Looking at this photo above. I can understand why people thought my "arts and crafts project" was dumb and I needed to get a REAL JOB.... But this was the foundation of a successful business....
I started out making dog collars. Buying old belts from thrift stores and shortened them up and sold them on social media
I was ADDICTED because I learned how working with my hands brought me quiet between the ears that I needed and helped with symptoms from TBI that ended my Navy SEAL career.
With $41 I started a business after not being able to find a job during the COVID-19 lockdown. I couldn't speak very well. I had chunky prism glasses.
Here is what happened when I chose to... Keep Hammering
I ran my company on the countertops and in the garages of Airbnbs!
Then I thought I really had it made when I saved up enough money to get a tiny 1 bedroom apartment and move my "arts and crafts" project into that garage
Then I thought I really had it made when I bought my first commercial-grade sewing machine and $500 workbenches… then another and another and another
Then I thought I really had it made when celebrities like Joe Rogan were buying my belts
Then I thought I really had it made when I put my key in the front door turned the lock and flipped on the lights of the building with my name on it!
I wish I could say I was welcomed by SUCCESS with arms wide open. That my concept just soared from the beginning.
But it was quite the opposite... I had to FIGHT
I ate failure after failure and kept going!
I was rejected by shark tank and other investment companies because my company was not scalable but I kept going!
I was ripped off countless times by people, celebrities, influencers, podcasters who said they would help me... But kept going!
I was told NO countless times by store owners because my product was too expensive... but kept going!
I was laughed at by old friends and family "Haha he makes dog collars..." But I kept going!
I was told, “You won’t make it” or “get realistic” and "Hey you should join this company.." But I kept going!
I kept going. I kept going and I KEEP going
Now I have a successful company with a seven-figure valuation and much of that success is because of people like you who believed in me and gave me a job working with my hands!
The same people who laughed are the same people who now congratulate me
The same people who once interviewed me as a candidate now ask me to sit on their board
The most unstoppable force in the world is someone who believes in themselves and has to courage to take their idea and go against the WORLD!
Set your goals so high that people laugh! Then Keep Hammering
Because if I can do it… So can YOU
There is no shortage of people who will critique, criticize, or "CANT" you... Let the unbelief of others create a huge chip on your shoulder that becomes a massive energy source to draw from. Prove them all wrong and then with a HUGE SMILE on your face shake their hand!
See you at the top!
