Small Business Today Magazine DEC 2014 NOUN INVESTMENTS | Page 10

COVERSTORY

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage
to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill
Tony began making so much money due to his great skills in
advertising and marketing that he decided to open up an advertising and auto magazine business. He was quite successful
in this new endeavor and was doing advertising campaigns for
approximately 250 dealers in the Houston area with up to 125
employees at the time. Then, in 2008, the economy came to a
screeching halt in the automotive business and hit Tony so hard
that everything he had built for the last 20 years was gone. The
loss included his publishing business, all four locations of his auto
dealerships, and all other investment properties which totaled to
approximately $7.9 million.
Tony started over with a little bit of money. He borrowed
$5,000, got a couple of cars, and put them back on the same
parking lot of the same dealership that he had lost. It was
owned by the bank and Tony leased it back for a few months
and then began making money again. Tony was able to purchase that property back and additionally the two others that
he lost. Tony reflected, “It was hard for me and I’m a positive
person. I believe that if things happen, they happen for a reason
and whatever you are hit with, if it doesn’t kill you, it will make
you stronger. This is exactly what \[