Reintroduction

[CDM]

I want to be more active on this forum, so I thought I would start by writing a more thorough introduction, as the one I wrote back in 2013-2014 was pretty weak.

COVID kicked my last business in the balls, so I’ve been quiet on the forum for about a year now while thinking about “what’s next” and of course, putting things into action. Since October I’ve been building a new product and getting my marketing ducks in a row for a late April launch. Once launched I’ll start a new Progress Thread. I probably should have started that in October, but I was busy doing, and didn’t give much thought to writing about doing.

Anyways, here is a more complete “about me” and why I am here:

I’ve been trying to live Unscripted my entire life. I realized very young that the prescribed way of doing things was complete BS - and at 15 I left home. I have been on my own ever since (with the exception of 6 months back at home when I was 17).

In between then and now (I’m 44) I’ve tried and (mostly) failed at many things that I thought were “entrepreneurial” at the time. In hindsight, many of these things were not entrepreneurial at all, but they seemed like it at the time. I’ve had a few minor successes, but nothing worth getting excited about. But the one underlying theme through my entire life was the desire to write my own rules. Here’s a list of some of things I’ve been or done:

*1st FTD here*
Homeless
Professional musician
Reptile breeder
Salesperson
*2nd FTD here*
Financial Advisor
Made a card game
(Read TMF here)
Built a website for sports fans
Made custom magazines
CCO
Built a marketplace for the wedding industry

My first FTE came when I got kicked out of a Jesuit High School because I refused to kneel in church. I had been an atheist since I was 12, but my parents refused to accept that and forced me to continue going to religious schools. Eventually, I decided I couldn’t stand it any longer. After hearing the news of my expulsion, my dad threatened to kick my a$$ when I got home, so I just never went home. I know that may not be an FTE in the sense MJ had in mind, but it counts in my book as I realized at the time that I have far more control of my life than I thought I did at the time.

My second FTE occurred at 29 after I got evicted from my apartment. I had a bad breakup with a long distance girlfriend and lost my shitty sales job within a few weeks of each other. Long distance relationships are fake relationships and my sales job was a fake job… and I couldn’t even keep those. I was disgusted that I couldn’t even succeed at fake things. I decided I could no longer live unsuccessfully. I said “F*ck this” to being poor and lonely. I know that also isn’t exactly what MJ had in mind, but it also counts in my book.

Both of those events were totally life changing to me and drive me everyday. I write my own rules and I’ve managed to be successful while writing my own rules.

I do have a family, a career, a mortgage, and between my wife and I we make about $150k a yr. - all things which I know can all be seen as disadvantages when it comes to being an entrepreneur. But I also have the funds needed to put my ideas into motion. I have a wife that supports my endeavors, who also happens to be a very talented professional graphic designer. She is always willing to create logos and other graphics for me when I ask. I see all of these things as advantages, not disadvantages. Anybody who would argue that I'm not "hungry" because of my current comfort level, simply doesn't know me.

The other advantage I’ve designed into my life is an abundance of time. I don’t have total control of my time (yet). But I have a lot. MJ really helped me see with clarity just how important time is and it’s been a priority for me since.

My previous day job was as Chief Compliance Officer for a small financial firm. I had 65 reps under me, but it was a total time suck, as I was sitting in an office 9 hours a day. Thankfully, I could close my office door and work on my business during some of that time, but going into the office everyday was hard on the soul.

I spent over a year trying to get my current job, which is a remote auditor for a much larger financial firm. A job I’ve had for 2 years now. I’m a very efficient person and get my job done in about 20 hrs per week, which leaves me plenty of free time to build my ideas.

I consider myself to be extremely fortunate that I was able to find a day job that allows me to work on my business EVERYDAY, while still bringing in a great paycheck.

Making six figures while working 20 hrs. a week is pretty awesome in the mind of a former homeless runaway. But I love building things and I love learning and nearly all of my energy goes into those two things. So even though I still need to spend 20 hrs a week working for “the man”, I spend about 50 hrs a wk building my dreams. More often than not I am up early working on code or marketing campaigns and cannot get enough.

So there's my past and present in a nutshell. Going forward, I really want to contribute more. I've made a lot of mistakes, but have also learned a lot on this journey, and throughout my life in general. So my intention is to both speak more about my journey and to look for places to help others wherever possible.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Thank you for sharing. Awesome to hear the wife is onboard, and with a skillset that could help!

 

[Deleted78083]

So many life lessons in this intro, thx for sharing!

 

[juresesko]

Incredible story. I wish you good luck on your next venture.
Btw how did you make money when you were still a teenager?

 

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[CDM]

Btw how did you make money when you were still a teenager?

I assume you mean when I was 15. My step sister worked in a government social services building where she managed to get me a job as a line cook in the cafeteria.

I also sold weed.