There was a time when I was $80,000+ in debt. 5 credit cards maxed out. Less than $100 in my checking account with the rent due date coming up. I had to borrow money from a friend to make rent that month. During this time, I had multiple engineering jobs and got fired multiple times. It was a bit of a dark time for me personally especially as I saw my friends surge ahead with their careers in the corporate sector.
Oh and if you were wondering, the $80k in debt was a cadet loan (as I was in ROTC), which I ended up giving to my mom so she could have some breathing room. Here’s how we dug out of this hole.
I abandoned the engineering field and read about SEO (search engine optimization). Joined every single local networking groups that I could find and talked to anybody who would listen. I got a client, then another client. Then I lost a client, then I gained a client. This roller coaster ride went on for years. I kept my head down for 7 years.
We only ate from the value menu, cooked at home, shared a single cup of coffee from Starbucks, didn’t go out to eat, didn’t travel, drove very modest cars and pinched every single penny. Our friends were buying flashy cars, traveling and spending money to a point where we FELT like everybody was living their best lives while we were struggling (by choice).
Eventually, we found ourselves debt-free with a small pile of cash in our bank account. One day, I realized I wasn’t happy doing consulting so I asked my trainer which 5 products he would recommend to any of his clients. We invested about $20,000 into manufacturing these 5 products, testing and shipping. Nothing was selling and expiration dates were looming in the back of my mind. One of my clients suggested that I get my supplements onto Amazon. I thought it was a great idea because I had a strong background in search engine algorithms and also to reclaim my garage space. This was the start of our Amazon journey and the rest is history.