Carlos Ariel Then is a Business and Finance Coach/Entrepreneur. He is 31 years old as of today and is a self proclaimed millennial business and finance coach. What that means is that he helps people increase their financial and business aptitude with things like credit, taxes, investing etc. He has written two books that pertain to this line of work. Besides that, he owns a private security company that provides lounges, restaurants, and VIP’s with protection.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
Growing up I always enjoyed knowing how things worked, and more specifically fixing or improving them somehow. Initially I actually thought I wanted to be an engineer which my mother who is a huge role model encouraged. She is the reason I am as entrepreneurial as I am today. She owned a restaurant, properties, and was involved in various other ventures when I was in middle school and high school. As I grew and later realized I didn’t want to be an engineer anymore my mother was always supportive and encouraging in my endeavors.
Was there any turning point in your life that changed your journey? If so, what was it? Please tell us the backstory behind it.
My story changed when my mother lost everything. Unfortunately her restaurant burned down and she did business with some terrible people who didn’t make it easier for her. I felt powerless at the time because I was away for college and was broke. It forced me to think outside of the box to come up with innovative solutions. That was when I started my first business doing taxes as “Now Then Financial”. It was actually quite lucrative and allowed me to make a major change not just for myself but my family and those around me.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say “YES, go for it!”
My mother’s unfortunate fall in business allowed me to learn from her mistakes and proceed with caution. I actually only started my first business because I happened to be doing my taxes in my dorm room and my roommate at the time offered to pay me to help them do theirs. This ended up growing much larger than I imagined in just one tax season. Which motivated me to further expand my knowledge and capabilities to help others and be compensated for it.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
Currently, I am a business and finance coach/consultant and the impact I’m trying to make is to increase the financial and business aptitude of more people who look like me and come from my generation which are the millennials. I feel like I can help change some of their views on money and how it can be used as a tool to help get them the time freedom, location freedom, and financial freedom that we are all entitled to.
Everyone has their own set of challenges when starting an entrepreneurial journey. Still, the most essential part for others to learn is how you deal with those. Would you like to share with us your challenges and your coping mechanisms?
In the beginning it wasn’t easy, even my mother who was always so very encouraging, at one point asked me. “When are you going to go out and get a job?” Not realizing that I had made coaching and consulting my full time job. But I remained consistent. I used my clients’ success stories as motivation to continue to do the work that I was doing. This eventually began to pay off and the social proof was enough to appropriately adjust my pricing to support my lifestyle.
While the global pandemic of COVID-19 is associated primarily with adversities, it has also brought about a true boom in startups, with successful entrepreneurship in many countries. The pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another. Would you like to share your experience on a personal and professional level?
Covid-19 for me was actually a boomer. Whereas people perhaps didn’t really think about their finances before the pandemic. I got bombarded with appointments during this time which was both beneficial for me and my clients. They were able to properly adjust their finances to ensure they financially survived the pandemic and I was compensated as a result. I had thankfully already used ZOOM as part of my business structure and where as before it was an optional feature, it became the main form of scheduling a call with me which also allowed for more location freedom since I had to close my physical office.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
I’d say my biggest achievement was writing my first book. “Learn: Drop the L and Earn”. It encapsulates my journey and everything that I did to get where I am today. It also seeks to shift the reader’s mindset from that of an employee to that of an entrepreneur and it even gives examples of businesses one could start at little to no cost. I encourage your audience to give it a read and gladly give them free access to the digital version of this book. They can simply go to my website www.mrthen.biz and use the code : LEARNED
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I think every living being deserves the 3 freedoms, time freedom, location freedom and financial freedom. With these three things you can do what you want, any time you want, anywhere you want. With technology and the right mindset I think many of your readers can agree that this is possible.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your personal life and professional journey? What is your personal motto in life?
In helping people accomplish what they want in life, I will achieve everything I want from life.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women’s leadership today?
I think that women are the pinnacle of success in most men’s lives, whether directly or indirectly correlated and that they deserve not only the opportunity to lead but also the recognition for doing it well.
With your grit and determination, you are making a considerable impact, breaking through, and serving as role models for many budding entrepreneurs. What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
I would like to say that a lot of people forget that we are “Human Beings” and that Being Human is what is most important. Be you, be kind, be generous, and help others. Sometimes the world can be a scary place full of terrible views and actions. Men, but especially women in the world of entrepreneurs aren’t given a fair shot, but don’t give up. Stay consistent, stay on course and most of all believe in yourself, because I do and so does everyone else reading this.
