Hello from the FASTLANE!!
.........is what I hope to say within the next 5 years
As for now I'll just introduce myself as a Adam from Houston, TX. I'm 25 years old, moved down to Houston about 6 years ago and love it down here.
I'll do this two ways, the twitter version: in less then 140 characters, and then a detailed version: full of run-on sentences and anecdotes. Feel free to pick which ever you want to read.
The short story: Young entrepreneur. Car lover. Fishing/Hunting enthusiast. Creativity is my passion. New ideas and ventures keep me awake at night.
The long story: Born in a small town with a population of 189 where I walked uphill to school both ways, barefoot, for 8 miles...............
:bsmeter:
Just kidding - I'm 25 years old, an entrepreneur, and a small business owner. I own a company that specializes in print and web marketing. We offer services like print and marketing collateral, web design, and marketing. I started the company from the ground up in a storage unit (they offered warehouse/office combo, not like an 8x10 with a folding chair like you're imagining! ). I was working with another guy at the time who was offering screen printing and vinyl services. I kind of fell into starting this company when I was 21. It's actually similar to someone else on here's story which you all should know. Someone came to me and said Hey! Can you design me a website? It was one of those things when you're paying your way through college and working full time that you jump at the chance to make an "easy" $500. I say "easy" because ironically, I've found throughout the past several years, the cheapest clients are the worst to work with. So after I built this one site they said Okay, looks great! Now how much an hour for maintenance? .......uhhh? What? I hadn't looked this far ahead. I never once thought that there would be a relationship after this point. Boldly I said $20/hr! She said Sounds great, we'll let you know when we have to add or update some content. I was shocked, someone was going to pay me $20 an hour to just change some text on a website? Phew this is easy money. Well she told one person, who told another person, who told another person, and the business began to grow. Then I met a guy through a mutual friend who was interested in doing an internship with me, who I eventually ended up bringing on as a business partner, which was the best choice I ever made. He's now one of my best friends and shares the same entrepreneurial mindset. As we began to grow the business I decided to drop out of college to focus on growing the company. I figured hey, you can always go back to school, but right now i'm young, single, free from kids or any real obligation, why not give it a shot.
That was over 3 years ago. As we've grown we have picked up bigger clients, but i'm still a slave to the business, working 10-15 hours a day trying to knock out projects while managing everyday business tasks, not a fastlane model at all at this stage. I wish when I was younger I would have been as smart as MJ and say waaaait a minute... This money I'm generating is solely dependent on my time. I would have instituted other measures to generate more passive income, and thats is why I'm still in the slowlane. The truth is, with this line of work, I feel like it's so over-saturated, that even the things that set us apart, aren't that distinct from other companies. It seems as though everyone is a graphic or web designer. Even Joe's grandma down the street is a graphic designer, even if she uses MS Paint and clipart, in their eyes, our job is the same. I love what I do, but I don't know that this particular job at this rate will net me the fastlane lifestyle I wish to achieve, unless I commit the next 40 years to building this up, and then having money to retire at 65 and living a "comfortable lifestyle". That sounds like a terrible idea..... which is why I read this forum every night.
I know this is my introduction, but I've been reading the forum for over a month now, just haven't posted anything, but I figured it was time to start getting more involved, and having my questions answered, or contributing what I can to the community. I have a passion for entrepreneurship, I love meeting new people and coming across new opportunities. I don't know what or how I will be successful (fastlane successful), but it will happen. So far at this point in my life I've had 3 "unsuccessful" business ventures, all before I could legally drink. I'd like to say the last one is my last one, but the honest truth is no one can predict that. I put "unsuccessful" because I don't like saying that they failed. Did they? Yes in the sense that they didn't succeed, but I feel as though I took away so much from these things that I can't call it a failure, I actually grew with each experience - as they each taught me a lesson.
I'm still seeking opportunities in everything I do, and will continue to turn to the forum for advice and insight from the tons of knowledgeable people here. I hope that gave yall some insight into "the new guy".
