I was a strange kid.  At the age of 11 I would come home from school and immediately turn on the AM radio (on my Sony Walkman - remember those?) to listen to "Business Talk Radio".  Who does that? 

Over the years as a pre-teen I learned about banking, finance, retirement accounts, stock market investing - I was so upset when I found out I had to wait to age 18 before I could invest in the stock market!

My first business was selling candy at school in the 2nd grade.  I started with a modest 25 cent investment from a quarter I found on the sidewalk.  Within a week I had $12.50!  This business continued for years.

My second business (at age 12) was doing electronic repair for the neighbors and my teachers at school.  I would fix broken Walkmans, televisions, stereo equipment, CB radios, VCRs, etc.  I did this until I graduated high school.

Later, I succesfully negotiated a deal with the local Radio Shack franchise to collect broken items from customer's (while I was at school) then I would fix them after school and split the proceeds with Radio Shack.

This was how I got around the labor laws that prevented me from being employed before age 15.  I just had my own business!

My third business was a Pager and Cellphone store in Santa Rosa, CA.  From 1996 - 2001 I was awarded as the number 2 reseller for PageNet for all of Northern California.

At this time, my fourth venture was in real estate investment and property management.  I sure learned a lot about banking, loans, dealing with tenants, home repair, etc...  I was fortunate to get into the housing market in California at a great time!

I then went on to my fifth adventure and opened a no-alcohol nightclub for teenagers.  I wanted to provide a fun & safe place for teenagers to "hang out" and keep them out of trouble on weekends.

My sixth endeavor was an Internet startup in 2002 for a dating website.  This was the pioneer days of the Internet comparable to the wild wild west.  There were few social norms and guidlines on how to run an Internet business - this was also right after the infamous "dot com crash"  The business did surprisingly well for a few years until my attention was drawn to an emerging market in my seventh company.

Seventh - I started a mobile computer repair service that provided in-home and in-office repair and installations.  This was when I really got to meet hundreds of small business owners and learn about their struggles and help them to implement technology in their business.  I sold this business a few years later with an established loyal client base and 4 employees.

After that, my eighth was a videography company.  We mostly created 30 second commercials for local small business owners to broadcast on Comcast cable.  I really enjoyed working with small business owners.

Ninth - I went back to the Internet with an Internet Startup venture.  I got the full exposure to the silicon valley lifestyle.  I went into investment pitches (think "Shark Tank") and had meals with Investors.

I then moved to Colorado and continued coaching small business owners.  I took an active role in helping 2 nutracutical companies to skyrocket their businesses.  One of them is now grossing over $1.1M in annual revenue.