THIS Drained $100k+ from My Pocket
THIS Drained $100k+ from My Pocket
How can business owners expand their vision after reaching initial success?
For me, the vision was big from the start. Some people may start with a smaller vision, achieve it, and then need to regroup and push forward. But I always knew I wanted to build something on a large scale. Even when I began wholesaling, the goal wasn’t just to have a wholesaling company. I knew right away that I wanted to acquire a large portfolio and move into the private equity space as the main focus.
It starts with your "why," and that expands as you grow. My initial "why" was to get myself out of poverty and take care of my own needs. Once I achieved that, the focus shifted to my immediate family—making sure my mom didn’t have to work anymore, for example. The vision continues to grow as you accomplish more and push yourself further.
Now, I’ve reached that first level of success. I’m financially free, and so is my family. The question now is, how can I push forward and make a bigger impact beyond just my immediate circle? How can I have a larger-scale impact? That’s where I am at this stage.
How can a successful business lead to a desire to give back and make a broader impact?
I don’t know if there was a definitive moment when I realized this could be bigger than just me. I had seen other companies doing it before I even started, so that’s what I was striving for from the beginning. When I did my first wholesale deal, I was just trying to survive to put food on the table. Giving back was the furthest thing from my mind.
But as you go along, you meet people who are at a higher level, and they’re giving back. It shows you that it’s possible for you too. Meeting these people and forming connections makes it more real. You start to see what’s possible for yourself.
Now, I’ve reached a certain level of success, taking care of the people important to me. But when you see people managing billions, starting foundations, and giving back to causes that matter to them, it hits home. It’s not just a dream anymore. You realize that if you stay on course, you can do the same. Even if your "why" is different, you see that you can make a real impact on something important to you. It’s an exciting realization.
What key decisions contribute to your success?
The first great decision I made was to go into business for myself. If I hadn’t done that, my life would be completely different today. That’s the best decision I’ve made so far.
Another important decision was knowing from the start that wholesaling wasn’t my ultimate goal. I wanted to move into the private equity space, and recognizing that early on was crucial. The decision to actually pursue private equity has been one of the best moves in my business career. It has given me economies of scale and an almost unlimited potential for growth, which I don't see changing anytime soon.
How has the shift to remote work affected businesses' competitive landscape?
Until recently, we had several physical office locations that we had to shut down, and it ended up costing us a lot of money. The main reason was that we didn't have exit clauses in our leases and had signed personal guarantees. As a result, we probably lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The COVID environment played a big part in this. We had to compete with larger companies that went virtual and started recruiting in our market. There was also a shift in preference, as people wanted to work from home. To stay competitive, offering remote work became essential, which we didn’t do at the time. Eventually, we realized the need to strengthen our virtual presence and consolidate our physical office locations, but by then, it had already cost us significantly due to those two key mistakes.
How can business owners evaluate risk versus reward in deals?
Right now, we carefully evaluate the risk-reward balance. In the past, we were willing to take on much more risk upfront, but now we're stricter in assessing risk versus reward. Recently, we had a deal where we would need to commit a significant amount of money early on, and we weren’t sure if we could raise the funds to complete the deal. So, we had to consider the equity stake we would have in the deal and the monetary risk involved. We asked ourselves, what would the reward be if everything went well, and what would the loss look like if it didn’t?
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
