I’m a reformed salesman; I’ve done sales my whole life. And you want to know something interesting? I’m sick of it—I’m done! Now, don’t get me wrong. Sales has been good to me. This profession has given me everything that I’ve ever dreamed of. It’s one of the best skills you can learn. However, with the experiences I’ve gained, I’ve changed my ways. I’ve gone from sales pro to cash flow. And that’s my biggest focus in life right now: Cash flow.
Entrepreneurial at Heart
I was born and raised in Calgary. Throughout my teenage years and high school, I knew I didn’t want to attend college. I always felt like I could be successful in business, so the entrepreneurial spirit was there from a young age. Maybe you can relate? I knew I wanted to create and build something special. And this became apparent in college.
How a Pen Changed My Life
It was one of my very first classes: accounting. By the first quiz, I couldn’t pay attention. I remember sitting there, flicking a pen in between my fingers. I flicked it up. And it felt like slow motion. The pen was flipping in the air and hit the girl directly in front of me.
This girl hated me; I was such a disruption. As she turned around to give me her death glare, I remember thinking, “I’m dropping out; this is not for me…” So, I dropped out and began my entrepreneurial journey by starting different businesses.
Getting Paid to Party
I began organizing events, and my team and I started bringing the early hip-hop shows to Calgary, including Nas and Mos Def (big names in the rap world). To support this new entrepreneurial endeavour, I bought a nightclub a month before my 23rd birthday. And it was amazing! However, the problem was that no 23-year-old had any business running a nightclub.
Many people get a four-year degree in university or college. I got my four-year degree from learning how NOT to run a business with this nightclub. I took the job seriously; however, it was such a weird environment. And I stepped into it blindfolded, trying to figure everything out along the way.
The lesson I learned from that experience is that when you don’t know what to do, find ways to get around people who do.
From Night Club Owner to Door-to-Door Salesman
By the 4th year of running that nightclub, I became unsatisfied with the work. I was 27, and the main thing on my mind was I didn’t want to be a 30-year-old club manager. I wanted to get out of this nightclub phase and learn from people who had built successful businesses. And the person I bought the nightclub from rang me up with an opportunity he had for me out in Ontario.
Long story short, I packed up everything and moved my whole life to Kitchener (a small town outside of Toronto) to do door-to-door sales, selling water heaters. Door to door is a savage lesson in humility. However, that time in my life was a true blessing; it taught me what hard work really was.
Selling water heaters taught me what it looked like to burn the boats, get uncomfortable, and make something of myself.
While it was difficult at first, we ended up doing quite well. We sold a lot of water heaters, broke a lot of records, and, more importantly, taught a lot of young people essential sales skills that they’ll use for the rest of their lives.
Real Estate and Property Management
After five years of doing door-to-door sales, selling water heaters (and numerous failed business attempts after that), I finally landed on real estate and property management, which is what I’m currently doing today. This ties back to what I mentioned earlier about being a reformed salesman. What I love about sales is the skills; what I hate about it is a sales job.
Most salespeople get there eventually because sales are monotonous. As exhilarating as the hunt and the environment of the sales team is, we all run into problems, such as being at the mercy of the market sooner or later. We’re not trained that way; however, market forces have a lot to do with it. Other times, management can get in your way; they may change incentives for no reason. And, of course, there’s also the monotony of just saying the same things over and over.
That’s not to deter anyone from sales—I love sales. But I didn’t want to keep doing and saying the same things repeatedly to earn my income. I wanted to build something once and have it pay me forever.
Final Thoughts
Becoming an entrepreneur and a salesman has been an incredible blessing to me. It has helped me achieve the life I am privileged to live today. It has given me confidence, experiences, and a path that opened up doors of opportunity I don’t think I would have gotten in any other profession. For this reason, I am a big advocate for this line of work.
And if you want to feel the same about what you do, we can help. At Certified Flourishing Coach, we are a team of expert coaches who use an evidence-based framework to create thriving people and workplaces. So, if you’re ready to flourish, contact us today to learn more.
About the Author
Donny Wong is a “reformed salesman” and sales trainer who has trained over 1,000 individuals and generated well over $37 million in revenue in this process. He is an entrepreneur property manager who specializes in Airbnb accommodations.