The Career Hack That Changed Everything

Apr 03, 2023

Thirteen years ago, I had big dreams of becoming rich, but my life was falling apart. My first business had failed miserably, leaving me struggling to make ends meet. I was behind on my taxes, my business partner had left, and to top it all off, my dream girl had left me for a guy who lived on the same floor of my building. I had to sneak around, using the back door and climbing seven flights of stairs to avoid them.

My first venture was a website development business with big margins early on thanks to low overhead and outsourced labour. However, to improve the creative quality, we began onshoring, which proved to be a costly mistake. In a matter of months, we went from riding high to running into a brick wall. Projects always took longer than budgeted, new sales dried up, and a key account was cancelled. With less than a month's expenses left in the bank, I had to close the office.

But joining a peer group early in my career was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Our group had about twenty ambitious young men from different industries and backgrounds, and we would meet every sixth Saturday for breakfast to share our "vivid vision" for the future and discuss our progress since the last meeting. We encouraged each other and rooted for one another.

Inspired by the most financially successful men in the group, who were getting a piece of the upside in their projects, I realised that charging by the hour was not scalable and that focusing on a valuable niche was vital for success. Watching one of them launch a $1B gold miner gave me the confidence to pursue my own success in the venture resource business.

A few months after closing my website shop, I met Joe Martin, founder of Cambridge House, Canada's top mining venture trade show. At that time, mining was thriving, and Joe had 500 junior miners paying him to exhibit at his conferences, which featured talks by renowned investors praising the benefits of commodities and gold. Joe needed help with his website and marketing, so he invited me to a Phoenix conference to learn more about Cambridge House. I had to miss my peer group meeting, but I knew that this was a chance I couldn't afford to miss.

Nervous and overindulged, I couldn't sleep that first night at the hotel. However, lying in bed, I had a realisation: I wasn't a mere victim of circumstances, but rather, I was the master of my own fate. After a few hours of sleep, I recorded a video update message for the boys back home. I shared the plan they had helped me formulate: build a personal brand in Canada's stock market through media, own profitable deals, and have a burning desire to succeed.

Although I had my doubts, the guys in my peer group believed in me, and Joe did too. Before we left Phoenix, he offered me an opportunity to work with him, which introduced me to scores of ventures and influential investors. Soon I would take what I had learned about the physical conference and attempt to make a digital version with CEO-CA. The company would eventually set me on a path to prosperity.

Looking back, joining a peer group and learning from others who were achieving success was a key turning point in my career. They challenged me to think differently and helped me craft a better plan for myself. I wish I could go back and tell my 25-year-old self that everything was going to work out, but I know I wouldn't have believed it anyway.

Video: Nervous, hungover Tommy to peer group (Feb 2011)