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Raul Colon - photographer, digital marketer & writer living on the beach in Puerto Rico.

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Take Action! Don’t sit & wait.

August 9, 2012 by Raul Colon

IMG_4405 Take Action! Don't sit & wait.

At an early age I learned that complaining about not reaching a goal and then passively waiting to reach said goal would not help me. It took years for me to put what I had learned into practice (and I still have to work on keeping my focus sometimes).

I remember as a kid asking for a pair of specific sneakers. Given the economical hardship my family was going through with my dad being in the hospital most of the time, purchasing sneakers was a luxury we could not afford. I started to find ways to generate money in order to buy the small luxuries I wanted. I remember my first attempt at making money was selling pencils and pens to classmates in third or second grade. My direct competitor was a cart (called the school store), which was dragged from one room to the next with some fancy pencils, and office supplies which where sold to my classmates.

I was usually one of the kids who could not afford to buy something from the store so I choose to become the cart’s competitor. Every once in a while I would get my dad or mom to make small investments in office supplies. For the most part I funded my business with the small gifts I received on holidays.

When I was age 12 we moved to Puerto Rico and I was put in a private school. I was given enough money to get something to eat during my breaks ($1.50 approximately) to buy an empanadilla or whatever was the daily special and a soda (probably not the healthiest meal for a kid).

Opportunity Arises

My classmates where handed a lot more than $1.50 every day. I identified that they where all into basketball cards and I use to collect baseballs cards. I started bringing them in so they could see my collection of sports cards and in a short time, I got them to buy the extra cards I had in my collection. I would look at the price guides of cards (ex. Beckett) and based on the guide I would set the prices of the cards that I chose to sell.

I remember creating one of my first business processes to track how many of each card I had, average price, what it had sold for in other places, etc… I also created a spreadsheet on a notebook that was fairly complex.

Over time my daily allowance of $1.50 for a quick meal was supplemented by at least $20 to $40 a day selling sports card. This gave me the freedom to buy me the latest sneakers and even get me the privilege to get some deep discounts at the local Footlocker.

My First Small Business

After I stopped selling baseball cards, at 15 I  worked as a dog groomers and shortly after,  set up my first dog grooming business. The owners of the grooming shop moved to the United States and for the rest of my time in High School I had my own Dog Grooming business. This allowed me to buy my first car and one of the few kids in High School that actually had a car (a very beat up car but it was mine).

I Can’t Wait for Things to Happen

I have never sat and waited for things to fall my way. It worries me greatly when I see very talented people waiting for the next big break but they are not going after it. At an early age I understood that remaining inactive was not going to get me very far.

I ask you to go after your dreams (if you are not doing so already). If you feel you have not gotten their yet let me know how I can help get you there.

For the most part if you stay focus and remain active, the possibilities of things improving are big.

Go for it!

Filed Under: Business, Professional Development Tagged With: Small Business, Small Business Entrepreneur

From KPMG To Entrepreneur Uncle Gussy’s New York

April 17, 2012 by Raul Colon

41 From KPMG To Entrepreneur Uncle Gussy's New York
Photo from UncleGussys.com-

In 2004 I was lucky enough land a job at KPMG’s New York office.

Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish.

Two years before, while visiting my parents in Connecticut I had wished I could work in New York. As a 22 year old at the time there was not a cooler place to work at than the Big Apple.

My years as an employee I worked at many places short stay at KPMG has continued to give many years after I left.

It is always a plus to say that I worked at a Big 4 CPA & Consulting firm. In my opinion the real value is the great long lasting relationships that were formed.

Not a place to Nurture your Entrepreneurial Spirit

I met some great people at the firm, many who I consider close friends.
Looking back I met few entrepreneurs that wanted to set up their own business. I was lucky to land at KPMG during the Sarbanes Oxley (Sarbox) boom. Sarbos had created so much income for the firm we worked hard but also got many perks. This also lead into creating a dependency in staying with the firm. You don’t want to lose those perks or the possibility of reaching higher levels (and income) within the firm.

Given the complexities and low probability of becoming a partner of the firm. You would think that many would build up the courage to immediately leave the firm and start their own shop. Many left to start new journeys at other corporations. If you are willing to stay in the firm you have to follow the corporate ladder and work yourself up like in any other big company.

I don’t see KPMG supporting many entrepreneurs many like me left the firm with their sights on their next corporate gig.

An entrepreneur with a Vision

While working at KPMG I met this nice guy named Nicko that worked in KPMG’s IT department. Nicko was great at helping people like me to have the much needed tools to work with.

Nicolas is customer service oriented and patient. He had direct contact with many in the firm. Every piece of hardware you needed Nicolas was the person that would hand it over to you. I am not sure how long Nicolas was at that position.

One day when I went to pick up a device I ordered he mentioned that he was leaving the firm to set up a Coffee, Bagel, and pastry Cart.

Yes Nicolas had decided to leave the corporate lifestyle and try to set up his mobile coffee shop. A small business in mid-town next to the huge office building we worked in 345 Park Ave. near the Waldorf Astoria. Working in New York I became a big fan of Bagels. I remember that I stopped using the internal cafeteria and would brave the cold and walk outside to get bagels, coffee, and to say hi to Nicolas.

On occasions we would do some bartering I would make him some of my homemade Coquito and Sangria. On other occasions I would have to almost fight Nicolas so he would let me pay with the local currency (dollar). For some reason the local currency lost its value when you where one of Nicolas friends (a privilege I am grateful to be one). To pay him back I would grab everyone’s order in the office. It was a way to make sure that Nicolas would at least make a profit on my visits (he still gave me complimentary coffee and bagels for myself).

Customer Service Rock Star

Nicolas is the type of person that would know exactly what bagel or pastry you wanted and how many sugars you wanted in your coffee. In a place like New York where so many sometimes forget to smile. Nicko’s customers got plenty of genuine smiles and good vibes while they got their morning caffeine fix.

Growing the Business

I moved back to Puerto Rico and when I go back to New York City I stop by the office and say hi to the few ex-coworkers that are still at KPMG.

I also make an effort to stop and greet Nicko while he is working. I have seen how from one Coffee Cart he moved over to having a few and now he runs his Uncle Gussy’s Food Truck which is featured in the video below.

Positive Offline & Online Vibes

Yesterday I found out that Nic’s Food Truck @unclegussys was on twitter and I started following him. I sent a tweet and minutes later I got Nic answering me on the account. Although he is extremely busy he found a way to say hi.

This is the first occasion where I know someone and via twitter I get the feeling that he was talking right next to me. Nic’s good and positive vibes where transmitted via his twitter account and other text messages we shared.

I get to see Nic maybe once a year but in a strange way I think the passion of what he does is something I admire and keeps me connected with him.

I am very happy to see Nic growing his business. Years later when I set up CIMA IT I joined Nic in the journey of going on my own I know the effort and energy that needs to be put into it.

I wish Nic and his family the best and I can’t wait to see a franchise of Uncle Gusy’s Food Trucks around New York City. Or even better yet some real Greek cuisine down here in the Island of Enchantment.

But most importantly if you are in Midtown New York City please stop by Uncle Gusy’s and let Nic know you are a friend of mine.

Do you know of any Rock Star Passionate Small Business Owners like Nic? Feel free to mention them and share your twitter feeds.

More on Uncle Gussy’s here:

  • Review of Superlative Eats NYC

  • Yelp Review

  • Menu Pages

  • Zagat

 

Filed Under: Family, Featured Tagged With: Friends, KPMG, New York, Small Business Entrepreneur, Uncle Gussys

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