Effortless Entrepreneur: Work Smart, Play Hard, Make Millions

Effortless Entrepreneur: Work Smart, Play Hard, Make Millions

Effortless Entrepreneur: Work Smart, Play Hard, Make Millions

Effortless Entrepreneur: Work Smart, Play Hard, Make Millions

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Overview

Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman started the multimillion-dollar franchise College Hunks Hauling Junk when they were just twenty two, and they’ve been having the time of their lives ever since. What’s their secret?
 
That's just it--there isn't one. There's no fancy software or complicated business schemes. No outside investors or quirky market niche. They just followed 10 common-sense commandments to building a straightforward, fun, and successful business that does a simple job well. Anyone can understand it, and anyone can do it.  

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780307588005
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Publication date: 09/07/2010
Sold by: Random House
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

NICK FRIEDMAN and OMAR SOLIMAN started College Hunks Hauling Junk in 2005 when they were only twenty-two years old. Since then, College Hunks Hauling Junk has grown into a multimillion-dollar franchise and the nation's premier junk removal service, and has been profiled in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Nick and Omar have been named among the top Under 30 Entrepreneurs in America by Inc., and in 2007 the International Franchise Association named them the Youngest Franchisors in America.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1    

FROM A VAN TO AN EMPIRE    

Nurturing Our Inner Entrepreneur      

It’s hard to recall how our entrepreneurial spirit first began. We met in tenth grade and quickly became best friends. At the time, we didn’t realize we shared an entrepreneurial nature—formal schooling stifled it, and taking an entrepreneurial approach to our activities got us reprimanded. School taught us that fitting in was safer, requiring us to stay in line, defining us by our classes and grades, and weeding out any behavior considered disobedient. A perfect example was when a math teacher sent a scathing letter to Omar’s soon-to-be-angry parents, which said:     Omar spends all of class speaking with the people next to him. He does not own the correct calculator for the class, and I am not sure if he even owns the textbook. Omar is currently failing this course.    

Back then, nobody realized that our “misbehavior” and “bad grades” were really just our entrepreneurial spirit at work. Entrepreneurial qualities tend to be misunderstood. Entrepreneurs typically don’t like to adhere to many rules or follow others, and this individuality isn’t valued in school. Yet once you’ve left the boundaries of the system, positioning yourself outside the traditional path helps you make money as a business leader. If high school had been run the way an entrepreneur runs a business, Omar might have been spared some trips to detention. Nine years later, his entrepreneurial perspective provided a new interpretation of what the math teacher meant in her letter: Omar spends all of class time networking. He opted not to invest in the $150 graphing calculator, since it would be obsolete upon completion of the course. He was also able to leverage the partnership of neighboring classmates and share the textbook rather than purchase a new one. Omar is currently in the red for this course, but it does not fall in line with his overall vision of growth, so it will probably be dropped from his portfolio.    

Doesn’t that sound better? Our nature kept us from fully adhering to school rules, which led us into quite a bit of trouble with teachers and administrators. Many kids with our personalities are prescribed medication. Always wanting to stand out from the crowd, we did things to entertain and gain peer approval and attention. Nick took school slightly more seriously than Omar, but he bucked his share of rules too. He always strove to do the least amount of work necessary to get good grades and to finish everything quickly so he could enjoy himself.  

That isn’t to say there are no benefits to schoolwork. Despite our issues with the system, there’s absolutely no way we’d be as successful as we are now without having had the academic education, training, and discipline we received in school. It may not have been appreciated back then, but we’re grateful for the teachers and administrators who pushed us to get an education. Entrepreneurs need to take risks and be independent and true to themselves, but they should also always try to learn as much as possible to stay on top of their game and keep their business growing.      

BONDING AS PARTNERS    
Our first taste of working together to lead others was when our high school football team played our big rival on their turf and won. Though teachers had warned us against rushing the field, as seniors we felt entitled to our moment of glory, so Nick spread the word that everyone should rush the field anyway to celebrate. We hopped the fence, and the rest of our school followed us. As we ran past the losing team, an angry player chased Omar and dragged him down. Nick ran to help and wound up getting kicked in the face by an opposing player’s football cleats. So by celebrating, Nick wound up in the emergency room getting stitches. Besides sustaining injury and embarrassment, he was reprimanded for disobeying the rules.  

