The Art of the Hustle (Complete)

Chapter Fifty-Two

I realized very early on that ten million dollars was not going to get us very far, so I brought on some new investors. Everything was really low budget to start off. Our offices were not in the best part of town and a lot of the furniture was either second-hand or rented. For the most part, we had everything we needed.  

So far, I was very happy with the team I had assembled. We had all been working very hard to get this company launched over the past few months. I assigned everyone with specific tasks based on their job descriptions and offered everybody a small stake in the company. I wanted to make sure the people who were with me from the grassroots would be taken care of, if and when we made it big.  

*** 

"Hey, Will, how are the numbers looking?" 

"So far we have an average of about fifteen hundred new accounts opening per day." 

"Which campaign has been the most effective?" 

"Our radio and TV ads, but the TV ads cost nearly five times as much. Should we discontinue or cut them back?"  

"No, continue with them as long as it is still profitable to do so." 

"But we're barely covering our costs." 

"I don't care. Keep the ads coming, they're necessary. If we discontinue those ads, we will save money, but we will be losing clients. Part of our success is to make Unity a household name. I anticipated going overboard with advertising in the beginning. Don't worry, it will eventually pay off." 

"You're good at this stuff, where did you learn to run a company?" Will asked. 

"I have worked for a lot of companies in the past and I have learned how not to run a company. Besides, if you believe in the product and hire the right people, it makes things run a lot smoother." 

"It's crazy seeing you now; you're a lot different from the guy I knew in high school." 

"Yeah, I have definitely come a long way since then." 

"Hey, do you remember almost getting suspended for throwing snowballs?" Will asked. 

"Of course, how did you know about that?" 

"Because I told Ms. Bennett you were not the one who threw the snowball." 

"That was you? Ms. Bennett said someone came forward and cleared my name, but I had no idea that was you. Thanks a lot." 

"No worries, that's what friends are for." 

"So do you know who threw the snowball?" 

"Yeah, it was that punk, Darrell. He was just going to let you go down for something he did. I hated that guy; I'm not sure why you hung out with him." 

"It's actually kind of funny learning it was Darrell who threw the snowball after all these years. Even back then, he was only looking out for himself. If only I had known, it would have saved me a lot of grief." 

"It's a good thing I had your back." 

"I really appreciate you vouching for me. In fact, you have helped me a lot in life, whether you know it or not. Without you, I would not have moved to Banff, and even if I did, I couldn't have afforded to stay there at first. You helped give my life momentum and I'll never forget it. Who knows how my life would have turned out if you were not there to help me all those times, so thanks a lot." 

"Thanks, man, but I'm sure you would have been fine without me." 

"Do you remember that time in Banff when you said one day we'd be looking back on this moment as a memory?"