Building a billion dollar enterprise

[Fox]

who pretty much ruined 90% of the warehouse staff. So they've all quit or ive fired them (about 10 total) now the team is awesome. I didnt realize how toxic the group had gotten.

That sounds pretty crazy.

They just started getting lazy, or were they actively working against the business goals?

 

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[Envision]

That sounds pretty crazy.

They just started getting lazy, or were they actively working against the business goals?

Lazy people bred lazy people and resentment towards me.

I was desperate for people and let it go on for too long. My expectations leave lazy people angry and they hate me.

The manager I hired was a loser and I should have let him go within the first two weeks.

 

[Vinz]

Man, I just want to say, you are the most powerfully inspiring user for me on this platform.

Your 1 year thread really stuck with me, and I revisit it periodically.
Probably because I can relate so much to your story, being young, dad losing his purpose and itself, having to learn to fend for myself.

And seeing now that you are going bigger and bigger is even more inspiring.

You mentioned competitive weightlifting in your original post. I'm curious, do you still hit the gym ? With all these awesome projects you are going into I assume you don't have much time. How's the fitness part of your life ?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The manager I hired was a loser

I've hired a few losers in my time. What went wrong in your hiring process? Why didn't you see, or was it just a hiring based out of desperation? Curious to your thought process on this.

 

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[Envision]

Man, I just want to say, you are the most powerfully inspiring user for me on this platform.

Your 1 year thread really stuck with me, and I revisit it periodically.
Probably because I can relate so much to your story, being young, dad losing his purpose and itself, having to learn to fend for myself.

And seeing now that you are going bigger and bigger is even more inspiring.

You mentioned competitive weightlifting in your original post. I'm curious, do you still hit the gym ? With all these awesome projects you are going into I assume you don't have much time. How's the fitness part of your life ?

Thank you, ill make another thread one of these days summarizing the past few years of everything together.

Yes, I workout 5-6x per week.

I've hired a few losers in my time. What went wrong in your hiring process? Why didn't you see, or was it just a hiring based out of desperation? Curious to your thought process on this.

I think there was a level of not understanding what success looked like so anything could potentially work, a level of desperation, and a level of smooth talking and excuse making that I was willing to tolerate.

The past year has been the hardest mentally/emotionally. Everyone thinks they can achieve a massive level of success... build a 100M company, have the cars, life, etc. But when you're in it and the pressure is 100% on you I dont think I was consciously aware of what i was doing to myself or how to manage it.

I think when I made the hire and up until 3-4 months ago. I was barely above water. The pressure, stress, frustration, and anxiety was taking a toll on my mental health, I was getting sick alot, and I was looking for how to manage the next level. So, the last thing I want to deal with is letting someone go and having to take on their role on too (even though that is the answer).

I think I was at the stage most people would take on private equity, or they would sell because they're burning out, or they stop because you can't see a light at the end of the tunnel.

There were two things that stopped and reversed that.

1. I hit the breaking point and in the limbo I was living in I found a coach and have been working with him to manage stress, understand myself, be present, etc.

2. I started hiring executives and consultants to take portions of my company and be accountable and responsible for them. I had ~20 people reporting to me and it was killing me. Now I have 6-8 which is still too much. The goal is to have 2-4 and have these executives running my company and reporting to me.

Also, for reference. This is the job. Im not complaining and im not making excuses. I knew I had a problem and I knew there was a solution. I had to figure it out quickly. I don't think anyone talks about this kind of stuff in the entrepreneur community but this is what it is and if you're reading this and you want to be an entrepreneur. Realize this.

 

[WJK]

Lazy people bred lazy people and resentment towards me.

I was desperate for people and let it go on for too long. My expectations leave lazy people angry and they hate me.

The manager I hired was a loser and I should have let him go within the first two weeks.

You're absolutely right. When you hire people, you must test them. You'll know within a short time about their character. Lazy people HATE me. Especially liars. They don't want to be around me. I either casually dismiss them by walking away while I push them out the door or I just start laughing while I poke holes in their stories. They cuss and fume. I don't get ruffled. It's business -- not personal.

I'm doing a couple of flips right now. I have a young man who has the right experience to do part of the job. He doesn't do what he says he'll do when he says he'll do it. I don't care how cheap he works. He would waste my time.

 

[TheJon]

Thank you, ill make another thread one of these days summarizing the past few years of everything together.

