Creating a Lifestyle Driven Business to Serve Others and Self Fulfillment with Neil Twa

Brad Miller: 00:00

So, let's talk about some of the actions that you took. Not just financially, this was wise, but also for your spiritual health, emotional health, and relationships, and also to know what are some of the actions you took. You've had this pivotal moment, your faith moment or season, and now you're getting out of it. What are you doing? What are some of the actions?

Neil Twa: 00:19

At that point, I started reading the Bible. And as they say, the word comes to life when you do that. And so many things started to be revealed to me in that process, as I started to dedicate myself to more of the world of God, learning about whom Jesus was and understanding what he did on the cross. From there, I started to humble myself to my family, but my family first about business and ambitions. And from then on, we started to homeschool our children, taking them out of the world and becoming more of a family and less worldly-driven structure. From that, I was blessed with opportunities and knowledge that God gave me to go out and do mobile advertising again, and things that I hadn't done in a different way, which then started to bring some financial success to my efforts. But my focus at that point was never taken off. My actions at that point in my home mattered more, being with my kids showing up to the doctor's appointments, making time for my wife, and the focus and structure pushing myself into my business and my life with my family. And out of the business-driven ambition before, I completely changed the way I saw things. I didn't realize how a scarcity mindset is driven I was before; now, I am turning it into an abundance mindset.

Brad Miller: 01:23

And what you hear what he's saying here, in terms of you getting your priorities in order here, so many people are so oppressed by that sense of lack. What they don't ask you what they don't have, and you have to cave, live that literal "come to Jesus" moment for yourself. You put your family and doctor's appointments and went heavy for everything. Everything else started to come into play.

Neil Twa: 01:46

That's correct because my focus and drive completely changed after that. By opening opportunities and thinking of things more abundantly, I didn't realize I was in scarcity. And that ambition drive, and it was masking activity is productivity. So when I just focused on the things that were good, I didn't have to take as much time to be productive and do something that would benefit my family. So I realized that was the kind of concept of abundance. And that's what led me to e-commerce because I realized I had the strength and knowledge, and brand capability of my background to go out and be able to take it out into the world as physical products and serve and servant leader, the business in that way and to the customer for its focus not and from there, I understood, profit and financial would come after serving first. And so I converted that relationship into a servant leadership attitude. And from there, things started to transform very quickly for my business.

Brad Miller: 02:39

So as a servant leader, now you're doing this. Be a little more specific here, Neil. What are some of the steps you'd taken to turn this around as a servant leader now of your family and to serve using the framework or the strategy of E-commerce?

Neil Twa: 03:00

I started to look at people differently. I started to look at people and give a different attitude that I will trust you first and then verify that you're doing things versus I need to verify who you are. And you must prove to me, and then I'll trust you. So I started to give more and understand accountability very differently. If I give them an opportunity to be a part of this, then the accountability would fall on them whether or not they would do it. It didn't fall to me, but I would give them and enable them and lead them through the process until they proved they didn't want to be a part of it or couldn't do it. And so that transition led me into some great relationships, which led me to more networking. And truly understanding that network is net worth led me to realize that e-commerce was an opportunity to take advantage of some of my historical nature at IBM when we were building latent semantic search engines. And I recognized Amazon was one, and it's just a big technology. I knew that I could take advantage of that system. And so I've been partnered with a gentleman who's still my partner after 10 years, very smart. He's a genius who speaks two languages: financial history and background in financial management, operations and logistics, and new things I didn't know that helped complete the second half of my E-commerce journey. And I was in I knew the marketing, tenacity and media-driven aspect of the market, as well as the systems and technology of how to make the product rank and get traffic and sales. And we partnered up, so for the last 10 years, we have stayed focused on that channel because that combination has done very well for us. And so I brought people into structured areas and gave them the power to become who they are. And because they operate within that, I now have multiple trusted people within those relationships inside of my organization who are not employees but are 100% invested in the success that voltage offers.

Brad Miller: 04:32

I hear trust, and I hear networking. I'm hearing partners who have creative partnerships, and then also looking for a system as a word Amazon or other things out there to help you to move forward.

Neil Twa: 04:47

Mentoring; I hired some mentors to get my mind right to help level me up. One of my mentors who helped me understand that at some point, even if I went into academia or into the corporate world to learn about e-commerce and stuff, it was my uncle because he had created a business and had been very successful in the boat building business in San Diego and was very much a rich dad comparison to my poor dad will not speak ill or doubt of him. It's just a comparison. I'm following your metaphor, but he gave me a way of thinking in different mechanisms that stuck with me. Unfortunately, he died in an unfortunate plane crash. And so I lost a mentor. So I knew that at some point, I needed to find somebody like that. And so that's one of the things I've done over the years: I've hired mentors to help me in different areas where I'm not good, and they're good at it. And I paid them good money to get involved with them, not just from networking, but from a knowledge-gaining and gleaning perspective and education transfer. And that has changed so much about the way I look at business. And now, about the way I lead others in the business.

