Perhaps the greatest achievement to entrepreneurial success is not the monetary gain, but rather the satisfaction of knowing you’ve made your parents proud. For some individuals like Gino Gargiulo, his father never had an opportunity to witness his success due an early passing. Vowing to make his father proud, Gino took a chance with a mobile oil change business that was dominated by well known brands to become a recognized small business in Florida. Today, his business has grown to an 8 figure empire and has expanded to different verticals within the automotive repair and customization niche.
Secret Academy Episode – Shawn Thomas
From 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.
Following the Money vs Focusing on Passion
There are many people who email us at Secret Entourage saying that they are not sure if they should follow their passion or follow the money. The simple answer is that both are great. There is no reason why you shouldn’t follow your passion if you know what it is, and you know how to act on it. At the same…
Secret Academy Episode – Kelly Lundberg
Kelly Lundberg was born in Scotland and decided in her early 20’s that she wanted to travel the world. She moved to Dubai and became an air stewardess for Emirates Airlines to fulfill that dream while making a living at the same time. A self-proclaimed people-person, she frequently chatted with passengers about their travel plans and over time noticed a gap in the market of advising people where to go, what to see, where to shop, how to dress, etc. A lightbulb went off in Kelly’s head, she took out a loan to start her own personal styling agency, and StyleMeDevine was born. What started out as one-on-one personal styling sessions and experiences for men and women wanting to feel fantastic in their clothes turned into corporate branding and teaching other personal stylists how to open their own businesses.
5 Lessons We Can Take Away From the New Steve Jobs Movie
First off let me simply say that this may spoil the movie, so if you haven’t seen it or really want to experience it, stop reading. Go watch it and then come back to this article after. The best part of the new Steve Jobs movie was not the business learning or the insane success of Apple, but that the majority…
Secret Academy Episode – Jesse Lakes
In 2009, Jesse Lakes launched a series of websites that used iTunes and Amazon affiliate programs, but he and his partner soon noticed that there was a problem monetizing geo-fragmented audiences due to the country-specific affiliate programs. Because the affiliate sites weren’t optimized to be used in various other countries, there was a loss of potential sales that was occurring. After coming up with a solution to this problem, Jesse wrote a book about the Apple iTunes affiliate program entitled ‘Mastering the iTunes Affiliate Program’ and was slapped with a cease and desist letter; however, after Apple exec’s reviewed his book, they ended up offering him a job to manage their affiliate program. He left Apple a few years later to pursue his own geo-targeting business, thus Geniuslink (formerly Georiot) was born and has served over 1 billion clicks.
Secret to Success – John Temerian
John Temerian, President of Lou La Vie, knows a thing or two about relationships: “People forget the importance of customer service and doing the right thing. It’s about relationships. It’s doing the right thing because you’re going to tell five other people, “Wow, these guys really stepped up to the plate.” Relationships are important in any business. The knowledge that you share with people I think is so important because I never learned that in school. It’s the basics of doing the right thing in your relationships. It’s the basics of understanding the tricks of the trade of any industry that you’re not going to learn in school. You will learn that being in business. That is so key. It’s so key in any business; the relationships.”