This spawned out of another discussion on how High school students can develop an entrepreneurial skill stack. The intent of this is to provide a framework of resources for 18 years old who want to operate a trade business in 4 years. I know I have some blind spots and I would love your feedback on how to improve this.
I’ve spent over a decade in the trades; most of my experience is from working up the enlisted ranks in the Air Force. When I left active duty I was looking at buying different shops in my industry, so I could operate them as a business owner. I went from not knowing anything about a trade to running sections of 13 tradesmen. I read 30 to 50 books per year. So a lot of this is me condensing that into the things that gave me the most value on my journey. I am obviously limited by my perspective, that’s why I need your help to make this resource more valuable.
Yes, “just in time learning” is incredibly powerful. However, there are different personality types that need a top down framework.
To the 18 year old who wants to run a plumbing company in 4 years,
So there are two paths, which are very similar to the military’s officer vs enlisted dichotomy. There is the professional managebusiness operator which mirrors the officer path. Then there is the subject matter expert(SME) or trades men role, which mirrors the enlisted path. There are advantageous and disadvantageous to both of them.
What are some of the biggest problems that a trade business will run into?

• Issues with personnel
• Training new people
• Keeping required licenses/certifications
• Sales
• Operations
• Logistics
• Finances

So what are the advantageous/disadvantageous of each role, and how do they prepare you to tackle these issues?

• Tradesmen (enlisted)
  
  • Pros
    • Deep subject matter expert in that field
    • This will allow you to know BS when you smell it
    • Your future employees will know BS, when they smell it. Being a SME keeps you grounded.
    • There is a steep learning curve for your first trade, but its way less for your second, third, etc.
  • You will be able to understand how tradesmen work/think
  • You can treat your time as an apprentice as a “paid internship.”
  • You can get the licenses the business needs under your name. i.e. some jurisdictions require a master plumber for a plumbing company. If that’s you, you don’t need to worry about losing a key employee which shuts down the business.
  • Cons
    • If you don’t have a plan it can be “pigeon holing”
    • Its hard on the body long term, 10 – 12 hrs. of hard labor 5-6 days a week. It's easy when your 20, much harder when you 45.
• Professional manager (officer)
  
  • Pros
    • Manage operations across industries
    • Mange logistics across different business
    • More in-depth understanding of how to raise capital and manage finances.
    • Better business strategic management
  • Cons
    • Usually, more debt for higher education
    • It can become too far removed from the “field” to know what matters on a tactical level

There is a way to maximize the benefits of both while negating the cons. This third path is were an enlisted (tradesmen) will cross over to officer (professional manager). However this has a long time horizon or a higher workload, depending on how you chunk things.
So what can that look like?
If you’re going for a four-year degree, make sure its business focused or aligned to the trades. Some examples; construction management, architecture, project management, business analyses, etc. While you’re going to school work in as many trades as possible. Think 3-6 months as an HVAC installer, 3 months as a “sparky” over summer break, work weekends as a landscaper during the spring, etc.
This will give you:

• A wide range of trade experience
• The ability to see how multiple business operate
• Away to reduce the amount of debt for higher education

Or
If you know what trade you want to go into, spend four years working as an apprentice to become a licensed journeymen. While you’re doing this create your own business school. You’ll have a lot of time going back and forth to job sites that you can redeem with audiobooks. Help out with the business operations side and learn sales.
This will give you:

• A journeymen level trade
• A debt free education
• A sizeable nest egg, depending on how much you save
• Enough experience to either open your own shop or buy one

If you want to create your own personalized business school, do the following:
Learn to lead different types of teams through a multitude of environments. If you don’t have a way to do this professionally, volunteer with your student organizations, local church, or other organization you’re passionate about.
Master your personnel finances. If you can’t control a $500 paycheck, how can you expect to control a $50,000 paycheck?
Here is tier list of books to replace a traditional BA in business. The average CEO of a fortunate 500 company reads 50 books per year. You can do at least 25 books. This frame work can get you that education within 25 books, 18 core books with 7 for electives. So 25 weeks or 1 year will save you 4 years fulltime. Also supplement this with free training from SBA. https://www.sba.gov/sba-learning-platform
If you’re on a budget, get these at a library or used book store. If you find this article valuable, clicking through the affiliate link will enable me do more of this.
“First Phase” – 4 books

• How to win Friends and Influence people – this is the best book to improve your relationships period.
  
