From Cutting Hair at 13 to Building an Empire: Adrian “Apex” Morales’ Story

you interested in effortlessly growing your Bitcoin portfolio?

I sure am.

The Bitcoin credit card by Gemini earns you Bitcoin back on every purchase.

Use it like any credit card.

Buy lunch, gas, or your weekly groceries, and you'll earn up to 4% back instantly in Bitcoin or one of over 50 other cryptos straight to your account.

All that with no annual fee.

And right now, you can grab a $200 Bitcoin welcome bonus.

It's the easiest way to start building your Bitcoin stack.

Go to Gemini.com slash card to learn more.

Terms apply.

See the link in the description for more information regarding rates and fees.

Issued by Webbank.

To qualify for the $200 crypto intra bonus, you must spend $3,000 in your first 90 days.

Some exclusions to instant rewards apply.

This is not investment advice, and trading crypto involves risk.

Check Gemini's website for more details on rates and fees.

So I started cutting hair at the age of 13.

Having strict parents, I had to go to college, no matter if I wanted to or not.

Finished that, and right off the bit, went straight to cutting hair.

That's when I kind of wanted to have my finances in a better way.

I thought I was just collecting cash and it wasn't really going anywhere.

I got real solidified in that, hired a mentor.

How much did you invest to get a mentor?

$10,000.

He was was just like, Man, you have so much potential.

And I was just like, What do you mean?

He's like, You'll cut off all your friends, put your head down, and work hard for one year.

That's exactly what I did.

We have a lot of recognition throughout the Tampa Bay Area for helping the community.

We went out every Sunday to give out free haircuts to those in need.

We built a huge community-based barbershop, and it got even on Bay News 9, one of the top-rated TV shows.

Hey guys, and welcome back to the Lobo Lobo Podcast.

Guys, we have another phenomenal guest here.

You know, every single Saturday, I bring the best of the best in different industries, guys.

He is not only a Latino that has built multiple businesses, guys, but surprisingly, you guys are going to be surprised on the actual niche and industry we're going to be talking about today.

Okay.

It's going to be an industry that a lot of people are like, no, you can't make that much money off of it.

Or,

I don't know,

you got to build multiple, multiple locations, or you know, go ahead and and get investors.

But my guest Apex, okay, and they actually call him Apex the barber, guys, is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who has built an empire from the chair to the office, guys.

He's the owner behind Fadeaway Barbershop and the go-to number one rated barber, guys, in Plant City, Florida, okay?

But he's more than just Clippers and Fayes, guys.

He also runs Apex Tax Pros LLC, empowering clients with financial clarity and strategy.

So today we're going to dive into how he balances elite barbering with small business consulting and how you can take your own hustle to the Apex level.

Apex, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alex.

He's just like, damn, that was a long intro, bro.

I mean,

I got to give them the intro, bro.

You know, they got to know who you are.

So with that being said, man, close mouths, don't get fed.

Welcome to the level up.

This is where we help aspiring entrepreneurs, but then everyday people, dude, just like us, man, go ahead and make it happen, right?

Yeah.

So with that being said, go ahead and tell them a little bit about yourself, who you are, where you're from, and anything else you want them to know, and then we'll dive into your story.

Uh, hey, guys, uh, I go by Apex, uh, Adrian Morales is my real name, real short for a Hispanic.

Um, yeah, I just grew up in a small town in Plant City, Florida.

Um, had really strict parents, came from uh immigrants, they came from Mexico

when they were young, young, young, possibly five to six years old.

They crossed over.

Um, grew up in Plant City, always knew that there was more to life and more to just

growing.

So,

yeah, that's basically.

No, it's good.

Short and sweet, dude.

Short and sweet.

Short and sweet, man.

It's really crazy.

You're going to leave it open for me to ask you questions now.

Yeah.

I love it.

I love it.

So currently, how old are you right now?

I'm 28.

You're 28.

Okay.

And then when did you start your career in barbering?

I was 13.

No way.

Yeah.

I started cutting hair at 13 years old.

I just needed some money for some lunches at middle school.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And you were making it happen.

Yeah, I was making it happen happen for sure.

So, so you were like, man, you know, I don't want to ask mom and dad.

So, let me go ahead and learn a skill, which is a remarkable skill.

You can make so much money

in that industry, becoming a barber, owning shops, and all that jazz, which you're currently doing right now.

So, you've been in the game for what, like 14 years?

14 years?

That's right.

14 years since the age of 13, guys.

And then, what was the shift that moved you from becoming just

a barber to now a multi-unit owner and operator?

I've always enjoyed barbering.

It's something that my uncle, rest in peace, Lorenzo Savala,

he was cutting my hair ever since I was probably like 10.

And

it's just being outside with my uncle, always like chopping it up with him.

He was very smart, but he just wasn't like business-minded, you know.

He always...

He always wanted to hustle, but never, you know, like, it's just something that stuck with me.

So I got the inspiration from my uncle.

After that, I picked up the Clippers,

picked up the Clippers, and I kind of never stopped.

You know, I've always wanted to be a barber as well.

I thought it was a cool thing.

Once I started cutting hair, I just knew that there was, I could help more.

You know, I could do more and help more Hispanics, especially people my age, grow.

I've seen my uncle die at such a young age and also, too,

I feel like he had more to offer.

