About

My professional journey began in insurance claims. After serving in the military, I spent three years at The Hartford, where I worked my way up to an insurance claims adjuster. While I enjoyed the work, the pay at the time wasn’t enough to support my long-term goals. So, I made the decision to go back to college and pursue a new path in IT.

Fast forward to 2005, after the dot-com bust, I returned to the insurance industry and joined Kemper Insurance. Over the next five years, I handled a wide variety of claims, from minor fender benders to complex liability with minor injuries. One of the most defining moments of my career came when a colleague suffered a heart attack, leaving a critical gap in our team. Without hesitation, I stepped into a fast-paced Total Loss Desk position, managing high volumes of claims for over four months. There was no training, no onboarding – just the immediate need for someone to step up. I adapted quickly and nearly matched the pace of my colleague, a 17-year veteran.

This experience reinforced a lesson I learned in the military: when challenges arise, you don’t run from them – you run toward them. Whether it’s investigating a claim, negotiating settlements, or stepping into a new role at a moment’s notice, I’ve always been the one to take on the challenge. Is that a character flaw or an asset? I’ll let you decide.

During my time in insurance claims, I learned how to help people navigate the tricky process of estimating their vehicle’s total loss.

Here’s a guide I wrote to help you - How to Handle a Total Loss Vehicle.

After leaving The Hartford, I went back to college and earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in IT. While in school, I worked hard to gain hands-on experience, building up two years of IT work experience by the time I graduated. That effort paid off when I landed my first major IT role as a Workstation Engineer for a Microsoft Solution Provider. There, I honed my skills in troubleshooting, system optimization, and client support.

After two years, I moved on to a Network Administration role at (CIBC) a nationwide bank, where I managed complex systems and ensured network stability across multiple locations. My time in IT taught me how to think critically, solve problems efficiently, and communicate effectively with people who often felt overwhelmed by technology. These skills have been invaluable throughout my career, no matter the industry.

Between my time in IT and insurance claims, I’ve developed a unique combination of skills: the ability to troubleshoot and the ability to investigate. From IT, I learned how to break down complex problems and find solutions. From claims handling, I learned how to dig deep, ask the right questions, and uncover the truth.

Together, these skills have turned me into a bit of a “gum shoe” investigator, tip-toeing on the level of Columbo-style fact-finding. What’s next? Learning how to profile a psychopath? Who knows – but I’m always up for the challenge.

I started swing trading stocks on my lunch break and doubled my account a few years in a row. Not magic—just rules and timing. In the process I learned that a few times a year the market hands you a “gift.” You can’t plan on the gift, but you can be ready for them: be in the market, keep cash available, and know your play/strategy. In 2008–09, for example, when Bear Stearns imploded, I bought a garbage stock (Countrywide) for a fast bounce. I held it 18 hours for a 13% pop and got out. I didn’t care about the CEO or the five-year plan—I was trading psychology and timing. Most people miss the gift opportunities because they aren’t ready, don’t have cash, or freeze when it’s time to act. Don't freeze. Be bold when others are scared.

IRL, I don’t panic when things go sideways—I run toward the problem. When a coworker had a heart attack, I covered her Total Loss desk for four months with no training and matched a 17-year veteran’s pace. I’m not a tough guy; I just don’t run from danger. Potentially one of my greatest strengths is also a potential weakness. - Life happens fast, are you ready?

But I digressed...

After I doubled my money the first time, I started selling off my stock position so that I could buy training. I started buying wealth related education and quickly found the tool I need to close the mental gap I had and systematize my trading strategy so that I could repeat my success in the market. However, I learned a lot more along the way.

I also learned, for example, that there are actually Four financial economies but most people ignore 3 of them.

• Time‑for‑Money: your day job. Highest tax bite; capped hours.

• Assets‑for‑Money: like owning rental properties.

• Results‑for‑Money: do it once, get paid repeatedly (royalties, licensing).

• People‑for‑Money: build a business where the team is worth more than any one person.

If you want to continue working your day-job, no worries. We can still be friends. However, that's not me and not my focus. Selling my time is absolutely necessary to get started. But it's actually, potentially prohibiting you from achieving your dreams.

Myron Golden, one of the millionaires I had one-on-one dinner with said "Your job wasn't meant to pay you what you're worth. It's meant to pay what the job is worth. The only person who will pay you what your worth is you." - Myron and I actually talked about internet marketing the whole time we were out at dinner. Even though I was doing well with stock trading, internet marketing soon became my focus.

Within a year or so I started buying IM training and testing what I learned. I kind of started off with social media because I wanted to know how to build an audience around any product or service that I might have or sell later.

So when I jumped into building social media sites, I purchased training from gurus and would test their strategies. You can read more about it on my page Social Media Strategies. I started off building a FB page that I had no business being in from 0-11K followers in 60 days. I had no cross over traffic, no one followed me from other sites, etc. Each time, I would test a new strategy in a new platform, new market, new everything. IMHO - its the only way to get a good read on the test results. However, I had so much success doing this on FB that I then started to play around with GEO Targeting local demographics and income with my interest groups, etc. I spent $1K to test that and then just walked away. I was only in it for the knowledge of building audiences.

So later, I did it again with the top of the line business Instagram guru. I bought the course, started a completely new profile, in a new niche, etc. and I built the IG page from 0→186K in 11 months without borrowed audiences. No F4F or any spammy tactics. When I see that stuff, I often laugh knowing that those so called influencers often have no real influence over their audience. You can read about that too on my social strategy page. However, I did that just for the knowledge as well. So after like a year, I walked away. I was starting to get offers from big companies, but for me to fulfill on those promises, I would have had to double down. I was past selling shout outs but didn't have the deep pockets to make the next leap. I learned a lot and took that knowledge with me as I walked away.

That said, I don’t want to be an “Instagram guy.” I build businesses that can stand on their own, so they’re sellable later. My name is me, but the work shouldn’t depend on me. I don't want to trade time-for-money if I don't have to. I knew that starting a social media agency would still be keeping me in the time-for-money economy. However, with hind sight, that would have cash flowed enough to carry me to the next level. Oh well. I still have the knowledge and experience.