who is this guy?
At the age of 39, Wade is on his first marriage and his fourth business. "I plan to keep my wife and stay in business, preferably loving both," says Wade of his future.
Wade started out self-motivated at an early age. "I began mowing yards as soon as I was old enough to push a mower around. I kept it up even into high school. My friends were all taking jobs at minimum wage, which was $3.35 at the time, but I was making over $10 an hour mowing lawns. Best of all, I created my own schedule."
Wade’s mowing career ended with the onset of college, and after receiving his BS from the University of Central Arkansas, Wade went on to become a financial planner. "Landing that job was interesting for both me and my employer. I interviewed them…not the other way around. I took the attitude that it wasn’t just me who was getting a good deal if I got hired—my employer was winning too. Rather than wait for job postings, I found companies that I had an interest in and would interview their management. If I was still interested at the end of the interview, I would offer them a chance to look at my resume and ask me questions."
Working for someone else was not to be Wade’s destiny, though, and so after two years in the financial planning world, Wade left to plot out a different career. "I wanted to be in business for myself, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I didn’t want to waste my time, yet I didn’t want to take steps in the wrong direction. A happy middle ground was going to graduate school where I earned an MBA from Baylor University in Waco, Texas."
Not too long thereafter Wade ran into his future wife, Sabrina. "Sabrina and I met, got engaged and married, all in five and a half months. I don’t normally rush things, but she was the right one. I didn’t need years to figure that out." Within three months of marriage, Wade and Sabrina had sold a car, moved into a garage apartment, and put everything towards their first business—a dating service. "No, I didn’t come out of the womb looking to be in the dating service business. We didn’t have a lot of money, and the business didn’t cost much—so it was the right business." We grew the business by roughly 700% over a three year time period. "It was a really odd business to be in as a newlywed. These women would come in, and they would be dressed up. Many times they were really good looking. No married guy has had it tougher than me."
After selling the dating service, a new challenge was on the horizon. Wade worked construction to pay his way through undergraduate school, so his next foray into business was founding a parking lot maintenance business. "I felt we could bring a professional attitude towards a very dirty business. Just showing up on time with all my teeth and clean clothes seemed to be a competitive advantage." The business was short-lived, though, as the longer Wade was in the business, the more he saw the effects of working with harsh chemicals. "We thought we could work our way off the jobsite in a couple of years, but in order to control quality, that was impossible. The last straw was when Sabrina had to peel off her clothes and drive home from a jobsite almost naked because she had been completely covered in cold tar. Let’s see…dipping your hands in lead paint all day, dodging speeding vehicles while you work, and my wife covered in tar…yep, it’s time to get into another business."
We said goodbye to parking lots and chemicals and went on to buy a small business trade exchange in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The business was a portal through which small companies traded out their excess time and inventory. The business did well, but after four years Wade was ready for a new challenge. "Onward and downward we went, selling that business and moving from the frozen tundra of Minnesota down to sunny Florida and then on to Denver, Colorado."
"Controlling my thoughts about other women has been difficult. I've never worked so hard at something in my life. The story of my transformation from mental philanderer to mental monogamist is embarrassing, to say the least. I don't hold anything back in the book. But if one kid keeps their dad around because I decided to put my efforts on paper, it was all worth it."
Wade lives with his wife and 5 year old son in Denver, CO. "Denver has been good to us, and we hope to be good to Denver for many years to come." Wade is a Denver mortgage broker. His company is Red Door Home Loans.
