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Intro And Awkward Success Story

D

DeletedUser9

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PART 1: How I Began, My Success And Failures.

I'm new here and I have a strange success story that I would like to share with all of you.


I decided I was going to be an entrepreneur (April 2012) at the young age of 17 , after stumbling upon a YouTube video of a man named Jordan Belfort (some may call this luck). He was making 1,000,000$ per week during the 90s as the owner of a brokerage firm, he lived a life of true excess, a 100+ yacht, a Learjet, multiple mansions, drugs and hookers.


Even though he's not an ideal role model for a 17 year old, it was my first time seeing true wealth (just like MJ and the inventor at the ice cream store). I still to this day have never met a rich person in real life :p


I constantly dreamt of being rich, literally 50 times a day. I wanted to live with the stars in LA have a Gulfstream jet and a ton of cash. I didn't want "measly financial freedom", I wanted excess, I wanted to be 100,000,000$+ rich, I wanted to be so rich that Forbes, Inc, IBT, Business INSIDERS, Entrepreneur.com would be calling me to get an interview


I was in the final year of my exams, actually within 2 months of them, but I wanted to become rich, pushed my books to the side. I couldn't care less about exams, high school and going to college.


I didn't know how I was going to make money but I decided to be an "Internet Entrepreneur" due to low overhead costs and I could go under the radar from friends/family.


I heard stories of affiliate marketers making xx,xxx$ per month etc and I thought I would try it out. Since I was 17 I couldn't open a bank account without my parents finding out or get a debit card to make online payments. Instead of giving up I got a prepaid debit card and loaded it up with 500$........... you could say it was my life savings.


I failed miserably I burned through the 500$ fast between april and may. Even though I was down 500$ I learned the basics of domains, hosting, and building nice looking websites. (Always Fail Forward)


Then June came and It was exam time, but I was too busy trying to get rich I forgot to study and did poorly in my exams and ended up with a whack college course.


Summer came I had fun and I forgot all about "getting rich" and I went off to college in September with no intention of getting a degree, just to have more fun to be honest.


Within 2 months I realized how getting comfortable in college could ruin my dreams of living in "with the stars" and being rich. I pretended to go to college so my parents wouldn't kick me out.


During the day (9am-3pm) I studied the "online media business model" advertising, sales tactics, competition and their flaws, how rich the owners were and how old they were. And at night (8pm-5am) I started to build my media company.


I saved every penny I could, I stole from my mothers purse, ATM card, I took foreign currency from the family safe and had it converted to Euro just to fund my business. I justified all these wrongs by the fact that someday I would be so rich that I could write them a cheque for 1,000,000$ and it would be nothing but a couple of days pay to me.


My monthly income went from -500$ to -300$ to 100$ to 600$ to 1600$ to 4000$ to 8000$ and I'm on track this month to make 14000$ (I probably will start saving some to get an apartment).


PART 2: Now + The Problems Im Facing.

I now am 18 so I have 2 Personal current accounts and 2 debit cards.


Even though I am making 4-5 figures per month, my bank balance is low, I receive payments through Paypal and the money rarely goes into my bank account, I reinvest almost all of it.


My parents still think I go to college :p


Whilst drunk I blurted it out to one of my close friends that I'm on the road to riches and I would like him to be the co- director, he agreed. (you need 2 company directors and a secretary to form an LLC where I'm from)


My major problem is that I don't legally have an actual company!


I don't have a residential address, (live with my parents) required to register a company. Should I rent an apartment to live in and register the business to that address or rent commercial office and register the business there even though I have no employees yet ?


I think I'm allowed to make around 25000$ before registering for taxes.


I chose the business name and registered the domain (cost me 3000$ on Godaddy auctions).


I also want to change my last name before incorporating, It's hard to pronounce and 10 letters long, It doesn't go well when I introduce myself. Its a personal choice but I do feel it will benefit me in both my personal and business life.


Don't think I will bother to tell my parents about my business until they kick me out or until i'm making 50,000$ per month and fully incorporated, and everything going smoothly.


PART 3: My Plan (Short Term)


  • Save enough to rent an apartment for one year, I think I will have to pay the year lease in full as I have no record of employment, and no legal entity.
  • Lease apartment.
  • Change my last name in court, notify all necessary institutions.
  • Incorporate using residential address, until I have employees of course, then I will rent office space.
  • Tell my parents that I dropped out of college after 2 months and I have my own media company, apartment and don't give a F*ck what they think.
  • SCALE, SCALE, SCALE.
  • "Retain every share, every percentage point of the company. Ownership isn't the most important thing in the getting of money - it is the only thing."


Part 4: My Plan Long Term


  • Achieve a salary of 1,000,000$ per week as outlined in part 1.
  • Retain every share, every percentage point of the company.
  • Sell my company while its at peak velocity, hopefully net 100,000,000$+ after taxes of capital gains taxes of 33%
  • Retire and finish working, before my friends finish college and start working in around 5- 7 years if all goes well.
  • Fulfill my wildest dreams.........



