Lamarr Cook – Investing in Yourself

Lamarr started out with a simple dream. Own a franchise. But in order to open a Mcdonald’s, he needed to get his net worth up to a million dollars. He started working hard and investing in real estate in the Detroit area, then the housing crisis of 08′ hit and he lost his investments, but he still had his corporate job.

A couple of relocations landed him in the Chicago area where he realized he didn’t need the million-dollar net worth to start a franchise and joining with a business partner opened his first franchise, A Title Boxing, outside of Chicago for only $1. After investing about $75-$100K from each partner into the club they brought it to profitability.

Lamarr breaks down the safeguards and protections every entrepreneur can put into place to help minimize their risk and ensure equitable partnerships and working relationships. Even if you have a partnership you should have an operating agreement in place to help save your relationship and to keep things moving in the right direction.

“Business is a business transaction. It is not about how you feel at the end of the day when you’re working. Like whether it’s a client agreement, that’s why contracts are important. That’s why it’s important to have insurance. That’s why it’s important to have a legal entity and protection.” -Jenny

Lamar talks about his newest business called Intelligent Office in Downtown Raleigh.