When looking for advice or motivation on starting a new business, every guru seems to have the same well-meaning warning: running a business is hard! Sami Baki came across the same message repeatedly when he started his journey as an entrepreneur. But he discovered if you change that belief, you can open yourself up to new opportunities.
Sami always knew he was going to be rich. The question was how? His path began at age 16 when he crashed his car and felt a weight on his shoulders because his parents had to foot the bill. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but that experience ignited his desire to create the self-sufficient life he dreamed of. Sami knew he would need money to start a business, so he got a job at a restaurant in his community. “I remember my friends who also worked at that restaurant and went to my same high school were also saving up, but mostly to upgrade their cars and such. Meanwhile, every penny of mine was going into self-education and executing my plans to become a business mogul,” says Sami Baki.
After raising enough capital, Sami started his first business, an Amazon FBA, making $600/month. Sami was on top of the world until he had to close shop for unknowingly infringing on another retailer’s patents. But Sami didn’t let that stop him. He soon started his digital marketing agency that would become Finesse Digital Media.
In the beginning, Sami made a lot of mistakes. He had to rebuild his business several times, but each time he learned valuable lessons. Living by the paradigm that “business is hard,” he took that worn down road until he opened his eyes to how to work smarter. By taking actions that led to success, he became dialed into opportunities he would otherwise have neglected. “Looking back, there were a million things I could have done to get to where I am now, years sooner. I didn’t see these things for the longest time because my beliefs did not allow me to. Be very aware of your beliefs and how they may be making things harder on you,” says Sami Baki.
Even though Sami started his journey with an idea that he wanted to be rich, he says riches, as a goal, isn’t enough to keep you going. You have to be clear in what your vision is to stay motivated to succeed. “Helping my business partners, helping my teams, helping my customers, helping my friends, helping my family. When you can get out of bed in the morning and be motivated by helping and adding value to others instead of just making more money yourself, you’ll see how much easier it is to get the results you wanted,” says Sami Baki.
For the first 3 years, Sami made less than minimum wage for the amount of work he put in. He never believed in the traditional education system, but was always drawn to applied self-education. When he made the choice to go all out, he dropped out of college, burned his bridges and decided he would rather be homeless than give up. He bought courses, books, hired consultants, and learned things he never could have if he had stayed in college.
Once he shifted his way of thinking and became detached from the outcome, business became very easy for Sami. “Although in the beginning, my main motivation was making more money, after dropping out and building massively successful 7 figure businesses, I really stopped caring about being in business for the money. It then transitioned to helping others and adding value - especially the people I care about. That’s what gets me out of bed in the mornings now,” says Sami Baki.
This article was written in cooperation with Sami Baki