So I kind of want to push that into people before, you know, I don't want to say before anything tragically happens, but life short.

Purpose, man.

Life short.

Fulfillment.

You know, make it happen because, no, you're absolutely right.

You're a realist, dude.

Life is short.

You know, at the end of the day, you're 21.

Before you know it, you're in your 30s.

Before you know it, you're in your 40s.

You got kids.

And now you're like, man, I got kids, so I can't live out my dreams, right?

25-year mark hit me.

That's what I'm saying, man.

You know, I think it hits me every single year.

You know,

I'm like, damn, I'm already 37.

I'm like, I can't see my 30s, bro.

And I'm like, I remember becoming like 30.

I'm like, oh, cool.

I'm about to be 30.

I'm about to get in my prime.

I know what I'm doing.

I'm an adult.

You know, I got a little bit of money.

This is cool.

Now, going into my 40s, I'm like, damn.

I'm like, I'm that old dude.

But at the end of the day, I'm embracing it.

So it's cool.

Right.

I'm about to become a father.

I got, I got, as you guys know, you guys have been listening the past couple of weeks now.

I got one in the way.

Congrats, Ron.

Little, little, little Maverick.

Maverick.

It's going to be dope, bro.

Man, Top Dun was one of my favorite movies, bro.

So I'll call him Maverick.

And then, you know, we're getting a new puppy.

You know, I'm going to go pick up the puppy when I go back to Puerto Rico, you know, a couple of days, pick him up, probably name him like, there's, what was it, Maverick and Goose, right?

So Maverick and Goose.

They were both partners in that movie, bro.

So, and then make them wear little pilot jackets.

I like that.

First Halloween.

That's how it's going to go down.

That's how it's going to go down.

You guys heard it here first.

All right, dude.

So let's get back to it.

So

your barbershop, okay?

Fadeaway barbershop.

When did you actually open that up?

Hey, JJ Virgin here.

On my podcast, Well Beyond 40, we ditch the idea of aging gracefully and go all in on aging powerfully.

Every week I host powerful experts who can give you powerful insights on building muscle, boosting your energy, and feeling amazing no matter what your age.

This is your one life.

And trust me, being smarter and stronger are superpowers that can turn lifespan into strength span.

Listen to Well Beyond 40, wherever you get your podcasts.

I opened that up four years ago, exactly.

Okay, so four years ago, from the time that you opened it up, what was your aspirations, dude?

Like what was your vision for that shop?

So in the beginning, it kind of came as an opportunity.

I was going down a really dark path around that time.

I got really soaked up into drugs, being around people like gang

affiliated.

And so I really didn't have a purpose for it.

I just had the opportunity.

So I took it.

You know, know, me being a hustler at that age, I kind of took the opportunity either way because I thought it was a good source of income.

Yeah.

Once I got that opportunity,

I think just life changed there.

Before the shop, two years prior, I bought my house.

So I bought my house at a very young age.

It was, I believe I was 22.

Wow.

That's amazing, dude.

Yeah.

22 is a good amount of time.

It was a good accomplishment for me.

No, it's a great accomplishment.

And, you know, especially nowadays in the era of social media, dude, you know, one thing is just like what what my heart goes out to a lot of like the younger folks in their 20s going into 18.

Why?

Because now they're comparing themselves to people around the world, dude, number one.

Number two.

they're seeing that there's other people their age that are going ahead and accomplishing things that like literally it's like one in a billion can accomplish right but then now they're they're they're literally comparing themselves to that one percent one out of the billion and they're like well bro i don't got my house by the age of 22 so you're gonna get some people listening to this there's probably somebody that's 25 that doesn't have the house that's probably living with their parents or they're sharing uh an apartment with some friends right yeah and they'd be like damn how do you do it right

that's a lot of people around my age you know so i kind of i have a pretty strong uh following on instagram so i i try to really push that you know really try to push the financial stability and like financial literacy it's important it's important it's important very important and then like you said life is short so at the end of the day you might be 21 now having fun going to the club going ahead and spending your money but hey you'd be 25 don't go to the club you'd be 30 You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, all these tattoos happen in one year.

Bad decisions.

Bad decisions.

Bad decisions.

Hanging around with the worst people.

You know,

that's the way it goes down.

I mean,

for me, bro, it was a transition of my entire life.

I think I had my first tattoo at the age of 15.

And then

it is young, bro.

I was going down the wrong path in high school, bro.

I was smoking weed and all that.

And trust me, all that came to light when I was trying to be the police.

Because my background investigators, how many times you smoke weed?

And I was just like, like three times a week.

Okay.

And how old are you now?

And then he broke it down.

So you smoked weed over 10,000 times.

He made it look even worse.

I was just like, bro, he broke it down to the numbers.

He's like, so, so are you telling me you smoked weed 10,000 times?

And if some people would be like, no, just out of fear, right?

But I knew it was psychological.

If I was to say no, I'm done.

I would never beat the police.

So I was just like, it's one of those tests, right?

It's a test.

A psychological test, bro.

So I was just like, yes, I smoked weed 10,000 times.

And then he's watching him come out and just be honest, bro.

Yeah, so it's crazy.

No, no, I mean, that's that's powerful, dude.

The fact that you're able to own up to it, you know, at the end of the day, there's a lot of people they're not willing to tell their story.

There's not a lot of people that are willing to be as real as you, but that's what makes you different, bro.