Yes, I workout 5-6x per week. My company is a fitness brand, im building a 5k sq ft gym in my warehouse. I love training. Ill go through seasons, in the past year up until a few weeks ago I havent been as consistent because I mentally wasn't all there.

But i feel locked in now. Havent felt this good in a long time.



I think there was a level of not understanding what success looked like so anything could potentially work, a level of desperation, and a level of smooth talking and excuse making that I was willing to tolerate.

The past year has been the hardest mentally/emotionally. Everyone thinks they can achieve a massive level of success... build a 100M company, have the cars, life, etc. But when you're in it and the pressure is 100% on you I dont think I was consciously aware of what i was doing to myself or how to manage it.

I think when I made the hire and up until 3-4 months ago. I was barely above water. The pressure, stress, frustration, and anxiety was taking a toll on my mental health, I was getting sick alot, and I was looking for how to manage the next level. So, the last thing I want to deal with is letting someone go and having to take on their role on too (even though that is the answer).

I think I was at the stage most people would take on private equity, or they would sell because they're burning out, or they stop because you can't see a light at the end of the tunnel.

There were two things that stopped and reversed that.

1. I hit the breaking point and in the limbo I was living in I found a coach and have been working with him to manage stress, understand myself, be present, etc.

2. I started hiring executives and consultants to take portions of my company and be accountable and responsible for them. I had ~20 people reporting to me and it was killing me. Now I have 6-8 which is still too much. The goal is to have 2-4 and have these executives running my company and reporting to me.

Also, for reference. This is the job. Im not complaining and im not making excuses. I knew I had a problem and I knew there was a solution. I had to figure it out quickly. I don't think anyone talks about this kind of stuff in the entrepreneur community but this is what it is and if you're reading this and you want to be an entrepreneur. Realize this.

Hey Envision! I was happy to see this pop back up into the top of the feed today! You've accomplished the next few steps of where I'm aimed to go.

Right now I own 1 property/4 units, I am looking to expand this holding but as part of that looking for a fast lane company to fund it, which is literally what you did!

Now to find the right fast lane company - I don't need it to do much, just push about 100k a year cash into my account, so I can focus on finding deals and buying them.

 

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[Envision]

Hey Envision! I was happy to see this pop back up into the top of the feed today! You've accomplished the next few steps of where I'm aimed to go.

Right now I own 1 property/4 units, I am looking to expand this holding but as part of that looking for a fast lane company to fund it, which is literally what you did!

Now to find the right fast lane company - I don't need it to do much, just push about 100k a year cash into my account, so I can focus on finding deals and buying them.

This mentality isn't going to do it.

I never had this mentality - if anything I smoked everyone with it...

Start with how you think about what you think. Then start.

 

[TheJon]

Definitely will. Still working on that

 

[Vinz]

Thank you, ill make another thread one of these days summarizing the past few years of everything together.

Yes, I workout 5-6x per week. My company is a fitness brand, im building a 5k sq ft gym in my warehouse. I love training. Ill go through seasons, in the past year up until a few weeks ago I havent been as consistent because I mentally wasn't all there.

But i feel locked in now. Havent felt this good in a long time.

Great ! I'm glad you are hitting it off at the gym.
Also I would pay for another thread of yours like that !!

 

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[Andy Black]

A brief year end update...

We closed the year over $30m (almost triple last year), added over 25 people, finished the warehouse - it is pretty wild, and ill close on the land behind my building (9 acres with 120k sq ft building). Our current building is probably half full right now.

Next year, I want to double revenue and profit again, establish stronger teams/communication, expand into new market segments and marketplaces, launch a new brand and acquire this potential competitor and build the building behind mine to ensure we have enough space.

I'm also shoring up all of my personal stuff - selling a lot of my stuff. I think I am going to sell off all of my small properties and really simplify my life. Focusing on just ecommerce and industrial NNN real estate.

I'd like to build my company into $1B in value in the next 5-6 years and I think that is doable barring any catastrophic events that pivot all our lives. I would need to do around $300m on 20% margins I think. so 10x.

@MJ DeMarco maybe you can change this title to Journey to building a billion dollar enterprise or something cause this has pivoted out of real estate for a large portion of the thread haha.

Well done. Thread title changed.

 

[heavy_industry]

Well done. Thread title changed.

LOL

Imagine becoming so successful that your progress thread needs to be changed with something that includes "billion dollar enterprise" in the title.

Well done @Envision , it's truly impressive!

