Greetings,
I've owned a manufacturing service based business along with a partner for three and a half years now in Dallas Texas. My prior experience was in leadership in HR and IT. I really don't know where to start with sharing about my journey, other than I feel like I could already write a book already about all the mistakes I made and crazy stories along the way, that if nothing else would be helpful and also highly entertaining. There's been blood, sweat, and embarrassingly literal tears one day 2 and a half years ago when I felt like we weren't going to make it. We bought the business which has been around for 40 years, with an SBA loan at 10% down, and it has felt like the same mistake as paying 0 down on a home mortgage back in the day. We've never missed a payment, but it seems like all of my decisions revolve around making sure we can pay our SBA. It has been a grind, and I've had to make some tough calls along the way when times got tough that I play over in my head over and over. However, I'm not sure what I can other than learn from the mistakes and make sure I don't make them again. Adding to the fun is I've had to deal with unexplained seizures (I had one the day I bought my business), but I am working through this and otherwise a blessed guy with a great wife and kids. I have a coach now who I love and helps me with weekly cash flow statements, some decision making, and in general is there for me on the days where I wonder if it is all worth it.
For the most part we are going in a really positive direction, and I now feel like I understand the industry and what building a Fastlane business can look like. We have a couple of celebrity customers now, and are making a few products that actually make others money rather than just being an expense line that are more profitable for us as well. It has felt like we were close to breaking through multiple times. I need to get out of a lot of the customer facing part of the business in order to execute on the products and services that will give me the most leverage. I have a lead gen idea that solves one of the biggest issues for my customers I'd love to execute soon that I think could be a game changer.
When reading your weekly email on Enshittification & LiquidWeb this week @MJ DeMarco it really resonated. I've dealt with that for a key portal vendor I have for a few of my biggest customers. It has caused me quite a bit of pain and frustration. I'll also add, some of my biggest mistakes have centered around buying software where I think I'm going to save myself time which would also be money, only to find it I still need to invest the same amount of my time using the software, and I get the added fun of an additional expense and dealing with their customer support and constant upsells
. I'm getting better and learning each day though.
Thanks for having me on the forum!
Chris
I've owned a manufacturing service based business along with a partner for three and a half years now in Dallas Texas. My prior experience was in leadership in HR and IT. I really don't know where to start with sharing about my journey, other than I feel like I could already write a book already about all the mistakes I made and crazy stories along the way, that if nothing else would be helpful and also highly entertaining. There's been blood, sweat, and embarrassingly literal tears one day 2 and a half years ago when I felt like we weren't going to make it. We bought the business which has been around for 40 years, with an SBA loan at 10% down, and it has felt like the same mistake as paying 0 down on a home mortgage back in the day. We've never missed a payment, but it seems like all of my decisions revolve around making sure we can pay our SBA. It has been a grind, and I've had to make some tough calls along the way when times got tough that I play over in my head over and over. However, I'm not sure what I can other than learn from the mistakes and make sure I don't make them again. Adding to the fun is I've had to deal with unexplained seizures (I had one the day I bought my business), but I am working through this and otherwise a blessed guy with a great wife and kids. I have a coach now who I love and helps me with weekly cash flow statements, some decision making, and in general is there for me on the days where I wonder if it is all worth it.
For the most part we are going in a really positive direction, and I now feel like I understand the industry and what building a Fastlane business can look like. We have a couple of celebrity customers now, and are making a few products that actually make others money rather than just being an expense line that are more profitable for us as well. It has felt like we were close to breaking through multiple times. I need to get out of a lot of the customer facing part of the business in order to execute on the products and services that will give me the most leverage. I have a lead gen idea that solves one of the biggest issues for my customers I'd love to execute soon that I think could be a game changer.
When reading your weekly email on Enshittification & LiquidWeb this week @MJ DeMarco it really resonated. I've dealt with that for a key portal vendor I have for a few of my biggest customers. It has caused me quite a bit of pain and frustration. I'll also add, some of my biggest mistakes have centered around buying software where I think I'm going to save myself time which would also be money, only to find it I still need to invest the same amount of my time using the software, and I get the added fun of an additional expense and dealing with their customer support and constant upsells
. I'm getting better and learning each day though.Thanks for having me on the forum!
Chris
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?
