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Trevor Oldham is a 20-year-old entrepreneur who’s had eleutheromania ever since he can remember. Trevor is the co-founder at Become The Lion. He’s been a contributor for Addicted2Success, Influencive, and The Daily Positive. Trevor’s on a mission to influence millennial’s to take charge of their life and achieve the desired freedom in their life.
City: Mattapoisett, MA
Hobbies: Working out, reading, writing
Favorite quote: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future,” – Steve Jobs
Hey Trevor, it’s awesome to have you here. Can you tell us a bit more about how your entrepreneurial journey started?
I’ve always been an entrepreneur but never knew that I was called an entrepreneur up until a few years ago. Growing up I sold baseball cards, mowed lawns, bought and re-sold Ed Hardy clothing, and even when door-to-door selling lemonade which my parents weren’t too happy about.
I had been working at a job that I disliked for a few months making minimum wage. It was during that job I came across the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. I was inspired by the lifestyle that Jordan Belfort was living. I went out and bought books on investing. I realized that I didn’t have the money right away to make a lot of money in investing. I did realize however that I had time on my side.
I knew that working a job wasn’t going to get me to my desired income. Between the time spent working and the taxes being taken out it didn’t seem feasible to work a job. I figured why work a job when I can create jobs. It was when I learned about passive income that my life has forever been changed.
Not only being able to work for myself but I wanted to be an entrepreneur so that I can leave a legacy and make an impact on the world. It’s hard to make a significant impact if you’re working for someone else. Being an entrepreneur means that you have the possibility to change the world.
Through a series of fortunate events I came across the book on Amazon titled the differences between the poor and the upper class. The book mentioned starting a business. I ended up buying and selling phone cases from China. They ended up being knock-offs and I lost the majority of my money, I believe that you can call this my first failure.
What did you learn from working with China?
I learned that if you’re importing from China you shouldn’t buy name brand items. From there, I imported bracelets and watches from China and started the brand called Trevor James Products. The brand was going well but I came to a crossroad. Become The Lion was just starting to take off and I didn’t have time to run both businesses. I asked myself this question, “What do I want to be doing in 50 years.” Trevor James Products wasn’t in the answer. I’ve gone into Become The Lion full time since then.
Who has influenced you the most?
The biggest influences in my life include my family, the books I have read and Steve Jobs.
Was there a defining moment in your short 20 years?
I believe that my life has been a series of defining moments and it’s hard to pick just one. Everyday something good and something bad is happening and you can either let that define you or you can continue to create your own story, the one that you wish to write. If I had to choose one defining moment it would be through the books I read that I learned that I didn’t have to work for someone else, I can work for myself. In school you’re taught to get a job but, no one ever teaches you to create jobs. When I learned that I could create jobs my entire world opened.
What’s on your plate right now?
Right now at Become The Lion we released our first book The Daily Lion. Along with The Daily Lion we are going to be coming out with a teen mentoring program that’s going to empower adults under the age of 20 to chase after their dreams with the tools and resources that we are going to give them. Along with that we are going to be launching a coaching program and a course on how to grow your business through social media.
How do you come up with your ideas?
The ideas came to us over time. At first it was about writing the book. It was a book we wish we would have had but it hadn’t been written yet. The same can be said with the other ideas that we are going to be implementing into our business. We never had the chance to work with other individuals like ourselves, especially young entrepreneurs and we want to give back to the world and we want to help other young entrepreneurs gain the freedom that they desire to build the life that they choose and not have to worry. I’ve been coached myself and I have seen the power in it. My goal in coaching others is not only give them the insight on how to create a successful business and also to help them break to the limiting beliefs they have. For our course, there isn’t a course out there that tells you how to build a following on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. We want to show everyone how they can develop a large social following online on more than one social media outlet.
What makes Become the Lion different?
Our product and service is different because we give you tangible actions you need to take in your life. We’re more than just a motivational company, we give insights to others on what it takes to actually become successful.
What has been a fantastic moment you’ve had with it?
My favorite moment has been when a fan has messaged us telling us how much the brand has helped them or impacted their lives. My second favorite moment was the release of our book. We worked tirelessly on it and it was amazing the see the completed product.
What’s the vision?
Our vision is to impact as many young entrepreneurs as we can to go after their dreams. We want to give them the tools, resources and tactics on what’s going to take to succeed. Through our blog, podcast and social media we want to inspire others to live the life that they deserve.
Any particular type of FB ad you use to target people?
For Facebook ads we target the people who already like our page and do retargeting ads for people who have been to our website already.
Did you experience failure along the way? What did you learn from it?
I have experienced multiple failures on my journey as an entrepreneur. Everyday I encounter failure. I don’t let this deter me from the end goal. I view every failure as an opportunity to learn. It’s come to my knowledge that every time something negative happens to me I can always turn it into a positive. There’s no situation that you cannot handle. If you look for the positive in every situation you’ll be able to find it.
What’s something you want to teach us regarding Facebook marketing?
One of the best ways to get someone to sign up for your continuity program is to start with a facebook live video. From the facebook live video, you send them to a free webinar. At the end of the webinar, you promote your membership for $1 for a 7-day trial with the full price of the membership kicking in on the eighth day. This is called an invisible funnel. The customer has to tell you to cancel their membership, if they don’t then you can generate revenue from the membership program. The conversation rate on the $1 trial is around 50%.
Where can we go a learn more about that invisible funnel?
The best website to learn this from is: https://dotcomsecrets.com/getdcsfree-1
I also recommend using: You can find a course to teach yourself almost anything.
Do you recommend Facebook as a primary marketing resource?
For our company it has been more beneficial using Facebook than any other social media platform. If you’re going to start an online business to drive traffic or build a fanbase, use Facebook. The cost per fan / follower is much cheaper and not as saturated if you find the right market on Facebook.
What’s your best tip for a new entrepreneur?
The best advice I give to a new entrepreneur would be to just start. You can wait your entire life planning and prepping and still never get anything done. Starting is the hardest part, it only gets easier from there.
What should an entrepreneur focus on?
An entrepreneur should focus on leaving a legacy. What I mean by this is that we can die at any moment. Would you be satisfied if that moment came today? You should always be focusing on impacting as many people as you can and providing as much value as you can. When you’re gone are you going to be remembered?
Do you have any favorite reads?
Some of my favorite books are: Win or Learn by John Kavanagh, Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco, Outwitting the devil by Napoleon Hill, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, and Be Obsessed or Be Average by Grant Cardone.
Where do you see yourself in a few years?
I see myself as leading authority for young entrepreneurs in a few years. It’s been a goal of mine to get on Forbes 30 Under 30 and I intend to achieve it. Our product is going to have impacted millions of lives. We are going to be the go to source if you’re looking to improve your life.
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