Hello from the FASTLANE!!
.........is what I hope to say within the next 5 years 😀
As for now I'll just introduce myself as a Adam from Houston, TX. I'm 25 years old, moved down to Houston about 6 years ago and love it down here.
I'll do this two ways, the twitter version: in less then 140 characters, and then a detailed version: full of run-on sentences and anecdotes. Feel free to pick which ever you want to read.
The short story: Young entrepreneur. Car lover. Fishing/Hunting enthusiast. Creativity is my passion. New ideas and ventures keep me awake at night.
The long story: Born in a small town with a population of 189 where I walked uphill to school both ways, barefoot, for 8 miles...............
:bsmeter:
Just kidding - I'm 25 years old, an entrepreneur, and a small business owner. I own a company that specializes in print and web marketing. We offer services like print and marketing collateral, web design, and marketing. I started the company from the ground up in a storage unit (they offered warehouse/office combo, not like an 8x10 with a folding chair like you're imagining! ). I was working with another guy at the time who was offering screen printing and vinyl services. I kind of fell into starting this company when I was 21. It's actually similar to someone else on here's story which you all should know. Someone came to me and said Hey! Can you design me a website? It was one of those things when you're paying your way through college and working full time that you jump at the chance to make an "easy" $500. I say "easy" because ironically, I've found throughout the past several years, the cheapest clients are the worst to work with. So after I built this one site they said Okay, looks great! Now how much an hour for maintenance? .......uhhh? What? I hadn't looked this far ahead. I never once thought that there would be a relationship after this point. Boldly I said $20/hr! She said Sounds great, we'll let you know when we have to add or update some content. I was shocked, someone was going to pay me $20 an hour to just change some text on a website? Phew this is easy money. Well she told one person, who told another person, who told another person, and the business began to grow. Then I met a guy through a mutual friend who was interested in doing an internship with me, who I eventually ended up bringing on as a business partner, which was the best choice I ever made. He's now one of my best friends and shares the same entrepreneurial mindset. As we began to grow the business I decided to drop out of college to focus on growing the company. I figured hey, you can always go back to school, but right now i'm young, single, free from kids or any real obligation, why not give it a shot.
That was over 3 years ago. As we've grown we have picked up bigger clients, but i'm still a slave to the business, working 10-15 hours a day trying to knock out projects while managing everyday business tasks, not a fastlane model at all at this stage. I wish when I was younger I would have been as smart as MJ and say waaaait a minute... This money I'm generating is solely dependent on my time. I would have instituted other measures to generate more passive income, and thats is why I'm still in the slowlane. The truth is, with this line of work, I feel like it's so over-saturated, that even the things that set us apart, aren't that distinct from other companies. It seems as though everyone is a graphic or web designer. Even Joe's grandma down the street is a graphic designer, even if she uses MS Paint and clipart, in their eyes, our job is the same. I love what I do, but I don't know that this particular job at this rate will net me the fastlane lifestyle I wish to achieve, unless I commit the next 40 years to building this up, and then having money to retire at 65 and living a "comfortable lifestyle". That sounds like a terrible idea..... which is why I read this forum every night.
I know this is my introduction, but I've been reading the forum for over a month now, just haven't posted anything, but I figured it was time to start getting more involved, and having my questions answered, or contributing what I can to the community. I have a passion for entrepreneurship, I love meeting new people and coming across new opportunities. I don't know what or how I will be successful (fastlane successful), but it will happen. So far at this point in my life I've had 3 "unsuccessful" business ventures, all before I could legally drink. I'd like to say the last one is my last one, but the honest truth is no one can predict that. I put "unsuccessful" because I don't like saying that they failed. Did they? Yes in the sense that they didn't succeed, but I feel as though I took away so much from these things that I can't call it a failure, I actually grew with each experience - as they each taught me a lesson.
I'm still seeking opportunities in everything I do, and will continue to turn to the forum for advice and insight from the tons of knowledgeable people here. I hope that gave yall some insight into "the new guy".
