Welcome to Generation Si! 👋🏽👋👋🏿 For those of you who have been part of this community for a while, thank you so much for your loyal support. For new subscribers, glad to have you with us in our new home on Substack.
Today’s issue puts the spotlight on Javier Berrios, the President of Eagle Equipment Service 1, Corp. No matter what industry you’re targeting, you can learn some valuable lessons from him, including the following:
🌴 How saving helped him own vs. rent property for his business
🌴 The kinds of paperwork and things you need to consider before starting a business
🌴 Why you don’t have to have a college degree to make money
🌴 Meet Javier Berrios, the man behind Eagle Equipment Service 1, Corp.
BE DISCIPLINED: SAVE, SAVE, SAVE
Many people dream of owning a small business. But how many people have the foresight to come up with a plan to own the building where their business is located?
Javier Berrios is one of those people who was able to do both.
His secret focuses on a mindset of discipline.
“I could just go out there and buy a bunch of toys. I could go out there and blow money...”
Instead, Berrios made a very intentional point of saving money.
THE TIP JAR (Tips provided courtesy of Javier Berrios)
STARTING OUT: “Get all the permits. You know, all the legal information… for taxes and licenses that you will need to run a business.”
“There’s no company that will give you any work, unless you have all the paperwork on the table…”
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “The capital that you have for starting a business is really important. That’s why a lot of people… don’t succeed…”
STARTING OVER: “Do a study on that business that you want to start.”
Javier Berrios says you need to also know about your competition.
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: “If it’s a restaurant [you want to open]… [you] need to study the location…” He says you also need to find out if there’s enough parking and figure out how many people are driving down that street. Berrios says you should also determine if your restaurant will depend on foot traffic or drive-by traffic.
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: “I would advise people… to make sure… you [have] a lot of savings to be able to quit a company and work for yourself.”
Berrios wishes he saved more when he started Eagle Equipment Services 1, Corp. He says, at first, he was “struggling”, until a company offered him a deal where he could serve as a subcontractor.
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: Berrios’ father passed away when Berrios was seven years old. As young as he was, Berrios remembers seeing his dad, who owned a construction company, working hard. The lessons from his example remain.
“Be positive and strong. And work… It pays.”
“I actually built myself to be able to live with the minimal.”
And Berrios started at a young age.
He calls it living a “normal” life - not an extravagant life.
He was in Pennsylvania when he bought property. The key is that it was a multi-use property. It included a grocery store and even an apartment on top.
He opened a Spanish/Italian/Puerto Rican restaurant within that same property about a year later.
TRADE-RELATED SKILLS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND
Once he moved to Florida, he decided to put his welding and other vocational training skills to good use.
He took on a full-time job doing repairs on waste and recycling equipment. And at the same time, he started his own business on the side, Eagle Equipment Service 1, Corp.
His business centers on the installation, service, repair and refurbishment of waste and recycling equipment.
For Berrios, the lucky break came when he was selected as a subcontractor to do equipment repairs nationwide. So, while most people start a business locally and then expand to the state and national levels, he did the reverse.
LIVE LEAN
Still, Berrios kept up his frugal living.
“I was living like I was working for somebody else.”
INVEST IN WHAT CAN HELP YOU MAKE MORE MONEY
Early on, Berrios learned that buying a bunch of “toys” doesn’t make you any better. His thinking is simple.
He believes that when you invest money in something that helps you produce goods or services, “you can get the money back.”
Berrios says that’s the combo that works to your advantage.
He’s talking about investing money on things that contribute to your business and not on superficial things.
“Investing money on parts. Investing money on fuel.”
GENERALLY SPEAKING, AIM TO OWN VS. RENT
He also had his sights set on owning a building. In his experience, renting isn’t the answer.
Berrios did well enough saving money that he was able to buy land.
Two years after his land purchase, he built a 12,000 square foot warehouse with a thousand square foot office.
COUNT ON NOT GETTING PAID RIGHT AWAY
To get started, he advises aspiring entrepreneurs to save at least six months to a year’s worth of money before opening a business.
But he cautions, you’d better have a savings cushion factored in because getting work doesn’t mean you’ll get paid right away.
