- Kyle, thank you for joining us for this brief interview. To start off, how did you go from working in a pizza restaurant to becoming a business owner?
I began my journey working at New York Pizza Department (NYPD). I often struggled, as my mother was single and on disability, but she did her best to provide. I usually worked long hours just to make ends meet, even though I felt overqualified for my position at times. I remained humble and quickly climbed the ranks at my job. I had a mentor at my job, James, who taught me so much about business. I spent a lot of time observing the way James effortlessly communicated with customers and established lasting relationships. This was a skill I practiced until one day, James presented me with the opportunity to buy the establishment, as he wanted to continue branching out his business. I respectfully declined the offer because I did not have a passion for the food industry, and I did not want to be tied up with the restaurant. I was really set on my dream job of working with motorcycles.
At the time, I was attending school during the day, and working all night. I eventually graduated MMI and began working with various motorcycle shops. After gaining experience and really studying the motorcycle industry, I decided it was time to create my first company, so I opened my first motorcycle shop. I definitely found some success with it, but I sold it about one year later. Although it did well, I realized that the income I was earning was not going to get me the lifestyle I wanted to one day have. After selling my shop, I took some time off to clear my mind. I later built a digital motorcycle store. Since then, it has become a self-sustaining business, and I can use my time and attention on my other business as well as various projects.
Since I was able to focus my time and energy on new ventures, a few of my peers (who are now my partners) and I created a company. I am really passionate about teaching and helping people, so the industry we were in was a great fit for me. Over time, I helped countless individuals, while also educating many other.
“Mindset is everything. If you don’t believe in yourself why should anybody else believe in you?” – Kyle Klosowski
2. You previously mentioned that you teach, consult, and help people. Where did you learn to do this? Do you enjoy this type of work?
Yes, that’s correct. I have always had a strong passion for helping, educating, and inspiring others. Through my company, I’m able to accomplish all three of these things on a weekly basis. I believe that finding a way to turn your passion into your job is one of the best things you can do, as it never truly feels like work.
3. Was becoming an entrepreneur a difficult transition? How difficult is it to start your own business?
I’ll be first to admit that being an entrepreneur can be extremely difficult when first starting out. It’s scary at times too, as there is obviously a lot of uncertainty. Even though I was earning minimum wage, I attribute a lot of my success to my days making pizzas. It was there that I learned discipline, communication skills, management skills, and discovered that I never want to work for someone else again.
My first business was a great learning experience for me as a business owner. Although it did well, it was not good enough for my standards. One of my goals in life is to not just be financially comfortable, but I want to achieve complete financial freedom. After spending some time brainstorming and coming up with the idea to build a digital motorcycle parts store, I followed through and made it a reality. It achieved substantial success as a digital used-parts store on eBay, and to this day it remains the largest motorcycle used-parts store on eBay. It takes a lot of trial and error to succeed, but if you’re passionate about your work, you can be successful too.
4. Kyle, thank you for joining us today. Where can readers keep up with you online?
You can keep up with me on Instagram.