Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Cyrus.
Will, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in the outskirts of Miami, Florida, Pompano Beach, to be exact. I was raised in a single-family household and in a lower-income community. My mother had me when she was 15 years old. My dad was a local drug dealer. My dad ended up going to federal prison by the time I was five. That’s when life began for me. That’s when I believe I saw the poverty around me. I always say that’s when my “hustler” mentality was born.
I started entrepreneurship at the age of six selling Little Debbie snacks and Pokémon cards. At that time, I was making about $100 a week. I was able to pay for my own school clothes, which was big in a poverty-stricken community. My mother worked at the local Winn-Dixie. She did not make much income, so for me, entrepreneurship was huge. It helped to ease the financial burden on my household. I used sports as my scapegoat from the pressures of my community. Playing (football & running track) allowed for me to go to college and refine my business savvy even more. I wasn’t the smartest kid in the world. Many people thought that I was because of how quick I am to process information. Everything that I know comes from having to be quick on my feet and living in an impoverished community.
When it came to ACT and SAT testing, I scored one of the lowest results in my class. The results read a 15 on my ACT test. However, I was always “street smart” and could process things in ways that others couldn’t. That skill set allowed for me to get through college. Being the first in my immediate family on my mom’s side to graduate high school, let alone obtain a college degree, was huge for changing the pendulum of poverty for my family’s legacy going forward. This is the reason that building a company in my family’s name was extremely important. I started out by creating a strict financial plan. My plan included retirement planning, investments, and life insurance.
One day a client, who is also a business owner, needed me to consult him on a very large project. Long story short, I was able to transform his project into a very profitable business from the ground up. It was the biggest paycheck I had ever received. Henceforth, this experience is what inspired me to write my latest book, Project to Profit, and build The Cyrus Consulting Group, Inc., a full service consulting practice. The Cyrus Consulting Group, Inc. was birthed out of everything I had to endure growing up. I overcame being told I was too small to play Division 1 college football, being told I would never be able to climb the corporate ladder, being told I wasn’t smart enough to go to college and being told I didn’t have potential to go into entrepreneurship why one of my College professors. It’s amazing what the power of “No” can do for an individual who is internally motivated. I always told myself I wanted to create a business that allowed me to empower people who were once like myself to be great. I wanted this principle to be the focal point in taking people’s businesses, ideas, or financial plans to the next level. I learned that people don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. I had to endure a lot of mental battles early on, including telling myself that I am not cut out for this lifestyle. I began to tell myself “Will, you’re the first in your family to graduate high school. What makes you think you can be a profitable business owner?” I also started looking at other people’s journey and got sidetracked. I was trying to follow other people’s purposes and not my own. Once I understood that I had a certain skill set that only I could execute, that’s when things for me and my business took off.
The biggest challenge was letting go of my past and grabbing my future. It’s extremely difficult to do well in business if you’re holding on to both of them. You have to let go of your dead weight. I always knew I was intelligent enough to build a profitable six-figure business. However, for some reason I started to allow the my story to become excuses. The fact that I came from an impoverished family, I don’t speak as well as others, I am a minority, I’m a black man in America started to become a negative narrative. I had a bunch of excuses at first. When I let those excuses go and I decided to trust God, is when His doors opened up for me.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cyrus Consulting Group, Inc. – what should we know?
We area full service consulting practice that specializes in financial consulting for businesses and startups. We aim to assist them in understanding the financial considerations of their business. I am most proud of the fact that we are able to make an impact in our client’s lives and their financial futures. There is nothing more satisfying than hearing a client say I further understand business because of your help. I believe this is what sets me apart from my counterparts. I actually have the experience and methods that might give results. As a millennial, I have an interesting and fresh perspective on building wealth. I use my story to help convey difficult to understand financial concepts. Most guys in finance are extremely complicated and too smart for their own good. Clients love me because I am able to explain difficult information in an innovative way. My knowledge on business has been very fruitful to my clients.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are about 5 people in my life who have helped to form me into the man I am today.
1) My Aunt – She provided moral support and placed me in the right positions to succeed. I did not understand this while growing up, but now I do.
2) My Mom – Her tough love paid in dividends. She did not express love in the conventional way that you would expect. However, she taught me how to have thick skin that is important in business. You cannot be easily offended by what people do or say.
3) My 9th grade teacher – She was one of the first people to ever believe in me and positively affirm my skill set. She placed me in positions to shine and grow as a young man destined for greatness. I am forever grateful for her believing in me when I did not believe in myself.
4) My high school career counselor – She never gave up on me when it came to attending a college. She made sure I had everything I needed in order to succeed and finish my application. She was extremely instrumental to my journey.
5) My high school football coach – He encouraged me to transfer to Boca Raton High School, in Florida. If it were not for his influence, I would have stayed at my previous high school and potentially sucked into the “street life”. By getting me to transfer to a better school, he helped to save my life.
Contact Info:
- Address: 325 N. Saint Paul Street, Suite 3100, Dallas, TX 75201
- Website: www.cyruscg.com
- Email: Willcyrus@cyruscg.com
- Instagram: Cyrus_consulting
Image Credit:
Taylor Media Photography
Dlores Media Group
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