How A 24 Year Old FELON Built A $20.1M Business From His Laptop

From Felon to Multi-Millionaire: The Journey of Will Castro

He built a multi-million dollar business by his mid-20s.

When I was 17 years old, I didn’t have any business experience or acumen. I grew up in a single mom household and didn’t see anyone around me building successful businesses — it was all regular 9 to 5 jobs. My only goal at the time was to get through high school and hopefully get a basketball scholarship for college.

Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out as some new talented transfers joined the team my senior year. I realized I needed to figure out another path, so I started working various jobs after high school to make money. It wasn’t until I went to a networking event at 18 that my perspective shifted. There, I met people my age doing big things — investing in real estate and crypto, reselling sneakers, and more. I realized it was possible for people my age to make good money in different ways outside of traditional jobs.

That exposure opened my mind to the potential of business and entrepreneurship. Up until then, I only knew you had to work a regular job or get a degree to make money. Seeing people who looked like me from similar backgrounds finding success made me believe I could do it too. That belief was a gamechanger.

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I eventually quit my job at Amazon to pursue ecommerce dropshipping full time. For a year straight, I made no money and lost money trying to figure it out. I was watching every YouTube tutorial, buying courses, spending on ads — none of it was working yet. To many, it looked like I was just burning money. But I was completely obsessed with making this work — I knew it was just a matter of time.

Then one day, I made my first $10 sale. That $10 changed my life because it confirmed this could work. If I could make $10, I could make $100, and $1000 after that. The day I made that $10, I quit my job and went all in on the business. All I needed was that first sale to prove this was possible.

I took my last paycheck and invested in a coaching call with someone more successful than me to learn the game. That call was everything I needed — I haven’t looked back since. I later evolved from dropshipping into wholesale selling on Amazon, which allowed me to scale up significantly.

But before I got to $50,000 or my first million, I had to go through a painful year of failure and losses. I wasn’t making any sales or money, just working relentlessly trying to learn and make it happen. Most people aren’t willing to go through that initial struggle phase — they want instant success and results.

To become great at anything, you first have to be really bad at it. I had to be obsessed, watching videos up until I fell asleep, listening while driving, always learning. It was a huge compounding effect over time. I knew I had to make this work no matter what. My mom was always a huge motivation for me.

I remember one day she called needing money for an important surgery, and I didn’t have it to give her. I felt terrible — that was a turning point for me. I told myself I’m going to take care of my mom no matter what, buy her a house. That lit a fire under me to figure this business thing out.

Looking back now, I know I’m successful because of events like that. All the sacrifices, working on holidays and weekends while friends were out partying. Those pivotal moments built my confidence and commitment over time. When you stay focused on your goals through hard times, it shapes your character.

Once I started making real money, my mentality shifted from only caring about income to also impact. I realized I needed to teach others what I had learned instead of being selfish with the knowledge. I began hosting local events, using social media and webinars to share my Amazon seller training. That education business got me to over $1 million in revenue.

The key is relationships. To scale up, you have to network and connect with others at the level you aspire towards. Being in rooms with people making 10X or 100X what I was making opened my mind to the possibilities. I realized if others could do it, so could I. Finding mentors willing to share advice catapulted my growth.

One mentor told me to focus on webinars and read a specific book. Although I was skeptical about webinars, since he was far richer than me, I listened and took action. The tactics in that book helped me generate over $10 million in my second year. When you pay for mentorship and training, you will listen and apply what you learn.

Now instead of just caring about income, I care about impact. I want to share this knowledge with as many people as possible so they can have financial and time freedom like I do. Being able to spend more time with family, provide for loved ones, and partner with friends to start businesses is what true success is about for me.

My journey hasn’t been easy — there were many times I felt like giving up or like I was completely off track. But I knew deep down that if I stayed committed, I would eventually get there. Stay focused on your end goals — realize the consequences if you don’t make this work. Don’t quit because it’s not happening fast enough.

You have to be obsessed and willing to be bad at something for a while before you can get really good at it. Pay the price early on through relentless hard work, sacrifice and self-education. Surround yourself with people further along than you. If others can do it, you can do it too.

My advice is to find that one thing you want more than anything — for me it was buying my mom a house — and let that be your driving force. Come up with a compelling reason why you absolutely must make this work no matter what. When you have true purpose behind your goals, you’ll reach them.

Sharpen Your Focus to Achieve Anything You Desire

Tunnel vision and developing a laser-like focus is essential to realizing success in any endeavor. However, we often underestimate the raw power of momentum. Even making $10 from a side hustle can provide the spark of belief to build momentum and turn it into a full-blown business making thousands per month.

My friend Will Castro was able to create a multi-million dollar company, but it started from humble beginnings. Quitting his job after making his first $10 sale proved to himself it could work. From there, it was about strengthening relationships, expanding his knowledge, and maintaining an unwavering commitment to keep evolving.

Will’s story demonstrates that anyone can achieve Financial Freedom through entrepreneurship with the right mindset. But you must be prepared to sacrifice, learn and persist through failures on the path to success. No matter how many setbacks, always get up and go again.

Quit chasing every bright, shiny object and trying to reinvent the wheel. Find something proven that resonates with you and go all in. Become the go-to expert on it through tireless obsession.

When you combine focus with inspiration and a compelling purpose, you become unstoppable.

Turn Your Struggles Into Strengths

Will Castro could have made excuses about his difficult upbringing and lack of business connections. Instead, he used it as fuel to learn everything he could about ecommerce to forge his own path.