I shared this story so I can check back at it every couple days, weeks, months and years and see if I'm on the right track, or have achieved my goals that I set out to. I will continue to update it as I go along in my business career. Thank you for reading.

I am very lucky in the fact that I found out I wanted to be an entrepreneur and become filthy rich at a very young age. Not only that but I also took action, I regret wasting summer 2012 and I paid for it. But when your making no money it is very easy to get sidetracked.

Today is the youngest your ever going to be so don't wait any longer just dive in.


The-road-to-success-is-always.jpg
 
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johnp

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I saved every penny I could, I stole from my mothers purse, ATM card, I took foreign currency from the family safe and had it converted to Euro just to fund my business. I justified all these wrongs by the fact that someday I would be so rich that I could write them a cheque for 1,000,000$ and it would be nothing but a couple of days pay to me.

Your story seemed great until i read this part. Did you ever tell your parents about this? If not, then I think you should. Be honest with people. Nobody likes someone who lies, cheats, and steals. Investors hate it, and customers hate it even more. Success isn't all about the money...

Man up and start being honest with people.

Good luck with everything
 
D

DeletedUser9

Guest
just curious.. have you read the millionaire fastlane book?

Yes, these are the books I have read and recommend:

The Millionaire Fastlane

How To Get Rich and 88 By Felix Dennis. My favorite entrepreneurship book hands down, teaches you about ownership, management and the overall running of a business and why you should not even attempt to get rich.

[video=youtube;xf-WSeFb_bU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf-WSeFb_bU[/video]

88 The Narrow Road By Felix Dennis A shorter version of How To Get Rich.

[video=youtube;PnX5mbAG_R0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnX5mbAG_R0[/video]

How To Win At The Sport Of Business By Mark Cuban

The 50th Law By Robert Greene and 50 Cent I thought this book would help in business but honestly it was a complete waste of time, I only bought it because i'm a 50 cent fan.

The Wolf Of Wall Street By Jordan Belfort For entertainment purposes, I was very interested in Jordan's story so I decided to read it.

Thinking Big By Donald Trump This book was probably written over a weekend.....
 
D

DeletedUser9

Guest
Yup,

Is Ireland the only country that has this law ?

It seems crazy to me, luckily my friend agreed to no equity/shares.

I even looked at the application form for a business current account application form and they want details of a chartered accountant and a solicitor.

Do you own an LTD by any chance, I really need advice on regarding that.
 
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D

DeletedUser9

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Your story seemed great until i read this part. Did you ever tell your parents about this? If not, then I think you should. Be honest with people. Nobody likes someone who lies, cheats, and steals. Investors hate it, and customers hate it even more. Success isn't all about the money...

Man up and start being honest with people.

Good luck with everything

Over the course of the year I probably took around 1000$ and I never took large amounts at once. I will probably confess when the above "short term plan" is complete.
 

InLikeFlint

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Welcome, I too am a 17 year old young entrepreneur. However, unlike you I am not trying to play businessman under the table. Being vocal about my love for business and my ventures has been nothing but positive for me. Friends and family are constantly pushing me to achieve my goals and people are always showing up to mentor, motivate, teach, or learn from me. You'd be surprised how much connections mean in the business world. With today's economy, connections mean more than a college degree.

Don't be too ambitious, and don't be too quick to call yourself successful. You are not ready yet to drop out of college and give your parents the finger, take things easy and make sure you are ready to drop out and buy an apartment before you do. Don't burn bridges before you cross them.

An extremely successful Real Estate Investor, and good friend of mine told me just yesterday "Wealth is great, but once you have it what really matters is religion and family"...I think you should really take a moment to read this quote and think about it based on what you have done to your family, and what you plan to do.

Best of luck to you
 
D

DeletedUser9

Guest
Welcome, I too am a 17 year old young entrepreneur. However, unlike you I am not trying to play businessman under the table. Being vocal about my love for business and my ventures has been nothing but positive for me. Friends and family are constantly pushing me to achieve my goals and people are always showing up to mentor, motivate, teach, or learn from me. You'd be surprised how much connections mean in the business world. With today's economy, connections mean more than a college degree.

Don't be too ambitious, and don't be too quick to call yourself successful. You are not ready yet to drop out of college and give your parents the finger, take things easy and make sure you are ready to drop out and buy an apartment before you do.

An extremely successful Real Estate Investor, and good friend of mine told me just yesterday "Wealth is great, but once you have it what really matters is religion and family"...I think you should really take a moment to read this quote and think about it based on what you have done to your family, and what you plan to do.

Best of luck to you

1. I thought religion was banned on this forum, I am not religious anyway.

2. Not everyone comes from the same background, not everyones parents are supportive. Telling my parents I want to be an entrepreneur is like telling them I want to be an A list actor like Will Smith. Unless I have money to show for it it makes me look like a dreamer.

