We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Legend Chea – Castillo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Legend, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I wanted to build a business that would always support everyone’s needs, a one stop shop that allows the consumer to not have to go anywhere else. Throughout the creation of this entity, I also wanted to create a legacy that I’ll leave for my children and my family to inherit. I knew as a teenager and my young adult years, that working 9 to 5 while going to school to get a degree that’s going to put me in debt for 30 years, to get a better job, just to buy a house to additionally put me in debt for another 30 years until retirement is not the life I wanted to live, even though it was a life better than I had already been used to.

So, I asked myself with the experiences that I have and what I’m interested in, how can I supply the demand that society needs in order to prosper with multiple streams of income, while still fulfilling everything a consumer may ever want and need. I’ve had multiple companies before the age of 21 with trials and errors, but now I just have successes.

I always wondered to myself, if I didn’t refer a service out to another company because my company didn’t offer it, how much more would my business grow? I learned that to become a one stop shop, I didn’t have to personally master everything myself, but I had to become a master of bringing the best talent together in order for us all to succeed. I would subcontract the best of the best to come and work with me, and not for me, while they still had the opportunity to advertise their business while falling under my company umbrella as a partner or subsidiary. So, as I succeed, we all succeed, and we can continue to scale and expand.

Legend, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was brought up, parentless, poor, and homeless. I am the oldest male in my family, but I am the second oldest of my siblings. I was that oddball in the family, the black sheep, the one they said, would either end up dead, or in prison and just wouldn’t make it. I was the one that they left behind, the one that they abandoned, the one who wouldn’t amount to anything.

I literally come from nothing, and had to dig deep to make something of myself until this day. I still find myself proving myself only to myself, and for myself, improving every day personally and professionally. My pain and my past may have made me who I am today, but it’s the Lord that saved me and keeps me from going down the path that everyone thought was chosen for me.

I never did anything traditionally, and I never did anything by everyone else’s perspective or standards. Before opening my businesses, I had to use the money that I had received from my initial military training as my upfront capital investment into myself.

My primary business focus is cosmetic surgery, Air BnB rentals, Turo rentals, music artist development, & modeling. I am strictly referral based and that keeps me booked months in advanced. If I didn’t have great partners working with me, I would not be able to manage all the different revenues of income that I have.

There are also times when I may not have a rental available in a specific area, but one of my partners may and can sublease it to me in order to be re-subleased to the client. At the end of the day, everyone is fed, and everyone is happy. The same goes for music, sometimes I need a specific type of producer or a specific location for a music studio. If they do not already work directly for me, I can subcontract them to work with my artist. In the end, I have a team of partners whom solely focus on their best talents in order to ensure the customer has the greatest experience.

If you need a place to stay, I got it. If you need vehicles to ride in, I got you. If you need certain things for your music video production, I can supply it. I either already have everything you need or I know where to get it. My hunger and devotion to my clients set me apart. I don’t believe in competition but long lasting partnerships. We all can thrive and eat, and we all can succeed. As long as the client has everything they need sourced from one location, I’ve made the experience that much greater for them.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have had multiple business ventures. In 2013 I found myself partnering up with another local entrepreneur and began hosting Car Shows throughout the United States. It involved mass amounts of planning and travel. It was great for the time being, but I knew I couldn’t just keep traveling everywhere if I was to have a family one day. So, when that partnership dissolved, I then found myself in the Nightclub business.

It was 2014, and the name of the venue was called Tsukiji Fish Market & Restaurant, a restaurant by day and nightclub by night on Friday and Saturday. Inside of the world’s largest open-air mall in America, we were located on the top floor. It consisted of very long days throughout the weekend for the nightclub. This was in addition to our day-to-day operations for the restaurant. It was a great experience, but I felt like I was never home and couldn’t see myself doing it in my mid 30’s and 40’s. When my partner in this business had some family issues, it was a sign and we both decided to close everything down and not renew the lease within the mall so that we can focus on ourselves and our families.

By 2015 I was running my own consulting business which primarily focused on corporate business relationships, marketing and finance. Throughout my tenure from 2015-2017 I won multiple awards for Finance and quickly rose to be in charge of a Region. Throughout all these experiences I realized that I needed to do something that doesn’t require me to physically be present all the time. So, by 2018, I pivoted to real estate and began building the business empire I have today.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The social media account I have right now has been my fourth account. I’ve had multiple accounts prior for both personal and businesses. My audience is primarily comprised of followers from Hawaii, California, Georgia, Florida, New York & Massachusetts.

This audience is generated because I’ve either lived in all these places or have conducted business there. But what I believe really draws people to my profile is my story. Unfortunately, as much as I want to be able to give the full story to everyone, there is never an article or podcast that gives me enough time to express my entire life in a single interview.

I believe what people find in my account is inspirational hope and messages of positivity. Besides the many ventures that I have, the captions in my post tell parts of my story. People who read them begin to understand who I really am besides what they see on the outside, and then what they begin to find, is motivation for themselves. It was never intended for my Instagram to be perceived as a motivational influencer, but the more messages I received from followers about how they loved what I publish, the more I realized that my story can help change lives.

I truly believe that if my Instagram provides even an ounce of hope for someone, and can take them out of a dark place, it’s done its job. I want people to understand that no matter what we all go through in life, none of us are perfect, this includes myself. Everyone is imperfect and everyone is going to face a challenge. You have a choice with how you choose to face adversity. You can allow adversity to positively impact you, or negatively impact you.

My audience will continue to grow, as I continue to grow learning how to use the platform. People will continue to find out about me and I’ll continuing to push this message of hope and love out to the world and to the community, that there is opportunity and light at the end of the tunnel. If you want to grow your social media in a positive way, be passionate about what you’re broadcasting to the world. Instagram is like the modern-day LinkedIn for business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/_lpapi_
• Instagram: http://Instagram.com/_lpapi_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@_Lpapi_

Image Credits
Instagram: @lotusagencyint Instagram: @mrqsjones