Throwback @elitefts s1 compound
This place is what my wife and I worked our asses off to move into after several years of working out of a spare bedroom.
The things I remember the most about this first move was the rent was a stretch for us at $400/month and we NEVER looked at how much more the business phone and internet would be. At the time, a phone internet (dial up) was around $40.00 a month. For a business $350.00. The phone line was much the same. Needless to say, I only ran into the office to ship the orders and then ran back home for all the calls as we could afford the internet and phone lines there. I was driving back and forth twice a day to return calls and have UPS pick up orders.
I would create all the shipping labels at home and take them downtown to ship out. It was a pain in the ass, very hot but it was a step we had to do. We’d just have to figure out how to sell more so we could get in all in one place. It took a little over a year but it happened.
The inventory at this time was just about all you see in these pictures. There were some other wraps, chalk, and t-shirts on the other side of these shelves. Notice all the VHS tapes?
If you look closely, you will see the 4 pack VHS set with the red case on the second shelf. This was the Westside Seminar - Force training Seminar DVD that you can now watch for free on our YouTube. Sold for $149.00 at the time - maybe $199.00, I forget.
In time, this weight room moved next door and became the office area full of a couple cubicles. The office you see became part of the inventory rooms.
After 6 years we had a total of 4 employees. Two being my wife and I.
After several more years, we moved out of this place to the Maple Street address as we needed more room for inventory. We needed more staff but also wanted something that wasn’t a total dump.
So we moved into a half-dump and stayed there until a couple years ago.
It took 20 years we got to a place that has real offices, warehouses and a parking lot.
I’m still waiting for the “dynamic growth” “10x” or double revenue year because I sure as hell have never seen it.
One thing I can say is we’re working on 22 years in business and in this industry- that’s rare and something I’m proud of.
It's been a long ass road and we are still looking for the highway.
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