Brad Miller: 05:44

Whether it be via networking mentors to our audience here for just a minute now, Niel, what would you say to that person who may be similar to you, in their 40s, have had their ups and downs, maybe they got beat up by COVID? Something else may have happened in their life, and they're struggling now. Maybe financially, family-wise? What are some of the things you might say to them? Okay, How will you get out of the process here? Be a mentor to someone else for me.

Neil Twa: 06:15

Well, if you've heard a little about what I said today, and we're still listening to this, I appreciate that or one of the things I was tired and not inspired. I didn't understand what an inspiration to me would be. And when I discovered the purpose-driven family life that inspired me, my children, my wife, and my family became an inspiration because of that. What fell behind that was me last. I have four daughters and my wife. I'm the only guy in the family, so I fall last. But because of that, I have learned that tenacity and being agile is a critical step and your ability to do things, to feel the fear and do it anyway, if and if you don't have 100% understanding of the decision you're making, to take full, accountable responsibilities of that decision, positive or negative, and then move in agility. Through that, either yourself or with the help of others, to overcome that and keep going right, we always go forward. I analogize it to Everest and walking up with a Sherpa; you're going to go three feet at a time, and you're not going to race to the top. So you need to be patient. And every three feet you go, you should look back and make sure the person behind you that you can reach back and help the last three feet you can that you're lifting them to because that will build your tribe. And as you build your tribe, you build your family or friends or connections or business who are surrounding you in the area where you're both climbing together, and the success will be much greater because it will be shared. And when you reach the top, it's not just you by yourself and a selfie; it's you with a group of people looking around and going looking we all accomplish together. So the wisdom here is to learn that you cannot be a solopreneur. You cannot be a wannapreneur. An entrepreneur is somebody who knows how to advance people in their position and then gains from that, not takes from it.

Brad Miller: 07:55

Some great advice there to help people understand. This is a process; that's what I like to teach; it is a sign of arrival. The Promised Land is out there, but the Promised Land is after a whole long process of the journey. Go through, and these are some of the disciplines, tools and habits you have. Is there anything you want to say about e-commerce and Amazon FBA and how that has become the main tool or energy you use? Is there anything advantageous about e-commerce and these types of things people may want to take advantage of?

Neil Twa: 08:41

As I wanted to drive that family-driven purpose and business second, I understood something later. As success was starting to come through the E-commerce channel, I understood that I could create a lifestyle-driven business by design rather than a business that would drive my lifestyle. Those are two very different things. One of them is ambitious or home-run mind thinking. The other is I'll get there when I get there because my purpose is bigger than just the finances. And because I learned about a lifestyle-driven business, we now live on 40 acres in the country, and I work on squirrel-powered internet. I'm with my girls every day; we homeschool them, we have community groups and family groups we go to, and I can spend every day with my family. At the same time, I still created a great business from E-commerce. It gave me the ability to have a lifestyle that would be driven and build an empire or retire at some point. Because e-commerce is a virtual situation, I own warehouses. I used to have a warehouse and 12 employees once upon a time; I have none of that anymore. I have virtual assistants and e-commerce, and the FBA Amazon FBA channel helped me get that process going.

Brad Miller: 09:42

Let's break it down, such as E-commerce, and I'd like you to find that for a minute. You've mentioned Amazon FBA. I know what that means. But tell our audience just a little bit more about that. E-commerce, let's go with that.

Neil Twa: 10:02

Fulfilled by Amazon is a company that Amazon purchased roughly in 2009 or 2010, If memory serves me correctly. It helps with logistics management and what's called the last mile to the customer. You would know by clicking Add to cart on your cell phone button. And two days later or one hour later, a product shows up from Amazon. Amazon's logistics and $15 billion in infrastructure deliver those products through its warehouses. As a marketplace seller on Amazon using their Fulfilled by Amazon or FBA system, I send my products to their warehouses, and their logistics and people deliver them to the customer. So my focal point is on brand building, customer relationship, product development, and management of logistics and the pipeline of products done within the Amazon infrastructure to start. And then, we move them into multiple channels, infomercials, TV, radio, websites, celebrities, and other places outside once that brand is proven on Amazon. So I like to take people with zero experience and help them become heroes on the Amazon channel so they can expand those out. Because that's one of the best places, many beginners have been taught to get to six, seven, or even eight figures because we show them how to take advantage of a marketplace of buyers. Everybody goes to Amazon to buy products, okay?

