Door to Door Sales is a young man's game, but let me tell you what I learned at 50

What a day, 1:00 am and still working, listening to "Oliver Anthony Music" and just feeling the Grit and Grumble in his voice makes me "feel" and "think" how hard all of us have worked for a dollar and makes us question, what is our legacy!

Started the day at 5:30 am driving over an hour from Huntsville, Tx to Bryan College Station to meet with the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation Board Members and the IVB Invest Brazos Valley Members at The Traditions Golf and Country Club for breakfast, what a beautiful place!

Great people up there in the Brazos Valley area, beautiful land with a combination of Small Country Town and Big City feel!

I learned a lot about the history, the present, and the vision for the future!

If you get a chance, you should try to network with the good people up there!

9:00 am rolls around and we all go our own separate way!

I'm dressed in jeans and a button-down long-sleeve shirt with a sport coat and pocket square (it's a fine balance of dressing down but dressing up) + it was over 100 degrees in the summer heat!

And it has been a crazy summer, I turned 50 this past July and here I am, all dressed up and hitting the pavement with flyers in a folder walking into Business Buildings going Door to Door marketing, and promoting the upcoming Bryan College Station Business Expo Feb 1st, 2024, that's right, I am out 6 months before the event walking Door to Door passing out flyers! It is this type of passion and dedication that makes our events so successful.

If I am honest, "Hitting the pavement door to door is a young man's game, but I am here 50 years old doing it with a smile on my face because I LOVE IT!!!!!, I am seriously addicted to #SmallBusiness , the #Entrepreneur spirit, true servitude leadership and I know Christ is with me, I can feel it”

Let me tell you about a few of the people and businesses I met just "Cold Walking in" but before I do, I have to thank my new friend Ben Wiggins with Podcast Architects for inviting me to The Brazos EDC breakfast leadership meeting!!! Thank you Ben

1. I am sitting in my car in the parking lot when I get a Linkedin notification, it was Kim whom I worked with over 20 years ago, she was leading a group of non-profit organizations and their leaders with the United Way and they want me to come and talk with them about LINKEDIN and Business Networking

She said Freddy, I am so proud of you, I have been following your success all these years, I read your post and once our team voted on getting a speaker to come to talk to them about LinkedIn, I thought of you and told them don't do anything until I talk to Freddy.

She was so excited and honestly, it was humbling for me too.

You see, you never know how you impact other people's lives or how you made a difference or inspired or encouraged someone.

I had to wait 20 years before I knew I had that much of an impact on Kim

2. The first door was an Engineering firm, walked in and a middle-aged gentleman was turned sideways reading a book. I waited for about a minute, thinking to myself "What am I doing" "does he even see me or know that I am here?"

He finally acknowledges me and I proceeded to introduce myself to him and that I was organizing a Business Expo next year and he had a neutral response, not that excited, just simple pleasantries.

I asked him what he was reading and he turned to the front cover and it was The Bible, at that moment we hit it off. You see, I am a man of Faith and when I am Lost I seek to be Obedient! Sometimes, it is all I can do as I wait patiently for God's promises

For my own reasons that I will keep private, I have been feeling LOST

"Oliver Anthony Music" reminds me of how hard I have been working and catching a stranger reading The Bible for me was a welcoming site and in my soul, I wept. We talked more and greeted each other as Brothers in Christ

3. In another building, I walked in and introduce myself, informing this Fueling Company about the Business Expo in February. The receptionist was a younger lady, nice but didn't show much interest. I didn't take it personally, she was already busy when I walked in but another more mature lady was standing there and she took my flyer and listen to me share my story.

She invited me to an office so she can give me her card, She said, I am the HR Manager here and we were just talking with the owner the other day that we need to get out in the community.

She said, you probably passed the Owner when he was walking out, and then it clicked on me, this was a family-owned business.

I leaned in and asked her, "Are you a woman of faith?"

Seems like a strange question to ask someone but I know when I am with a believer.

She said "Well yes I am, I have a testimony for you, we built this company on Faith," I said yes maim, and when things get tough and faith seems distant, we got to stay obedient

She laughed and said "That's right! You are a Man of faith too! I tell you what, you can come here anytime you want and visit us

I felt so loved and welcomed, truly I tell you my soul leaped with joy to be with another believer just sharing our love for Christ was everything I needed

4. The next door was Fox Ch 44, somebody in the back yelled, "Can I help you?" I said "Yes sir" and introduced myself to him and told him why I was there and gave him my flyer

I told him that we will be hosting a series of Zoom workshops on various topics by our sponsors leading up to the expo, he asked "Who is sponsoring the Marketing workshop of your Zoom series? My name is Chris and I am the Sales Manager here, we would love to do that!"

The Lord is so good, he puts the right people in front of you, The Lord prepares the way, and all the time when you think nothing good is happening in your life, the Lord is working in your life

5. The next office door sold medical scrubs, not really my audience but I walked in and introduce myself to the man sitting in the chair. I have no idea who he is or his role in the company.

I told him about the Business Expo and he started asking me questions, not really buying questions but questions of doubt about "business networking"

I shared with him my belief that in life and business, there are no silver bullets, everything is just a tool in the toolkit, and that he is part of the community and when the ocean rises, all the ships in the ocean rise too.

I guess that struck a chord with him, I told him for example you sell scrubs to the Hospitals and clinics, right? Well, I am interested in helping businesses like yours learn about new contracts and opportunities. I told him the Expo is free to attend and network but you can be a community leader by helping make an introduction to the hospital systems in the Brazos Valley area.

He said, "Well you are lucky, I am the owner and I am hardly at the office", then he invited me to follow up with him tomorrow for that introduction

6. The last door was a Law Firm, same story here, I introduced myself and shared the story about the expo and why I was standing in front of him passing out flyers. He told me his name and said he was the Owner and that he and his partners were just talking about getting involved with the community and were looking for something to partner up with and that he thought that this would be the best ideal thing to partner up with

8. But wait, there is more!!! I get a call from my friend Brandon, what an honest and genuine guy! He is always willing to help others and I guess what I have built up as a networking business has really impressed and encouraged him.

We also work together to help employers receive their ERC, well he called because he is buying a booth at another expo that a mutual friend is hosting and he invited me and my girlfriend to partner up with him. God is so good!

What have I learned?

I am here to tell you, The Lord Loves, There are people out there that love you and I love you!

Christ shows us, that we need to walk in the spirit of love and it took a journey to understand that statement and way of living and thinking, but it brings the beast peace, freedom, joy, and stillness in your life

THINGS MAY BE TOUGH AT TIMES, BUT DON’T QUIT, STAY IN FAITH, AND WHEN YOU ARE LOST STAY OBEDIENT

If you are still lost, go walking, go visit some people, look for other believers, and stay focused on Jesus, his name has power!!!!

God Bless and I hope my opening up and sharing my story has helped you stay in faith, encouraged you, and inspired you with hope and the same love for Christ as I have!