Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Strickland.
Hi Jacob , can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I struggled to find my path in life but I knew I wanted to help people. 20 days after I graduated High School I applied to be a corrections officer and got the job. I saw things that no 18 year old kid should see,
I saw the worst of the worst and people in their raw emotions and on the worst day of the lives. I didn’t particularly enjoy it but it’s a service that needs to be done. Someone has to protect the public from the individuals who shouldn’t be in the public.
The only skills I had at that time were self defense of myself, and others. Back then the only jobs that paid well for 18 year olds were the ones that were dangerous, or ones that put you in harms way.
I went to college during the day and worked all night at the jail. I would worked from 6pm-6am, then leave there and be at school at 8am, and conclude class at 12pm. I only slept on my days off. My college professor used to come to my class and check on me to see if I was okay from the night before and if I was okay from no sleep.
I did this for a few years and eventually got my degree in Criminal Justice. I was going to be a corrections officer until I could become a police officer. Somewhere along the line in my path I decided that it was probably not a good time in society to be a police officer. This was in 2009 and it progressively got worse and worse for that profession so I decided against becoming a police officer. I say, “I dodged a bullet, maybe literally”.
From there I went into private security and did unarmed and armed security for just about anything you can think of: sect 8 government assisted apartment complexes, tire plants, General Motors, beauty supply places, restaurants, clubs, game rooms, my favorite security job was being an armored truck driver. I used to drive around to the banks, pickup money, and take it to the next stop. I think the most I ever picked up was 4.1 million dollars in gold. This was back when the Texas gold reserves were being pulled out of the federal reserve and stored in Texas depositories only. Our governor was unsure about Obama’s plans for everything so I believe he was taking precautions.
From there I grew tired of putting myself in harms way and wanted to do something different so my friend worked for a vending company and their company was hiring. The owner liked that I had been an armored security guard and I could be trusted with large amounts of cash that wasn’t mine. So he gave me a job going around to the places where he had machines, arcade games, pool tables, poker machines, jukeboxes, etc and I would pull the money from them, give the location their cut, and bring back his cut to the office. I never took one penny that didn’t belong to me, and that is very rare quality to find in today’s world.
In that job I learned how to fix little problems that each piece of equipment or machine would have, and I would remember how to fix it for the next time it happened. My route supervisor would tell me over the phone, “try this or try that” and I would see how they worked and fix them. Little fixes turned into big fixes and big fixes turned into knowing how to build my own games from nothing.
Ive worked on just about everything that vends something. Arcade games, new and classic, claw machines, pool tables, jukeboxes, slot machines, ATM’s, cigarette machines, bowling pinsetters, change machines, etc. when I worked for Main event they sent us all to the Brunswick school
Of pinsetters.
Doing this type of work, I would go to the auctions for this type of equipment. It was common for the owner of our company to send us to the auction with equipment he didn’t want to keep anymore, as well as to get a good deal on equipment we could fix and re-sell for a profit or put out on the route.
I would watch the auctioneer and how he worked, and how the process worked. I was fascinated with everything. At the time this auctioneer and auction company were the only people around who would come to town to do this, and they were from a State far from Texas.
There weren’t many options for the amusement community, so I decided to look into auction school to see what the process was to become an auctioneer. I found America’s Auction Academy in Frisco, Tx ran and operated by Mike Jones. I looked into Mike and found that he is to the auction industry what I was to security and amusements. He had many many years of experience as an auctioneer and auction company, and had auctioned off just about anything and everything before in his career, so I decided to go to his school.
I was sent audio tapes before the actual school and I picked up the auctioneer drills, tongue twisters, and chant rather quickly. I thought, “maybe this is what I was meant to do”. Whenever I got to the school I learned about many different areas of auctions that existed that I had no idea about.
I then felt that just starting my own little amusement auction business was small thinking and limiting. So I learned about being a benefit auctioneer, and that I could help nonprofits and individuals in need by raising funds for them by live auction fundraisers.
My proudest moment is when Godley Methodist church called me to help with their Lords acre fundraiser. They called hoping to raise $13,000 like they do every year, and we were fortunate enough to help them raise $34,000.
I also learned that I could help families thru trying times during a death of a family member or transitional period by helping them with an estate sale, or estate auction. So we started offering this service as well. I learned that I could help panicked business owners regain some of their loses thru the liquidation process also. So we started offering this service as well.
The type of person that I am, I usually contemplate my options, pros and cons, risks vs reward etc. I went into the auction business almost without a second thought. That’s how I knew this is what I was meant to do. Everything felt so natural and like it was all supposed to happen for a reason.
I could finally help people via many different avenues at once, without putting myself or anybody else in harms way.
I would also like to say that I would love to be able to tell you I am what I am today because of me, and all my hard work, and long hours that I put in when others quit, or cause I did the things others were unwilling to do.
While all these reasons are true, however, I am only what I am today because of my savior Jesus Christ, and I could do nothing without him and Gods guidance. He is the first door, and only door you should seek, and from there he will tell you what direction to go, because he knows better than any of us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think everyone’s road has struggles and mine has been no different. I’ve started other businesses and failed. The way you succeed is to never give up.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We specialize in Benefit Fundraising auctions. We offer live auctions and silent auctions for nonprofits.
We also offer estate sales, and online estate liquidations for families.
We offer business liquidation solutions for businesses looking to reclaim some of their lost assets or money they have put into the business closing.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Seek God first, he will bless you and allow blessings in your life. You can’t do anything on your own. Your plans are great but his are greater.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stricklandauctioneers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stricklandauctioneers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1E6iXhuuDw/
Image Credits
Sophia Baggett
