Alexis Assadi is an entrepreneur, investor, blogger and podcaster. He is the CEO of Pacific Income Capital Corporation, which provides financing to real estate projects and small companies. He also writes about business and investing on his website. Alexis’ material is listened to and read by tens of thousands of people from across the world. He concentrates on providing high-quality content that often addresses complex subject matter, which then he aims to simplify for his audience. In addition, Alexis produces books and courses on a variety of subjects.
Alexis Assadi was born in Switzerland and lived in Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia as a child. Today, he resides in Vancouver, Canada, with his family. He enjoys following politics and the news, trying new restaurants with his family and friends, and hanging out with his dog, Luna.
How did you get started in the blogging space? What inspired you?
I’ve always enjoyed writing, so starting a blog was a natural progression. I tried my hand at multiple websites over the years. Until recently, I thought that I launched my first one in 2010; a now-defunct site called financialguidance.ca. However, the other day I found a little BlogSpot blog that I started back in university. So, I’ve been doing this for a while.
My websites have generally hinged on business and finance material because that’s what I took an interest in as a young adult. I was passionate about investing. The prospect of using my money to make more money was exciting.
But, to be honest, I don’t want to reduce myself being that guy who writes about money. I enjoy politics, policy and legal issues as much as I do investing. I could just as easily write about those subjects. Creating content about business and investing is a passion, but it’s not my only passion.
Some of my friends have suggested that I start a politics podcast or an “interesting facts” show. The only reason I’ve not pursued that is because I have a good thing going right now. I don’t want to drive away my audience by injecting politics into our dialogue.
When you were starting out, was there ever a time you doubted it would work? If so, how did you handle that?
Not really, because I never planned to have a blog that could be a business. I thought I would become a lawyer or a corporate employee.
How did you get your first customer?
My blogging business revolves around creating good content via articles and podcasts. All of my customers come from discovering my material on the internet, building trust in me online and eventually purchasing a course from me.
What is one marketing strategy (other than referrals) that you’re using that works really well to generate new business?
Creating long-form content that is more detailed than anything else out there has worked well. I think people appreciate thorough material. Some of my pieces are upwards of 20,000 words long!
Tell us about something that you’re struggling with.
A lot of people who follow “money” blogs are trying to get rich quickly. Obviously, my website attracts some of them. I hate the fact that I can sell more by doing cheesy marketing that caters to that crowd. I could probably make $100,000 this month if I produced a course that would supposedly show you how to become a millionaire in 45 days.
I used to do some of that corny stuff in 2014 and 2015, although definitely not to that extent. But I can’t do that today and still respect myself. I want people to read and listen to my content and say “Alexis Assadi knows his stuff” rather than “This guy can make me rich overnight.”
For anyone who’s reading and who doesn’t know my preferred method of wealth creation, it’s as follows: start a scalable business, work really hard at it for years and then invest the proceeds into income producing assets.
What do you think it is that makes you successful?
I don’t know how to answer that question because I’m still trying to define the word, “success.” Making money is a lot less important to me now than it once was. I enjoy being a businessman because it gives me a reason to wake up each morning. But I don’t know if I would be more successful if I was a billionaire. I’ll put it this way: I don’t see myself as a highly successful person right now. I don’t know if I ever will.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
I’m the CEO of a company called Pacific Income Capital Corporation, which I started in the summer of 2017. Running that business has been a thrill for me. I love it.
What does the future hold for your business? What are you most excited about?
In my business life, I am focused on two things. First, I want to continue to grow Pacific Income. Second, I want to expand my podcast audience. I’m taking baby steps every day to achieve my goals. I don’t have a “6-month vision” or anything like that. I know what I want in 5 years, but I’m just concentrating on what I can do today to get there.
Beyond business, I would like to get more involved with environmental projects. I don’t have any kids now, but I’m not sure that I want to bring people into a world that’s going to be either on fire, underwater or slammed by hurricanes half the time.
What is a recent purchase you have made that’s helped with your business?
I bought a microphone for $200 so that I could start my podcast. That is easily the best purchase I have made recently. You don’t need a fancy studio to create good material. You just plug it into a laptop, edit it there and then it suddenly reaches a global audience. It’s pretty surreal when I think about it, actually.
What is the best thing about your current job?
Let me begin with the downsides. I have no pension. I have no benefits. I have no vacation pay. I have no unemployment insurance. I take on a lot of risk, personally. I spend a lot of money. Everyone gets paid before I do. I am always connected to my business. I have not taken a no-work vacation since I was 23. Sometimes I get down on myself and regret the path that I’ve chosen.
The perks are that I work on what I want, when I want and from where I want. Once in a while, I just up and leave to another country, knowing that I can be just as productive as long as I’ve got access to Wi-Fi. I was in Panama two months ago. I’m going to the Bahamas in a couple of weeks. I’m going to Barbados two months after that. Earlier this year, I disappeared to Australia for 3 weeks. I don’t even tell people when I’m leaving. Nobody cares, as long as I can make phone calls, join conference calls, write emails, sign contracts and take care of banking. All of that can be done online.