That's what makes you a leader.

And I tell people, you got to be real with people because that's what people buy into.

You know, that's why you're a successful barbershop owner now.

You got another business going on, man.

You're about to grow another business.

We're about to talk about at the end of this.

So it's fire, bro.

So, so four years ago, you started Fadeaway Barbershop.

So now it's an award-winning barbershop in miami and plant city so how did you build a team for that and the culture that stands out in such a saturated market because man there's barbershops left to right bro so how do people

why do why do people pick you why do people pick you know fadeaway barbershop from one thing i have i had plenty mentors uh before i opened up the shop and they were really trying to help me get away from the friends and kind of like the influences I had because they saw potential.

So they would always tell me,

this is the one quote that got me.

He's like, if you want to change your life, you can do it in a year.

And that's one quote that just stuck with me for forever.

Around that time, my mentor, he was just looking up to, he was talking to me and he was just like, man, you have so much potential and you can grow so big.

How come you just don't start now?

And I was just like, what do you mean?

He's like, you can change it in one year.

And I was just like, there's no way.

And he was like, tell me right now you'll cut off all your friends.

and put your head down and heart and work hard for one year.

And that's exactly what I did.

And literally right before that, I told you I was messing up for two years.

That one year was pretty trouble.

The other year I locked in, got the shop, and I always wanted to build a community-based barbershop.

So that was kind of like the foundation after that.

We have a lot of recognition throughout the Tampa Bay Area for helping the community.

So we went out every Sunday to give out free haircuts to those in need, you know, and that kind of, it kind of sparked as something that we wanted to do in the beginning, especially me, because again, my uncle,

every time we went out somewhere, he would always just give his back, his shirt off, his back for somebody.

I remember one time going to a park, he saw a homeless man, and we literally just bought our sandwiches, food.

He literally just gave it to him.

Yeah.

Gave it to him right then and there.

And I kind of wanted to bring that into my shop.

So we built a huge family-based, community-based barbershop.

And it got even on Bay News 9, one of the top rated TV shows, you know, weather channels.

And

that's kind of one of the stories.

And picking the people, I mean,

a lot of my friends kind of saw the path that i was going to and they're on the same path as i was and i guess they just wanted that change as well so they just wanted to hop on board and i that was probably the easiest part i had the shop was running literally the first day bro you know what's crazy and this is just some deeper thought and to give you some reflection because I always tell people I'm a visionary guy, I'm a startup guy, and then I hire smarter people to implement my ideas, right?

And a lot of business owners, they take a lot of pride in what they do because it's a craft, right?

Like yours.

It's a craft.

But one thing you got to be really proud of is that you literally changed the bloodline for all your friends.

You got to think about that, bro.

That's deep.

We're getting deep here.

Yeah, that's pretty deep.

Yeah, that's pretty deep, bro.

I didn't see it like that.

It's like when you're in that chair, you don't see it like that.

You know, you just,

you love to see all the changes in your friends, but in reality, it's like how you said, you're changing.

Bro, you are changing lives.

You're even going to change lives with this pod.

There's going to be a lot of inspiring barbers.

There's going to be people that are looking for transitioning out of what they're currently doing.

And they're going to be like, oh, wait a minute.

Apex is cool.

Like, I think I want to try that.

Right.

And they're going to go ahead and try getting into the industry.

Now, you might get some people reaching out to you, trying to network with you off of this, right?

But at the end of the day, that's the impact that you're doing here, dude.

You're doing here to not only level up yourself, but also level up the community, which is awesome.

And I always say this, guys.

You guys want to be ultra successful in life you guys want to have an abundance of wealth guess what take care of people yeah that's it it's simple as that any industry that you're in just as long as you're not doing it for just the money obviously the money has to be there yes you guys have to go ahead and work for money but at the end of the day look at it like this any job that you do the more value you give to people the more you're gonna get back dude that's just the name of the game so you go ahead you give an opportunity to all your friends you change their bloodline now it's a ripple effect dude not only did you change your friends life but you changed their family's lives you you changed their family uh their their their their bloodline's lives because now they're kids guess what they're gonna be like oh well you know i remember my dad had a good friend named apex and he changed my dad's life now i'm gonna go that route

dude that's powerful yeah it's huge it's it's huge it's huge bro it's about environment okay cool so now you dominated um you know the barber industry you helped a lot of people.

You helped your community, dude.

You completely transformed your life.

And just in a matter of few years, because the inspiration of your uncle, which is extremely powerful, I love that type of story.

It has to do a lot with your why.

Has your why changed since

you launched the barber shop?

I kind of knew that I wanted to help people, but I'm super connected with my mom and my dad and my family in general.

And I've seen, you know, buying my house at 22, I've seen the type of money like

can bring good, but I can also see that it brings bad.

Yeah.

So, because that's one of the main problems that started my addiction and everything.

And I had to really step back and see, like, there was plenty of nights where I would just sit in my car or my house alone and just be like, why?

You know, what?

Why am I doing this?

Why did God give me?

strong-minded like this to think different.

You know, I thought just life was just going to work, coming home, and that's it, you know, doing whatever, what everybody does, you know?

But I was just, I don't know, it's something that just clicks in me.

And I always have to double think of everything I did as a younger, as a younger child.

So for me, my why

definitely shifted to helping my parents out.

