07/23/2025
This photo was taken 13 years ago, when I had just relocated to the West Coast to build my business.
I was living in a small $2,000 beat up rental house in a rough neighborhood. The place wasn’t much. The cash flow was tight to build a new location. I needed all my savings to reinvest back to my business . Every month was a hustle. But the hardest part… was leaving my daughter Bella behind.
She was so young. She didn’t understand why I had to keep leaving for meetings, flying to different cities to build leaders, to build a future that didn’t exist yet.
This photo breaks my heart and lifts it at the same time. She didn’t want me to leave. But she still helped me pick the right shirt for my meeting—her tiny hand holding up my blazer as if to say, “Go get ‘em, Dad.”
Entrepreneurship isn’t always glamorous.
It’s not always jets and stages and success stories.
Sometimes it’s sleeping on the floor of a cheap apartment. Sometimes it’s crying silently in the car after saying goodbye to your kids.
Sometimes it’s hoping that the sacrifices you make today won’t be in vain tomorrow.
If you’re a parent chasing a bigger dream for your family, I see you. The guilt is real. The doubt is heavy.
But this journey is about building a future where our children can choose a different path—one with more freedom, more options, more dignity.
To every hustling parent out there who’s missed birthdays, bedtime stories, and morning hugs…
Just know that one day, your children will understand.
And they’ll be proud of the dream you chased—for them.
JW
