The Wrong Side of Town
I grew up on the ‘wrong side of the railway line’ where money was scarce and the knowledge of how to make money was limited to taking whatever job you could get to put some food on the table.
At age 10, I got a job selling cotton candy outside a shopping mall. I earned 2c for every packet I sold, and while this was very little money even back then, it was a good substitute for the allowance my parents couldn’t afford to give me. From that time onwards I always found a way to earn money by following the one example I had – trading labor for cash.
My father had his own business as a mechanic. It was a struggling business that required him to work long hours and yet, somehow for all his effort, he fell ever further into debt, always ‘borrowing from Peter to pay Paul’. After many years of trying to make ends meet, he had to shut the doors to his business, lost his home, and many years later when he died at age 84, he owned little more than the clothes on his back.
Continuing the Cycle
I would love to tell you that I learned from my father’s mistakes, but I didn’t. At 22, I got married and needed a job. I landed a job which paid commission only, and slowly began to slip down the same slippery slope of stacking up debt that I was unable to pay back. I worked hard, but somehow couldn’t seem to make ends meet. I had made a conscious decision growing up that I would not end up in debt like my father and so many other families in my suburb, but here I was continuing the cycle of poverty.
The Awakening
At the age of 25, I read my first book about business – Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It was more a book about financial intelligence than business, but his way of thinking was so different from everything I was taught or had experienced. I remember feeling excited on the one hand about this new insight, and angry on the other hand that no one had ever shared this with me. Of course, there was no one to be angry with, because where I grew up, no one else knew any of this.
This awakening inspired me to learn more about business and was the start of breaking down limiting beliefs that kept me back from breaking down the walls of poverty that held me captive in my mind.
A long Journey Out of Poverty
I didn’t enjoy the quick rags-to-riches transition you read about so often. I started on a low base and it took time to upskill myself. These were the early days of the internet where we paid for every bit of data we downloaded or uploaded, so even free courses were too expensive to download.
I started my career as a salesperson by default. I wasn’t a good salesperson when I started – I didn’t even like salespeople – but after reading books like How To Master The Art Of Selling by Tom Hopkins, I honed my skills. Over the years I progressed from a poor salesperson to eventually becoming a director of a large real estate franchise group.
I was earning more money than I dreamed was possible – and working harder than I ever had before. I was missing out a great deal on spending time with my four young children and wife. I wanted to provide my family with financial security and break the cycle of poverty, but I didn’t want to be the cliche of a father that worked hard to provide for his family, but as a result, was never there for his family.
Transitioning From Brick-and-Mortar to Online Business (almost)
In 2011, while in the employ of the last company I worked for before starting my own business, I started investigating the possibilities of earning money online. I wanted a business that I could run from anywhere in the world that would allow me more flexibility and time to spend living life, as opposed to merely earning a living.
After much research, I decided that digital marketing and SEO would be a good fit. I had many years of experience in sales and marketing, I understood the needs of businesses and had helped start-ups grow. This business opportunity would allow me to work online while still working with brick-and-mortar companies I was comfortable with. I started doing SEO as a side-hustle and over the next 2 years, I grew it to where I was able to replace my salary and run the business full-time.
Having my own digital marketing and SEO business has been nothing short of amazing and needless to say, I don’t miss working in the corporate world. However, while this business is great it is not truly an online business. While the fulfillment of our services is online, I still deal with physical companies and some of these business relationships require physical meetings.
Becoming My Own Client
I have helped to grow sales and income for a good number of businesses, some of which only market their products or services online. One day it occurred to me that if I could do this for other companies, why not become my own client and use my skills to work on an online business that was independent of physical meetings with clients. An online business that I could run from anywhere in the world and that would eventually allow me to redeem my time, a limited ‘commodity’ that is priceless. Time to spend with my family, time to coach young entrepreneurs (something I wish I had when I started out), time to share some of the knowledge I have been blessed to pick up along the way, and maybe some time to stop and soak in the beauty all around.
Welcome to karlmarais.com
At karlmarais.com I take the time to share my experience, tips, and tools that have helped me to grow to where I am today. You are most welcome to take what you read here and apply it to your situation. May it help as an aid to shortcut your personal growth and development or that of your company.