3. I said lease an apartment not buy.
 
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craig1928

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Do you need limited liability? otherwise just register as a sole trader. If you're going the big company route as you say you want to you'll have staff in anyways so wouldn't it be moot point?

Where about are you in anyways out of interest?
 

InLikeFlint

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1. I thought religion was banned on this forum, I am not religious anyway.

2. Not everyone comes from the same background, not everyones parents are supportive. Telling my parents I want to be an entrepreneur is like telling them I want to be an A list actor like Will Smith. Unless I have money to show for it it makes me look like a dreamer.

3. I said lease an apartment not buy.

I'm not saying practice religion through the forum, I am talking about real life.

We are saying be honest with them, that doesn't mean they will accept what you do or be happy right away, but honesty goes a long way and parents love their children regardless of what they do, at some point being honest will pay off and they will accept you for who you are and will support you.

Lease, buy, either way it's a big step, just be sure you are ready to take it.

Your attitude suggests that you have everything figured out, that's great if you do. But understand that people here on the forum are trying to help you, why are you here if it isn't to make connections and learn some things?

In regards to your reply to johnp, stealing is stealing, especially if it is from your own mother, it doesn't matter if you stole one penny or 100 million dollars, it's wrong either way, both legally and morally. The principle of the matter is what he is referring to.

Hopefully you are able to achieve your goals and are able to become the successful man you dream of becoming
 

Darius

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Your story seemed great until i read this part. Did you ever tell your parents about this? If not, then I think you should. Be honest with people. Nobody likes someone who lies, cheats, and steals. Investors hate it, and customers hate it even more. Success isn't all about the money...

Man up and start being honest with people.

Good luck with everything

Second this.
 
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Darius

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Over the course of the year I probably took around 1000$ and I never took large amounts at once. I will probably confess when the above "short term plan" is complete.

Well since you're making more money than you were in the beginning, did you at least return their money?
Don't know how you feel about karma but I would not want to risk making a million, only to have it stolen from me by somebody who's going to pay me back much more once he can write me a check for a million.
 

PeteLife

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CONGRATS ON THE SUCCESS!!!
Still alot of work to be done before considering yourself successful though. I really like your story, however, theres just something about your attitude that I just cannot connect with ... And dont get me wrong, ATTITUDE is everything in Business and I love your ambition to achieve your goals. You're a Go-getter...you take action. Kudos to you ....Howeverrrrrrrr ...

It is very important to be mindful of how you portray yourself especially when it comes to Networking or even introducing yourself to a forum of people willing to help you out. Like the others before me mention, STEALING FROM MOM IS A BIG NO NO! No-one wants to work with a dishonest person because it tells alot about character.

All I am saying is to be mindful of how you portray yourself ... being ambitiuos is one thing, but being overly money hungry and deceitful is another.

p.s. I only made this comment because anyone who post an intro with a success story like yours (18 yrs old, making 5 figures monthly in a VERY SHORT time) would have ALOT more "likes" (you only have 1 Like at the moment despite the fact that 54 members have read this thread) and a Rep speed of about a 100kph (you're still Parked).
IT JUST DOESN'T ADD UP!!!

Anyways... +++ Speed +++ from me for taking action, because you definitely shouldn't be Parked right now!
 

Dezzamondo

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I think everyone else has driven home the point that stealing is bad. Don't do it again.

As for this one:
I don't have a residential address, (live with my parents) required to register a company.

Try a Remote Incorporation Service / Virtual Office that will allow you to register your company at their premises. You'll pay a premium for the privilege and extra for mail redirection, but it will save you a fortune in having to invest in premises that you probably don't need yet.

I currently have my company registered to my rented residential address. The contract we signed explicitly stated it was not an option available to me, but talking directly with the landlord resulted in the contract being overruled. You can do all sorts of things when you know what the rules are and are prepared to challenge them in the right way.

Good luck with your continued success!
 
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Ikke

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If you live in the EU you can register a company in any EU country. I believe that the UK is one of the easiest to register an ltd. But holland isn't that hard either I believe. Lots of overseas companies are registered here in Holland with a postbox registered as address.
 

craig1928

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If you live in the EU you can register a company in any EU country. I believe that the UK is one of the easiest to register an ltd. But holland isn't that hard either I believe. Lots of overseas companies are registered here in Holland with a postbox registered as address.

Is there a benefit in doing this?
 

Ikke

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Is there a benefit in doing this?

There quite possibly is.

Taxes could be and advantage. But if you need to have at least 3 people in you company before you can register it, it can become a huge advantage. Also reduced liability, and certain liability protection provided by national laws.
A disadvantage would be that the corporation would be submitted to the national laws and court of the country the business is vested in, in case of a conflict.
I'm sure there are other advantages, and also disadvantages and it's up to you to decide what's good for you. Just showing another option.
 

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