My dad was an alcoholic and a drug dealer. He physically abused my mom, my brother, and me. By the time I was 10, my mom grabbed us and left because her life was literally being threatened. We grew up poor — social security, welfare, my mom cleaning houses with a disability just to keep food on the table. That woman is a hustler. That's where I got it from.
I spent most of my 20s in youth ministry. Traveled across 40+ states and internationally — Singapore, Brazil, Mexico — helping teenagers find purpose and build community. I loved every minute of it. But by the time I was almost 30, I was broke. About $30K in debt. Making maybe $3K a month. Something had to change.
So I moved back in with my mom, started driving Uber, and started flipping stuff on OfferUp and Craigslist. Then my brother and I started selling hoverboards — made about $70K in 90 days right before Christmas. That gave me the confidence to go all in on entrepreneurship.
Then I went down every rabbit hole you can imagine. Dropshipping, affiliate marketing, Amazon FBA, penny stocks, online surveys, Instagram flipping, Kindle publishing. Most of them failed. I spent over $20K on courses trying to find something that stuck.
Then I found local lead generation — building websites, ranking them on Google, and leasing the leads to local businesses. That's the one that clicked. Went from $3K a month to $10K, then kept going. That business still runs today. But the real story is what came next.