 

[Antifragile]

Imagine

Don’t imagine, Envision!

 

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[Djo]

A brief year end update...

We closed the year over $30m (almost triple last year), added over 25 people, finished the warehouse - it is pretty wild, and ill close on the land behind my building (9 acres with 120k sq ft building). Our current building is probably half full right now.

Next year, I want to double revenue and profit again, establish stronger teams/communication, expand into new market segments and marketplaces, launch a new brand and acquire this potential competitor and build the building behind mine to ensure we have enough space.

I'm also shoring up all of my personal stuff - selling a lot of my stuff. I think I am going to sell off all of my small properties and really simplify my life. Focusing on just ecommerce and industrial NNN real estate.

I'd like to build my company into $1B in value in the next 5-6 years and I think that is doable barring any catastrophic events that pivot all our lives. I would need to do around $300m on 20% margins I think. so 10x.

@MJ DeMarco maybe you can change this title to Journey to building a billion dollar enterprise or something cause this has pivoted out of real estate for a large portion of the thread haha.

Wow, absolutely impressive ! Congratulations, you deserve this massive success, and I am sure that more success is coming. All I can find going through this thread is inspiration.
I am interested in knowing if you ever needed that business degree you got. I am 19 and I'm going to college for a CS degree. I think seriously of dropping out after this year and getting an entry level sales job. So I'm curious to know what do you think now, after what you achieved, about college degrees. ( Sorry if you mentioned something about your college degree after your initial updates, I did not read the whole thread)

 

[Envision]

Wow, absolutely impressive ! Congratulations, you deserve this massive success, and I am sure that more success is coming. All I can find going through this thread is inspiration.
I am interested in knowing if you ever needed that business degree you got. I am 19 and I'm going to college for a CS degree. I think seriously of dropping out after this year and getting an entry level sales job. So I'm curious to know what do you think now, after what you achieved, about college degrees. ( Sorry if you mentioned something about your college degree after your initial updates, I did not read the whole thread)

I had a really good mentor and self taught myself everything and connected with the right people to learn the right things. So my degree didn't serve me, thats not to say it wont serve you.

I dont think the degree is the issue - higher education is there to make you a more critical/educated thinker, its the going into debt and the system built around university that I would deter you from. If you can do it without debt or pay your way through at community college it could be great for you.

I also would start your business and work while doing it though - no reason to just pick one thing. Do them all and see which opportunities come from it.

Leadership and management are things that you wont learn as an entrepreneur outside of doing it on the fly (and im not sure you'll learn it in school). You will find that most people sell there companies generally around $10m and under because there is a stretch of decisions and true pain that comes from needing to lead 30,50,100+ people while bearing all the financial risk. If you can get that far and you don't break.

If I was your age, I would learn operations from the supply chain side or media buying via Facebook/Google/Tiktok. Depending on your skill level and ambition you could probably make 6 figures at a company like mine within 2 years and those skills are usable everywhere.

 

[Djo]

I had a really good mentor and self taught myself everything and connected with the right people to learn the right things. So my degree didn't serve me, thats not to say it wont serve you.

I dont think the degree is the issue - higher education is there to make you a more critical/educated thinker, its the going into debt and the system built around university that I would deter you from. If you can do it without debt or pay your way through at community college it could be great for you.

I also would start your business and work while doing it though - no reason to just pick one thing. Do them all and see which opportunities come from it.

Leadership and management are things that you wont learn as an entrepreneur outside of doing it on the fly (and im not sure you'll learn it in school). You will find that most people sell there companies generally around $10m and under because there is a stretch of decisions and true pain that comes from needing to lead 30,50,100+ people while bearing all the financial risk. If you can get that far and you don't break.

If I was your age, I would learn operations from the supply chain side or media buying via Facebook/Google/Tiktok. Depending on your skill level and ambition you could probably make 6 figures at a company like mine within 2 years and those skills are usable everywhere.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, really valuable advice ! What advice would you give in order to connect with like-minded people ? Everyone I'm surrounded with thinks and acts average or mediocre, what advice would you give to your 19 year old self in order to connect with people like you did in your life?

 

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[heavy_industry]

Thanks for taking the time to respond, really valuable advice ! What advice would you give in order to connect with like-minded people ?

This forum is a good great place to start.

He even made a thread about this:

GOLD! - MINDSET - Its been one year of FLF for me. This forum will change your life and Ill prove it.

