How I made (and lost) a million dollars

[CFLRider]

Hey everyone! I'm new here and I really like what I've read so far. I'm from upstate NY. I'm finishing up a book I wrote on my life as an entrepreneur and what I've been through. I want to learn how to publish and promote it and this seems like a great place to learn.
I had made a million dollars before I was 30 years old. I started out with no money at all. I bought one shitty old house, fixed it up and sold it. I turned that into a real estate flipping business that I ended up running for over 15 years. I bought and sold over 500 properties. Most I bought and sold in the same day.
When the market crashed, The IRS came knocking. They accused me of forcing the houses on people that didn't want them. It was total bullshit. They forced me into signing a plea agreement or else go to jail for 10 years. I ended up serving 18 months in a Federal prison and lost everything. Now I'm on the rebound and more confident than ever that I can come back 10 times stronger.
This is just an overview if what happened. The story is really crazy. I look forward to getting to know you guys and hopefully I can help you avoid what happened to me and hopefully I can learn from you guys as well.

 

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[Tyler K]

Damn, that sucks what happened. Best of luck with your book!

 

[Spyke]

Got me hooked, I want to know the ins and outs of the story

 

[CFLRider]

Damn, that sucks what happened. Best of luck with your book!

Thanks man. I've read a lot of your posts. I love what you do with the Facebook and Instagram likes. I totally get it. I think its a great idea. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me soon to buy some followers.

 

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[Y.B.]

They accused me of forcing the houses on people that didn't want them

Something doesn't add up here...?

 

[jgodfrey82]

CFLrider are you in Florida?

 

[CFLRider]

CFLrider are you in Florida?

No, Albany, NY

 

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[Leo Hendrix]

Will you be seeking damages for the time spent incarcerated?

 

[Jake]

The IRS came knocking. They accused me of forcing the houses on people that didn't want them. It was total bullshit. They forced me into signing a plea agreement or else go to jail for 10 years. I ended up serving 18 months in a Federal prison

Jesus...additional info please?

 

[CFLRider]

Jesus...additional info please?

Oh don't worry, I'll tell more as I start to post more. I've been kinda busy reading what everyone else is writing on here.

The story is a crazy story, thats why I wrote a book.

 

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[CFLRider]

Will you be seeking damages for the time spent incarcerated?

Probably not, Its the office of the US Attorney. You can't fight them. No one ever wins. They have unlimited budget and resources.

 

[EricZ]

The publishing is easy!
The promotion is harder, check this out:
http://okdork.com/2014/02/17/hit-1-amazons-bestseller-list/
and this one:
http://ittybiz.com/shhh-how-to-launch/

There are some GREAT threads in the forum from Kindle/Ebook fastlaners:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/my-take-on-self-publishing.49869/
and
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/hello-from-denver-self-publishing-success.46006/

If you have any questions about formatting etc. ask me!

 

[Bigguns50]

Welcome to the forum !

I worked for a hard money lender. He went out of business in 2008 and ended up doing 18 mos. in Fed prison too. I remember the 1st day in Court with him and the rest of the employees and immediately without question, the whole thing smelled wrong....everything about it.

There is a lot of Gold here and I'm sure all you need is here. Please keep in mind that while we all get help here, we all contribute as well. This has been said before, but don't be afraid to share whatever you have in your book because you think no one here will buy it when it's published. Quite the opposite will happen.

So take off your shoes and stay a while.

 

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[Writer]

Hey everyone! I'm new here and I really like what I've read so far. I'm from upstate NY. I'm finishing up a book I wrote on my life as an entrepreneur and what I've been through. I want to learn how to publish and promote it and this seems like a great place to learn.
I had made a million dollars before I was 30 years old. I started out with no money at all. I bought one shitty old house, fixed it up and sold it. I turned that into a real estate flipping business that I ended up running for over 15 years. I bought and sold over 500 properties. Most I bought and sold in the same day.
When the market crashed, The IRS came knocking. They accused me of forcing the houses on people that didn't want them. It was total bullshit. They forced me into signing a plea agreement or else go to jail for 10 years. I ended up serving 18 months in a Federal prison and lost everything. Now I'm on the rebound and more confident than ever that I can come back 10 times stronger.
This is just an overview if what happened. The story is really crazy. I look forward to getting to know you guys and hopefully I can help you avoid what happened to me and hopefully I can learn from you guys as well.

