fauche65's Journal - Braindroppings of an Entrepreneur & Certified Hustler

[fauche65]

I am going to start posting here on a regular basis. I am hoping that some of what I have learned, experienced, done, and am continuing to do, will help others find their own success.

My Background:
I am a Male, closer to 50 than 40 years old, and a self made man. There is a backstory that I am sure a Hollywood producer might be interested in, but truth be told, I never used the early part of my life as an excuse.
If you think you have been through hard times, and continually carry that as a crutch for your lack of success, call me! I can prove that you are full of shit.
We all have our stories. The problem is that most people go back and re-read the first few chapters all the time, instead of focusing on the rest of the blank pages that they have the ability to write any way they choose.

Long story short; I started on my own when I was 17 Years old, in a (somewhat) new country, with no family, and no friends. I had $2000.00, and some clothes. That's it!

I have succeeded, and I have failed. I continue to succeed, and also continue to fail. Fortunately, several years ago, I realized that I was in complete control of my life, so I started having more successes that failures. I also took time to analyze my failures for clues, so I am constantly looking for improvements in my life, and my businesses.

Current State:
I own 3 companies, with an interest in 3 more. I am often not the smartest person in the room, but I am the person that can always get the right people together when I don't have the answers.

I am not "rich" or "wealthy" in the monetary sense (yet), but I have learned to live very comfortably with the current money I take home. My focus is to build the cashflow, and my equity, in each business. I am focused on building a legacy.

Personally, I have everything I NEED, so money is not always the top personal priority. I have a library of books, and several Terabytes of courses and digital books. I read and listen to as much as I can handle in a day. I want to learn, but I also need to DO. Years ago, it used to be easy to make myself feel good when I read a book or took a course, and did not do the necessary action items. That was one of the "failures" I referenced earlier

I used to think I was old, but I realized that age is a matter of perspective. There are 20 somethings that feel old, and 60 somethings that feel young.

I have a lot left to accomplish, and some time to do it. I am focused on those clean white pages ahead, and the unbelievable stories I can create on those pages.

 

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[fauche65]

"Mistakes in judgements are nothing to be ashamed of, but what is truly unforgivable is to make the same mistake twice, every mistake has its price tag, but the most costly price tag is the error unlearned and often repeated."

- Jim Rohn

 

[Zimbizee]

Looking forward to your posts. Welcome

 

[jms0717]

I'm excited to see your progress!

 

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[fauche65]

Why I am doing this

I am not posting this thread for any praise ego stroking. I am in no need of any type of gratification. I tell my teenage kids all the time that, “I am telling you this, because I wish my Father told me these things when I was your age.” I might not have listened to everything, but I know I would have gotten some gold out of it.

Unfortunately for me, my father rarely spoke to me, and when he did, it wasn’t anything pleasant. The one thing he did say to me, as I was leaving my home at 17 years old, to start my new life in North America, was “don’t forget to get that piece of paper.” Famous last words.

I am doing this because I mentor young adult men (17-24 years old), and many of them are confused about the future, and more specifically, their futures. They are confused about their abilities, capabilities, place in the world today, and especially about their place in the world tomorrow. With the rapid changes in technology, the ever-rising cost of living, and the seemingly endless political civil war in the U.S., they are becoming more and more jaded fearful of not being able to enjoy their lives.

I tell them, as I will tell you, that opportunities are EVERYWHERE. The challenge for anyone is that they need to

1. Be open to seeing opportunities that others may miss, and
2. Be willing to do the work necessary to seize upon the opportunity when it’s recognized.

Here is an example (this is a true story)

Sarah used to work for a large multi-national chemical distributor. This company did not manufacture chemicals, they were a distributer. They would buy from manufacturers such as BASF, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Bayer, etc. in bulk (at wholesale prices), and break down the quantities to resell to manufacturers that could not afford to (or need to) buy these items by the tonne.

Sarah was a sales rep for this company, and in her best year made $150,000.00. Some people may consider this as “not to shabby”. However, the amount of time and effort that Sarah put into making that $150,000.00 was slowly going to kill her.

One day Sarah was speaking with one of her largest clients in the Oil sector (think Exxon or BP type companies), and the client asked for a chemical that no one seemed to have, or ever made. The client said that if Sarah ever heard of someone producing this type of product, they would buy hundreds of drums per month, for all of their drilling operations.

Something sparked in Sarah’s mind; “what if I could find someone that can manufacture this chemical?” After several months, Sarah was able to find a company in China that manufactured a compound almost identical to the one Sarah’s client asked for. The company shipped Sarah a sample, and she shipped it to her client for trial. The client used it in their operation, and ……. Success!

Now that she had found the product, Sarah figured that if it worked for THIS global Oil company, it should also work for almost any other in the same sector. She began to call all of the companies, and begun discussions about them buying this “new” product to solve a need within their drilling operations. They all bought, tested, and began to use the product.

Sarah quit her “job” at the distribution company, and started buying and reselling the compound on a full-time basis, under her own company. She and her husband, who also quit his job as a public servant to join her, ended up building a $250M company within 4 years.

There is a lot more to the story. I can’t tell you how much work, travel, late nights, money, and sweat were put into Sarah accomplishing this. And there are dozens of other stories like this that I can share, but it gives you an idea of what is possible if you are open to seeing opportunities, and willing to put in the necessary work to see them to fruition.

I don’t know it all, and I have had my struggles, but I believe that I can offer some nuggets of wisdom to help others. That’s the only reason I am doing this.

Good luck with all of your personal and business endeavors!

 

[fauche65]

Wow. I can't believe how fast a year flies by. I have been away, dealing with 2 serious family matters, and basically off the grid for the last 11 months. Gotta get back into the swing of things.