This was originally published in voyagela.com on 7/15/21.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaac Mashman.
Hi Isaac, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I sort of stumbled into the world of business and entrepreneurship. The reason I say stumbled is that nobody in my family had ambitions for either, and my early path was set in an entirely different direction. From my earliest memories, my mom and grandparents instilled in me to go to school, perform with excellence and get a scholarship for college. Reason being, they simply couldn’t afford to send me themselves. So, that’s exactly what I did. I went through, took advanced classes, and got accepted into some esteemed universities in Florida my senior year.
The thing was, childhood problems caught up with me, and between the confusion and stress attending college was the last on my list. This is when the stumbling came into play. Always being a semi-impressionable kid, I was looking for role models to frame myself after and saw a young guy on Instagram who had his own lawn business and apparel company. Not being too much older than I, I saw that as a eureka moment of “I can do this too!” In the past, I had some entrepreneurial ventures such as a summer lawn business, but I didn’t realize just what I had at the time.
Over the next several months, I made my first couple of apparel sales online, began expanding my personal brand and digital footprint, started studying business outside of my curriculum studies, and looked to network with others who had the results I wanted. Over the span of less than three years, I got involved with three different network marketing companies, looked to start nearly half a dozen business ventures, and took some leaps of faith that would make some label me as “out of my damn mind”. Although I didn’t get far in any of these things, I was becoming rich in experiences and in knowledge. For the first time, I was surrounded by people as crazy as myself and had validation in my pursuit of success and wealth. As I look back now, I realize I viewed business as my therapy and the solution to the lack of money growing up. I never liked going to school in second-hand clothes. Now, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that, but when you see kids wearing shoes that cost more than your wardrobe, it takes a toll on you.