People have asked me to share my stories. Let me tell you about what it was like launching the first kiosk in a Utah mall selling/handing out cell phones. It was amazing we had so much backing from WorldCom Wireless we busted out kiosks in every mall in several states. That was really my first company right when I moved back to Salt Lake City, Utah after living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for a few years. Let's just say I had a few good connections and was at the right place at the right time. WorldCom would pay us $60k per location we launched and we had some of the nicest customer kiosks of all time. Still, we banked. In the end, I got what I could from that business and left to start other businesses without any frustrations from bad management habits of business partners. It was great timing because it was obvious WorldCom had shady accounting practices and thousands of customers would call when the bills arrived every month. There were other situations but I got out right before WorldCom filed for the shadiest and number 2 largest bankruptcies in US history next to Enron.
Throughout my years I created a multi dealer master dealer with over 80 dealers. This was the culmination of multiple relationships and several years of progress. I launched a company named Associated Technologies Group after realizing a major master dealer OmniServe Wireless was not paying commissions. So I launched ATG and had contracts with all of the major carriers. I had a great love of launching a business that would provide opportunities for employees and other associates to support families and pay mortgages. I refused to carry a card and in my head, my title was opportunity creator.
I found a great licensing model after I launched a few retail chains under the ATG Wireless brand. I would launch stores, slap ATG Wireless on them and sell them to entrepreneurs who would then be dealers of my master Associated Technologies Group. It was a great model because we had good volume to negotiate great contracts on behalf of many dealers. Our model was to distribute all of the equipment, accessories and we had a 7% override on the gross commissions per activation which was around $350 per activations and at one point we were responsible for more than 10,000 activations per month.
Only 17% of the population has analog phones which required expensive networks leaving the masses out because they couldn't pay $200 per month for 30 minutes of minutes per month. In 1988 the digital networks rolled out reducing the cost of services dramatically lowered which made wireless available to the masses. We could hand out phones like candy and it was so much fun and such an amazing opportunity. My companies had larger volumes than I took home, yet I remember making $53K in one afternoon handing out 144 free phones with no contracts in SouthWest Airlines call center lunch room. I took things for granted without a doubt but I am glad I had the experience. One day I flipped 1,000 phones and made a $60K profit in one day.
I will say back then I was working way too much. At a certain point I had 8 different wireless sales companies at the same time with distribution in multiple western states. I took a lot on and it was fun but I was working way more than realistic. One day I had a wealthy man approach me and I was stressed and sold my master dealer and 2 retail chains, so 3 companies in one day. In the end, my timing was great but that fellow suddenly closed all the stores and left the country as the result of some random FBI investigation into one of his other business.
I eventually returned as a consultant to my ATG businesses and launched some other companies throughout the year as a dealer. I have worked with every major wireless carrier and even ended up at Sprint Corp over the Utah market. I suddenly became quadriplegic from a rare autoimmune condition known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome. I departed Sprint after an intense 6-month recovery process and then returning to what I considered a corporate shipwreck. I had been through so much and returning to their mess was of no interest to me.
After Sprint I launched a business in Utah with 2 names which are IoT and Internet of Things. The name's are the exact names of a major emerging trend in connectivity which I feel I am helping usher in which I consider "Wireless Boom 2.0". In 2015 I started that and no one really understood, now it is becoming mainstream and it has been a lot of fun. It has been a bunch of fun and opportunities are coming together that make me glad I followed my instincts and passions and laid the foundation. I have been greatly humbled after overcoming paralysis and thankful for my opportunities. My biggest lessons up to now have been to stay humble in life and a life focused on helping others is a satisfying life to live. Be humbled or you will be humbled. ATG Wireless was just one of many companies I launched. I sold them at the perfect time and the businesses eventually went down in flames due to poor management on a major scale. So the timing was perfect for me in many cases. I started all of my businesses with the goal to sell them, and that is exactly what I did. As for the future, I am optimistic but also very grateful for each day and my friends and family. Afterall we don't know what tomorrow holds or if it will come?
Now it is my time to make the most of the Iot and Internet of Things. Although my greatest joy comes from family time and helping patients who are going through GBS, I like to provide empathy which is so important when overcoming paralysis.
