I knew that this was not going to be an easy task, never imagined it would take 121 consecutive Saturdays before I would take a little bit of pay.

Coming from a horrible school system in the steel city of Gary IN could never prepare for the future that is now my present. In Gary almost everyone was tied to one of the large manufacturing steel mills in the area. In between labor disputes, the dumping of foreign steel in the States, that caused employment to fluctuate wildly there was little to no investment within the city. School prepared us for to hold on to the broken dreams of the Democratic Machine that days would be better and steel would make a comeback. Not a single one of my instructors taught us how to handle money, credit, or how to be an entrepreneur. Yes on Martin Luther King Blvd across from Ivy Tech we had the Gary Area Career Center but it lacked any of the skills that I would need to use today.

1987 I moved to Fort Wayne and enrolled at ITT Technical Institute. Had I completed my studies there I would hold a degree in Electronics Engineering. I married the girl I went to high school with and she bore me three children. We later divorced and I had custody of our children. During my tenure in this city I had a 27 year career in retail management. On a chance dare from a co worker I performed at an open mic which changed my life trajectory.

Somewhere I got this idea I wanted to own a comedy club, I possessed few skills to launch a business and even less cash. My circle of friends and family could not help me on this quest yet I persisted while many of them scratched their heads.

I had my articles of Organization drawn up on May 1, 2017 On June 17, 2017 Fort Wayne Comedy Club held it’s first show it took 121 Saturdays before I drew my first paycheck. It was for $200 about 1% of the personal cash I’ve put into the company! What’s changed? I have some mentors from Score, and I took an 8 week course in the SEED program here.

Every month I’ve thought about shutting down, running a business is hard. Working someone else’s job while trying to learn how to make wise investments is a daunting task to say the least. I’ve invested all of my retirement, all of my inheritance and on the verge of homelessness, yet somehow I’ve managed to stay afloat. I wish I knew about all of the organizations that are not there to help start ups. Going through what I’ve gone through inspires me to give back. I will share some great information to help the next dreamer! I don’t want someone else to grind ignorantly like I did. There is a better way. Follow my social media page and look for weekly topics.

Until then I’m taking my $200 check and paying Nipsco. It’s almost winter if I don’t pay them, and they will shut my gas off……… again!