Issue

So, you want to own a gas station?

Over the last few months, I've been inundated with questions about the biz. How do I get in? Where do I get the money? How much can I make? What makes a good location? You name it, I've heard it.

This is what this account is about. It's about the little guy getting into his first location, betting on themselves when everyone else counted them out. It's for the existing operator who wants to level up. This is for the family that is raising their family and creating a legacy for their family. Future millionaires!

I may have made it sound sexy, accessible, entertaining, and, most of all, lucrative. It can be all the above, but it comes with a price. It can be a great business, but it can also make you question your life decisions. You may even say, "This can't be life," but guess what, it is. This is your new reality.

I was the beneficiary of being the son of a gas station owner, and I'm here now to give you the guidance I received and teach you how only the son of an oilman can.

If you've already made this decision - to own and operate your gas station - I'll be here to help you thrive and teach you how to embrace the life you have chosen and what you have to look forward to.

Running a gas station isn't for everyone; it's for the grinders, the competitors, and people who are just built differently.

It's late at night. It's all night. It's early mornings and Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's being open when everyone else is closed, and this commitment gives us our edge. This is when we shine.

It's big trucks and loud airhorns.

You'll carry a gun and need to know how to use it.

You'll smell like gasoline, and that's not perspiration coming off your head; that's not sweat, that's hard work. Whatever you give this business, it will give it right back to you.

Daily, you'll deal with hourly workers with criminal records, government administrators, tax officials, real estate investors, truckers, teenage kids loitering in your isles, clogged toilets, baked-on lug nuts, and leaking distributors.

You'll stand behind bullet-proof glass for hours, never off your feet. You'll bring two pairs of shoes so when your feet hurt from one pair, you have another, hoping the pain goes away.

You'll make tremendous friendships with people you can count on who have your back. You'll also need to watch your back on many occasions and will get stabbed in the back more than once.

If you're good, you'll make more money than you can imagine and learn how to run a business like nowhere else. New product launches - check. Real estate deals - check. Large-scale CPG distribution - check. Construction work - check. Financial services - check.

If you're not good or weak, this world will eat you alive. If you're a grinder, it will grind you back.

You'll lose friends. To violence. To explosions. To traffic accidents

But remember, whatever you lose, you'll get back even more.

This account will be a resource for innovative ways to make more money, be aware of what's happening in the market, educate on what's next, and keep you from being taken advantage of.

It's intent. To empower you to be all you can be!