How it all started
After working at Subway for about 4 years, I left and started working full time in the mailroom for a major financial firm in Georgia. I must say, working at Subway has taught me many life and business lessons that are still with me to this day and also was a major influence behind the idea of starting a recycling company.
By 2012, I was working in a totally different department and while I did own a laptop which I hardly ever used, the new promotion gave me a little bit more time on a computer which I used to dabble around online.
At some point doing research about making extra money and building passive income streams, I came across a great forum, Digital Point which is a forum with discussions and topics about everything from building websites, search engine optimization, marketing, design business and much more.
Finding that forum immediately sparked my interest in building websites and blogs. Just the thought of owning a website was amazing to me. Also seeing the fact that there's people making money online and some are even making a living do this, I was even more interested.
One of the best things about the site is that you can also buy and sell websites, scripts, services tools, etc. I began interacting and learning as much as possible from the great people on that site and within a few months later, I bought my very first script for a website I called Wordnia.
Wordnia
The problem was that I did not know anything about coding or working on a website yet alone updating the site with new words and definitions. The only form of monetization the site had was a adsense banner at the top which by the time I was able to find someone to add the adsense code to the site, the domain registration had expired and I gave up on working on the site.
In all, Wordnia was a great learning experience and because of that, I started to educate myself on Outsourcing some of the work I am not able to do. That opened up my eyes to a whole other world of possibilities and eventually lead me to Fiverr, which I've been using to outsource some of my projects like my first 2 mobile apps and a few others I am currently working on.
Although I did give up on that particular site, I did not give on my pursuit to learn about building websites and internet marketing.
Leaving my Job
It was around mid 2014 when I really started getting frustrated because I was not able to take the Time Off from work that I earned when I really needed it. Another reason was because one of the purchasers of the recyclables only operated on weekdays which conflicted with my work schedule so it made it very difficult to turn in the recyclables. At that time, I was not making much money at all, but I saw the potential in it if I could just put my full efforts and time into it.
My lady knew my heart was in the business and everyday waking up to go into work for something I was no longer passionate about was not doing me or the relationship any good.
Over a few months, we discussed the possibility of me leaving the job to grow the business but I was hesitant because it was technically, my only source of income. On the other hand, she was all in for it and constantly pushed for me to leave and have a go at the business full time, but more so, she was just ready for me to make a decision.
We were spending days coming up with ways to cut down bills and unnecessary spending to live comfortably on one income until I can start paying myself from the business. By the way, the things you can really cut down spending on increases as you really focus in on your spending habits.
In between that time, I was invited out on a weekend trip to a mini convention the company was having by a long time friend of mine whom I consider a mentor now and is actually a top independent agent for the same company I was working for full time. For a very long time, we would have discussions about possibly working on the agent side of the business and in an effort to show me the possibilities of the business which I am now very grateful for, he took care of all the expenses of the trip for me and my lady then he invited us to go.
As I mentioned, taking off from work was a very delicate situation so at this point, I felt I was at a crossroads.
"Call out that Friday, go on the trip and deal with my manager later or miss the trip and waste the time and money of someone who is trying to invest in me and help me grow."
What was probably one the biggest decision I will ever make in my life, that week I decided on 2 things: Not only would I call off from work that Friday to go on the trip, I will also give a pre notice to my manager that I will be leaving at the end of the year.
That decision was also based on the fact that I knew I had the full support of my Lady, so in all, I knew I had a small support team to help me steer course on this journey.
Attending the convention which was a first for me, and being around that crowd changed my perspective on many things. We were having dinner and lunch with people from all different backgrounds including some of the top million dollar earners in the company. The conversations we were having was very enlightening but the one thing that captured me was
"Everyone in the building had the same goal and that is Becoming Financially Independent."
It was the the total entrepreneurial spirit of taking what you had at the moment and making it into something big that resonate and made me feel right at home.
