How did you do it? Financial Success Thread

[Do Not Reply]

[ QUOTE ]
Taylor -- I hope the comment about people who work on commission was not regarding my referral to you...please give me a shout if it is.

[/ QUOTE ]Taylor, if this results in a renegotiation favorable to you, I feel I'm entitled to three percent of the savings.

[SlowHabit]

tc, AZK:

I wasn't complaining of the past or my luck [haha], considering that I hate those who complain about their misfortunes and won't do anything about it. I wrote my post from the perspective of a kid who played right field yelling, "I got it, I got it" and the ball fell through his glove [Joel Greenblatt's joke in "You Can be a Stock Market Genius" ... Great book by the way].

Ahnuld:

Thanks [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[woodguy]

Posted this a while back in this forum.

[Howard Treesong]

I grew up in Malibu as part of a family of academics. Many of my friends and acquaintances were very wealthy; we were not poor, but not rich by any means. My father taught at UCLA; my stepmother, at Loyola Marymount. School wasn't too tough for me and I managed to get into MIT. I messed around my freshman year and did not do well, then fell hard for a hot smart chick and, after she decided she didn't want to be the future Mrs. Treesong, dropped out as a sophmore. Spending six months in the working world in a crap job teaching WordPerfect sent me back to school in a hurry with the realization that if I ever wanted to buy a house in Malibu, the only one that could make that happen was me.

I then started concentrating on school and graduated with a 3.2-equivalent and, with a strong LSAT, got into Duke for law school. I didn't go to class much but felt very comfortable going into exams and pretty much smoked my first year, which I capped off by writing on to the Law Review. As all small children know, that's a key for finding a good job in the law world.

After deciding that I needed to learn how to write and how to see cases from the other side, I took a clerkship for a federal judge and worked for him in Atlanta for a year. That job involved writing and editing every single day.

After that one-year gig was over, I took a job with a big law firm with an office in LA. I started off making $75K a year, and decided after two years that I was smart enough and liked the job well enough to try to make partner. My only significant bump in the road came when my secretary got fired for being an idiot and reacted by suing the firm and naming me, asserting various sexual harassment allegations. I shut my mouth and continued to work hard and well; and after that went away, I made one partner cut -- making approximately $350K. I found I liked the execution part of my job: writing, editing, taking depositions, appearing in court, and trying cases.

Shortly after that, I gambled and argued to the firm that we should take a case on contingency for a small client who had gotten screwed by Lockheed. The firm agreed. Two years later, a federal district judge granted summary judgment against us on all counts. Two years after that, largely based on my brief and my depositions, the 9th Circuit reversed and remanded for trial. Two of my partners and I tried the case; we won $64.5 million. Largely on the strength of that case, I made the second partnership cut, which was huge -- from $350K up to about $1MM/year.

I stayed in that job for five years. At that point, I recognized that I did not have my own client base. I believed that would ultimately become a career-limiting fact, and the struggle to generate clients was a horrific millstone around my neck every day. So I interviewed for a job managing litigation at a big company, and got the job virtually immediately, and took it.

It's a job that's much more suited to my personality. Its analytical and variable, but it doesn't depend on sales. It pays much less than my old job, but I left my partnership with $4MM in liquid assets, so salary isn't so crucial for me any more. It's much more important to me to be respected and liked, and to be back on an upward track.

I still work hard. I like it. I travel around the country and have significant autonomy. I've developed expertise in what I do and take good care to use good judgment. In sixteen years as a lawyer, I've lied to my opposition exactly twice. I've argued motions that had a billion dollars of client money riding on the line, and I won enough money for a four-owner company that the owners can retire for life -- and they entirely deserved it. I treat my colleagues fairly and well, and have established a reputation for good humor, intelligence, and honesty.

Oh, yeah: I bought a house in LA in '96. Sold it 18 months later for a 75% profit, then bought another and sold it too. Rinsed and repeated, making money on each transaction. We close on what will be our fifth house next Wednesday; this one is in Minneapolis, where I live now -- on the shores of a nice lake close to downtown.

I'm 43. I hope to be the general counsel of a fortune 500 company within ten years. I have a realistic shot of making it.

Cliffs notes: worked hard, found career that fits disposition and natural talent. Stayed with basics of discipline and honesty.

[john voight]

damn, howard. that is all I can say.

Well done.

[lippy]

Howard,

I hate to try to network through 2p2, but I feel like throwing a Hail Mary. If you ever need some kind of intern in the future I'm your man. Seriously.

I go to the U of MN and will be graduating -- with a good GPA and work history -- in 13 months and would love to see what your kind of work is like, as it is my aspiration to go to law school after taking a year or two off.

Your story is fantastic and I hope to be so lucky as to emulate it.

[kyleb]

I see these posts and really wish I could tell you guys, but I can't until this NDA expires.

Someday. There will probably be a book written about me!

(Even if I have to write it.)

[ChipStorm]

These are a treat to read. I'm a piker compared to other posters, but Quicken tells me I passed $1MM net worth a little while back so I guess that's worth a few words.

[ QUOTE ]
Cliffs notes: worked hard, found career that fits disposition and natural talent. Stayed with basics of discipline and honesty.

[/ QUOTE ]

I fit Howard's cliff notes, and for a success story am totally standard:

Upper-middle class, well-educated parents (father Rhodes scholar)
Excellent public schools (private not affordable)
On to ivy league
Engineering degree
MBA
Into finance/capital markets
Mortgage finance late 80s
Boutique mortgage/RTC work early 90s
Large mutual fund company mid 90s
Major NYC ibank late 90s
Electricity/energy trading firm 00-present
Now in heavy technical/quant group, lots of code-slinging
Supporting homemaker wife & young daughter
House in the burbs, annual golf trips with the old buddies

[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.

[Slow Play Ray]

I aspire to someday have something to add to this thread.