Chief Fire Starter and CEO of Fireside RV Rental Garr Russell joins the podcast this week to discuss building and scaling a business. An entrepreneur since the 5th grade, Garr shares his journey of launching companies, expanding them, and successfully franchising along the way. Don’t miss this episode packed with real-world experience and actionable strategies to help you take your business to the next level.
Bio:
Entrepreneur since the 5th grade! Or at least I tried to start my first business then. I went to my dad (who was not gifted with the biz minded bug) like I was and presented him a business plan and long story short he called me lazy and laughed at me or at least that’s how I remember it. My dad’s version is a bit different.
Well as the scriptures say “the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.” Life situations guided me into a different business venture which ended up with me being raided by the drug task force not once but twice! Yes I had used my God-given gifts to run drug houses.
Fast forward to 2003 when I gave control of my life and gifts to God I started my next business which was a credit counseling company in 2007 after bring fired from my job for sharing my faith. I had learned all about credit from fixing my own. god took me on a journey over a decade helping others restore their credit from life situations like job loss, divorce, bankruptcy, medical issues or just poor choices and not understanding credit like i had in my BC (before Christ) days.
I had published 2 books on credit became a FICO certified expert, con ed teacher for realtors and created a great reputation for helping create homeowners! I sold that company after 11 years when I stepped into my now passion of wheel-estate!
Yes, I said wheel-estate! I am now in the RV rental management space. I had built myself a fairly impressive portfolio of rental properties over the years and managed them all myself with the gifts of systems and processes that God gave me and little did I know that these skills were above to hit the road! Get it? Road? Wheelestate? lol RV’s have wheels?
Long story short I had bought my wife an RV for our 10-year wedding anniversary, and she was pregnant and hot and miserable and didn’t want to camp so I decided to rent it out! Well one thing led to the next and years later I now own the nations largest RV rental management franchise with locations in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, New York and several other states!!
Couple other fun facts:
1. We homeschool our 4 kids
2. We just got done full time RV-ing for 5 years
3. I lost everything in 2008, had to file bankruptcy and all……One of my favorite sayings is life doesn’t happen to us, but life happens for us!! Notice how the BK prepared me to start and sell and award-winning credit counseling business? Notice how a miserable wife prepared me to start and run the nation’s first RV rental management franchise opportunity?
4. I have an amazing COVID comeback story…(message me for more info).
Get In Touch:
Tip of the week:
Proverbs 14:23 – In all labor there is profit.
Watch episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_sp8Bmztqc