Serial Entrepreneur Shawn Sharma Shares How Credit Made Him a Multi-Millionaire
Meet Shawn Sharma, self-made businessman whose mission is to help others achieve success
Shawn Sharma is a first-generation Cornell graduate, credit guru, philanthropist, and influencer whose motivation to help others and passion for continued learning has coined him the title as a self-made serial entrepreneur. Shawn redefines what it means to persevere through adversity as he grew up with both parents disabled, plagued with illness and poverty in a trailer park. Since then it has been Shawn’s mission to achieve the American Dream, despite all odds; all while utilizing his social media platform to motivate and educate others. His motto is, that no matter your background- you are capable of achieving anything you desire. Shawn’s commitment to charity and changing the lives of others is unmatched. He is devoted to changing people’s lives across the globe bringing massive changes in financial literacy, medical technology and the healthcare space, in that order to bring equitable opportunity for future generations to come.
Given Shawn’s upbringing, he knew that hard work and excelling academically would be his ticket to a financially secure future. He devoted himself to his education and took advantage of every opportunity that came his way. By high school, Shawn’s hard work gained him recognition, rewarding him with a full ride scholarship to a Math and Science boarding school, and later was accepted into all the top schools in the country. In order to save money flying back and forth from college and visiting his family in Alabama, he learned and began maximizing credit card rewards and air miles. During his last semester at Cornell the unimaginable happened, Shawn’s father passed away from health conditions. As the only support for his family, Shawn then turned his college side gig of credit card arbitrage into his first business in order to take care of his family and disabled mother. Within four months Shawn learned to maximize credit card rewards to earn $3,000 daily, later investing six figures into a 30 property Airbnb portfolio alongside three partners. By the time Shawn started medical school he was making over $10k monthly passive income and was set to pursue his dreams of becoming a doctor. This resulted in Shawn’s first major business failure which forced him to leave medical school. At this point he went from having 300k net worth to 400k in debt. Since leaving, Shawn focused on credit card arbitrage and over the course of three years he managed to pay off his debt and build over a dozen businesses, earning himself a 7-figure net worth.
Over the course of Shawn’s business and entrepreneur journey- he emphasizes that credit has been critical if not necessary in each and every opportunity he has ever had. Credit has been a major pillar behind his success, which is why he is so passionate about making sure people have the same opportunities that he did. Credit offered Shawn the ability to travel home for free using airline miles and saved his parents the burden of paying thousands of dollars for flights. Later, credit allowed Shawn to use the bank’s money to scale his retail arbitrage and manufactured spending business, as well as start other companies such as his travel agency and many other businesses along the way. Shawn credits financial literacy and utilizing his credit to take chances in business as major attributes in his success. He founded Credit 101 with the idea of wanting to empower others to be able to leverage their own credit and have a chance to live the American dream. He strongly believes that credit was a pivotal aspect that allowed him to become a millionaire and has created Credit 101 to ensure everyone starts with the same opportunity and has a chance to pursue the American dream.
If Shawn had one piece of advice it would be:
“Take initiative and get started. Imperfect action is way better than being paralyzed by analysis. With the advent of the internet, social media and technology bringing unlimited information, there is no excuse to not start and hit the ground running.”
To Shawn, his journey has only just begun; he hopes to build wealth on the basis of merit and integrity- to then use his platform for to create massive change for individuals who grew up just like him. Utilizing his business, Credit 101, Shawn plans to change the way education is administered in the U.S. focusing a great deal of his energy in helping improve financial literacy in socioeconomic groups and minorities. Shawn is an exceptional role model and inspiration to everyone. His journey to success serves as a testament that despite your background, with hard work you can achieve anything you can possibly dream of. There is no doubt Shawn’s legacy will exceed far beyond what he hopes for- helping others, making a change, and utilizing your resources to their fullest potential.
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Readers can keep up with Shawn Sharma on his website or on Instagram for motivational content, and free financial and credit tips.