“I had to wait 30-60 days net to get paid.”
Berrios says it was tough in the beginning, and he would not recommend anyone just quit their job hastily to start a business.
He advises you to be a “little more careful.”
STAY FOCUSED; DON’T DO TOO MANY THINGS AT ONCE
He also says you have to stay focused. Instead of jumping around to different trades, pick one. “You gotta stay with one…”
Being organized with paperwork has also been a strength of his.
Berrios’ formula has worked well for him. He recently opened Eagle Equipment Service 2 in Puerto Rico. He’s gone from having three employees to 13 employees, plus one in Puerto Rico.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE GLAMOROUS TO MAKE YOU MONEY
The point of pride for Berrios is that he was able to go to the bank and secure 1.1 million dollars worth of loans and have heads of corporations sit down at his office and marvel at the building and equipment he owns.
“It’s a really strong business… A lot of people think that, with trash, there’s no money…”
He’s here to tell you, “You can make money with trash.”
INDUSTRY: Waste management and recycling
STARTED BUSINESS:
Grocery store: 2005
Restaurant: 2006
Waste management and recycling: 2011
LATINO CONNECTION:
Born in Puerto Rico
Both parents were born in Puerto Rico
EDUCATION: York County School of Technology – Certificates in Auto-CAD, Blueprint Reading for Welders and Welding
DREAM JOB AS A KID: “I wanted to be a detective.”
Berrios says that, when he was going to school, he even attended an afterschool program with the police academy and volunteered as a police officer and firefighter.
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “I started a business in Puerto Rico. Same thing. It’s called Eagle Equipment [Service] 2… I’ve been getting offers to open up in Jacksonville… My goal is to be able to grow [in] different areas…”
Berrios says he also hopes to someday soon own a strip mall.
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
Where’s the Money?
There are sources of financing for your business you may not have considered. From getting a microloan to invoice financing to even crowdfunding. And, yes, this webinar will also go over the more mainstream types of funding available. So if you’re ready to learn about the various sources you might want to turn to for your small business or small business idea, tune in:
NEC (National Entrepreneurship Center) & SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
“Where Can I Find Financing for My Small Business?”
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
5:30 pm EST – 7:30 p.m. EST
Online Webinar
FREE
https://nationalec.org/event/where-can-i-find-financing-for-my-small-business-3/
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
The Better Way to Work
I don’t know about you, but I’m always trying to find ways to work smarter. This FREE webinar is geared towards helping you discover ways to work more efficiently and effectively through the “Lean” method.
The beginner’s class centers on process problem-solving and will feature examples in a variety of fields. The way I see it, anything that improves process sounds like it could be helpful in our personal lives, too. Follow the link to sign up and get started:
SBA (Small Business Administration) South Florida District Office
“Process Improvement & Working Smarter”
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
11:00 a.m. EST – 12:00 p.m. EST
Online Webinar
FREE
Process Improvement & Working Smarter | U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov)
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
My parents would always tell me that, if you buy a house in Bolivia, you actually own it. You’re not financing it. Same goes for buying a car. It’s really yours because you’re not buying it until you’ve got enough cash to pay for it outright. At least that’s how it was decades ago before they moved to the U.S. in the 1970s.
While owning property is, generally speaking, a positive, I also believe that what made the U.S. a great economic power is the availability of credit and financing. Yes, we know that that can definitely go awry if not handled responsibly. But I do think that the wide availability of credit has also helped people with big ideas, but not big bucks, able to turn their dreams into reality.
When it comes to business, owning the building where you do business seems much more rare. It’s why I was so interested in learning about Javier’s story and how he was able to do it.
Turns out, it comes down to the discipline of saving instead of going for the steak, focusing on one thing instead of branching out in too many directions and seeing an opportunity in a business that many people may not consider – trash and recycling.
He told me, “All the stores out there, all the grocery stores, malls, apartment complex[es], they need that equipment. And they need that equipment to recycle… or remove their trash from their property.”
He says the need for welders won’t go away anytime soon. Recycling won’t stop. And trash removal will continue to be needed.
No, those businesses may not be sexy. But being smart never goes out of style. #theskyisNOTthelimit 😺