By Will Crozier

Time Would Have Passed Anyway @ Guangzhou, China

I first came to China 6 years ago. I rode economy class and didn’t sleep a wink on that 16 hour flight. I couldn’t afford anything better than the $30 a night local (read horrible) hotels. I rode the metro to all appointments.

The first question I would ask any vendor was MOQ? (Minimum order quantity) the dreaded answer was usually one full container. What on Earth was I going to do with 1300 ceiling fans? Vendors would size me up quickly and assign me to their interns so I could waste their time.

Happy hour and networking was usually conducted at some Starbucks rip-off. A common question was “How big is your warehouse”. The honest answer was about 600 sq/ft, one of my “hard down” 1 bedroom units at my latest project.

6 years later things have changed. First class in the air, and I slept most of the trip. Hotel Limo and Mr Crozier sign at the bridge gate . I never touch a bag, no tips accepted. Check-in at the Executive Lounge, auto upgrades every time to the top floor suites.

Vendors send their Benz and pretty sales ladies to pick me up at the hotel to tour factories. Who tours me around? The owner, of course, and he also makes me Chinese Tea while discussing China-American politics. I don’t ask MOQ anymore. I place multiple 40 HQ container orders per month or quarter.

After work, the Factory Bosses want to flash cash, so they take me to the trendiest restaurants and clubs in town. Bottles and bottle promotion girls abound.

Back to work the next morning. My new Factory Boss BFF wants to pick me up and go visit other non competing factories with me, help me negotiate and check quality. Time to meet the mayor and local economic chief too. They like having foreign friends. It makes them look more sophisticated. I’ll take it.

Who pays for everything listed above? Not me. Either vendors do, or points accumulated from biz credit card charges.

Am I bragging? Partially, but the main point of this is to remark at how quickly it all changes. Those 6 years were going to pass anyway. When I stand back for a little perspective, I realize how proud I am of the business that I’ve built from the first penny in, to filing the LLC docs. It’s debt free, recently valued in the millions, throws off cash faster than even I could spend it, had I ever taken a single penny from the biz.

The entire economy surrounding the trips described above came from a simple idea, a lot of work, a little luck, respecting your businesses needs, and your own mental work zone. It’s an amazing feeling of accomplishment to realize that you built it, and built it from nothing.

This is my little side hustle business, an afterthought really. I’m eager to see where this and other future ventures go.

I hope to band together, for the rest of my life, with other doers, entrepreneurs, musicians, doctors, and thinkers. I admire you all for your struggles and your successes. Let’s share both freely. Hope to know more of you soon.

By Will Crozier

I’m A Cliché & Did Everything Wrong

When I used to work for Fry’s Electronics, and as a stock broker for Fidelity, I hated every single minute of my life. Even when I wasn’t at work, I just sat around dreading going back to work. At work I would stare at the clock imagining the hands would speed up so I could just go home. When I finally realized I was literally wishing away years my life, hoping my time would disappear into nothing, I pooled every penny to my name and got the hell outta Dodge.

I packed up my car with my junk with and I moved from LA to Dallas / Fort Worth with no job, prospects, family or friends. I lived in Motel 6 off of Rufe Snow for a few weeks. Eventually I settled into a C Class Complex in Bedford in a 400 sq/ft studio apartment. It cost me $380 a month. I paid 6 months up front. I owned my 81 Cadillac Fleetwood Diesel outright. I had some money in the bank. I was happy and I had a mission. Potential. Limitless potential. I was frickin’ psyched.

Several years later, after a series of successful RE deals, I found myself living in Park Glen in North Fort Worth. I owned my 97 Buick Park Avenue outright. I owned all my Big Lots furniture. No credit card debt. One Friday afternoon I paid off my mortgage on my 1700 sq/ft 1992 built home. It was worth around $120k. I had about $1200 a month coming in semi-passively. My expenses were well under this amount. I was happy. I had a mission. Potential. Quite a bit of potential.

Several years later, after a series of successful apartment deals, I found myself living in the posh Roanoke, Keller, Westlake corridor. I had just purchased my ridiculously huge dream house in cash. ~7,000 sq/ft & ~$1.3mm. Black Lamborghini in the garage. Expenses were up tremendously, but I could certainly afford it. By my own definition, I had “made it”. I was pretty happy. I had “completed” my mission. I’m sure I had potential. I bought more cars. I installed an expensive outdoor kitchen. I was bored.

Naval Ravikant says: “Stop sacrificing today for some imaginary tomorrow.”

There is only today. There is literally only NOW. Stop doing things in life that you do not want to do, and start doing all the things you think you want to do. (very quickly most of those things will disappear, but that’s for another time) What we crave, what we need as Humans is freedom. Nothing short of freedom will do.

Freedom can be had at many different income levels. I had HALF the freedom I wanted at $0 income! I had 75% of the freedom I wanted at $1,200 a month in income. I probably had a little less, maybe 70% of the freedom I wanted at $50,000 a month in income. There’s a lot of gravity to deal with when caring for larger amounts of capital.

If I could talk to 20 year old Will Crozier right now, here is my advice to that ignorant punk:

Get involved in RE or other asset classes that you are excited about and learn them inside out. Free yourself as quickly as possible from whatever enslaves you. Focus on making $5k a month passively. That’s your target. Keep your expenses low. Live for today. Travel now. Meet more people now. Start doing humanitarian work now. Start DJing now. Start taking 2 hour coffee breaks in the middle of a “work day” with a friend now. (and don’t discuss business!) Go watch a movie with your girl at 11am on a Tuesday.

Now’s here the cool part: Continue doing your RE and business investing at a slow pace, in the background, across the decades in front of you. Keep TIME on your side, with years clicking away without people paying attention. If you compound even at a slow pace, you will create ENORMOUS multi generational wealth, far bigger than you could have ever imagined. We all know that life is short, but “money life” is extremely long. Keep investing until you are 90 years+.

Who knows? Maybe you can keel over dead with with your 1031’s passed down to your kids with that bad ass stepped-up basis. F-You IRS!!

By Will Crozier

Recent Angel Investment

Angel Capitalist project recently funded an inventory & manufacturing loan to a talented clothing designer, Marthena Mercier, here in Metro Manila Philippines. I was thrilled and humbled to receive news that they named their latest line after my family name. Great things to come for them!