| Real Name: | Dan Lok |
| Birthday: | November 24, 1981 |
| Net Worth: | $86 million |
| Height: | 171 cm |
| Occupation: | Chinese-Canadian Business Magnate, Entrepreneur, Author, Global Educator, Real Estate Expert, YouTuber |
This is a story about a poor immigrant from China. He couldn’t speak English. And he retired at 27 years. Now, he is a multi-millionaire in his 30s. His videos on social media accumulated more than 2 billion views. Praised for his expertise on “how to achieve financial confidence”, Dan is an author of many bestselling books.
Featured on Fox Business News, CBS, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and many more, Dan is one of the more successful authors. He achieved his millionaire status at 27 and multi-millionaire at 30. And he continues to increase his wealth. Dan Lok fortune in 2017 was $63 million. And now in 2020, his wealth is more than $86 million.
From Rags to Riches
When he was 20 years old, Dan Lok was $150,000 in debt. In three years, he launched 13 business, and every one failed. But that didn’t stop him from trying again. Today, Dan Lok cash flow is more than $86 million. He is a multi-millionaire and a business mentor.
His parents split when he was just 14 years old. He emigrated from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada with his mother. His father continued to provide for them, but when Dan was 16, his father filed for bankruptcy.
Dan says that was the turning point in his life. He couldn’t watch the look of hopelessness on his mom’s face. He wanted to provide for the family. Because his mother had limited work experience, he worked part-time at a grocery store for a minimum wage. But he left the job quickly. He didn’t want to “be told what to do”. That was his first and only traditional employment job.
The spark that ignited his entrepreneurship spirit guided him after that.
From there, he tried mowing lawns, delivering papers, and doing anything that earned him money. After high school, he enrolled at Douglas College in Vancouver. Dan attended full-time business classes. At the same time, he went from one failed idea to another. He maxed out his credit cards and borrowed from everyone he knew. But he never gave up. Today, he calls those venture losses “lessons”.
Most people would probably quit somewhere between 1 and 13 failed attempts. But this is one lesson he shares. “Success is on the razor’s edge of failure. When you think it cannot get any worse, hang on just a little longer”.
He started turning things around after reading Claude Hopkins’ book “Scientific Advertising”. He got obsessed with marketing and soon met his mentor, Alan Jacques. He looked for him and did everything he could to get Alan’s attention. He even picked up trash around the office. He visited his office every day.
He then dropped out of college to work for Jacques. He spent weeks crafting his first sales letter. He rewrote it seven times before Alan approved it. Later, his mentor confessed that the first draft was OK, but that is not how you master anything. OK doesn’t earn you millions.
Under Alan’s guidance, Dan started a one-person advertising agency. Within one year, his clients generated millions of dollars from his sales letters. He could finally provide for his mother.
He invested his profits from that agency into real estate. By doing that, he became a millionaire at the age of 27 years. And because his businesses can run without his physical presence, he retired. Dan set off to live the dream. But after just two months of retirement, he had enough. Lok went back and worked in affiliated marketing. He sold informational products and created copywriting software.
In the next 10 years, he founded or partnered in more than 15 companies. His work in industries ranging from beauty salons to e-commerce. Today, they have a combined sales exceeding eight figures annually.
Businesses
Dan’s first official business was a lawn mowing business. And he discovered this business accidentally. Dan was jogging and saw an old man struggling to mow his lawn. So, he offered help. After he finished the job, Dan earned $20. And from there, he began dreaming.
Dan started thinking about how to turn the idea into a business. In the beginning, he asked the old man to rent his lawnmower. His aunt had a company about flyers. So, he asked her for help. He said he will distribute the flyers if they give him ads on the printed side.
But after a week of no calls, Dan changed his strategy. He went to the nicest neighborhood and looked for the house with the tallest grass. He mowed the lawn, without consent of the owner. The owner came and gave Dan $100. Dan went around other houses and said he “was the guy who mowed the lawn of the house down the street”. This is how he started his business.
Nowadays, his most successful business is Closers.com. This is the biggest virtual closer network in the world. The business connects companies to closers. He also has other global movements that redefined modern education.
Dan founded business such as Quick Turn, Inner Circle, Emperor Group, and co-founded Charm Junction jewelers. He also created the High Ticket Closer program.
Besides his businesses, Dan has more than 15 best-selling books.
Personal Life
Dan met his wife when he was 26 years old. At the time, Jennie Lok was 21. She worked at a karaoke place. They are together since.
Nowadays, she is his wife, but also his business partner. Fun fact: he made his first million one year after he met his wife.
The two have a YouTube series called Alpha Man Smart Woman. In it, they discuss the importance of having a healthy relationship or marriage in order to run a successful business.
They live in a $15 million penthouse in Vancouver, Canada. He is a fan of Bentley vehicles. He has a few different Bentleys. Dan makes many videos in his Bentley. And he even has a Dan Lok plates on one of his cars. Dan calls himself “The Boss in the Bentley”.
Lessons to Learn
We can learn a lot of lessons from Dan and his journey to the top. Here are a couple you can try and install in your life.
Adversity is Your Advantage
Dan says he looks at adversity as his greatest advantage. Going through difficult times is a workout for your emotions and psyche.
He compares that to working out in the gym. When you work out, you tear muscle fibers and they grow back stronger. The same is with your nerves.
Business is tough. You can fail a lot before your first success.
Save yourself, and then save the world
The best way to help the poor is to amass a lot of money. That is the harsh truth. Maximize your profits as an entrepreneur, and then you can spend money on making the world a better place. Here is one analogy. If you give blood, how many bags you can give before you pass out?
If you want to give blood, build a hospital. Now that is an entrepreneur mindset. Money gives you comfort and allows you to extend what you do beyond your physical presence. Think big.
Attention is the new currency
Do not expect every content you post to bring you money. Coca-Cola learned this ages ago. They spend millions on commercials and marketing. That is all to build attention. You might not earn a lot of money from free content. But free content promotes your brand and brings attention.
Promotion over creation
Visibility is more important than ability. We touched a bit on this topic. So, spend time promoting your brand. Post on Facebook and Instagram daily. Blog on different platforms. Send emails to subscribers.
You should focus on promoting your brand and selling your services at all times.
Start asking
Many people go to networking events to meet other successful people. You want to connect with others. But they also make one of the biggest mistakes. You can pitch your services to other people, but chances are, they won’t respond.
The best way to follow-up after a networking event is to contact people. Do not give them your business card. They probably won’t call you. Instead, ask questions like “How can I learn from you” and “What is one project I can add value to”.
Master one skill at a time
A lot of people make the mistake of trying to follow what is “hot”. For example, this month, that might be digital marketing. The next month, that might be SEO. Focus on building one skill at a time. And do not follow the hottest trend at all times.
You cannot get quality without quantity
Some people wait for their product to be perfect before they launch. But if you wait for the perfect thing, it might never come. Polish your skills as you go. Every next project will be better than the other.
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