My Fastlane Friends!
Let me begin by saying THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thank you, thank you, thank you for contributing to this knowledgable and supportive community that continues to provide so much value. You guys are the best!
I stumbled across TFLF last fall after becoming frustrated with not having many like-minded people in my life to share my entrepreneurial aspirations with. After a few google searches, I discovered this gold mine. I read through the Gold Threads for three straight days. After reading the Gold Threads, I ordered TMF and read it in a weekend (Thank you MJ!).
It feels great to finally become part of the community. I lurked for way too long. I felt I needed tons of business success before I could contribute to the forum (stupid...I know).
A little bit about me:
I'm a 19-year-old avid sports (Go Cubs!), fitness, hip-hop, and stand-up comedy fan from Chicago. I'm currently in college. I decided to go the community college route because it's free and I'm looking to completely avoid student loans. I love learning, but I'm really not a big fan of school.
My first entrepreneurial venture began when I was 8. I'd buy a variety of toys in bulk (pop guns, snappers, light up toys, etc.) and sell them at festivals in the Chicagoland area. This lasted until I was 12.
At 13, I decided to pursue acting. I did this for about two and a half years. I loved it, but the schedule caused me to miss a ton of school, so I eventually stopped acting all together.
My interest in entrepreneurship was sparked again during my senior year of high school. I took a course called Virtual Enterprise International. The whole premise of the course was to allow students to create and run a business. All aspects of the business were real except the money we were earning. We did everything (accounting, sales, marketing, human resources, etc). We even travelled to different states for trade shows. It really simplified the business creation process for me.
After graduating, I made it my mission to learn as much about business as possible. I met with local business owners, got my hand on every business book I could, and made Google and YouTube my best friend (you can learn pretty much anything on those). I used my first year of college to continue learning. This summer has been dedicated to executing. I began by flipping on Craigslist. I saved up enough money flipping to fund my first real venture that I'm currently working on! It's a service that simplifies a complicated process that people go through regularly. I'd give more details, but I'm planning on creating a progress thread. Man, does it feel good to just take action as opposed to sit there and think about it.
Where I plan to be:
One of my favorite entrepreneurs, Gary Vaynerchuk, has a quote that reads something like, "Everything is predicated on my funeral". I couldn't agree more. The legacy that I leave behind is very important to me. I want to inspire and provide value to as many people as possible.
The reason why I get up every morning is my family, specifically my parents. They have sacrificed so much just to get by. They're much older than most of my peers' parents, so it is my goal to spoil them as much as I can while they're around. Things haven't been easy both monetarily and in life in general, so it is my goal to take a lot of the stress off of my family and let them live the life that they want to.
More than wanting the material things that come with financial freedom (believe me...I want those), I want experiences. One of the greatest things about financial freedom is being able to do what you want when you want to. I want to see the world, meet interesting people, and do interesting things. I'm not saying you need to be financially free to do interesting things, being financially free just allows you to do them more often. Being trapped in a cubicle is definitely not for me.
Lastly, I'd like to create some type of charity. I haven't decided exactly what yet. I'm currently looking at different ways to provide low-income youth with more educational opportunities and resources.
Sorry for the long intro. I'm just excited to be here. Hello again to my new Fastlane friends!
Let me begin by saying THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thank you, thank you, thank you for contributing to this knowledgable and supportive community that continues to provide so much value. You guys are the best!
I stumbled across TFLF last fall after becoming frustrated with not having many like-minded people in my life to share my entrepreneurial aspirations with. After a few google searches, I discovered this gold mine. I read through the Gold Threads for three straight days. After reading the Gold Threads, I ordered TMF and read it in a weekend (Thank you MJ!).
It feels great to finally become part of the community. I lurked for way too long. I felt I needed tons of business success before I could contribute to the forum (stupid...I know).
A little bit about me:
I'm a 19-year-old avid sports (Go Cubs!), fitness, hip-hop, and stand-up comedy fan from Chicago. I'm currently in college. I decided to go the community college route because it's free and I'm looking to completely avoid student loans. I love learning, but I'm really not a big fan of school.
My first entrepreneurial venture began when I was 8. I'd buy a variety of toys in bulk (pop guns, snappers, light up toys, etc.) and sell them at festivals in the Chicagoland area. This lasted until I was 12.
At 13, I decided to pursue acting. I did this for about two and a half years. I loved it, but the schedule caused me to miss a ton of school, so I eventually stopped acting all together.
My interest in entrepreneurship was sparked again during my senior year of high school. I took a course called Virtual Enterprise International. The whole premise of the course was to allow students to create and run a business. All aspects of the business were real except the money we were earning. We did everything (accounting, sales, marketing, human resources, etc). We even travelled to different states for trade shows. It really simplified the business creation process for me.
After graduating, I made it my mission to learn as much about business as possible. I met with local business owners, got my hand on every business book I could, and made Google and YouTube my best friend (you can learn pretty much anything on those). I used my first year of college to continue learning. This summer has been dedicated to executing. I began by flipping on Craigslist. I saved up enough money flipping to fund my first real venture that I'm currently working on! It's a service that simplifies a complicated process that people go through regularly. I'd give more details, but I'm planning on creating a progress thread. Man, does it feel good to just take action as opposed to sit there and think about it.
Where I plan to be:
One of my favorite entrepreneurs, Gary Vaynerchuk, has a quote that reads something like, "Everything is predicated on my funeral". I couldn't agree more. The legacy that I leave behind is very important to me. I want to inspire and provide value to as many people as possible.
The reason why I get up every morning is my family, specifically my parents. They have sacrificed so much just to get by. They're much older than most of my peers' parents, so it is my goal to spoil them as much as I can while they're around. Things haven't been easy both monetarily and in life in general, so it is my goal to take a lot of the stress off of my family and let them live the life that they want to.
More than wanting the material things that come with financial freedom (believe me...I want those), I want experiences. One of the greatest things about financial freedom is being able to do what you want when you want to. I want to see the world, meet interesting people, and do interesting things. I'm not saying you need to be financially free to do interesting things, being financially free just allows you to do them more often. Being trapped in a cubicle is definitely not for me.
Lastly, I'd like to create some type of charity. I haven't decided exactly what yet. I'm currently looking at different ways to provide low-income youth with more educational opportunities and resources.
Sorry for the long intro. I'm just excited to be here. Hello again to my new Fastlane friends!
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