  • https://amzn.to/3nbw3kP
• Rich dad poor dad or Cash Flow Quadrant - these have fundamental concepts for building wealth,
  
  • Rich dad poor dad https://amzn.to/3Z93Qs4
  • Cash Flow Quadrant https://amzn.to/3FFrUfm
• Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker – Peter Drucker is the granddaddy of the MBA. You don’t have to be a Brainiac to understand and apply what he’s talking about.
  
  • https://amzn.to/406DSGV
• Accounting for dummies or Monkey Makeover or Richest Man in Babylon – these are basic money management. 99.999% of people don’t need advanced option evaluations, they need to learn to balance their books
  
  • accounting for dummies https://amzn.to/3JC7166
  • Total Money Makeover https://amzn.to/3ng1HgY
  • Richest Man in Babylon https://amzn.to/3JyVXGR

“Second Phase” – 4 books, start knocking out the free sba training https://www.sba.gov/sba-learning-platform

• Influence the Psychology of Persuasion – you will use the stuff in this book everyday of your life
  
  • https://amzn.to/3Zbr29f
• The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Gramm literally mentored Warren Buffet. There’s a positive feedback loop, where the better you get at fundamental investing the better you understand business and the better you are at business the better you understand fundamental investing.
  
  • The Intelligent Investor https://amzn.to/40nh4m0
• Asset Protection – the legal structures you need to protect what you build
  
  • Asset Protection https://amzn.to/3lwGJKv
• 21 Laws of Leadership – if you only read 1 book on leadership, make it this one. Every Senior NCO or Officer I deeply respect, has this on their book shelf
  
  • 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership https://amzn.to/3Z9pD2M

“Third Phase” - tackle the core, then either knock out one knowledge area or sample one book from each. 7- Books

• Core
  
  • Personnel MBA - skip the two year master’s program, read this instead
    • Personal MBA https://amzn.to/3FL5M38
  • Effective Executive – Again, Drucker is a beast his advice is better than any “trendy business book or guru”
    • The Effective Executive https://amzn.to/3LJhZZX
  • Statistics for Dummies – You’ll need data to make better decisions, so you need to understand how data works.
    • Statistics for Dummies https://amzn.to/3JCzn03
  • Buy then Build – this is business acquisition 101
    • Buy then Build https://amzn.to/3neWwht
• Project Management – this is the art and science of coordinating teams to get things done.
  
  • PMBOK 6 – This is the project management bible – it looks thick but there are a ton of useful flowcharts and pictures
    • PMBOK 6th Edition https://amzn.to/3Tyyj1H
  • PMBOK 7 – This supplements PMBOK 6
    • PMBOK 7th Edition https://amzn.to/40s2Xfj
  • Agile PG – How you get things done in a dynamic environment
    • Agile Practice Guide https://amzn.to/3K1TI0e
• Leadership
  
  • Extreme Ownership – listening to Jocko will make you a better man.
    • Extreme Ownership https://amzn.to/3JETXgg
  • Leaders Eat Last – great for understanding/ leading millennials
    • Leaders Eat Last https://amzn.to/409Pklp
  • 4 Lenses – this is what the USAF used to teach NCOs to help them understand different personalities and how they function in group dynamics.
    • 4 Lenses https://amzn.to/3yZPT5m
• Streamlining operations
  
  • 6 sigma: yellow belt and green belt, - in business everything that is not a relationship is a process. Learning how to refine process will enable you to refine every aspect of your business.
    • 6 Sigma Yellow Belt https://amzn.to/3LJWiJp
    • 6 Sigma Green Belt https://amzn.to/3lxcZNp
  • The Spirit of Kaizen – read this if you don’t have the time to go through 6 Sigma
    • The Sprit of Kaizen https://amzn.to/40sfTlv
  • Checklist Manifesto – this will enable you to write better SOPs, that people will actually use.
    • The Checklist Manifesto https://amzn.to/3lwF7QM
• Operating a legal business
  
  • Start your own Corporation
    • Start Your Own Corporation https://amzn.to/3K0bPU8
  • Run your own corporation
    • Run Your Own Corporation https://amzn.to/3Z74lmz

“Fourth Phase” – The 4 book core is focused on long term strategy. The other 6 books are electives, pick what interests you. 10 books total.