Good.

Right before coming even here, my mom wanted to talk to me.

She was just like, she always gets worried.

She was like, you're going to go to Miami by yourself.

And I'm just like, yeah.

And she was just like.

Well, let me go with you.

Yeah.

Yeah, she's always, she's always worried because she's seen like how I get.

But now

she kind of

notices my changes and differences.

And I showed her your podcast, and she was just like, you know what?

I feel good about you going out here.

So, no, it's gonna, it's definitely gonna, it's gonna inspire so many people, you being on this episode,

and also it's gonna inspire your parents.

They're gonna see that you know the transformation, especially after this episode, dude.

We're gonna extract a lot of information that's gonna show people the real you, and it's gonna be awesome.

So, okay, now that you dominated that, man, like in a true entrepreneurial spirit, I love it.

okay um you decided hey you know what i've been able to dominate in being a owner now um in the barber industry let me try and educate people in finance with apex tax pros so you decided to launch apex tax pros in addition to your barber shops so let me ask you this question what inspired you to move into tax advising and consulting

In high school, I've always had trouble with math.

And that's just something I guess a lot of Hispanics or a lot of Hispanics are either good at math, and I don't want to do like stereotypes, but they're either good at math or bad at reading.

Let me stop you right there, bro.

Look, look, guys, I 100% agree with Apex.

And check this out.

When in the past couple of years, you know, obviously social media has blown up more than ever.

But when there is media coverage on saying where Latinos get their finance literacy from, it's TikTok.

Come on, bro.

Like, come on, man.

Like, 70% 70% is just like, that's not.

That's an insane number on TikTok.

That's not good, bro.

You know, that's not good.

That's not a flex.

So, all my Latinos over there, I mean, we all got to, you know, level up.

But at the end of the day, just educate yourself.

That's, that's, that's it.

If you get anything out of this, just educate yourself.

Definitely educate yourself because it can bring you a far as way.

It brought me to places I've never thought, like, especially Miami, you know, like I never thought to drive to Miami and be on a podcast with such a successful person as yourself.

So I appreciate that.

It definitely brings out a lot of good things once you start really sitting down, looking at your finances, starting from the bottom, and then working yourself up.

No, absolutely, man.

So let's, let's,

what inspired you

with going ahead and moving now into tax advising and consulting?

Was it an experience that you might have experienced during owning a barbershop?

Because I know once you become an entrepreneur, you know,

and you're just, you're moving, dude.

It's a lot of moving parts being an entrepreneur, right?

Yes.

So one thing that i'm weak in is finances as well that's why i have a cfo that's why i have uh tax uh lawyers that's why i have you know a great cpa now you know i've paid millions of dollars to uh the irs hey i'm here to pay my taxes but at the end of the day man please don't take advantage of you know business owners it's like come on man really really but at the end of the day dude was there like a bad experience that you had with taxes that like you were like hey dude i'm gonna hone in on this um well just like i was saying before um i was really bad at at math, and it's just something that I've always wanted to get better at.

So,

saying again, I had very strict parents.

Before I was, I was cut, I was, I started cutting hair at the age of 13.

So, that was middle school, high school.

Obviously, having strict parents, I had to go to college.

No matter if I wanted to or not, I always told my mom, nah, let me just go cut hair.

Like, I'm, I'm making money off here.

I don't need to go to college.

But my mom, Rio Terca, like, um, just means stubborn in Spanish.

Um, she was like, no, you're going to go to university and you're going gonna get your degree and that's gonna be it and after that you can do whatever you want so went to finance uh went to do finance uh a degree in finance at usf finished that and right off that right off the bit um just went straight to cutting hair and then what right when i got into the barbering scheme that's when i kind of wanted to have my finances in a better kind of in a better way.

I thought I was just collecting cash and it wasn't really going anywhere, just putting underneath the

mattress.

Yeah, the mattress, the worst way.

So that's kind of of what kicked off the Apex tax bros.

I got real solidified in that, hired a mentor,

invested an X amount of money in that,

learned how to file.

And for the people, man, sorry to cut you off.

How much did you invest to get a mentor?

10,000.

There you go.

10,000.

And I was say what your chest, bro.

And that'd be like 10,000.

10,000.

Right.

I invested 10,000.

in actually learning digital marketing back in April of 2020, dude.

Okay.

Back in April of 2020.

And I already had a successful business as a cop.

Okay.

But the only reason why I did it because I jumped back on Facebook after not being on Facebook for like 80 years since MySpace.

I'm aging myself.

And I was like, hey, dude, I got to learn this.

There's a lot of successful entrepreneurs out there.

So let me invest some money into this.

So I read this book.

And I recommend that you read it, dude.

I know I give you a copy of my book, but read this book because you're going to love it, dude.

It's going to change your life.

It's called Digital Millionaire by Dan Henry.

Okay.

And I actually ended up buying his program, dude.

I ended up jumping on a call with one of his consultants.

And I remember his consultant told me this.

He's like, what are you good at?

And I'm like,

like being a cop and like ATMs at the time.

And he's just like, all right, well, no one likes the police.

So you're going to teach people the ATM business.

And I was just like, you think I can actually

launch a successful business online teaching people that?

He's like, yeah, bro.

Like, you could do it.

Just like that.

