How did I get here?

Wow .. that's a loaded question.  Why didn't I give myself a softball...

I have had an entrepreneurial spirit for a number of years.  It dates back to 2003, when my friend, along with his father started a media equipment company.  I was hooked from day one.  I learned everything I could about their industry.  I learned about franchising, institutional investing, and so much more.  When they took their small company public, I was amazed.  Even though I wasn't an accredited investor, I dug my way in.  It was so exciting  (foreshadowing: I lost it all).  For the next five years, I paid attention to every little thing.  As the country entered freefall into the "economic downturn" their institutional investor called in the loan before they declared bankruptcy and quickly closed.  This HUGE electronics company is no longer here, and sadly, their demise killed my friend's company (and my relatively small investment).

I still morn the loss of the company and my investment, but at the same time my entrepreneurial itch hasn't left me.  When I had more time I would read magazines like Fortune, Fast Company, and Inc.  Still to this day, these are my favorite things to read while traveling.  I LOVE learning about how people made it big or pushed on while struggling to make ends meet.  

Well, for almost 15 years I have been trying to figure out how to scratch my itch.  If you have been around me at all you'll hear me talk about the power of franchises.  Most people have NO idea that most of the chains that we eat at, shop at, or use to clean our carpets are NOT company stores, they are franchises.  While the big boys like McDonald's, Panera, ServPro, and others might cost over a million dollars to buy into (not to mention build out of a store), other franchises can cost $30,000-40,000 to open.  Examples of these might be a Postnet (similar to UPS Store) or Hallmark Cards.

The same holds true with Real Estate offices in many cases.  Companies like Prudential, ReMax, Keller Williams, and ERA Hunt all franchise their offices. .. more on that later

I decided at some point in the past that one of the low cost franchises would be the best way for me to get into the business world, despite my deep love of education (and all the coursework I have completed).  The problem with these low cost franchises is their propensity to be "fads" and thus have a relatively short lifespan (ex. being Sell It and other eBay stores).   Unless I wanted to open something in the service industry (like a dry cleaner or carpet cleaning service) the other options were just too risky for the long term.  Think about this.  It's one thing to open a Five Guys Burger but it's another to open Three Kids Burger (fake) because there is no name recognition.  The chances of long term success of Three Kids Burger is small, especially for someone who needs/wants to get into this part time.

There had to be another way to scratch that itch ... 

NOTE:  Probably at this point it's important to say that I came to the conclusion that I really wanted to EARN MORE MONEY around 2016.   I knew that the only real way I would commit to this is through scratching my itch at the same time.  I was past getting a job at the local grocery store.