• Core
  
  • Sapiens – after the Bible, the most recommended book by Billionaires for understanding human behavior
    • Sapiens https://amzn.to/404bRzU
  • The Lessons from History – This is easily digestible and will give you tremendous insight into macro-environments
    • The Lessons of History https://amzn.to/3Z555sl
  • Principles – This will teach you to think like one of the most successful hedge fund managers, while also being applicable to a small 3 person operation.
    • Principles https://amzn.to/3ninlkE
  • Blue Ocean Strategy – how to create your own lane for competition
    • Blue Ocean Strategy https://amzn.to/3TzWYCS
• o Tony Robbins – this dude mentors Presidents, Billionaires, and top athletes.
  
  • o Money Master the Game
    • Money Master The Game https://amzn.to/3LJEFtb
  • Unshakable
    • Unshakeable https://amzn.to/3K1LqWb
  • Awaken the Giant Within
    • Awaken the Gian Within https://amzn.to/3TzMSSw
  • Unlimited Power
    • Unlimited Power https://amzn.to/40ailgF
• Jhon C. Maxwell – great resource for improving your leadership
  
  • John C Maxwell https://amzn.to/42wze6K
• Peter F. Drucker – skip the MBA just read Drucker instead.
  
  • Peter Drucker https://amzn.to/3lxt45M
• Rich dad poor dad advisor series
  
  • Guide to Investments – I learned more from this book about business, then from my associate degree in business
    • Rich Dad's Guide to Investing https://amzn.to/3TyAsdL
  • Tax Free Wealth
    • Tax Free Wealth https://amzn.to/3lztZTf
• Robert Green – his work isn’t prescriptive, its descriptive of human behavior. The better you understand human behavior the better your life will be.
  
  • 48 Laws of Power
    • 48 Laws of Power https://amzn.to/406IXPv
  • 33 Strategies of War
    • 33 Strategies of War https://amzn.to/3Jwxt0O
  • Art of Seduction
    • Art of Seduction https://amzn.to/42vFJqx
  • Mastery
    • Mastery https://amzn.to/3Z7hf3R

VERIFICATION
​
Mini Rollerball
$4

1. Clean Reserve Radiant Nectar EDP Mini Rollerball 3 ml

​
Official Samples
$7

1. Tom Ford Bitter Peach EDP sample 2 ml

$3

1. Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume EDP sample 1.7 ml

$2 each

1. Calvin Klein DEFY EDP sample 1.2 ml
2. Givenchy Gentleman Society EDP sample 1 ml
3. Georgio Armani Armani Code EDT sample 1.2 ml
4. Gucci Bloom EDP Intense sample 1.5 ml
5. Marc Jacobs Perfect EDT sample 1.2 ml
6. Mugler Alien Goddess EDP sample 1.2 ml
7. Tom Ford Ombre Leather EDP sample 1.5 ml (sprayed 2x)
8. Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb Infrared EDT sample 1.2 ml

Free with Purchase

1. Carolina Herrera Bad Boy Extreme EDP sample 0.3 ml
2. Carolina Herrera Good Girl Blush EDP sample 0.3 ml

​
Venmo,Paypal F&F, G&S
Shipping $4
Packaged in bubble mailers/ recycled box w/ recycled fillers for protection
Shipped within 2 business days w/ USPS (Pirate Ship)

a {pointer-events: auto !important}; 

Hey all,
So I just received my Code of Bell Apex Liner from their kickstarter and it’s not really for me. Not as big as I thought it was gonna be, and not really my style.
Condition: Brand new with tags. Never used—I just took it out of the packaging to check it out. Literally received in the mail a few weeks ago and has been sitting in the delivery packaging since.
This is still on pre-order on the COB website for $220, plus $60 for the backpack harness. You can check out the specs & details here: https://www.codeofbell.com/products/apex-liner-pro-2-1-way-shoulder-bag on their website.
Imgur: https://imgur.com/a/R6wp3XP

Link to get more info and sign up: https://www.visible.com/get/?3MQ6JN6