At the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, I started a business with $41 and was profitable after my first sale. I don’t have a business plan and never prepared a pitch deck. I took no outside money and own 100% of my company. I reinvested every dollar I ever made back into the business. I have over 5,000 satisfied customers and If I can do it so can you.
“I was shopping at Salvation Army for a dress shirt for a job interview. l saw an old leather belt on the rack for $1. I looked at it and thought man I could shorten that up and it would be a great dog collar.
So I ditched OPERATION dress shirt and bought that $1 salty belt from Salvation Army, cut it smaller, added new hardware, and BAM a Dog collar! After looking at my work I thought DANG that looks pretty good, I bet I could sell one!
I bought an e-commerce subscription for $25, a domain name for $15, took a few photos with my iPhone, whipped up an adobe illustrator logo, and BOOM! I was in BUSINESS!
But let’s BACK UP….Yeah, that’s right with $41.00 and two hands I built the foundation of a business and was profitable on day one.
So what did I do next?
I went to every Goodwill, Salvation Army, and thrift store in a 25-mile radius every day and bought every old belt they had on the rack. I was on a first-name basis with the kind folks at the counter who eventually started saving the old belts for me! Most of the time they had a pile ready for me as soon as I walked through the door!
You can bet I got some strange looks WALKING OUT the front door with 20-30 of the crustiest belts you’ve ever seen slung over my shoulder! But I was a man on a MISSON once again and was ALL IN! I found a way to provide for myself.
I HAD IT with sleeping in bright parking lots, people trying to break into my truck, and security guards tapping on the window saying I couldn’t sleep there. If I sold just a few dog collars a day I would have enough money for an AIRBNB!
My "production facility" was UPGRADED from the back of my truck to now the kitchen counter of an Airbnb host like this photo below! I did this for a few weeks until I could finally rent a house on a month-to-month basis.”
My point is that the U.S.A. is the greatest country in the world especially for aspiring entrepreneurs. Opportunity is always in abundance and I hope my story encourages others in their dreams, passions, and journey. Rise up and keep hammering!
www.Mackbelts.com