Hello, my name is Daniel Joslin. Since my childhood, growing up on an Iowa farm, I’ve always wanted to be my own boss. My journey since leaving the farm led me to many places and many lands. From football at my alma mater, to graduate school, law school, to working in a mega firm in New York City, I never lost sight of that dream. So in 1992, I left the world of ... the employed to become self-employed. I started and ran numerous business ventures but each one had the same limitations and liabilities. The particular business would either provide plenty of money but no time for my family or there would be plenty of time for my family as the business was generating little or no money. I felt like a hamster in a spinning wheel! The harder I worked the less I made! Plus I had less time for my family. At first, I would try to rationalize this by saying I was spending “quality” time with my wife and daughter! But this was the “big lie”! The phrase “quality time with family” was invented by someone who, like me, felt so much guilt for spending so little time with their family that they coined a phrase to rationalize it! I bought it for some time but as time went on I realized I was missing so much! I was seeing my daughter grow up in photos not in person. She was becoming a young woman while I remembered her as a little girl! This “quality time” eventually became filled with frustrations and anger which led to fights at home. Something had to give or I risked losing my most valuable asset – my family!
Being your own boss is quite a challenge! For instance, my last venture was a Laundromat. I started with a single store and over time grew to four stores. But the day-to-day stresses became overwhelming. These included, employee problems (sick calls, theft, hiring new, firing current); maintenance (machines break with use – and if it’s 3pm on a weekend – what do you do? The machines don’t earn you money if they don’t work – so you learn to fix them yourself – there goes your weekend!); and cleanup (if the janitor called out sick – guess who had to clean the toilets! Yup! That was me!). I had to wear many different hats owning those Laundromats including finding the time to market the services to new commercial customers. The biggest dilemma that I never foresaw was the skyrocketing utility costs. A big part of running a laundry, is managing expenses. As you can imagine, prices you charge customers rise quickly. So you have to learn to manage expenses. Utilities (including natural gas, water and electricity) rose so fast that I started to actually lose money. The ultimate irony arose, the more I bigger I grew, the less money I actually made! The whole enterprise was slowly bankrupting me financially and causing me to lose my family! I was stuck between a rock and a hard place! I was always taught that hard work equals big rewards and that bigger was necessarily better! Boy was I wrong! I am living proof that the old adage that goes, “…if you work harder you will succeed…” is not true! All that adage will get you is older, poorer and perhaps like me be on the verge of losing your most valuable asset – your family! So a few months ago I wised up! I rid myself of the noose around my neck and sold that albatross – the laundry business.
Sometimes, even an old dog like me can learn new tricks. I began a quest to find a business where I could be my own boss but where I could gain the freedom (both financial and personal) that comes with self-employment but reduce the day-to-day stresses of managing that enterprise. I discovered that I was really trying to find a business opportunity where I could work smarter not harder! A business I could grow without the problems of employees, utility bills, and maintenance. A business where you set your own hours and work with experienced, successful mentors who could teach you the basics of building a successful business which met all my criteria. A business where working smarter, not necessarily harder is rewarded. A business that could be built which could meet not only my financial needs; but also satisfy my wants and desires.
Well, I found that business and the mentors to get me there! Want to know more?