.........is what I hope to say within the next 5 years
As for now I'll just introduce myself as a Adam from Houston, TX. I'm 25 years old, moved down to Houston about 6 years ago and love it down here.
I'll do this two ways, the twitter version: in less then 140 characters, and then a detailed version: full of run-on sentences and anecdotes. Feel free to pick which ever you want to read.
The short story: Young entrepreneur. Car lover. Fishing/Hunting enthusiast. Creativity is my passion. New ideas and ventures keep me awake at night.
The long story: Born in a small town with a population of 189 where I walked uphill to school both ways, barefoot, for 8 miles...............
:bsmeter:
Just kidding - I'm 25 years old, an entrepreneur, and a small business owner. I own a company that specializes in print and web marketing. We offer services like print and marketing collateral, web design, and marketing. I started the company from the ground up in a storage unit (they offered warehouse/office combo, not like an 8x10 with a folding chair like you're imagining! ). I was working with another guy at the time who was offering screen printing and vinyl services. I kind of fell into starting this company when I was 21. It's actually similar to someone else on here's story which you all should know. Someone came to me and said Hey! Can you design me a website? It was one of those things when you're paying your way through college and working full time that you jump at the chance to make an "easy" $500. I say "easy" because ironically, I've found throughout the past several years, the cheapest clients are the worst to work with. So after I built this one site they said Okay, looks great! Now how much an hour for maintenance? .......uhhh? What? I hadn't looked this far ahead. I never once thought that there would be a relationship after this point. Boldly I said $20/hr! She said Sounds great, we'll let you know when we have to add or update some content. I was shocked, someone was going to pay me $20 an hour to just change some text on a website? Phew this is easy money. Well she told one person, who told another person, who told another person, and the business began to grow. Then I met a guy through a mutual friend who was interested in doing an internship with me, who I eventually ended up bringing on as a business partner, which was the best choice I ever made. He's now one of my best friends and shares the same entrepreneurial mindset. As we began to grow the business I decided to drop out of college to focus on growing the company. I figured hey, you can always go back to school, but right now i'm young, single, free from kids or any real obligation, why not give it a shot.
That was over 3 years ago. As we've grown we have picked up bigger clients, but i'm still a slave to the business, working 10-15 hours a day trying to knock out projects while managing everyday business tasks, not a fastlane model at all at this stage. I wish when I was younger I would have been as smart as MJ and say waaaait a minute... This money I'm generating is solely dependent on my time. I would have instituted other measures to generate more passive income, and thats is why I'm still in the slowlane. The truth is, with this line of work, I feel like it's so over-saturated, that even the things that set us apart, aren't that distinct from other companies. It seems as though everyone is a graphic or web designer. Even Joe's grandma down the street is a graphic designer, even if she uses MS Paint and clipart, in their eyes, our job is the same. I love what I do, but I don't know that this particular job at this rate will net me the fastlane lifestyle I wish to achieve, unless I commit the next 40 years to building this up, and then having money to retire at 65 and living a "comfortable lifestyle". That sounds like a terrible idea..... which is why I read this forum every night.
I know this is my introduction, but I've been reading the forum for over a month now, just haven't posted anything, but I figured it was time to start getting more involved, and having my questions answered, or contributing what I can to the community. I have a passion for entrepreneurship, I love meeting new people and coming across new opportunities. I don't know what or how I will be successful (fastlane successful), but it will happen. So far at this point in my life I've had 3 "unsuccessful" business ventures, all before I could legally drink. I'd like to say the last one is my last one, but the honest truth is no one can predict that. I put "unsuccessful" because I don't like saying that they failed. Did they? Yes in the sense that they didn't succeed, but I feel as though I took away so much from these things that I can't call it a failure, I actually grew with each experience - as they each taught me a lesson.
I'm still seeking opportunities in everything I do, and will continue to turn to the forum for advice and insight from the tons of knowledgeable people here. I hope that gave yall some insight into "the new guy".
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