Issue

Hey Y’all –

Greetings and Welcome to the inaugural GasBizGuy newsletter! It is with great humility and gratitude that I have the opportunity to have you on board as a subscriber.

Just as we do on the platform, I will do my best not only to entertain and educate but hopefully leave you thinking. In my experience, it’s very easy to show people how to do something but getting them to do it for themselves is the next level move you must be prepared to make.

What you’ll get from me is the purest form of honesty I know and life lessons that can take even the most destitute person to heights you’ve never dreamed of.

Quickly about me: we’ve established my formative years as far as education is concerned but have we gotten into what it is that makes me tick and that every one of us can do? You’ll find me talking business and deals but it’s never for the purpose of bragging. I believe with every fiber of my existence that being a prideful person filled with vanity and without humility will pay the price. It could be finances, health, or happiness but make no mistake this is how I look at life.

Twitter has its storage guys, its L.A. apartment guys, its industrial guys, its carwash guys, and its NYC skyscraper broker guys, but until recently, if you wanted to learn about buying and operating gas stations or convenience stores, you were SOL.

I grew up in a gas station. Dad ran one and taught me the trade. This is the only life I've ever lived and the only life I know. I've been around petroleum fumes my whole life and today I'm ready to share that stink with you.

Whether you want to learn about hauling fuel, distributing gas, selling six packs, or operating a gas station, I believe I'm your Guy.

Alright, let's talk about what we're really going to be doing here:

Every week I'll share some industry insights from 35 years in this game.

I'll tell you some of my stories. Maybe I'll tell another Randy story. Or two.

And I'll put out things that will support you, whether you're operating a family-owned gas station, planning on purchasing one, or thinking about other businesses in the fuel game.

We'll talk about making money, staying safe, growing your business, staying safe, supporting other fuel entrepreneurs, and staying safe.

This weekly newsletter is called Fuel For Thought, because despite dropping out of high school, I love to think deeply on a lot of topics, including the one that has consumed my whole career.

And yes, we'll talk about the social and cultural phenomenon that is Buc-ee's. There's no talk about the fuel game without talking about Buc-ee's.

So if you're done with self-storage for a while, not in the mood to flip land, and don't want those clogged toilet phone calls all the apartment guys are talking about, strap in and let's take a ride.

I promise we've got plenty of gas in the tank.

And listen folks, before I let you go. I have no idea what I'm doing. I have no idea where I'm going. But I have felt compelled to do this for a reason, just like you, in your journey, to make a better life for you and your loved ones.

I've exposed myself, and I'm building a business in front of hundreds of millions of people right before your very eyes.

I'm scared to fail, not only personally, but publicly, and I feel completely vulnerable and scared, just like you might.

So, for all of you guys and gals who are just starting out, expanding or still in the dreaming phase, I can relate to where you're coming from. I’ve been there. I am there. We really are all in this together.

As I said yesterday on the platform, “I wouldn’t even show up for public speaking in school. I got an F in English. And now here I am, trying to build an audience doing the two things I failed at”.

Let’s work people

GBG