Secret Academy Episode - Shawn ThomasFrom a young age, Shawn Thomas knew he wanted to be an influencer, a motivator, an entertainer. He was always the type of person to be up front, center stage, and take risks in his life. In his early 20's he decided that instead of going back to college to earn a degree, he wanted to start his own business. So Shawn moved to Memphis, TN and got a job selling insurance while also working at a restaurant to supplement his income. He did this for three years, and in 2002 he came up with an idea to provide public computers and accompanying software to hotels for their guests to use. This idea would eventually blossom into a $20+ million company called Uniguest that was later acquired, which allowed Shawn to retire much earlier than most. Today, Shawn has over 384,000 followers on Instagram as @askamillionaire motivating, inspiring, and mentoring young entrepreneurs.
- How he supplemented his income while undertaking entrepreneurship
- What steps he took to take an idea and make it into a legitimate company
- Finding the software to use for his business, and eventually hiring his own developers to be able to create custom software
- Using his sales background to pitch the product to hotels
- How he secured his first investor and business partner to launch his business off the ground
- Working from the bottom to the top and then from the top to the bottom to maximize sales growth
- How he was able to go from a one-man show to a full fledged company with a staff
- The deterioration of his business partnership, and the subsequent events that finally led to the sale of Uniguest
- The one vital component to a successful relationship
- Why making a business plan in advance will help entrepreneurs