Yeah.

just like that smooth right and i'm like in my car bro and i'm like all right how much he goes

if you pay now it's ten thousand but the minute you hang up and you don't pay it's gonna be fifteen thousand

and i'm like oh snap and at that time man i didn't know about high ticket selling i didn't know a massive urgency

and he's just like yeah bro we ain't playing around creating that fomo yeah

fear of missing out guys and i'm like okay you know what I'm gonna do it so I put on two credit cards and I remember walking to my house that day I just worked 18 hours bro shift and I walked to my house he sent me everything I didn't even look at it for like three days and

and I remember going and just laying there and saying what did I spend my money on bro like what did I just buy right

and then I go I go to work At the end of my shift, I was like, you know what?

I like my desk.

It keeps me focused because I don't have distractions like TB in my house.

So let me go ahead and start the program.

So I started the program.

And I remember one of my colleagues at the time, he just got done doing his master's.

Okay.

He wanted to also be a lawyer.

And he walks in.

He's like, hey, what are you studying?

And I was just like, dude, I just bought this program.

I'm going to learn how to sell information.

online based on my expertise in the ATM business.

And what do you think of that?

Bro, he talks so much shit to me.

He's like, you got a scam, bro.

He's like, are you stupid?

Like, you're hella dumb, bro.

He says, like, you're good at policing but you're dumb at everything else i was just like what

you know and then

everything skyrocketed bro like literally like it was like a straight movie you know yeah six months i call it six months of hell because i had to learn everything right i had to you know go through it takes time go through the month bro you got to go through the trenches and then um yeah it takes time and i was able to figure it out build multiple uh eight-figure online businesses uh help a whole lot of people and it's great you know my my biggest why transition to not only helping my family family but my family's good dude they're gonna be good forever no matter if i'm here or if i'm not here um what's my why now is just helping people become multi-millionaires and um the way i'm doing that now dude is i find people just like yourself that go

exactly bro god put us here right so um that have the passion that have that it factor dude it's just like it's gonna work or it's gonna work yeah there ain't no excuses right that's how i definitely view it too i say it's it's either gonna work or it's gonna work even more Well, that's it.

That's the only way I view things.

Because once you view where you have an option to opt out or to say, hey, I'm just going to quit.

That's where you mess up.

You're going to quit.

You're already talking about quitting.

Think about that.

It's psychology here, right?

But if you tell yourself, okay, I'm not going to quit, I have no choice.

Guess what?

You're going to make it work.

You're going to think outside the box to make it work.

So

with your situation, dude, I love the fact that you launched that, not only to help people educate them on taxes and also finances, but how do your experience as a service business owner, service-based business owner,

inform the financial advice you give to clients?

Like, are you doing it based off your experience?

Did you hire?

more people on your team that are experts in finances and you know you're just the the founder and the visionary like how how did you how did you combine that, your experiences as a service-based business owner to inform about financial advice to your clients?

Basically, the way I kind of give out my advice or help to other clients is through the chair.

There's a lot of power in being a barber.

There's a lot of power having that one person listen to you or you listen to them in the chair.

So for me, I kind of give out.

They see everything.

They see the progress.

They see me building.

And that's always going to ask client, well, how are you doing this?

You know, so I definitely break it down how I did everything.

For right now, for me, the business, I kind of run the Apex Tax Pros by myself.

I just launched it not too long ago.

So I'm kind of working myself

up to have more employees.

But I'm definitely trying to look for good talent and especially for driven individuals as well, as myself.

And just like how you said, there's probably going to be somebody that does it more efficiently than myself.

So I definitely want to look out for those people people as well.

And that's a great, that's a great saying you just did, man.

It just shows me what type of entrepreneur you are.

You're very smart.

You're very smart.

And the reason why I could say that is because some of the best entrepreneurs that I know that are true operators, okay?

Because that's what we are.

We're operators, dude.

We got to be the visionary.

We got to work on the business, not in the business.

So you are humble enough to say, hey, you know what?

I'm good.

But if there's someone better, I'll put them in my place.

And that's what you want to do.

You want to delegate your business, dude, because you don't want to create another job, right?

No, no.

Exactly.

Exactly.

That's entrepreneurship, guys.

I love it.

Okay, so let's go into basically time management and

what you're doing to optimize your day because I think it's very important.

You know, me in 2024, dude, I was running two eight-figure companies.

I had a little bit over 200 employees.

I was running a startup six-figure company for consulting business owners at the time.

I was 40 pounds overweight.

I was going through the depression.

I mean, it was, it sucked, bro.

I mean, there were some episodes here where like, if you ask Amelia or a producer, dude, I was sitting here like, don't be an entrepreneur.

Don't do it.

Breathing hard into the mud.

I mean, I breathe hard regardless.

I mean, I got Amelio on the queue.

He's like, hey, bro, quit breathing so hard.

But he's just like, but he's just like, I was like, bro, just be number two.

Don't, don't, don't find the alone cover these guys.

Don't be number one.

It's liability, right?

But anyways, you got to go through the mud, dude.

You got to go through the mud.

Sometimes there's going to be different seasons, but that's what makes you an entrepreneur is your level of experience, and then you're able to dominate later on.

So, you manage two high-demand businesses.

Okay.

How do you optimize your day, delegate, and maintain quality across both?

It's very important.

Yes, very important.

Um, first of all, I like to start off my day at the gym.

I like to gather all my thoughts.

