It all begins with an idea.
Ever since I could remember I have always worked for myself. Yes, I have had a handful of jobs with bosses but I always had some sort of side hustle, a business that I ran and could be in control of. The first I realized I could control the way I make money was at hat age of 14. I starting mowing my neighbors lawn and quickly realized the power of being in control of how much money I make. I began to understand that the more effort and work I put in the more money I could earn. Around the age of 16 I started teaching private saxophone lessons while working a “normal” job. As one student turned two and then to four and to six, I became less and less motivated to adhere to my normal works “schedule” that paid $9.50/hr. My focus quickly turned to building my saxophone lesson business where I was making $20 for a 30min lesson and could schedule my students around my personal time. After high school I attended Temple University where I received a degree in Chemistry and Physics. During college I took my knowledge of self starting and created a personal tutor business along side a standard college student job. With strengths in Math, Science and test prep I tutored up to 15 students a week each paying $40 for a one hour session. At this time during the slow summer months I started a small business with my brother called “Mencel Brothers Landscaping.” (I had learned landscaping while working a landscaping job the 2 previous summers). We specialized in tear-outs, planting, mulching and design. Additionally, the ability to control my own time allowed me to also play in a rock band. While the bands main focus was original music and touring the band also doubled as a cover band on Friday and Saturday nights. The band is what really got me excited about business. I was excited by the idea of growing something; figuring out how to book the next gig, how to get on that playlist, how to tour with “THAT” band. The drive of myself and my bandmates eventually lead to a record deal with RCA records and a Publishing deal with “Pulse Recordings.” Little did I know at the time that the band was really a business, and our product was music and Live performance. While on RCA, the excitement of building the band lead me to a career in music artist management when I started one of my current businesses LookUp Ent. With LookUp Ent. I earned several platinum plagues as well as landed a top10 radio hit, with the song “Roses” by The Chainsmokers (written and performed by my client and sister ROZES.) Additionally, in between touring and recording with my band I started another small side hustle, furniture. At the time, I was building items just for mine and my wife’s apartment but it quickly grew. I started building furniture for my friends, then my friends of friends and eventually to complete strangers. I started in my dads garage and within 4 years the company quickly grew to a 3,000 sqft warehouse that we are quickly outgrowing. The company now grosses a half a million dollars a year and has become my main source of income.
Through my adventures in self employment I…..