscribe here to get an email each time he posts.
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