Meet Aaron Evans: a free thinker, businessman and aspiring philanthropist making big moves in the entrepreneurial world as he leads by example in making an impact to make an income. Today Aaron is here with us to discuss his journey of creating a successful business and share his best advice for navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.
Let’s start at the beginning of your journey. What first inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
“It’s funny because at first, I had no desire to be an entrepreneur. I had a desire to go through life as the average person does – go to school, get a job, et cetera. What really shifted my mindset towards entrepreneurship was the moment I realized I can help somebody else become the best version of themselves. You can’t do that in a typical job because you are so fixated on the company’s goals and helping to solve the company’s problems. With entrepreneurship I can make my business model focused around helping other people solve their problems, while inadvertently solving my own.”
Your dedication to helping others is very inspirational. Tell us about the business you’re a part of. What is the concept and how are you helping people through it?
“The organization I’m involved with is called Stocks Rising. We inspire, enrich and educate as many people as possible by empowering them to learn the skill of investing in the largest financial market in the world. People are able to learn to trade foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, binary options as well as other business-oriented skills like how to start their own online or e-commerce stores. In addition to investing, the second part of the business model is network marketing where individuals can create their own organization and scale it while learning valuable skills like leadership and personal development through mentorship from top earners in the business. We hold several events and training regularly. Ultimately whether it’s trading and investing, or marketing, or both that people choose to focus on, we’ve created a community that encourages growth and problem solving amongst all it’s members.”
That sounds like an amazing business model. So Aaron, now that your team and business is growing, tell us about the goals you have for the future of your organization and for yourself personally.
“Personally, I still have a desire to go back to school. I want to become a doctor. I love music and sports, and a lot of African Americans are idolized in those two fields. I grew up running and I played music all my life, it got me through college. But I want to be able to show my future kids and grandkids that you can love music and sports but those are not the only two avenues through which you can impact the world and spread positive change.
I want to be able to give back to the less fortunate all over the globe. I need capital to do that. So this business that I am in is the gateway to allow me to gain capital to take such actions. This ties into my business goals as well. I really want to show the masses that through Stocks Rising, no matter who you are, where you are, where you’re going and what your aspirations are, you can always help somebody else down the road. In the future I would like to be donating over a million dollars a year to 10 different charities of my team’s choosing. I want my business to be viewed as Aaron Evans, an energetic, serial entrepreneur who never forgets to give back to the less fortunate.”
Those are some truly valiant goals, Aaron. Getting this far in entrepreneurship must have been difficult. What kinds of adversity did you face growing up and growing your business?
“As a kid I struggled with not thinking I was enough and always seeking validation from others. I always did things to please somebody else. I ran track to please my father. I went to an HBCU because of my mom. I graduated to please my parents and I’m glad that I did but I realized that I was not thinking for myself for so long. This translated into my business in the early stages where I was always questioning myself or getting input from my peers before doing anything. I was always asking others ‘is this good?’ instead of having the confidence to say ‘I know I’m good’. So getting that validation from others was something I struggled with but now I’ve come to the realization that I am enough; no one is controlling my actions or my decisions so if I decide to put something out there for the world, it’s not because I want you to like it. It’s because I believe that this is something of value in my space that I want to share.”
That’s a great lesson we can all apply in our own lives. In closing Aaron, tell us your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
“Your blessings were already given to you before you existed on this planet. No one has the right to tell you that what you do isn’t for you. They’re not you. You have to learn to believe that what you are doing is for you. It is okay to be messy and make mistakes. A lot of us entrepreneurs, we’re scared to make mistakes, but it’s never a mistake to use and invest in the tools that you’ve been gifted and blessed with. Whether it’s speech, whether it’s dancing, writing, singing, creating, drawing, painting, whatever that blessing is. It was not a mistake, this is not for anybody, it was gifted to you. We all believe in different things or in a different higher power. But I would say this: you can’t tell me, coincidentally, that you are a good photographer. Something was placed in your life and positioned properly to expose you to photography. That is your blessing. Believing in yourself and knowing that whatever you do is going to work allows the right individuals to enter your life and the right doors to open to your future.”
