No one is saying that he's the next Donald Trump, it's just nice to hear a story of a 22yo that had a dream and the determination to get it done. He took out a business loan, gave the respect back to his parents, and works hard daily to make some money.

I'd much rather read things like this every day than view pictures of some 18yo's Lambo in the spotted thread, or how 16yo's are raping each other at a warehouse raves or something

Not at all.

If the kid can make the shop a financial success and build a business that lasts years, I'll give him serious respect, I just don't see that happening. I'm just not as easily impressed as others, and more analytical in my evaluation of things than most, so I don't see a twenty three year old working on cool cars and immediately give praise.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with getting help, I know very few students who haven't received some financial assistance from their parents.

I think the shop will fail, that's what makes it different. Kids working fifteen hours a day, with almost no expenses and not paying himself a liveable wage. Unless he's able to very quickly learn how to run a business and dramatically increase profits, what he's doing is unsustainable.

Not having the need to pay rent and receiving financial assistance from his parents isn't what I'm taking issue with, it's opening a business with no clue how to manage it successfully.

seriously, why does it matter that his parents are rich and that he's getting financial help, he actually puts in the work and effort

cant say the same for those mainlanders here driving benz and lambos, they wouldnt wanna break a sweat even if their parents gave them millions to start a business

According to his post, he used the money he received from parting out the civic to pay for tools. Nowhere does he say he can't afford a different car or to upgrade his facility; in fact, he states the opposite in a subsequent post as he details his plans to upgrade everything you've outlined in parenthesis because he's accumulated enough money to do so. My impression from his no clothes, no lifestyle, etc. comment was that he doesn't yearn for material items. He's perfectly content putting in the hours and working his dream job. He's exhibiting wisdom, and an attitude, at a relatively young age that a lot of us can learn from.

We don't know the details of his financial situation; however, we do know that he's putting in the hours and is being humble about it. Not to mention, his business is being profiled on tv and in magazines, his actions have led to a sponsorship deal for his friend, and the business managed to raise a sizeable chunk of money for charity.

Neither of us know the exact details of his work situation during this period, but we can, at the very least, go by what he says because all of this is moot if none of what he says is true. He states that he found the Acura job after he was laid off; an Acura job that paid eight dollars an hour. I would imagine that if he was able to find another job similar to the one he had before, in an economy he already implies contributed to his initial release, then he wouldn't have taken the Acura job for such little pay. We don't know if he made an honest effort to find a new job in his old field or not, but his actions do indicate that he's not one to sit around.

To simply say he quit his job at Acura would be oversimplifying what really happened. Going by what he said, it would be more appropriate to say that he came to the realization that he was destined for better. He knew what he wanted to do, put in his two weeks, and promptly procured a loan and set out to achieve his dream.

edit: He says he was laid off in the fall of 2009 and secured his loan April 14, 2010. During that period, he worked roughly two and a half months at Acura then worked out of his parents garage before being approved for the loan. That doesn't leave very much time to sit around, which would lead me to believe that he took on this Acura job almost immediately because there weren't many options available for a young man in debt.

Re-read my post, then re-read the thread, on page two he mentions that the hand tools and box do not belong to him.

The money he received from parting out his Civic was put towards a lift, the hand tools are/were being borrowed from a friend who didn't need them at the time.

I'd agree with that to some extent, but that's not a spectacular achievement. Many young people spend thousands on their cars, clothes or other materialistic purchases and have no savings or definite direction in life. The wisdom and attitude is far from unique though; many university students work 10-15 hours a day between employment and school, and limit their discretionary spending to minimize student loan debt.


Fair enough, I accept that he secured the first job available in a down economy, that's very reasonable to praise as many people are to proud to step down in wage or position. I won't speculate on why he left the position at Acura, although I have my suspicions, it would be nothing but speculation and conclusions drawn from that does not further my position.