I just started the gym.

Um, I was already working out, but I'm taking it a lot more seriously after seeing Alex, after seeing Vince, and everybody in this office.

Dude, yeah, everybody's in this office looking pretty

pretty healthy.

So, guys, so you guys know, Apex and I, we have a very close friend named Vince.

He goes by Vince Conquer on Instagram.

Look him up.

He's a rock star.

But he's recently just joined one of the companies called Cash Swipe.

And he helps entrepreneurs go ahead and start their own credit card processing business.

He is a master of his craft.

Talk to him.

Really good guy.

Very knowledgeable.

Very smart.

But he went through the same journey as me.

Like, dude, like he was a little plump and like myself.

And dude, he is shredded.

Shredded.

That's the type of

route I'm taking right now.

Yeah, bro.

Waking up early as he is.

Like today, I saw his Instagram.

I was like, oh, yeah, he's up.

I got to get up.

Yeah.

I got to get up right now.

That's motivating.

But yeah, I like to get up and start my day with the gym, go straight to work at the Fadeaway Barbershop.

I like to get the shop nice and ready for the clients to come in.

Right now, during the season of its off-tax season,

obviously there's extensions.

But right now, I like to put a good 70% of my time into the barbershop and then the other 30% with my family.

And then once I get a little off season for the,

once the barbershop takes a little like, kind of like down slope and clients coming in, I like to focus more onto the apex tax rows.

But really, I'm always learning.

I'm always on my, like you said, I don't got no TVs at my house.

Yeah.

I just got a laptop, podcast room, and I'm there.

learning every day, every day.

Something that I can add to the business, something that I can add to the fadeaway barbershop.

But right now, it's just, it's off-season for tax season.

So until then, I'm fully into the barbershop right now.

Yeah, fully grind mode, just focused on one business at a time.

And that's the smartest way to do it, dude.

I give you kudos on that because a lot of people, you know, I've talked to over 10,000 entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, people that are just looking to invest into themselves.

And what I got out of that and talking in all those conversations and throughout the years of entrepreneurship and even being the police is that

sometimes we get blinded by what is called the shiny object syndrome.

Oh, what is that?

I don't know.

The shiny object syndrome is when you're starting off a business or a new venture or a new investment.

And then let's say I started investing into crypto, for example.

And then you just got into, let's say, real estate investing.

Well, you tell me, bro, Paul, like, man, I just made this much money on real estate investing.

And then I go, did I mess up investing in crypto?

Okay, I'll be fine.

Okay, let me try it.

Let me try it.

Right.

And then what ends up happening is people have a FOMO if you're missing out.

So they end up investing into three, four different adventures, bro.

And then they can never complete one thing.

And then they're like, entrepreneurship is not for me because they never go all in.

Yeah, I feel like that's what I had to do for the barbershop firsthand.

I feel these four years before I even started the tax pros, I just wanted to solidify our name.

in the city we were in.

Yeah.

Try to navigate all the clientele so my barbers can be well fed, you know?

Yep.

And sooner or later, I mean, I hope to not, I love cutting hair but I don't want to be there standing up messing my joints every day so yeah I definitely want to step take a step back once I get the opportunity which I can right now but like again Apex Tax Pros is still a little off season it's my first year I did great numbers I passed my investment in the first the first three months so definitely looking good

so that's that's the route I'm gonna take for this show that's great ROI man three months you make your money back and all that that's the way to do it

that's the best the way to do it man but I like how you think about the future dude.

You're very intelligent, especially being in your 20s, man.

My wife, she used to be a MAC artist, Mac, the company, the makeup company.

A makeup company.

Yeah, she did that for 17 years, dude.

She did that for a long time.

As a side hustle, right?

Even though she left, she went to go work for the government for a while.

She just still did that because the passion of just doing makeup.

artistry and all that stuff so um she tells me all the time she's like oh yeah you got to stand for hours and your joints and it affects you you know i'm talking to clients every day, sometimes

sometimes, yeah, sometimes clients they're gonna bring all their problems to you drama.

Yeah, when you get home, you don't want to talk to anybody, bro.

That's how it is.

Your brain is mush, just fried, yeah, fried, dude.

So, I get it, man.

All right, so as an investor yourself, right now, um, how does your mindset evolve after managing clippers, appointments, and tax season stress?

So, this goes right into what we were just talking about.

Um, as an investor yourself, how does your mindset evolve after managing clippers, appointments, and taxis in stress?

It really involves in a way of time management.

I feel like a time management is a key part in those roles.

I have to really schedule out my days, framework my days, start with a foundation.

I have to have plans.

That's the top priority.

If you go your day without a goal, then you're going to have a goalless day.

So I feel like that's one of the key parts to that.

Intention is everything, and time management is everything.

Yeah.

Some of my best guys, my most successful guys, guys,

I have employees,

I like to call them business partners, but essentially they work for me that already became millionaires.

And that's just based off of like them paying attention to me telling them, dude, if you can affect your time, your goal is to hit a million within a few years, not 30 years.

Everybody can be a millionaire, but it just really depends how fast you want to be a millionaire, right?

And I've seen, I've,

he's not lying when he says that.

He's, there's millionaires in here that are just blowing my mind right now.

