The Cost of Greatness

By Ryan Gilliam

In The Cost of Greatness, Ryan Gilliam, a former collegiate athlete, tells how he took up the challenges of starting his own business when he was twenty-five. Within several years, his small business had grown to have annual revenues totaling more than $5 million. In his account of his business achievements, he weaves in the details of his family and his spiritual life. This personal approach sheds light on the foundations from which he strove for greatness, while sharing the cost of that striving.
The individual who has an idea for a business incubating in his or her thoughts and dreams, but feels unsure about how to move from idea to plan to reality will find in the pages of The Cost of Greatness a helpful guide for making that journey. It outlines the basics of starting and growing a business. It will provide the spark to motivate and encourage the entrepreneur to turn that idea into a living business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Apr 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483447988

Book preview

THE COST OF

GREATNESS

RYAN GILLIAM

Copyright © 2016 Ryan Gilliam.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-4797-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-4799-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-4798-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016903952

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 03/23/2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

No Pads, No Cleats - Just A Business Suit

Failure Can Be Good

Chapter 1 Our Story

Chapter 2 Birthing The Business

Chapter 3 People And Money

Chapter 4 True Ambition

Chapter 5 Lessons Learned

How To Start Your Business

Essentials For Starting A Business

Kingdom Keys To Success

Business Terms

Works Cited

References

About The Author

PREFACE

The Cost of Greatness is an account of the story, where I went from barely having ten thousand dollars to start a business, to growing that business to over five million dollars in revenue. I was blessed to experience both failure and success in business at a young age. By my 30th birthday I was millionaire who owned and operated a small business and I also found the time to run a countywide medical center where I oversaw a twenty million dollar operation.

This book was written to encourage entrepreneurs, and by reading this story I hope to help teach the basics of starting and growing a business. I was fortunate enough to have numerous mentors and teachers that taught me things I did not learn in school. They gave me knowledge that only comes from wisdom and experience. I felt it was only right to pay-it-forward by sharing my experiences that made me successful. This book will be most helpful to entrepreneurs who have a sound business idea but don’t know how to get from point A to point B. Particularly, potential entrepreneurs who are stuck in the planning stages and need motivation or direction to start their business. All the events of the book are actual things that I have faced. However, certain names and situations have been amended to protect the confidentiality of those involved.

There is an abundant amount of people I could dedicate this book to. I will begin with my high school English teacher, Krista Hellmann, who pushed me to be great and not to settle for being average. Next would be my high school football coach, David Wilson, who taught me how to work hard and be dedicated. Also, my college mentor Lee Roy Selmon, who gave me direction and a purpose. Not to mention, my Pastors Drs. Amos & Deborah Bankhead for developing me as a leader. While I have been inspired by all of these people in more ways than one, I dedicate this book to my best friend and wife Alysia Gilliam, M.A., BCBA. Alysia believed in me when no one else did and gave me a chance no one else would. Without Alysia I would not have achieved anything close to what we have accomplished together at the age of 30.

Alysia you are my muse and I love you dearly.

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Alysia smiling.

NO PADS, NO CLEATS - JUST A BUSINESS SUIT

RyanGilliamarticleTBD.jpg

Newspaper article clipping.

By GREG AUMAN – Times Staff Writer

Published December 21, 2007 (Tampa Bay Times)

Though he enjoys playing football, USF’s Ryan Gilliam prefers a career in the financial field.

TAMPA - It’s not a scene you see often: A college football player runs to the sideline during practice to clarify a statement made to a reporter, to make sure he hasn’t said anything that will merit a fine from the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Meet Ryan Gilliam, a senior cornerback who will be one of the fastest players on either team when USF meets Oregon in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31. He might also be the only one who has passed his Series 6 financial exams, or the only one with a coveted job lined up at Smith Barney.

He’ll finish his college career in El Paso, Texas, against the school he attended for two seasons before transferring to the Bulls in 2005. Coach Jim Leavitt said he knew Gilliam had the speed and athleticism he wanted in a football player, but he liked him more for his potential in the classroom.

I didn’t really push him to do well in football or not do well in football, Leavitt said. I just told him to come out and focus on (his) degree. He’s gotten a couple of 4.0 averages, and as a football player, he’s outstanding.

Gilliam is the rare college athlete who holds a job during his sport’s season; he worked two days a week in the fall at the Tampa office of First Investors Corp., a financial firm, trading his pads for a suit each Tuesday and Thursday.

It takes a lot to do that, and doesn’t leave a lot of time for down time or social time, said Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon, who works in USF’s athletic department and has been a mentor to Gilliam. It’s a very constructive use of his time, and when you hear about that, you just say, ‘Man!’ He’s very organized and uses his time well.

Gilliam credits Selmon, the former Bucs star and USF athletic director who now works in fundraising for the Bulls, for his interest in the business world. Gilliam was inspired by the way Selmon continued his success after football, developing the chain of restaurants that bear his name.

In his offseasons, he worked at a bank every year, and after he retired, he still worked at a bank, said Gilliam, 22. I never was great with numbers, but I was always good with people. This is a field where you deal with both. He sparked my interest, and I did some research and found it to be something I thought I could be successful in.

Gilliam was a nationally touted recruit out of Tallahassee’s Lincoln High but has never been able