Brad Miller: 11:15

I think I just saw a truck go by my house.

Neil Twa: 11:19

Amazon delivers all the time. It's a leverage infrastructure, and it comes obviously with a cost. Still, it's a leverage infrastructure that allows me to travel two months into Florida with my family if I want to while running my operation, come back to Missouri, or travel around when needed.

Brad Miller: 11:35

What you're describing is e-commerce as an electronic.

Neil Twa: 11:38

Absolutely. Brand driven, private label, competence.

Brad Miller: 11:42

And as opposed to a corporate structure, driving, and punching a time clock. There is a difference there.

Neil Twa: 11:50

Trading time for money, Yes.

Brad Miller: 11:52

How do you do that? That's the part of what I want our audience to hear. Because when people are crushed by debt or financial pressures, they're looking for some way to relieve pressure, not add pressure. I know the complexities. Yes, I, for one, I'll share it with you. I did Amazon FBA about three years ago, and it didn't go well for me because I just had a whole bunch of books to sell. I'm on Amazon, but it just was not a big winner.

Neil Twa: 12:23

I don't sell books, and I wouldn't recommend it. Well, the profitability of physical products is a lot better.

Brad Miller: 12:29

That's where we're going to have a further conversation on this. We would want to learn how to do it right. In that particular case, I was downsizing, and I had a library of 2000 books and got rid of 500. And that was part of my downsizing deal. I tried to give it away, but I didn't make any money from it. And if I were to do it again, I'd want to be smarter about it. And that gave me motivation. I almost got rid of the books and tried to break even. But I'm sharing to help our audience understand that what you're sharing here is a pathway. And what I'm all about here on Beyond Diversity is trying to get beyond that adverse life condition to a second better—still be a journey to get beyond this to get beyond us. And so there are some things you teach in your process that can be helpful to people. They're learning life lessons about faith, family, and what you're all about. Still, they can also learn some practical practicalities to do some things in their business or financial life. That's awesome.

Neil Twa: 13:35

It's business mentoring. That's what I like to make sure people understand. We choose Amazon FBA as the first place to sell your products. But there are other great places.

Brad Miller: 13:43

Well, give us an example of some of the products you may have worked with.

Neil Twa: 13:48

Listen, I'll tell you it's easier to say what I don't work with, which is electronics, I don't work with supplements, I don't do books, and I don't do clothing for various reasons. But we sold everything from kitchen supplies and dishware to toys. We developed a product line called belt buddies, but we sold that brand later as Seat Pets.

Brad Miller: 14:14

Is this for kids' car seats?

Neil Twa: 14:16

Kids car seats, Thank you.

Brad Miller: 14:18

My granddaughters have it.

Neil Twa: 14:21

Yeah, so the competitor had more cute animal faces, like a penguin, a dog, and a cat. We developed an anime version of that same product. We called it belt buddies, and we went to compete with him in the market, and ours had slightly bigger eyes and a bit of anime look to the face. We crossed the anime genre that was going up with the toys and exploded. We had 2000 units in eight days. We sold out of all of them with zero marketing. We took in and ethically sold their marketing because I was up one night with one of my kids watching infomercials while she was trying to finish her bottle, and up pops an infomercial for Seat Pets, and they were talking about these pets etc. I'm like, "wow, that's cool. I bet we can beat that."

Brad Miller: 14:57

Our creative juices start to flow then.

Neil Twa: 14:59

I got up, created a new brand called Seat Pets, got 2000 units made and hand stitched, and sent them to Amazon eight days later, and they were gone. And we said, "whoa," so we ordered 2000 more and kept doing that as we scaled the business.

Brad Miller: 15:10

And I'm assuming this did not involve your garage being full of Sea Pets?

Neil Twa: 15:14

Products went from the manufacturer directly to Amazon's FBA warehouses, and I never touched them other than the samples my kids still have in their beds.

Brad Miller: 15:21

Sure. Well, Neil, you've shared a lot about your own life and processes and how people can achieve things spiritually, emotionally and in family life and go through some rough stuff, such as your divorce. I've heard a lot of divorce stories. Yours is right up there with some pretty amazing ones.

Neil Twa: 15:46

You mentioned you mentioned death as your last one.

Brad Miller: 15:50

Yeah. Well, do you want to share about that?

Neil Twa: 15:53

My uncle or my mentor died, which tried to set me back. However, my wife had some very difficult medical issues after her third child and had to undergo a hysterectomy after her fourth. In the process, they accidentally had a failed carburizing machine. She was supposed to only be in for two days and go out. Instead, she had to fight for her life. She died in front of me, and I had to call them in, and they resuscitated her, and then they had to take her back for emergency surgery. I thought she was dead, and they came back, and it was still bleeding. And she had two more surgeries in 16 hours to save her life. She died one time on the table in the operating room as well, and they brought her back. So here I am, a dad with four kids, four and a half and under, and my wife is dying in the hospital. So I faced the unbelievable moment of realizing that we had been married for about five years and that I would be a single dad of four kids under the age of five. So that was one of those moments that, without faith, I don't think I would have made it, quite honestly.