.........is what I hope to say within the next 5 years 😀
As for now I'll just introduce myself as a Adam from Houston, TX. I'm 25 years old, moved down to Houston about 6 years ago and love it down here.
I'll do this two ways, the twitter version: in less then 140 characters, and then a detailed version: full of run-on sentences and anecdotes. Feel free to pick which ever you want to read.
The short story: Young entrepreneur. Car lover. Fishing/Hunting enthusiast. Creativity is my passion. New ideas and ventures keep me awake at night.
The long story: Born in a small town with a population of 189 where I walked uphill to school both ways, barefoot, for 8 miles...............
:bsmeter:
Just kidding - I'm 25 years old, an entrepreneur, and a small business owner. I own a company that specializes in print and web marketing. We offer services like print and marketing collateral, web design, and marketing. I started the company from the ground up in a storage unit (they offered warehouse/office combo, not like an 8x10 with a folding chair like you're imagining! ). I was working with another guy at the time who was offering screen printing and vinyl services. I kind of fell into starting this company when I was 21. It's actually similar to someone else on here's story which you all should know. Someone came to me and said Hey! Can you design me a website? It was one of those things when you're paying your way through college and working full time that you jump at the chance to make an "easy" $500. I say "easy" because ironically, I've found throughout the past several years, the cheapest clients are the worst to work with. So after I built this one site they said Okay, looks great! Now how much an hour for maintenance? .......uhhh? What? I hadn't looked this far ahead. I never once thought that there would be a relationship after this point. Boldly I said $20/hr! She said Sounds great, we'll let you know when we have to add or update some content. I was shocked, someone was going to pay me $20 an hour to just change some text on a website? Phew this is easy money. Well she told one person, who told another person, who told another person, and the business began to grow. Then I met a guy through a mutual friend who was interested in doing an internship with me, who I eventually ended up bringing on as a business partner, which was the best choice I ever made. He's now one of my best friends and shares the same entrepreneurial mindset. As we began to grow the business I decided to drop out of college to focus on growing the company. I figured hey, you can always go back to school, but right now i'm young, single, free from kids or any real obligation, why not give it a shot.
That was over 3 years ago. As we've grown we have picked up bigger clients, but i'm still a slave to the business, working 10-15 hours a day trying to knock out projects while managing everyday business tasks, not a fastlane model at all at this stage. I wish when I was younger I would have been as smart as MJ and say waaaait a minute... This money I'm generating is solely dependent on my time. I would have instituted other measures to generate more passive income, and thats is why I'm still in the slowlane. The truth is, with this line of work, I feel like it's so over-saturated, that even the things that set us apart, aren't that distinct from other companies. It seems as though everyone is a graphic or web designer. Even Joe's grandma down the street is a graphic designer, even if she uses MS Paint and clipart, in their eyes, our job is the same. I love what I do, but I don't know that this particular job at this rate will net me the fastlane lifestyle I wish to achieve, unless I commit the next 40 years to building this up, and then having money to retire at 65 and living a "comfortable lifestyle". That sounds like a terrible idea..... which is why I read this forum every night.
I know this is my introduction, but I've been reading the forum for over a month now, just haven't posted anything, but I figured it was time to start getting more involved, and having my questions answered, or contributing what I can to the community. I have a passion for entrepreneurship, I love meeting new people and coming across new opportunities. I don't know what or how I will be successful (fastlane successful), but it will happen. So far at this point in my life I've had 3 "unsuccessful" business ventures, all before I could legally drink. I'd like to say the last one is my last one, but the honest truth is no one can predict that. I put "unsuccessful" because I don't like saying that they failed. Did they? Yes in the sense that they didn't succeed, but I feel as though I took away so much from these things that I can't call it a failure, I actually grew with each experience - as they each taught me a lesson.
I'm still seeking opportunities in everything I do, and will continue to turn to the forum for advice and insight from the tons of knowledgeable people here. I hope that gave yall some insight into "the new guy".
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
