This former taxi driver now earns $2M+ a year with two businesses — and shares how he made it happen

When Money Singh moved from Punjab, India, to San Francisco successful 2006 astatine property 19, helium didn’t consciousness similar helium was chasing the American dream. He was lonely, homesick, and unsure of his adjacent steps.

“I was depressed for that 1 year,” helium told CNBC. (1) “I wanted to spell back.”

Instead, helium stayed and built a beingness that present includes 2 thriving businesses and much than $2 cardinal successful yearly revenue.

Singh’s travel from taxi operator to multimillion-dollar entrepreneur is impervious that grit, creativity, and persistence wage disconnected — adjacent erstwhile the likelihood are stacked against you.

Here’s a breakdown of the fiscal risks it takes to go an entrepreneur, and tips connected however you tin commencement and turn your ain tiny business.

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After dropping retired of assemblage erstwhile immoderate of his credits from India didn’t transfer, Singh took a bid of jobs — archetypal astatine a drugstore, past arsenic a dispatcher for his uncle’s cab company, earning conscionable $6 an hour. But helium soaked up each acquisition helium could astir however the concern worked.

Over the adjacent 12 years, helium went from taxi operator to taxi concern owner, managing a five-cab fleet and launching his ain dispatch service. That concern yet evolved into Driver’s Network, an advertizing and selling bureau for autarkic taxi drivers, present called ATCS Platform Solutions. That institution brought successful implicit $1.1 cardinal successful gross past year.

In 2018, Singh decided to subdivision out. Inspired by his mother, and encouraged by a barber friend, helium opened Dandies Barbershop & Beard Stylist successful Mountain View, California. But occurrence didn’t travel easily.

The city’s permitting process took a afloat year, costing Singh $75,000 successful rent for the abstraction earlier helium could adjacent unfastened the doors. Then, six months aft launching, the pandemic forced him to adjacent down.

“I had to merchantability everything,” Singh said. “I had to devour less. I virtually had to absorption connected eating $1 per repast to marque definite the concern stays open.”

He took retired 2 Paycheck Protection Program loans, borrowed from friends, tapped beingness security funds, and maxed retired recognition cards — racking up much than $200,000 successful debt. But Singh enrolled successful barber schoolhouse himself, truthful erstwhile the store reopened successful 2021, the concern could connection a broader scope of services.