I don't see someone who was fully prepared to run a business however, he entered into the venture in haste, your time line is evidence of that. If it becomes a success, I commend him, but running a business modifying cars must be one of the riskiest ventures anyone could possibly take, to enter that field with limited experience in the automotive industry is down right reckless. I would be bowing down to him, just like all of you, if he worked at the dealership for a year and developed a feel for the industry and took a few business management classes at night. Then started the business, and posted pics of a clean organized shop, that was successful on every level.

I'm sorry, like I said, I'm very analytical, it takes a lot to impress me and a criticize easily. The shop owners car building skills are commendable, but that is the least challenging aspect of what he's doing.


If this was directed at me, there's nothing wrong with his parents being well off and providing him financial assistance, just as long as the assistance doesn't become a crutch that keeps the business afloat.

It simply is impossible that he was approved for a business loan without his parents or somebody else as co-signors.

1) The business has no history of credit.
2) The business has no assets to repossess if he cant make his payments.
3) The business has no income and is not expected to for 3+ months.
4) The sole owner of the business would normally be required to give his personal guarantee if the business didnt have enough - however, he is a 23 year old kid with no history of credit, no assets, and no other income - his guarantee is worthless.

I am impressed with his focus and drive, but as said in this thread, without his parents a) having a farm with enough space to build a shop, b) allow him free rent for his shop, and c) signing for his loan, he wouldn't have even been able to start it.

Then on top of that, his business is not actually earning a profit, despite him saying it is growing. He cannot afford to pay himself, so that actually means that the business is not viable since it could not normally expect free labour.

Some props are due, but he's not the wonderchild that some people seem to think he is in that thread.

Mark

admittedly, i didn't read the second page, but he does state on the first page that he used the money to buy tools and states on the second that he had every intention to purchase the tools from his friend, implying he had the money to, and obviously had to get a new set. The guy is resourceful. He's shown that he's the type to spend on only what he needs. Why buy tools when you can use them for free? Same reason he doesn't need new clothes or a new car. either way, this is really a negligible point and doesn't discredit the rest of what he did. it's also only one line in a much larger post.

Being far from unique does not discredit what he's doing at such a young age. It's really just a matter of perspective as some, myself included, would say that going to school is a hell of a lot easier than starting up your own business, regardless of how much is given to you to start you off; that is, to a certain extent, but let's face it, it's not like this guy was given everything. I would go as far as to say that these university students you speak of, are spectacular cases as well, the fact that they may quite common notwithstanding.

as many have stated, they can still appreciate what he's done in spite of the assistance he's received, partly because of his humble attitude. there's so much hate towards people powered by their parents, while acting arrogant in the process, here that it's almost refreshing to see someone use the assistance they receive from their parents towards something productive. i think it's not so much that we think he's a wonderchild, but what it comes down to is that he's managed to turn it all into a facility that allows him to work on cars, and this is the automotive section of a car forum afterall (at least on the surface). He may not be the next coming of Bill Gates, but it's nice to see him doing good in a field that is of interest to the vast majority of us.

edit: he's also hired a full-time employee now.

Ash Ketchum was a pokemon master when he was 18

just saiyan :okay:

props to a man who made his dream reality

Very inspiring story. I think it's great that his parents realize their kid's talent and were able to support him in achieving his goals. Instead of using his parent's money to buy an R8, like most kids would do, he used it to build a garage to work on cars.

In any case, we don't know the financial situation of his business. All start up companies will lose money in the first few years. But whether his business stays afloat or not, he's doing what he loves, and that price tag is worth the experience. There aren't a lot of people with that level of passion and determination in this world. I'm sure with the support and his current mindset, he'll be successful!

alot of sleepless nights with your parents wallet as a safety net.

Good on you for following your dream and doin what you wanna do though.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if that house is $200-300k.
Houses in the states, especially in his area... aren't anywhere near what we would pay here.

I think it is pretty cool that he has his own performance garage. I'd like to have a hoist in my garage :)
Don't really care if he got a lot of help. Don't really care if he makes money or not.