From Bartender To CEO: Scott Hughes’ Incredible Journey To Success After Founding The 3-Million Member OnlineB...

At just 19-years-old Scott Hughes was already chasing his passion in the few hours he had outside of work, launching a website we now know as OnlineBookClub. For years he paid his bills by working various jobs such as being a server and bartender, all while also building OnlineBookClub on the side.

Sixteen years later OnlineBookClub is the go-to place for book-based discussion with over three million members – and its CEO Scott, now 35, is a best-selling author with five books of his own.

So how did a bartender who dropped out of school pioneer one of the world’s largest online book clubs? A lot of personal sacrifices, perseverance, and an overarching passion for all things literary, says Scott.

Speaking of his perilous journey to success, the entrepreneur said: “I started OnlineBookClub in 2006 and paid myself nothing from it for eight years despite putting every spare hour I had into the site.

“During those years I bartended and served at local restaurants in the day to keep my family afloat financially, it was tough finding the time to run the business.

“But I was surprised to find that it got harder when I quit those day jobs to go full-time at my company at the end of 2014. That’s when I really felt the weight of financial responsibility that comes with starting a business.

“I was working 80 hours a week solely for OnlineBookClub and living in a two-bedroom apartment with my two kids. They each had a room and I slept in the living room, which was also my office and the hub of my company.

“I paid myself a $20,000 salary, but I remember one month I had to go to the Coinstar machine at the bank to cash in $5 of spare change I had just so I could cover the rent.

“It was tough but I did it. I’d never change the cards I was dealt as I truly believe that triumph without challenge is hollow and unreal. If you are spoon-fed success, then it’s not even really a success.”

Scott’s relentless hard work has resulted in the booming success of OnlineBookClub.org, an inclusive and free community that allows book lovers to discuss what they’re reading with others around the globe at any time of the day or night.

Additionally, a team of expert reviewers on the site sift through hundreds of thousands of newly published books each year to notify OnlineBookClub’s members of the best up-and-coming material.

Scott, who has a personal following of over two hundred thousand followers on social media, has clearly amassed a personal wealth outside of the multi-million dollar business over the last seven years but has modestly chosen to withhold his net worth from publication.

The father-of-two, who lives with his children in Manchester, Connecticut, did however reveal his most recent luxury purchase, a 2022 Tesla.

Scott added that he felt that the most luxurious thing he could now afford was time away from work to spend with family “for the first time in well over a decade”.

Asked what advice he would give to his younger self, Scott said: “I should have given up the habit of working 70 to 80-hour weeks much earlier, I kept working that way for years beyond what I had to.

“The company and business became very successful, I became very successful financially and professionally, but it was only about a year or two ago that I started cutting back and working a lot less per week. I could have afforded to do that much sooner.”

“Giving myself more free time personally actually makes me more creative and thoughtful, so it’s helped the business grow even more ironically.”

The CEO said that some of his best ideas for the business have struck him whilst sitting in his hot tub “looking up at the moon and stars”.

Scott’s all-embracing positivity is inspirational, to say the least, and the author has continued to spread his uplifting outlook on life in his upcoming fifth book, ‘#InItTogether: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All’.

His previous books include Achieve Your Dreams: Why You Don’t and How You Can, which became an instant Kindle bestseller, and ‘10 Step Plan to Promote Your Book: Online Book Marketing on Any Budget’ which is a must-read for authors hoping to become more business-minded.

Additionally, Scott has written one fiction book; Justice: A Novella, and published an anthology of short stories with other writers, based on a theme of his selection, Holding Fire: Short Stories of Self-Destruction.

Scott, who is twice divorced, says much of the work he does stems from his deep desire to help others survive tough times so they can achieve their goals and dreams.

On pursuing dreams, he said: “You have to be driven by something other than money and I’ve seen that those who desperately chase money are the least likely to find it.

“When you work hard on yourself and your real dreams, the money chases you. Without some kind of vision or passion to be the real end, the real goal, the real dream, it’s like driving a car with no gas.

“When someone overvalues money itself, that person often tends to end up getting paid to work on someone else’s dream in exchange for money.”

Tattooed on Scott’s forearm is his favorite quote “Just Love Everything”, from Ram Dass, which encapsulates his philosophy on life.

He attributes OnlineBookClub’s success to it being an amazing product with a focus on 100% customer satisfaction.

Asked to share his top tip for leadership Scott advised business owners to harness the power of delegation, a skill that allows him to grow the site and business “exponentially”.

“It’s a simple formula, I delegate whatever and as much as I can and hire new people as needed.

“Then I take the time of mine that’s been freed up to do extra work or new projects that I wouldn’t have had time for otherwise.

“I also push that pattern down the chain as much as possible so that the other people I have working for me delegate what they can to others, especially new hires, freeing up themselves to take on more work.”

But it’s not all plain sailing Scott admits, as the pressures involved in running a company are still very much part of his everyday life.

Scott said: “Even now there is a risk. Running any business is risky, most new businesses fail, most start-ups fail. And when they fail, it usually doesn’t put you back at merely zero; instead, it’s likely bankruptcy or severe debt.

“Having built this business from nothing and with no schooling, I’m always more aware that it’s a continuous fight I have to keep winning, rather than an end goal I’ve reached.”

Scott Hughes posts regularly on Twitter @scottmhughes, Instagram @scott_hughes, and Facebook.com/ScottMichaelHughes

Written in partnership with DN News Desk