I've seen the high intensity of work but also the calmness that they have in this in this office so i've definitely been keeping an eye on that especially hugh hugh's a he's a savage he's a beast at such a such a young age he's a beast he's a youngster man i've uh i've been working with hugh since the age of 20 man really yeah since the age of 20.

he told me his age and my age and i was like man how like insane right yeah it's insane yeah

a lot a lot of 20 year olds if you guys are listening to this or if you're under 20 and you're in high school whatnot you have the massive opportunity to go ahead and network with some business owners that can go ahead and mentor you.

You just got to reach out.

Number one, you got to invest in yourself.

That's the name of the game is invest in yourself.

I wish I would have invested in myself a lot sooner, but also I know that we didn't have the exposure to social media that a lot of people

blowing up, dude.

It's a connection.

You can truly be connected to everyone in the world through the social media.

So it's amazing, dude.

Okay, so Level Up Podcast, we created our core values around impact.

Impact, leveling up people, helping up with their mindset, self-help.

It's everything, dude, right so let's talk about one of your standout success stories dude okay either a barber you coached to success or a business owner you guided through Apex Tax what is a really good story that you could tell us

actually I have a business partner for my

fadeaway barber shop his name's Arlie Bloss

he was kind of going down the same path as I was and it's just something When I was barely starting out, he was just like, hey man, come cut with me at the shop.

You know, I'll talk to the owner.

I'll get you in.

I'm like, like all right cool boom i got in and i kind of once i got the opportunity to start the shop i was like man since you gave me that opportunity i have to give it back like you definitely opened my eyes into the barbering career and i have to i have to give it back so right now we're four years strong and he bought a house recently he's on his third kid um and he's he's my like my ride or die he definitely follows i have a lot of things that i go for him for help but for financial help and set him up and i he trusted me with his taxes he trusted me with his money to build the shop.

And after all that trust, I mean, new truck, new house, it's beautiful.

And I'm glad that my best friend got to come with me on the ride too.

Dude, that's amazing.

That's amazing.

See, guys, the ripple effect is the more value you give out to people, the more you get back.

It definitely is.

And then also, you're doing it smart, man, because you're, I'm not saying you're buying loyalty, but essentially you are ingraining loyalty into him to stay with you for the long run, dude.

And I always tell people that I've met so many business owners in the past seven years, dude, that they're like, bro, you know, it's still business, you know, at the end of the day.

But dude, like, you know, I guess you could say that I'm big on culture.

So for me, it's hardly ever that we ever lose anybody that we work with.

Yeah.

And it's the reason why is because they love working here.

They love working for the organization, the vision, what we're doing, impacting clients.

And we care, dude.

Communications, everything.

Oh, yeah.

It's huge.

Like right now, since I'm over here and we have work today, you you know, I can trust AB is going to take care of it, you know?

Yeah.

AB's at the shop right now.

I already know it's running like a train over there.

So that's one of the things about having a partner and also somebody you can trust.

Yeah.

Handling business, dude.

Right.

You're over here promoting the business, you know, working on the business, not in the business.

So it's good to have that, man.

That's that's called leverage, guys.

Remember that, okay, as a business owner.

All right.

So in barbering, you craft fades and confidence.

In tax advice, you craft financial empowerment.

What parallels do you see in these two roles?

As in, can you elaborate on that?

Yeah, I'll elaborate on this.

So essentially, when you go ahead and you cut hair,

you make somebody feel good.

You make them feel confident.

When you go ahead and you give somebody tax advice, now you make them feel confident to make certain moves in their business or in life regarding taxes, right?

So what do you think the two have in common?

Oh, man.

There's a lot of commons in here.

You know, you're helping somebody out with their appearance.

You're helping somebody out with their confidence.

I get advice from the craziest things to how can I talk to a girl?

How can I talk to this in the shop?

But I guess it goes hand in hand as well, too, because in the tax pros business, you're having people with businesses like, oh, how can I do this?

How can I save money right here?

How can I

leverage this to here?

You're hand in hand.

I have a lot of good customer satisfaction.

Yeah.

So,

I mean,

I think I could touch on what you're saying, Apex.

Number one, you're the expert when it comes to these two niches.

So I feel like you're really helping them with their level of confidence when it comes to them making their own decisions.

Yes.

You know, I think you, with the level of experience that you have, brother, is now

people hear your story and they're like, oh, well, he's been a barber for 14 years.

Now, when this episode comes out, you're going to get a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs that want to open their own shop.

Definitely.

You know, currently right now, I moved to Puerto Rico three months ago.

I have a barber named Coco.

Coco is phenomenal he cuts my hair so good so I told him I was like hey dude have you ever thought of opening your own barbershop and he's just like yeah bro but you know I'm not business savvy he's like I'm gonna keep it real with you I'm not business savvy and and I was just like well what if you open it with me and he goes with you oh I'll quit all day you got the confidence in that it's the confidence bro so yes I think based on what you're doing dude is you're doing the same thing you're building the confidence in your clients but you're just doing it within different industries That's all you're doing, dude.

So at the end of the day, just keep doing what you're doing with going ahead and providing value because that's what you're good at, dude.

What I see when you talk, everything you're basing it off your values, your core values, what you learned from your uncle, who you are, your family, just being a good person, seeing that someone helped you, now you help someone else.

And guess what?

They help you back, right?

Yeah.

Core values, dude.

So it's the exact same thing in business.