I joined this forum one year ago, I got the alert today and I had to sit back and look at what I've done and what I havent done. Im prepared to completely dominate the rest of the years that were gifted to me. I joined at 19 years old. In fact, I turn 21 in 13 days. To be honest, I literally...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[Kak]

I've hired a few losers in my time. What went wrong in your hiring process? Why didn't you see, or was it just a hiring based out of desperation? Curious to your thought process on this.

I have too.

I have found that locus of control is at least 80% of the battle. If you can figure out if they are internal they have a much better chance of doing a good job.

 

[Rörik]

The primary thing I think I've learnt by reading this entire thread is that I barely know what Envision is writing most of the time... Is it finance one should read to figure out what it all means? Or is it oral knowledge that just has to be taught? Any books? "heloc" and etc. I know I can google individual phrases mentioned in this thread, but what about all the other similar things in the same field not mentioned, is there some resource for that?

I hope my question makes sense. I've obsessively read this entire thread for a while now and I love it and just wanted to contribute while learning.

 

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[LateStarter]

The primary thing I think I've learnt by reading this entire thread is that I barely know what Envision is writing most of the time... Is it finance one should read to figure out what it all means? Or is it oral knowledge that just has to be taught? Any books? "heloc" and etc. I know I can google individual phrases mentioned in this thread, but what about all the other similar things in the same field not mentioned, is there some resource for that?

I hope my question makes sense. I've obsessively read this entire thread for a while now and I love it and just wanted to contribute while learning.

There are a lot of real estate investing and business valuation/acquisition terms. Depending what you're pursuing, you may not need to know these things.

For real estate investing, start by looking at Bigger Pockets (website, forums, books, videos, everything). Join the forums and dive in to the ones local to you. Some of the things may be country specific so bear that in mind when he talks about it. For instance, 1031 exchange for capital gains deferal is US only, in Canada getting a HELOC (home equity line of credit) can be really difficult for investment properties since the added leverage increases their risk.

For business valuations/acquisitions I've found that by looking at sites like flippa, bizbuysell, etc and watching shows like Shark Tank/Dragon's Den you can get a feel for the numbers. Sorry I don't have any better resources on that. I was married to a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) and I picked a lot of it up from her along the way.

 

[Envision]

Little update.

Gym/Warehouse is done - we're moved in and operating, pacing 60m this year, more if we can scale spend and acquire more customers. Around 50 employees.

I acquired the back 10 acres and the steel building so I need to finish plans and get the construction loan in progress there.

Also lining out 10 new products for this brand idea I have had for a long time. The european company wanted to hold off for now (I think more so for all the things going on over there vs over here)

 

[Envision]

In the process of simplifying my life and selling my small properties I bought myself a new house. I should close in a week.

For the last 9 years ive only lived in investment properties and its served me well. I started with a duplex and sacrificed nights, weekends, friends, family and the human experience to build the life I used to dream of in my head. I remember scrubbing floors on friday nights and spending years meticulously counting every single penny to work my way up from nothing.

I don't think I've ever lived in a house larger than 1200 square feet in my life.

The most bizarre part of the whole experience is im not excited or anxious or anything. I dont feel anything... I feel like Ive lived this before and have thought about moments like this everyday for years ever since I was in the trailer.

I wanted to post it here so you can see that what @MJ DeMarco teaches is real and if you put in the time and effort you can transform your life. From the back of a trailer to multi multi multi millionaire.








I hope this motivates you and I hope you realize you can do it for yourself in your own way too.

Thank you MJ... and everyone else on here that helped me along the way. You know who you are.

 

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[Fox]

In the process of simplifying my life and selling my small properties I bought myself a new house. I should close in a week.

For the last 9 years ive only lived in investment properties and its served me well. I started with a duplex and sacrificed nights, weekends, friends, family and the human experience to build the life I used to dream of in my head. I remember scrubbing floors on friday nights and spending years meticulously counting every single penny to work my way up from nothing.

I don't think I've ever lived in a house larger than 1200 square feet in my life.

The most bizarre part of the whole experience is im not excited or anxious or anything. I dont feel anything... I feel like Ive lived this before and have thought about moments like this everyday for years ever since I was in the trailer.

I wanted to post it here so you can see that what @MJ DeMarco teaches is real and if you put in the time and effort you can transform your life. From the back of a trailer to multi multi multi millionaire.

View attachment 48232
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I hope this motivates you and I hope you realize you can do it for yourself in your own way too.

