well as how the technology operated,
were not questions that were receiving
sufficient answers. So, with his curiosity
left with a better sense of what exactly
a Vape Shop was, he was still hungry
for information. Due to his many years
of experience with entrepreneurship in
business, he began seeking answers
and finding better, more valid responses
to the questions he had.
It was only 19 days after his initial
stroll inside the Vape Shop that he
ended up launching his business.
Thus, Norm’s own thirst for knowledge,
hungry curiosity, as well as his own
past experiences throughout his career
was what motivated him into becoming
an important piece to the puzzle of
vaping. From this, the U.S. population
was beginning to further explore the
puzzle of vaping and discovered how to
begin building a recognizable image by
utilizing pieces to that puzzle; Norm’s
VapeMentors was and will continue to be
a highly significant piece to that puzzle.
Before becoming a valuable piece
to the puzzle of the Vape Industry,
Norm’s career consisted of 30 years
of experience in Real Estate, Financial
Services as well as hosting a Radio
Show. However, given this irreplaceable
work history, due to the unyielding
amount of greed and irresponsible
business agreements which in turn, led
to the financial crisis of 2008, Norm Bour
was left out-of-work, forcing Norm to
spend several years figuring out what
to do. Until he joined another company
where they realized after 2008, many,
many businesses were struggling to
survive and had little understanding
on how to remain afloat drifting along
80%
of all
businesses are
exactly the same,
i t ’ s j u s t 20% t h a t
tends to make all
the difference in
the world.
the damaged economic climate. So,
eventually what Norm and this company
did was partner cities within the world’s
5th largest economy, California. They
created a program, which they named:
“Helping 100 businesses in 100 Days”
with the partnership of 8 cities throughout
Southern California. Norm soon began
realizing how 80% of all businesses are
exactly the same, it’s just 20% that tends
to make all the difference in the world.
Regardless, while this was a great
learning opportunity for Norm, that
business partnership came to an end in
2013 along with his long-time marriage
and home. Norm says he “disengaged
with what he calls his former life” and
started to try new things, he was involved
with a lot of very different business
ventures that “never seemed to monetize
very well” he said.
Altogether, Norm was ultimately
searching for something that brought
him passion. He knew he was a
huge advocate for mentorship and
entrepreneurship so he found a way to
combine the two. He wrote a book on
baby boomers mentoring millennials
in business and millennials mentoring
baby boomers in business, so a model
guide consisting of reciprocity where
two groups had much to offer as well as
more to gain. Baby boomers have certain
qualities such as experience, patience
and the advantage of having established
business contacts while millennials had a
lot of passion, ambition and social skills.
Yet, Norm wanted to be able to allow
both groups to mentor each other on
what each group was lacking in hopes of
allowing them to succeed to the fullest in
their business ventures.
VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE ISSUE 06 67