Welcome! I can't wait to know more!

 

[princephoenix]

WOW! Definitely can't wait to read your book! And whatever else you write on here. Good luck on your future endeavors!

 

[RazorCut]

Welcome. You've picked a great place to hang out. Looking forward to learning more about your story.

 

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[Grimaldo]

Can I pre-order? I really want to know the whole story. Welcome aboard!

 

[CFLRider]

Can I pre-order? I really want to know the whole story. Welcome aboard!

I appreciate you asking. I don't want to give anyone the impression I'm on here just to sell the book, because I really am on here to learn an meet people as motivated as I am. I'll be sure to send you a free copy once I publish it.

Again, thank you for your interest.

 

[Yeezy]

Most I bought and sold in the same day

Crazy! Such an interesting story, good luck with everything. I can't wait to read your book.

 

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[EricZ]

@CFLRider
Holy shit dude - you got people ASKING TO PREORDER YOUR BOOK!
That is called VALIDATED!
Make it - now!
Sell it - now!
That is make a pre-order landing page - see my examples:
www.zbooks.co
and
www.befreud.com

Notice how I put a timer in one and an early-bird giveaway.
I can make you a simple landing page like those in about 5 minutes.
Don't know how far along you are or if you have a publisher but get on it!
This is the kind of stuff I'm gonna package and product-I-ze, with online courses etc.
My SEED/Fastlane etc.

 

[CFLRider]

@CFLRider
Holy shit dude - you got people ASKING TO PREORDER YOUR BOOK!
That is called VALIDATED!
Make it - now!
Sell it - now!
That is make a pre-order landing page - see my examples:
www.zbooks.co
and
www.befreud.com

Notice how I put a timer in one and an early-bird giveaway.
I can make you a simple landing page like those in about 5 minutes.
Don't know how far along you are or if you have a publisher but get on it!
This is the kind of stuff I'm gonna package and product-I-ze, with online courses etc.
My SEED/Fastlane etc.

I know!! Its crazy, right? Not quite what I had expected, but I know my story is really amazing and that there are others that I could help by telling it. I appreciate your help and motivation and I'm definitely going to check out the links you sent me.

 

[Lou Esposito]

Hey everyone! I'm new here and I really like what I've read so far. I'm from upstate NY. I'm finishing up a book I wrote on my life as an entrepreneur and what I've been through. I want to learn how to publish and promote it and this seems like a great place to learn.
I had made a million dollars before I was 30 years old. I started out with no money at all. I bought one shitty old house, fixed it up and sold it. I turned that into a real estate flipping business that I ended up running for over 15 years. I bought and sold over 500 properties. Most I bought and sold in the same day.
When the market crashed, The IRS came knocking. They accused me of forcing the houses on people that didn't want them. It was total bullshit. They forced me into signing a plea agreement or else go to jail for 10 years. I ended up serving 18 months in a Federal prison and lost everything. Now I'm on the rebound and more confident than ever that I can come back 10 times stronger.
This is just an overview if what happened. The story is really crazy. I look forward to getting to know you guys and hopefully I can help you avoid what happened to me and hopefully I can learn from you guys as well.

Sounds awesome, I'd definitely check this out.

 

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[xmartel]

Amazing story. Makes me sick too. Just another example of the injustices in our legal systems. Justice, freedom, and liberty have significantly eroded these past 20 years. Anyway, I'll stop there and not turn this political.

Wishing you all the best and hope your book takes off and makes you back everything they took from you and more.

BTW, what's with your name? You a fan of the Roughriders of the CFL?

 

[CFLRider]

Amazing story. Makes me sick too. Just another example of the injustices in our legal systems. Justice, freedom, and liberty have significantly eroded these past 20 years. Anyway, I'll stop there and not turn this political.

Wishing you all the best and hope your book takes off and makes you back everything they took from you and more.

BTW, what's with your name? You a fan of the Roughriders of the CFL?

The name is just in relation to a model of motorcycle I have from West Coast Choppers. The CFL frame stands for "Choppers For Life".

Thank you on your compliments, I appreciate it. I'll be sure to tell more on here as I spent more time getting to know everyone.