I kind of, and it's, it's crazy because coming into the business, I'm not very good at, I guess, talking in front front of cameras and everything.

And that's okay.

But definitely, like, when I get in, and it's like a phone call or on the chair,

I'm talking my head off.

You know what I'm saying?

So it's crazy being in the setting, but I'm slowly working into it.

Dude, trust me, I was horrible.

When I first got on camera and I didn't have any of these cameras or set up or the nice background or anything like that, dude.

It just started in my home office back in California.

I was still a cop.

And being a cop, I had a level of confidence.

But when it's you and the camera, dude, by yourself, you're just like a different piece.

It's a different beast, bro.

You don't have somebody telling you, hey, you messed up.

Hey, you have a booger in your nose.

Like, you know, it's just like, yeah, it's just like, what do I do?

Right.

And it's funny because sometimes Amelia will say, hey, dude, you have like a booger.

I was just like, just run with it, bro.

Just edit it out.

Just edit it out.

Just edit it out.

Come on, bro.

Just make it happen.

All right.

So let's go ahead and talk about

your expansion, dude.

What are your future plans, man?

Where do you want to see your legacy when it comes into the barber industry to go and also with Apex Consulting?

I definitely want to coach.

I feel like I would be a good coach.

That's why I joined this mentorship with you and your staff.

I just feel like I can bring a lot of opportunity and information to those people that are kind of lived the same thing through I did.

You know, there's a lot of people my age and there's a lot of people in my hometown that kind of look up to me, so I don't want to let them down or

kind of give them this sense like, man he was

he he did all this but at the end didn't do nothing with it you know I definitely want to I definitely want to prove everybody wrong and and prove everybody right you know definitely my parents as well they they believe in me and they trusted me and I don't want I just don't want to let anybody down and I have I have really good intentions I've been through some dark things and now seeing the different side of it I I definitely want to push that towards everybody well it seems like you got a good head on your shoulders you have your parents that have belief in you and typically your family or people are close that have known you for a very long time, they won't have that level of belief until you actually prove them wrong.

Yeah, so you've already proven wrong multiple times, probably.

They have no choice but to believe what you're gonna say, right?

I feel like once you reach that certain level, also too, you just wanna keep on going, keep on going.

It never stops, it never stops.

Yeah, like, like, I'll give you guys a great example.

You know, I always talk about my mom.

I love my mom, but she is literally a chihuahua with a lion's voice.

She is Peruvian.

She's a tiny little lady.

She'll tell you the truth.

She won't she won't hurt your feelings she doesn't care so whenever i talk to her she's like son i'm still your mother you're still going to respect me i was like i am being respectful but she goes she goes are you sure it's a good idea i was like mom i have a great track record i'm like almost never wrong when it comes to business she goes

Okay,

because I saw something on TikTok.

And I was like, oh,

you're literally feeding it to the stats, mom.

Like, please, you know?

Literally, I was having dinner with my mom yesterday, and she was saying, well, did you see on Facebook?

Did you see on tape?

I'm like, man, don't listen to that stuff.

Don't listen to that.

Please, mom.

Like, please.

All right, man.

So, coming to the end of the interview now, I think it was a phenomenal interview.

You have an inspired story.

You inspired me a lot, dude.

I'm glad we met today.

It's going to be fire, bro.

Hopefully, you can make Vegas in July.

It's going to be fire.

You're going to meet so many people, bro.

You got to bring business cards left to right.

Oh, yeah.

I'm going to bring a pocket full.

You got to, bro.

You got to.

So, this is what we do at the Level Up Podcast with every guest, dude so think back before you launched your barbershops before you launched apex when you were in that dark space dude i want you to talk to that apex

and give them some advice there you go

man just two things two things for you man keep your head up don't look down and keep moving forward i think that's that's what helped me a lot through my dark times and being in my house or being in an like isolated area i would always tell myself that so I would tell definitely tell you to keep going yeah there you go guys that's the level up all right Apex where can uh the audience find you uh y'all can find me at apex underscore the underscore barber or apex tax pros LLC on Instagram uh Facebook and um yeah if you ever want a haircut just come by Plant City Florida or if you're anywhere in Florida just hit me up and I'll fly over there and then any any any shout outs you want to give out to anybody shout out to my brother Lalo shout out to my boy AB Shout out to everybody, all the boys at the barbershop, Chris,

Miguel, Timmy, Prodigy.

Yeah,

that's it.

That's it, guys.

I love that.

I love that.

So, guys, for the barbers at Fadeaway Barbershop, you guys have a phenomenal founder and CEO here sitting next to me.

He cares a lot about you.

Keep hustling, guys.

You guys are going to go places.

With that being said, guys, that is it.

That is the end of this level up podcast with apex guys if you like this podcast make sure to share this with somebody who's an aspiring barber or someone who's looking to get into the barber industry or even the tax consulting realm guys okay apex has a wealth of knowledge to go ahead and help them also we're going to be working on actually going ahead and building him an offer so you guys are going to see him all over social media here in the next few months offering consulting services for anyone that wants to go ahead and level up with apex with that being said guys we are currently ranked number one in business on Apple Podcasts, and we're currently ranked top 20 in all categories.

And I'm going to continue saying this until I'm on the show.

Rogan, what is up, dude?

All right.

With that being said, guys, my name is Paul Alex.

I'll catch you on the next one.