That night we had taken a risk, breaking the rules to lead others for a chance at fun and glory. Of course, that risk backfired and quickly turned into a bad night. That can happen in business too. There are no guarantees that a risk won’t backfire. But if you want to break the mold and win glory, risks must be taken and rules must be broken. Staying on a safe path with everyone else leaves no room for change, and life can become boring and meaningless. Even though that risk backfired, we’re not sorry we took it. If we hadn’t run onto the field, we might not have bonded as friends or seen our ability to inspire and lead a crowd. Even risks that don’t pan out can be valuable learning experiences.  

Developing a successful business is akin to getting out of the stands and onto the playing field. Parents, teachers, and the school system warn kids not to take risks. As you get older, family and social pressures make you feel stuck in a job. Starting a business can be risky. Staying safe and secure is hyped. If you take a risk, there’s a chance you’ll get kicked in the head, as Nick was. But you know what? Even getting kicked wasn’t the end of the world—we both turned out fine, and went on to be successful.You shouldn’t let fear of failure stop you from taking a risk to follow your dreams. No matter what your age, it’s never too late to get out of the stands and onto the playing field. Our expectations of running onto the field were significantly different from the results. But tolerance for risk is what helps you become a successful entrepreneur.  

During our school years, adults couldn’t stop us from taking actions that backfired, and some people even wondered if we’d make it out of high school in one piece. But because we were willing to take risks and weren’t afraid of failure, we were able to begin a million-dollar business—College Hunks Hauling Junk—when we were only twenty-two and were named the Youngest Franchisors in America by the International Franchise Association. We were also finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and were named two of Inc. magazine’s Top 30 Entrepreneurs in America Under 30 in 2008. Today the company is quickly expanding into cities across the country; we continue to take risks, as our company continues to grow. That’s why we encourage you to get out of the stands and onto the playing field to pursue your own business dream.      

REAL-LIFE EDUCATION    
Growing up, we understood business only vaguely. It was always drilled into our heads that we needed to study hard and get good grades in order to get a good job. But we couldn’t relate to that. The great American Dream that we pictured and saw on TV seemed like pure freedom—traveling, owning houses, vacationing, partying, attending sporting events, driving luxury cars, and cruising in boats. It seemed to contradict the get-good-grades, get-a-good-job mentality. How could you enjoy pure freedom if you worked your entire life? We worried that having a job would make us feel trapped. Being constrained by a boss’ rules didn’t seem like freedom. Boredom and dissatisfaction with following a predetermined path motivated us to change direction.  

People assume that studying hard and getting good grades leads to a secure job, but that’s not necessarily the case. Education provides a skill set. It’s up to you to apply it in real life. If you’re in school simply to get a job when you graduate, get ready to be disappointed as you lose control of your own destiny. There’s nothing wrong with that if it’s what you truly want. But if you’re in school so you can get out of the system, study hard to educate yourself about the outside world. We quickly realized that to get what we really wanted out of life, we couldn’t follow a traditional path.    

That conflict between taking a traditional path and enjoying our lives really took shape in our college years. Nick played on the basketball team at Pomona College in California and did as little as possible to get good grades, turning “doing the bare minimum” into a true art form. Study habits developed in high school prepared Nick to optimize his time so he could pursue more fun activities, like a spur-of-the-moment road trip to Vegas. Sometimes he’d drive to Tijuana with a group of friends at night, return at 6 A.M., and go to 9 A.M. basketball practice. Nick structured his class schedule to suit his needs, taking some easy A’s that required minimal work.  

Omar attended the University of Miami and pursued a different type of Ph.D. than his father had. His stood for “Partying, Hollering, and Drinking.” Most of his energy was spent in South Beach, hollering at girls and drinking beer. In his spare time he managed to attend business management classes and learned about marketing, management, and sales. Omar’s free spirit made it hard to follow his elders’ advice to study hard and get good grades with the goal of getting a good job. In fact, Omar pursued his Ph.D. so hard that his pledge class single-handedly brought his fraternity from the highest- to the lowest-rated on campus.  

We both had the same priority: Do as little work as possible. Fun was our goal, and we did a very good job of reaching it! We poured our energy into cutting corners on work so we could enjoy ourselves. There was always a clash between partying and enjoying school, and settling down to get good grades and “grow up.” We struggled to determine when to flip the switch from being a child to being a grown-up with responsibilities.  

