My Ventures

 

Below is a list of ventures/projects I have been involved with. It may seem like quite a few(and random), but keep in mind that throughout this time I was serving on Active Duty in the US Marine Corps. As a result, I decided that any ventures I would commit to would require minimal financial requirements, minimal time commitment and minimal risk because although I may be an Entrepreneur at heart and welcome risk, I also have a wife and children and my wife is a lady ya don’t want to upset(if you know what I mean). I also focused on having what I call a "Portable Business", which I’ll talk about periodically:

 

Heavenly Treasures(image coming soon)

I believe I was about 19-20 years old when I came across a cheesy infomercial about the Specialty Merchandisng Corporation and it’s business oppotunities available.  The next day I drove up to their warehouse in Chatsworth, CA to get an idea of how the company operated(make sure it was legit). Everything checked out, I signed up to be a member, made a fair amount of money thanks to their wholesale pricing(my wife was even selling like crazy in Japan), but eventually stopped.

  

Screen Printed T’s(image coming soon) 

There is an annual tradition that takes place in May in Iwakuni, Japan known as Friendship Day.  This event is hosted on the US Marine Corps Air Station  and attracts over 200,000 Japanese visitors every year.  From an air show and live concerts, to food and entertainment, Friendship Day is a great event. The first year I experienced the air show, I looked everywhere for memorabilia, but I couldn’t find any.  "Aha!"… I was able to raise $14,000 from family and friends to invest in screen printed T’s with a customized logo commemorating the event.

 

TrendyCharmz

Trendy Charmz Logo. Copyright 2005, All right reserved.I was walking through the mall and noticed a small kiosk with these cool bracelets, so I had to stop(always looking for my next venture). I took a closer look and realized these bracelets were made up of small interlocking links and on each link was a charm.  From cartoon characters and celebrities, to symbols and quotes there was a charm to fit everyone.  What a trendy little concept!  Not to mention the potential this had as a business since each charmed sold between $5.00 and higher, so I head home, jump on the internet and started researching.  I found a few quality manufacturers and distributors, dropped about $4,000-$5,000 on the web design/ecommerce, a few hundred for the logo design, another $2,000 on inventory and I was in business.  Didn’t do too bad.  Unfortunately, duty called(US Marine Corps) and I was shipped out to Iraq, so we decided to shutdown(still love the logo though!).

 

MyMilitaryClassifieds.com 

MyMilitaryClassifieds.com. Copyright 2006, All rights reserved.We all love Craigslist, the largest FREE online classifieds site in the world! Well, one day, while deployed with 2nd Bn, 5th Marines on the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, I was surfing the internet looking for a used bicycle that I could use while in Okinawa(when we’re weren’t on ship). No surprise, I found nothing.  They had local base papers, but they were only printed weekly, which meant by the time I called about the listings, they were already sold. All of a sudden it hit me, "Hey, why can’t I find used items for sale online and search by each military base, not by city?", so I decided I would create it myself.  Well, not exactly myself.  I have absolutely NO programming skills(wish I did), so I looked online and finally found someone to do it for a few hundred bucks.  Not bad in my book. Since I wasn’t planning to make any money off this site, I didn’t want to dig too deep in wallet. It’s been about 1yr now and so far everyone that uses it loves it.  Unfortunately, since I don’t make any money from this site, I haven’t invested in marketing or advertising, so slowly it will pick-up.  If not, no big deal. The intent wasn’t to make money from it, I just thought it was a cool idea.

 

Patriot Laundry Valet Services 

Patriot Laundry. Copyright 2006, All rights reserved

I started this company in an effort to provide those individuals living the “barracks life” aboard Camp Pendleton, services thate are normally offered to those living off-base or in military housing. You simply register online for 1 of 3 service plans, you stuff your laundry bag, we pick it up on scheduled days and wash-n-fold it for you and return it to you within 48hrs! Life is good. Click here to learn more.

 

 Dorm2Dorm: Hassle Free Summer Storage

Dorm2Dorm: Hassle Free Summer Storage for the College Student.Dorm2Dorm was started by 2 former University of San Diego students in 2004.  Since then, they’ve expanded their concept to over 30 colleges/universities across the country. Initially, During the Summer of 2007, I signed-up to be the owner of the Chapman location.  Initially, I contacted them to see if they were interested in bringing the same concept to military bases.  They weren’t too interested, but they offered me ownership of the Chapman University location, which is located in Orange, CA.  Really nice, but small school, so I joined the team for the experience.  Great experience and great concept, but I wanted something I created on my own, so I’ve since moved on.  Jonathan and Matt are great guys with a good thing going for them.  I wish them the best!