[quadzilla]

My story is ugly. This may give you an idea from the perspective of a guy that made some bad decisions and had some bad luck but, still came out ahead.

- I grew up lower middle class in a small town. Graduated from a state school in '97 with a liberal arts degree. Had about a 2.0 GPA due to too much partying and generally not worrying about the future. Had no idea what to do after graduation.

- Stayed in college town managing a movie theater and still partying constantly. After about 6 month moved back in with parents in home town. Got a job bartending and rented my own place. Did this for about a year. Still partying like crazy.

- Decided it was time to get a day job. Got a job working for the government paying about $26K in '99. At the time it seemed great. After a ccouple of years I realized that the state job would never go anywhere and I was ready for a change. Some of my buddies were headhunters in Chicago making good money so I decided to give it a try.

- Got a job with a small search firm in the suburbs in March of 2001. I spent my last dollar to move up to Chicago area and pay the security deposit on a studio apt in the burbs. My job was straight commission and I signed on at this apt because I could pay rent with my credit card. The job went pretty well considering what happened in 2001 with 9/11 and the economy. Made about $50K in 2001.

- In early 2002 the firm I was working for was having problems so I decided to do something more stable. I got a job doing inside sales for a fortune 500 company. I couldn't stand the politics and micromanaging so I quit after about 1 month. I knew at this point that I wasn't cut out for the corporate world.

- I took a job with another search firm in the city. The company seemed solid and they were offering a base salary + commission. Unfortunatley they had a lot of operational issues and I only closed one deal in six months. At this point I was about $16K in credit card debt. Time for another change. This was at the end of '02 and I only made about $35K that year.

- I needed money quickly so I decided to give mortgage banking a try. I got a job with a mortgage company that paid a draw and offered a lot of good leads. The split wasn't as good as most other companies but, with the leads they gave I felt that I could do well there. I was fairly successful almost immediatley and was able to purchase my first property in 2003. I was still about $20K in credit card debt at this point. After a year and a half I decided to go to work for a company that offfered a better split and quit in spring of '04.

- The new company turned out to be a horrible situation and I left after about 2 weeks. This was pretty much rock bottom. I had credit card debt and a mortgage and I needed to make money NOW!

- To add insult to injury I went back to work for my original employer and was back doing search work at a straight commission job. In three years I was back at the exact same desk where I started in the exact same situation. As hard as this was to take I felt the job market was really picking up and I could see how much opportunity there was. I worked hard and ended up making about $90K in 2005. Initially it was great, I came in and did my job and the owners didn't bother me. They promoted me to a manager role in the summer of 2005 and I hired a 2 guys to work under me and they did really well. Unfortunatley with the new role I had to take a lot of heat from one of the owners. At this point I started to think about leaving to start my own company and talked about it all of the time. As much sense as it made to leave I always found an excuse to stick around. It is tough to leave a job making good money no matter what the environment is like.

- I got married in the summer of '05 to a great girl. She had a good job working for a large corporation and between the two of us we were doing pretty well. In Oct '05 her comapny announced that they were giong to move her division to NYC. We felt like there was nothing forcing us to stay in Chicago and we decided moving to NYC would be a good move for us. I gave my notice to my current employer and started looking for jobs but, was seriously considering starting my own agency in NYC. After a lot of research and thought I figured out that I could make it work and started to work on my business plan. Right at this time my wife's company offered her a job in another division paying more money in Chicago. It was the perfect timing for me to start my own business in the market I was already familiar with. I shifted my business plan and got incorporated, found office space, etc. While I was doing this a co-worker from the firm I was working for also quit and was thinking of going into business with his Dad. I met with him and after about 2 days of discussion we decided to partner up. In dec 2005 we started our firm.

- Our first year was tough but, we both worked extremely hard and I made over 6 figures for the first time in my life. This year I passed the $100K in March and should make $300K +. We are in the process of hiring 2 sales people right now and are looking to have 10 by the end of next year. I can't say for sure what will happen but, the future looks bright. My wife was able to quit her job and is staying home with our son now and I have zero consumer debt. I am still a long way away from my final goal but, I have come a long way in a short period of time.

Just getting started is the toughest part. If you have the desire come up with a plan and execute it. I think I am living proof that anyone can make it in this country if you are willing to take some risks and work hard.