Before this, I was working in construction and wasn’t very good with computers. In January 2013, my grandparents gifted me a high-end laptop. I used every extra hour I had to learn how to make money online. That’s when I came across dropshipping and decided to give it a try. eBay was popular at the time, so I also tried retail arbitrage. I had some success, but even more failures. Then, I discovered trading, and that’s when things started to change for me.

The financial markets have fascinated me since childhood. I remember my great-grandfather reading the Wall Street Journal, then calling his broker to shout orders over the phone—such a vivid memory! When a trading seminar came to town, I knew I had to attend. That's when I learned about the various markets available to trade, such as Futures, Options, FOREX, and stocks. I also learned that brokers had the technology for you to trade online through their platforms. I was instantly hooked and knew I had to learn more.

In March 2014, just a day before my birthday, I decided to visit an old friend in Nicaragua. Little did I know how life-changing this trip would be! After about a week of exploring the country, I met someone special, and my vacation took an unexpected turn. I ended up missing my return flight home and decided to stay in Nicaragua. Long story short, that someone soon became my wife and the mother of my two beautiful daughters.

After deciding to live in Nicaragua, I had my family back in the U.S. liquidate all my assets. I used the funds to open my first brokerage account, feeling confident that I had enough knowledge to take on the FX markets. Living in a developing country where the cost of living was low, I was able to sustain myself and grow through my trading income. I also had to learn to speak Spanish, which I picked up quickly with the help of my Spanish-speaking girlfriend and Google Translate.

After successfully trading currencies (FX) for over a year, I wanted to expand my knowledge by learning how to trade equity options. Specifically, focussing on building a portfolio of short-term option spreads to take advantage of market opportunities while managing risk effectively.

I came up with the idea of building a web-based app for traders to track and journal their trades. At the time, there was only one similar application, but its poor UI and lack of essential features inspired me to create something better. This led me to learn web design and coding. Although I eventually realized that the project was too complex to complete within my timeline, the skills I gained during the process have been invaluable and helped me in other areas at a latter date.

At the end of 2017, my wife and our first daughter, who was born in Nicaragua, were approved for U.S. citizenship. We packed up and made the move to the United States. I continued trading, and just a few months later, I started freelancing.

While continuing to develop my coding skills, I began freelancing with clients on platforms like Upwork. Alongside my trading and freelancing, I learned how to negotiate with clients, craft detailed proposals, and build project timelines. I also gained experience in marketing myself through social media, helping me grow my professional presence and reach.

In mid-2019, I launched a digital marketing agency focused on helping local businesses enhance their online presence. My core services included designing custom-branded websites, developing them with the latest technology, and optimizing for performance and SEO. I also provided social media management and assisted businesses in creating effective digital sales funnels. Unfortunately, my agency had a brief run, and I closed it in January 2020.

In 2020, I paused all my ventures to focus on day trading stocks and 2020-2021 turned out to be my best financial years ever. The market volatility brought on by COVID, the stay-at-home trade, economic stimulus, the rise of WallStreetBets, "Roaring Kitty," short squeezes, meme stock mania, $GME to the moon, and "diamond hands" - it was an incredible time to be a trader. I could go on and on, but these types of years reaffirmed my deep passion for trading and the markets in general.

With the market slowly but steadily rising and COVID becoming a thing of the past, my wife and I started Janitors Direct. COVID left a lasting impact on the importance of cleanliness and sanitation, and we saw that the janitorial industry presented a great opportunity for growth. We currently operate our business, providing services to many satisfied clients, and we continue to expand.