Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joel Gandara. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The last time I worked for someone, I was in my 20s. This was some 20 years ago. I had a nice, stable job in sales and I had a side hustle that I worked on before and after work and sometimes on my lunch break. I had a chicken/egg dilemma: Do I quit my steady job (as stressful as it may have been) and just focus on the little side hustle, or do I ride it out and slowly figure out how to grow my little business?

One bad day. That’s all it took. I was wronged at work. A commission was taken from me. I maybe lost $100 that day in commission, but the principal of it upset me so much that I seriously contemplated quitting what was quickly becoming a well-paying job.

I thought about it for a couple of days and I pulled the trigger. I quit my job. This forced me to give 100% to that little side hustle. Fast forward a few years and it became a multi-million/year business, which gave me a great 20 years of income, growth and success.

I just recently sold that business for more than I could’ve ever imagined.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born in Cuba and came to the United States in 1980. My family and I arrived on an overcrowded boat. Even though I was a kid, I knew that we landed somewhere life-altering.

My father took a job repairing electrical equipment at a nonprofit radio station while my mom cleaned rooms at a hotel. Despite their tremendous work ethic, my family lived below the poverty line like many immigrants. That led me to become an entrepreneur early on, mostly out of necessity.

I started earning money at the age of 10 when I was in the fourth grade. My first business plan was to buy products that I could resell in the schoolyard. I had a lot of fun and also learned many important life lessons that have helped me throughout my life. My parents could not afford to give me pocket money. But that’s what helped me learn how to make it.

Through hard work and discipline, my parents slowly clawed their way up to the lower middle class. And I never stopped looking for ways to get ahead.

After High School, I worked up to 100 hours some weeks. That left no more than four hours for me to eat and sleep each day. Even though my free time was limited, I would go to garage sales and turn items around for a profit at a nearby flea market.

It was at one of the garage sales that I noticed someone selling hundreds of clothing samples. I bought them all for $1 each. This was a huge risk given, how little money I had at the time. I took the samples to the flea market and sold them for $6 each and made $3,000.

It was then that I realized smart investing can do much more than just help me get by. I continued to work hard, save and invest. That allowed me to save for a down payment on my first home at the age of 22. And I paid my entire mortgage each month by renting out the extra bedrooms.

From flea markets, I moved up to selling on eBay. Soon after, I started a wholesale business with an apparel brand I began importing from Mexico. I started traveling to wholesale shows in Las Vegas and Paris where I offered business owners the opportunity to sell my products in their brick-and-mortar stores worldwide.

Then I went from selling other companies’ products to creating my own brand. In only 13 months, my brand reached $1 million in sales. My companies have since gone on to develop and acquire numerous brands.

I believe hard work pays off – and have proven that throughout my life. My companies have now grown to reach millions of dollars in sales each year, and I no longer have to work like I did when I was younger.

My life has not been easy, but the challenges I overcame have taught me to appreciate what I have today. I’m truly grateful for the life I’ve built and for the country that welcomed me. Now, I’m using my business knowledge and life experience to help others fulfill their dreams.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

I’ve bought 14 businesses to date. Only one of these was listed for sale, the rest all came from relationships built with my vendors, my customers and even my competitors. Some sold 3 months after I inquired and some took 10 years, but what made all these acquisitions possible for me, were the relationships that I built with the sellers.

Rolling up businesses that are strategic acquisitions, is an absolute thrill. I like seeing the expenses that we could save on when we make the purchase of the business and this opens a world of possibilities of how we can streamline and improve the operation.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I have rarely ever borrowed money. In fact, some friends have called me, “cheap”, admittedly, on many, many occasions. I have self-funded nearly everything I’ve ever done and the only way that this was possible was being a saver.

My first business acquisition cost me $90,000. I put down $30,000 and agreed to pay the seller $60,000 over 12 months. That one transaction set me on a trajectory that I would’ve never imagined possible. That business sold $750,000 in its first year (under my ownership) when it was previously only selling $300,000/year. In my second year of owning it, it sold $1,050,000. The profit margin on this business was nearly 30%, so as you can see, the profits from year one paid for the business, and then some.

From the success of this acquisition, I went on to buy many more. The only loan I took out on this process, was a home equity line, which I made sure to pay right back very quickly.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joelgandara.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelgandara/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joel.gandara.3/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgandara/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/joelgandara