Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mike and I’m an entrepreneur, photographer and filmmaker. I first started an online business back in 2012 and have been going ever since. My goal was to never work another 9-5 job again giving me true freedom to live my life on my terms. It also gives me a flexible schedule allowing me to work around my film projects. How I got here is not so pleasant of story.

In May of 2012 I was a warehouse manager (shipping and receiving). At that point I had been with the company for 8 years. Up until 2009 I worked in the warehouse by myself but things were getting to busy for me to do it all. My boss wanted to get me an assistant to help reduce my work load. As a coincident that very night I got a call from my “best-friend” who I had not heard from in 4 months. At this time he was taking care of his dying mother and couldn’t handle the pressures of his job so he walked out. After two weeks of looking he called me. I knew him well enough to know why out of the blue he called me. Being that good friend I was I convinced my boss to hire him. That would be a big mistake.

Just a quick backstory, I met my “best friend” in the 7th grade. He was a goofball and always told fibs so I wouldn’t actually trust him until we got into our 20’s. That was when we became actual best friends. He was always there to help no matter what it was. He witnessed a lot of dark days with my family and my struggles to succeed at pretty much anything. At one point he said to me “I don’t know how you do it. With all the shit that keeps being thrown at you I would have quit long ago.” I replied “I don’t give up. No matter how hard it is I will fight the battle until I do succeed.” As time passed I thought he would be a friend for life. Eventually he became more like a brother. One issue that he never grew out of was when he would meet new friends he would drop me. I just wouldn’t hear from him for months on end. Then when I would it was usually because he no longer had those friends. I just kept falling for it. Letting it be. That is what leads me to 2012. This new friend he had lasted and he basically replaced me. I would see him at work everyday but he kept his life a secret. We stopped going to the movies, on hikes, and no more phone calls. I felt that this friendship might be at the end.

Now let’s return to 2012. I arrive to work on a beautiful morning in May in a great mood. I had lost 35lbs and after work was in pre-production on my next film which I was super excited about. My “friend” approached me and all he says “On Monday when we return to work the bosses want you to go to the office. They want to discuss your attitude problem.” He then walked away leaving me confused. What attitude? I’ve been in a great mood! As the day went on I got angrier and angrier and was willing to quit the job. He had been acting weird all day I knew something was up. After lunch he took me aside and confessed! He had been “venting” to the women in the office at the end of each after I left. Most of what he told them were things he actually did. He lied to them and when those lies made it to the bosses they came after me. He felt guilt however I came to the conclusion he purposely sabotaged my job in to get me fired because he feared being laid off as the company had struggles. That day was the end of our friend ship and honestly to this day I just don’t think he cares. The meeting with the bosses did not go well with them accusing me of things that never happened and ridiculing me. The entire company turned on me making it a miserable place for me. A week later they called me in again where they disrespected me, belittled me, talked down to me and were overall monsters. This is what lead me to where I am today.

I didn’t want to go through that ever again so I turned to making my own work and own money. I started multiple businesses. Some succeeded and some didn’t. That’s just the way it is but no matter I am free and that is the greatest feeling next to love.