But what we eventually realized is that you “grow up” as soon as you decide to follow the norm and stop taking risks. The best part of being an entrepreneur is that you never have to grow up. Your childhood imagination, creativity, and daring aren’t quashed in an office or a cubicle or by someone else’s rules. You’re the creator of your own rules and destiny. The world is your catalog. You just need to decide what you want.  

Our company didn’t evolve from traditional thinking. People do stupid things when they’re bored—breaking laws, stretching limits, and other ill-advised activities that can get them into trouble. Channeling restless energy into a powerfully productive endeavor, as we did with our business, is more satisfying. Our school friends are probably the most surprised that, with our priorities, we built such a successful business. They don’t understand that for us, working on the business is so much fun that it feels as effortless as partying.      

THE JUNK ALTERNATIVE SUMMER    
The summer of 2003 was our last before graduating. In previous years, we did what many college guys do—chased girls, partied, and went to the beach. But the one before senior year was different. Nick secured an internship at the International Monetary Fund. It looked good on a resume, paid well, and gave him a glimpse into the inner workings of a billion-dollar operation. It was also boring. Omar didn’t even want an internship or typical job for college kids. Everyone advised him to build his resume for after college. But he wanted to try something different and knew he’d never want to work for someone else in the future. So why start now?  

We saw that summer as our last with some freedom. Omar was determined not to spend it indoors at a boring desk job. His free spirit pushed for more. Nick agreed, but stayed the course he’d been taught and plugged away at his internship while Omar tried to find a way to make money, appease his parents, and have plenty of time to party. He had to try something on his own; otherwise, he’d end up working at his mom’s furniture store, helping to move armoires or assemble complicated modern furniture that came with Swedish instructions. That thought made him shudder.  

Then Omar remembered that his mom’s customers asked the delivery guys to take away boxes and old furniture. Why not start a junk-removal company with his mom’s beat-up cargo van that was used for deliveries? We had no idea exactly what junk removal was, but saw pickup trucks with names like “John’s Hauling” on them. That night, we sat down and tried out names to find one catchy enough to attract customers. Suddenly a lightning bolt hit Omar, and College Hunks Hauling Junk was born. Our friends busted out laughing when he said the name. Then we looked at each other and said, “That’s not a bad name.” The next day Omar printed flyers from his computer:    
COLLEGE HUNKS HAULING JUNK
JUNK REMOVAL ATTIC/BASEMENT/GARAGE CLEAN-OUTS MISC.
MOVING    

He began putting them on houses. When he got home he plopped down and forgot about it until his cell phone rang. A voice asked, “Is this the College Hunks? We have junk and need your help!” Omar called Nick, who suggested using the IMF’s intranet to post advertisements for junk removal. Since the people who worked there moved a lot, they might need Omar’s services. After the ads were posted, calls streamed in steadily. Omar enlisted the help of jobless friends. Nick assisted on weekends. Our operation was far from professional. The van was falling apart, with a poor excuse for brakes. We had no idea how much to charge customers and made things up off the top of our heads.  

One time we lined up a job to move two three-hundred-pound, cast-iron radiators up an outside stairway at a house on a hill, nearly thirty steps up. Our friends wouldn’t do the job. Omar had a half-hour to dig up four guys to help. He recruited local parking jockeys—guys who got people parking spots, washed cars, and did various odd jobs. Omar piled these characters into the van, including “Sideshow Bob” (his hair resembled that of a character in The Simpsons) and “Jailed-Up Rob” (he was often incarcerated). Our crew was far from the college hunks that our name promised.  

They were exhausted, covered in sweat, as they grappled with the radiator on the stairs. The dolly’s wheels broke on the last step, sending it skidding down the stairs like a sled. The radiator broke, and slammed into the side of the van, leaving a gigantic dent. It was like something out of the Three Stooges. The spectacle had people laughing and staring openmouthed at the farce. The client was furious and we had to pay for repairs. Yet, despite the ragtag operation and inconsistent initial performance, our phones continued to ring, and money flowed in.  

We noticed that customers placed a premium on having friendly, clean-cut college students in their homes, so we began changing our focus to exceeding the expectations and experience of our clients. After two months, Omar had pocketed close to $8,000 (which he spent after just one month back at school since we had yet to discover the importance of saving and investing). That summer we realized our friendship went beyond just partying and having fun. We had the potential to work in partnership to create a profitable business. Something began to creep up from our subconscious to our consciousness. We’d had a real taste of entrepreneurship, and it wouldn’t go away.

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