He discovered dropshipping and wholesaling physical products through Amazon as online business models with low barriers to entry. By leveraging YouTube and paid mentorship, Will gained the skills over time needed to build a thriving company.

His core motivation was providing security and comfort for his hard-working single mom. He told himself he wasn’t going to stop until he could buy her a house and take care of her expenses. This purpose drove Will to push through failures and roadblocks that would have made others quit.

When you attach your goals to a deeper meaning, it gives you strength and resilience during tough times. Find your “why” that gets you fired up and chase it relentlessly no matter what anyone else thinks.

Allow yourself to become irrationally obsessed over your craft and ambitions. Average people balance — obsessed people tip the scales completely. Will was consuming content to improve his ecommerce abilities every spare minute.

Although it took over a year of slowly mastering his skills before making real money, Will stayed patient and persistent. He knew deep down this was the path to the lifestyle he desired.

Have the faith to look beyond short-term setbacks and keep your eyes fixed on the long-term vision. Let go of fear of failure or embarrassment — be willing to be a “ failure” for years in pursuit of greatness.

By embracing hard work and sacrifice with an obsessive focus, Will transformed his life dramatically through business success. You can do the same.

Build Relationships and Surround Yourself with Greatness

Once Will Castro gained traction selling products online and made his initial revenue goal of $50k, he realized he needed help getting to the next level. He began connecting with mentors already at where he wanted to be.

Proximity is power. When you gain access to people who have already accomplished what you seek to do, your mind expands. You realize it’s possible for you as well and gain invaluable practical advice.

Will stresses that the more hands you shake and genuine relationships you foster, the more opportunities will open up. He paid to attend masterminds and conferences to build his network.

It’s not just about taking though — you must also provide value. Will understood he had to improve his own skills first before mentors would take him seriously. Establish your credibility.

The other key is actually listening and applying what you learn rather than just looking for the next hack. If you view a mentor’s time as an investment, you’ll soak up their wisdom and take action.

Make each introduction or piece of guidance count in accelerating your growth. Be humble and appreciate those further along extending their knowledge to help you.

Surround yourself with people who have qualities, abilities and accomplishments you aspire towards. Their greatness will rub off on you. Birds of a feather flock together — your network determines your net worth.

Studying experts sharing hard-won lessons provides a shortcut to achieving your biggest goals faster. Be willing to invest financially in your own development as Will did early on. It will pay dividends for lifetimes.

Whom you spend time with shapes who you become. Seek mentors and friends who lift you higher.

Redefine Success and Fulfillment

After hitting his first million in revenue, Will Castro realized money alone would not satisfy him long-term. He needed to focus on making an impact as well.

Will began teaching others en masse how to gain Financial Freedom just like him. He discovered fulfillment in empowering the next generation with the knowledge it took him years to acquire.

The more he positively impacted others, the more good came back to him exponentially. You reap what you sow.

Now making over $20 million per year, Will spends his time, money and energy serving his family, friends and community. He can provide for loved ones and has flexibility to pursue passion projects.

True success is having the freedom and means to live life on your own terms and fulfill your purpose. Money itself simply enables you to help others and have deeper experiences.

Redefine what success looks like for you beyond just making money. How will you give back and leave a lasting positive legacy with your profits and influence?

When you change lives with your gifts, you fill your soul. Making a big difference feels infinitely more rewarding than just having nice things.

Strive to build businesses and teams that empower people. Provide value, mentorship and opportunity. Operate with love and compassion.

Uplift others who need support to reach their potential. Offer encouragement, inspiration and practical guidance. Develop win-win connections.

Measuring your worth by your net worth is limiting. Focus first on raising your self-worth. The rest will follow.

Living a meaningful, purpose-driven life of integrity where you can care for your loved ones is true wealth. Set goals beyond the material plane. Seek significance over success.

Make the Leap and Commit Fully to Your Vision

The biggest failure most people make is never truly deciding in their minds that they will make it happen no matter what. Will Castro had unwavering faith that he would become successful selling online.

He quit his job at Amazon despite still having no money coming in from his side business. Why? Because he knew it was just a matter of time and he needed to focus all his energy there.

What are you waiting for? If you truly desire to accomplish something, set the intention and give it 100% of your effort. Demand more from yourself than others think possible.

You must make the mental commitment first before the physical results can come. Too many people delay and overanalyze rather than executing on what they already know deep down they need to do.

How much longer are you going to postpone taking that leap of faith towards your goals? What’s holding you back from committing? You’ll find a million excuses to justify waiting if you look.

Don’t buy into the lies and illusions. Stop wasting time and avoiding action. The costs of complacency are massive — you’re cheating yourself.

You will need an obsessive tunnel vision and mental resilience to block out all the distractions and obstacles trying to steer you off course. Regular people will think you’re crazy.

Learn from Will’s mindset — he became successful because he completely removed the option of failure. He decided this WILL work no matter what. How quickly can you make the shift to adopting that unshakeable belief in yourself and your vision? What would change by tomorrow if you did?

You know what you need to do deep down. Quit listening to excuses and just execute. You’ll be amazed at what opens up once you fully commit and leap. Fortune favors the bold.

Your time is now — capture it. Seize the power of this moment to take a chance on yourself and finally follow through. You’ll never have greater clarity. Imagine the possibilities if you just decide to say yes.

Let absolute resolve empower you to create the life you know you deserve. Numbers mean nothing — your internal convictions are everything. Have the courage to honor your calling.

Commitment opens the doorway to new dimensions of our being. Your future longs for your wholehearted yes in this instant. Give your gifts to the world with love.

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