Ramon's Electrician Pivot

A story about how Ramon, at 18 years old, accidentally took on an electrical job despite having no experience, and how his honest confession turned into a business opportunity.

"Back in the day, Ramon was like 'I want to start a painting business.' He needed money at 18 years old and thought he'd paint walls. Being the hustler that he was, he thought 'How can I widen the top of this funnel?' So he listed himself as a general contractor on Dutch Craigslist, saying he'd fix anything.

Next day, he gets an inquiry for electrical work. He goes to the home depot type store looking at vests thinking 'Which one looks more like an electrician?' Shows up the next day, and the client starts talking about '40 amps' and running lines under circuits. Ramon's writing notes, saying 'uh-huh, uh-huh' but he doesn't even understand the words the client is saying. He hoped it would just be light bulbs, but once he saw the thousand wires, he knew he was in trouble.

He went home, slept on it, and came back the next day to confess. He told the client 'I've never done electrical work, I just needed money and thought I could figure it out.' Instead of getting angry, the client respected his honesty and entrepreneurial spirit. He told Ramon, 'You don't need to know electrical work - you got the job, now find somebody who does know electrical work, subcontract it out, and keep a margin.'

Ramon started an actual general contracting business from there, and that client helped him out. He ended up making his first million running that business before immigrating to America."