Thank you MJ... and everyone else on here that helped me along the way. You know who you are.

Couldn't think of a guy who deserves it more.

Well done man - so cool to see.

 

[Antifragile]

The house is stunning @Envision !

 

[WJK]

In the process of condensing my life and selling my small properties I bought myself a new house. I should close in a week.

For the last 9 years ive only lived in investment properties and its served me well. I started with a duplex and sacrificed nights, weekends, friends, family and the human experience to build the life I used to dream of in my head. I remember scrubbing floors on friday nights and spending years meticulously counting every single penny to work my way up from nothing.

I don't think I've ever lived in a house larger than 1200 square feet in my life.

The most bizarre part of the whole experience is im not excited or anxious or anything. I dont feel anything... I feel like Ive lived this before and have thought about moments like this everyday for years ever since I was in the trailer.

I wanted to post it here so you can see that what @MJ DeMarco teaches is real and if you put in the time and effort you can transform your life. From the back of a trailer to multi multi multi millionaire.

View attachment 48232
View attachment 48233
View attachment 48234

View attachment 48235


I hope this motivates you and I hope you realize you can do it for yourself in your own way too.

Good for you, if that's what you want. You're right. It can be done IF you are willing to put in the work and the time to create the accomplishments.

 

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[heavy_industry]

It's amazing to see someone achieving their long term goal.

Thanks for sharing @Envision , it's both very impressive and inspiring.

But at the same time (as you've hinted), it should not be surprising at all. All these wonderful things and many others are entirely possible, or even the expected outcome.

If you do the right things, the right results will happen.
A -> B. Cause and effect.

Congratulations and enjoy the fruits of your hard work! They are well deserved.

 

[MTEE1985]

Love seeing forum members win this big. Unbelievable example of what can happen if you provide genuine value over time instead of chasing after the latest and greatest “sexy” thing. If you are reading this thread and are 21, this is where you could be at 31 which is absolutely incredible. Won’t get as many instagram likes but a hell of a better story and result in the end.

Thanks @Envision for sharing the journey and all the wisdom.

 

[WillHurtDontCare]

In the process of simplifying my life and selling my small properties I bought myself a new house. I should close in a week.

For the last 9 years ive only lived in investment properties and its served me well. I started with a duplex and sacrificed nights, weekends, friends, family and the human experience to build the life I used to dream of in my head. I remember scrubbing floors on friday nights and spending years meticulously counting every single penny to work my way up from nothing.

I don't think I've ever lived in a house larger than 1200 square feet in my life.

The most bizarre part of the whole experience is im not excited or anxious or anything. I dont feel anything... I feel like Ive lived this before and have thought about moments like this everyday for years ever since I was in the trailer.

I wanted to post it here so you can see that what @MJ DeMarco teaches is real and if you put in the time and effort you can transform your life. From the back of a trailer to multi multi multi millionaire.

View attachment 48232
View attachment 48233
View attachment 48234

View attachment 48235


I hope this motivates you and I hope you realize you can do it for yourself in your own way too.

Thank you MJ... and everyone else on here that helped me along the way. You know who you are.

your estate matches your profile picture

congrats and well deserved

 

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[biophase]

In the process of simplifying my life and selling my small properties I bought myself a new house. I should close in a week.

For the last 9 years ive only lived in investment properties and its served me well. I started with a duplex and sacrificed nights, weekends, friends, family and the human experience to build the life I used to dream of in my head. I remember scrubbing floors on friday nights and spending years meticulously counting every single penny to work my way up from nothing.

I don't think I've ever lived in a house larger than 1200 square feet in my life.

The most bizarre part of the whole experience is im not excited or anxious or anything. I dont feel anything... I feel like Ive lived this before and have thought about moments like this everyday for years ever since I was in the trailer.

I wanted to post it here so you can see that what @MJ DeMarco teaches is real and if you put in the time and effort you can transform your life. From the back of a trailer to multi multi multi millionaire.

View attachment 48232
View attachment 48233
View attachment 48234

View attachment 48235


I hope this motivates you and I hope you realize you can do it for yourself in your own way too.

Thank you MJ... and everyone else on here that helped me along the way. You know who you are.

It’s about time you got yourself a baller home!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Fastlaner goes from a trailer to a mega-mansion baller home and only 30 likes?

Congrats @Envision on the big achievement! That place looks awesome!

So great you get to live and experience the rewards of your work every single day!