After the convention, I came back with a renewed spirit and the motivation the go out and pursue dreams. I began preparing myself mentally and started getting our household in order so when the time comes, we will still be able to function day to day while I focus on growing the business. I also started the licensing process to become a life licensed agent in the state. I figured since I understood the company's product and purchased it, I would be able to sell it and earn so money on the side.
At the end of the day, it was decided. My official last day working on the job would be on December 31, 2014.
First few months as an entrepreneur
My first few days at home was really weird and all I wanted to do was to get to working on the business but my lady recommended that I take a few weeks to relax and get adjusted to the new life of working for myself. Once my little break was over, I began working everyday on building blog sites and content for the sites until I found a truck I could use to haul the recyclables and get the business moving. At first, I was going niche site crazy, just building site after site but I eventually shut many down and focused on a few.
As a newly licensed agent, I began learning as much about the product and the business as possible. Our regular weekly meetings and training which I still attend to this day is something I feel every person should attend at least once in their life. I am very passionate when it comes to business and learning to sell and network are just some of the things you will need to learn if you want to start a business.
The Learning Experience
Just before spring, I finally found a truck that I would be able to use and get the business going. One of my mistakes starting out was not purchasing the truck outright while I had the money. Instead, I decided to pay only two thirds of the cost of the truck upfront and pay the balance off within a few months. The extra money would be used to purchase a certain amount of recycling containers for the clients to get a jump start and earn revenue to pay the balance of the truck and also to continue to grow the client base.
The problem came once I signed on the first few clients. It wasn't the clients fault, it was a simple miscalculation. In an attempt to quickly acquire clients for the business, I signed up anyone that said yes not realizing I should have been a bit more particular in who I signed up in the beginning. The clients were putting out less than the targeted amount I worked out for their type of business. What was happening was that they were not doing much business and would eventually be closed within the next few months.
Eventually the truck was taken back because I was not able to make the payments but I continued for a few months in my personal vehicle until that became to overbearing. Soon after, I ran out of money, no truck, and down to only two clients who barely had anything to recycle. After spending some time debating whether I should continue or not, I decided that I will continue but I really need to step back, reorganize and narrow my focus on major producers.
So I got to work and in the meantime, I would do 2 things: Learn as much as I can about building online businesses and build my client base for what I like to call, my mini agency.
Learning and Expanding Online
Over the next months, I would start to familiarize myself with the likes people who are doing the same things online that I am interested in. I came across many people who were making money online but what kept popping up was these niche site challenges.
There's many niche site challenges that I came across but the ones that I really enjoyed keeping up with are the blogs by Spencer Haws, Pat Flynn, Tung Tran, IncomeJane and Matthew Allen.
While there all quite alike in many ways, each has something unique and different that they bring to the table. Another guy who I was I found myself listening to while working on my sites is Glendon Cameron. His YouTube channel is great and he provides a lot of knowledge to his listeners about business, life, love, and more but it is mainly catered around business. Listening to Glendon also lead me in the direction of Gary Vaynerchuk, which I briefly explained in the Curated Quote, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.
Everything that I have learned and still learning from all of these guys is simply amazing and as you can see, they all were a major inspiration in the journey I am currently on.
Present Day
Currently, my niche site portfolio has grown a little since really taking it seriously for the last year. It's not where I want it to be, but I am gaining some traction which are always outlined in the monthly income reports. There's also a few projects that I am wrapping up that I am excited about releasing.
I've also reorganized the entire recycling business, purchased a new truck outright this time around and focused in on the clients I need to scale the business more quickly and efficiently. I will about this as we go on throughout the year.
In all, leaving my full time job to become an entrepreneur, going out and pursuing my dreams of starting my own businesses has taught me many things about myself, life, and running a business and I am continuing to embrace it all, the Good and the Bad. We also has a new addition to the family, my first child, and it motivates me even more each day to continue pushing and paving the way for what will he his one day.
I continue daily to educate myself across many different topics aside from business like personal development which I also talk about in the monthly income reports. As I continue on this journey, I will keep you guys updated on the progress I am making and I hope you found my story informative and motivational so you too can take the necessary steps to creating your own online businesses! Hope to hear from you soon!
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