Far too many people in poverty take the disadvantages and get discouraged from making a change.JR Rivas was not one of these people and instead used his harsh youth as motivation for a successful future. JR is a serial entrepreneur who lived in New York with his sister and single mother for most of his life. JR was always in poverty throughout his life and states that as a waitress his mother never made more than $23,000 annually. One of his most impactful moments was when he was 13 and he went to turn on the sink but nothing came out. He was without water for six months so he had to take showers at friends house and wherever else he could. It was this moment that made JR promise himself that he would become successful no matter what.
Upon completing high school he decided college was not for him and began his job as a life insurance salesman. He was not too good at making sales so he made the plan to save up $10,000 to purchase a business and then enrolled in a class at H&R Block in order to learn to do taxes. Due to JR being the only person enrolled, the class was cancelled which prompted him to get a job at liberty tax. After a season at Liberty Tax he gained enough knowledge and experience so he purchased the franchise at age 18. He immediately began remodeling and creating a presentable building in the middle of a rough neighborhood. After taking ownership of the franchise he grew the business by sixty percent within the first year. Liberty Tax was impressed by his accomplishment and invited him to New York City to ring the closing bell at the Nasdaq live on CNBC.
JR did not want to slow down on his tax businesses so he purchased an additional three franchises and grew them by 17 percent. After a year of ownership he decided to sell all his franchises then move down south where he purchased another office. At this point he was offered a job at the corporate office and as much as he enjoyed the experience his entrepreneurial mindset would not allow him to hold a traditional job. After quitting his corporate job he realized that online tax services were the future so he sold his remaining office and started his new venture, a podcast
He used his new podcast he interviewed many different industry experts and eventually he decided to move into social media ads for small businesses. This business quickly took off and soon enough he had created a product for niche clients who wanted to learn how to create and manage ads. After only a month of this new business he had generated an income of $30,000. This amount of money was not one that JR ever thought he could achieve. Suddenly this inner city kid was able to travel and buy luxurious items and he would have never guessed that it would be him. As astonished as he was by the money he was more attracted to the fact that he was able to help people transform their lives along the way. It is truly inspiring what JR has proven that you can do with some dedication and hard work.