Brad Miller: 16:48

Let me see if I'm correct. She's still with us, is that right?

Neil Twa: 16:49

She is well, alive and kicking. They managed to get that taken care of for about a year to recover.

Brad Miller: 16:53

I understand what you're saying, she had two near-death experiences.

Neil Twa: 16:57

She died twice, once in front of me and on the operating table. But they managed to get her back to life. It took her about a year to recover from that. And I ended up playing dad and mom for almost a year after that, to get her back on her feet. But she's stronger than ever. We figured out our health conditions and issues, and we've managed to medicate all of that through holistic treatment, which is amazing.

Brad Miller: 17:20

So let us bring us full circle here. You've had all these things happen to you, and I thank you for sharing that. But in your place right now, you're fine, and we don't want to be casting directors weird aspersions that way. But you've come through life; you've come through a nasty divorce, bankruptcy; you've gone through them. The highest of highs have been flying high in the corporate world, and the lows of the lows are on systems of subsistence living. You've had four children or four daughters, good for you, and pregnancies, marriage, remarriage, and near-death experiences here with your uncle and your wife. And it sounds like, at this point, all things considered, you're doing okay. Is that fair?

Neil Twa: 18:10

That is correct. Yeah, better; too blessed to be stressed. And that's how I say it now.

Brad Miller: 18:16

That's what I like to share with our folks. What you're looking for is what I like to call the promise of life: peace, prosperity and purpose. This means you have peace of mind, but it doesn't mean you don't have bad things happen to you. And prosperity doesn't mean you always have all the way in the world, but you have the vital things in life, you've got other shelter, you've got enough income to care for yourself, And you've got health and those types of things. And then the purpose is to have a reason for living. And so, let's go there. Let's conclude our conversation with what do you live for now, my friend, Neil? How do you serve others now? And then I'd also like to hear a story by someone you've served.

Neil Twa: 18:59

So in our private life outside the business, we own 40 acres in the country. As we mentioned, my homestead, we homeschool we have a 1500 square foot heritage seat garden. We give away a lot of that stuff yearly because it's more than we can eat. We work in the community. We helped start the community homeschooling group and were here as two families. There are now 20 families and 60 kids. So we've been instrumental in bringing up a homeschool classical conversations group. And in terms of the business side, I mentor folks to be successful, to overcome their business and mindset-driven challenges to create e-commerce businesses and give them opportunities to leave their job or retire or build their empire. And I've had great success stories with several people. Patrick has been one of my favorite ones recently. He's a non-US resident if you came and emigrated and a non-English speaker. He got into the corporate world and found out he had an aptitude for programming and did that for a while but also realized he had more ambitions. We were able to mentor him through adversity and challenges. He was agile, and he figured it out. He followed the process and asked great questions. And he's now doing 80,000 a month and his Amazon store. And it's been great to have story after story like that of people we now serve in the business and have created an amazing network of people because of that.

Brad Miller: 20:16

And for folks to understand that there is hope and you can do well. Not all of us can live on 40 acres and make 80,000 a month as your friend does. But they can find their pathway to having peace, prosperity, and purpose, correct? How can folks contact you to learn more about you if they want to learn more about what you're what you offer? And what you're all about? How can people be in contact with you?

Neil Twa: 20:41

Well, in simple terms, you can go over to voltagedm.com. There's a free training 45 minutes there. One of my partners in my portfolio division is Kevin Harrington from me; as seen on TV and Shark Tank, we do a presentation together. That explains for about 40 minutes or so what the model is over e-commerce. It's free. And there's training and free training on my email list that you're welcome to check out as well, which will teach you some of the fundamentals of E-commerce and get you started understanding the basics. You can Google me as I'm on all the social media as it is Neil Twa, TWA. It's not a fake last name, nor an MBA or PhD. It's TWA. And you're welcome to Google me and find all my social networks, etc., and contact me there or follow me there until you want to reach out and have a conversation.

Brad Miller: 21:23

Awesome. Well, you've given us a fascinating story today. And we'd love to hear stories where people have come through some challenging things, done well, and have something to teach others. It's what we're all about.

Neil Twa: 21:36

Thank you. Appreciate that.

Brad Miller: 21:37

Very good. Our guest today on the Beyond Diversity podcast, Neil Twa from voltagedm.com. Thank you for being our guest today on Beyond Diversity.