JR Rivas is a modern inspirational entrepreneur who rose from all his disadvantages and used them as motivation to create a successful career. He went from not being able to shower for months to ringing the bell at the Nasdaq. JR grew up in New York with his sister and single mother who worked as a waitress and never made more than $23,000 a year. Growing up in such a low income household created many hardships for JR in his youth. One of the most notable struggles was when he was 13 and he was without water for 6 months so he had to shower at friends houses and wherever else he could. It was at this point in his life where he swore that he would grow up and escape poverty. As he aged he kept this motivation with him and instead of going to college he jumped straight into the life insurance business.
JR was not too proficient at being a salesman so he quickly left the life insurance business. He made a new plan to save up $10,000 for a business and then decided to enroll in a $300 H&R Block class to learn how to do taxes. It was a blessing in disguise that the class was canceled due to JR being the only person enrolled since that led him to get a job at a Liberty Tax franchise. After a season at this job he purchased the franchise at the age of 18. He spent many hours fixing up the building himself and by the time tax season came around he had a presentable tax firm in the middle of a rough neighborhood. Under his ownership the franchise grew its business by sixty percent. Liberty Tax took notice of his amazing work and invited him to ring the closing bell at the Nasdaq in New York City live on CNBC.
JR kept growing his tax business and acquired an additional 3 franchises and grew them by %17. By age 21 he was already in charge of 53 employees and was maintaining multiple 6 figure businesses. After a year of owning these franchises he decided to sell them and move down south where he purchased another office. It was at this point that he was offered a job at the corporate office as a seasonal salesman. JR enjoyed this experience but he knew he was not meant for a traditional job so he quit. After quitting this job he realized that the future of taxes was online services so he sold his remaining franchise and reinvented his plan.
After motivation from the people around him he decided to start a podcast. With his podcast he interviewed many different industry experts and eventually decided to do social media ads for small businesses. His business quickly took off and he soon had amazing clients and client testimonials. After making a reputation for himself he turned his services into a niche product to teach specific clients how to run and manage ads. Within a month of this he had generated $30,000 of income. All of this was life changing for him since he had always lived his life in poverty. He now had a very generous income and was his own boss which were two things that he was not used to. The way that he took all his disadvantages and still succeeded is truly inspiring and it really reflects the true American dream.