Welcome! My name is Beau Alexander Michaels and I am an entrepreneur. The purpose of this page is to give you a bit of background on who I am, what I do and my journey. I hope you enjoy!
Humble Beginnings
Originally born in Takapuna, New Zealand, I have lived in several towns and cities throughout the North Island. I am one of eight children, 6 brothers and 1 sister. Solo parent environment so money was always scarce.
Whilst my mother had the best intentions, she unfortunately befriended plenty of undesirable people resulting in a lot of my childhood spent among current and ex gang members, convicts and inmates released from prison.
Not an ideal way to grow up so I was thankful the day came around when mum decided enough was enough and our small family of 4 at the time relocated far away from the aforementioned influences.
I currently live in the Marlborough region, in a small town called Blenheim, one of New Zealand’s most sunniest town. My mother moved to Blenheim with me, my older brother and my younger sister when I was 8 years old.
My Family
I am a father of two awesome children and husband to my soul mate of 20+ years, whom I first met when I was 11 years old. At the time of writing this post, my daughter is 17 years old and a 13 year old son.
We decided to build our family in Blenheim because of the family support we had in the region. We have found Blenheim to be a great town to raise our children. It’s very safe, surrounded by forest, mountains, rivers and the ocean.
Everything from hunting, fishing, diving, snowboarding, surfing and more is so accessible here, it’s no wonder we decided to stay in this slice of paradise!
My School Life
I had a pretty transient upbringing which unfortunately had a negative impact on my education. Combine this with dyslexia, an over active imagination and a short attention span, I of course struggled with conventional education.
I finished out my college years barely passing what was called “Fifth Form Certificate” at the time, in English, Mathematics and Science.
Throughout my adult years I have completed a number of different courses including horticulture and agriculture, Business computing, Health & Exercise science and in the past couple years I have been training in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Website Design, Content Marketing and Paid Advertising (PPC).
My Work Life
I have always worked throughout my school years starting from as young as 9 years old. I used to pick Garlic in the fields during the weekends for local Blenheim companies. Up at 5 am and finished by 12 pm with a take home pay of $60.00 per day.
This was a lot of money for a young lad back then (1989) and I am positive this had a major influence on me as an entrepreneur and gave me a taste for earning money at a very young age.
I never had aspirations to go to University as I felt I needed to make money here and now, so once my college years were over I went straight into the work force.
Initially I started off as a laborer in the local wine industry. Working rain, hail and shine. The industries were limited and there wasn’t a lot of opportunities here so I grabbed what I could and pushed forwards. Eventually I grew tired of this line of work and decided I wanted to learn a trade instead.
I began working at a local drywall company and started learning my trade as an interior plasterer. This wasn’t the most thrilling job but it did have many perks. I got to travel around the Marlborough Sounds and work on some amazing houses.
Unfortunately this kind of job is very hard on the body and due to work related injuries (torn rotator cuff) I had to give this up. Once I made my recovery I decided to enter the workforce under different trades including roofing, painting and landscaping.
Tradesmen jobs were paying me well but I always felt there was more to life than working myself to death physically. I knew I was capable of much more and I was smart enough to learn what I could to take myself to the next level, to become self-employed.
Becoming a Business Owner
Throughout my working life the amount I was getting paid always bothered me. I overheard one of my employers talking about how much he charged me out at and this made me livid!
I knew things would be better if I became my own boss, so I looked at the skills I had to offer and built my first business at 22 years old.
My first Business
I was a “sole trader” working under the name of “true grit” and I was offering interior plastering and sanding services.
Business was good and I was making so much more money than I ever was working for my previous employer. Finally it seemed like my family and I were getting ahead. Good times!
This 11 month journey came to an abrupt end when I lost some major contracts to an old school friend who undercut me on prices I could not compete with. To be honest, he couldn’t maintain his business at the prices he quoted and eventually ceased operating within 6 months.
The Stranglehold of Depression
Unfortunately for me the loss of this business hit me like a tonne of bricks and I spiraled into depression. My partner could see I was devastated and we collectively decided to swap roles.
She had experience in retail and decided she would pursue a career in sales and management whilst I became an at home dad. It was a very steep learning curve and it gave me a real appreciation for what my mother had to put up with. It actually gave me an appreciation for all homemakers.
I became the homemaker for 4 years. I took my role very seriously and I poured all my efforts into the house, my children and my partner. I grew vegetable gardens, helped at the school, became a children’s sports team coach. You name it, I done it!
You reap what you sow. My family life began to flourish. My children were excelling in all areas, academically, sports, creativity, socially. My partner’s career in sales was improving and before too long she was managing a local tech shop.
Another Idea Was Born
During my time working in the trade industry we had a work party that was hosted at a local paintball field. I absolutely loved it and decided to purchase my first paintball marker.
I figured more of my friends would enjoy playing but I was wrong and my gear sat in my wardrobe for a couple years until I met a guy who had recently acquired the local paintball facility.
After a brief conversation I struck a deal with the manager and I helped him run paintball games for public bookings and in return I was able to play for free in any game who needed additional players.
One thing lead to another and I became the owner and operator of the local paintball field in Blenheim, Marlborough. Now I was making money doing something I was passionate about.
In a 2 year time frame I had:
- Increased the revenue by 200%
- Formed a club of 30+ players
- Sponsored a semi professional paintball team
- Began competing around New Zealand in tournaments
Health & Fitness
When I fell into my depression trap after my first failed business I gained a lot of weight. In a 4 month period I went from 75kg to 110kg. I guess my home cooking was a little too good!
The turning point for me was when I was playing tennis with my children and the ball went over a 6ft fence at our local school. I retrieved the ball but on the way back over the fence I lost my footing and fractured both my heels.
The pain was excruciating and I had to walk on my tip-toes for 3 months. I still have issues today, mainly in the winter.
I done some research online and started my weight-loss journey. After a few months I had dropped the weight and gained some muscle. Now health and fitness became part of my lifestyle.
I decided to take this passion to the next level and studied exercise prescription and sports science for a year with the goal of becoming a personal trainer.
At the end of my study I landed a job at a local gym called SnapFitness as club manager. This was my first job in 10 years. I honestly thought I had become unemployable due to being self employed for so long and taking time off to be an at home dad.
I hired someone to run my paintball field while I managed the the gym and grew the membership numbers from 600 to 1100 within 8 months. I had crushed the efforts of all previous managers.
The gym was flourishing due to my management style. I dedicated the time to remember all of my members names. I knew when they were going on holiday, where they were going, what their fitness goals were. You name it, I was doing it.
The Realization
I felt things were out of balance at home. I was working 60+ hours per week for SnapFitness, doing paperwork for my paintball business and there was little time left for my family so I decided to get some balance back and resign from managing the gym.
After fixing the imbalance I realized a couple things. I didn’t want to run my paintball field anymore. The passion for the sport had left me so it really was just an additional income source.
I didn’t want to run my paintball field anymore. The passion for the sport had left me so it really was just an additional income source.
I didn’t want to work for anyone else and I needed to increase my income so I began researching for ways to make money online.
I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be time rich, financially secure and location independent. I figured the only way to actually achieve this was through making money online. All I needed was an internet connection.
I looked at many options, drop shipping, selling eBooks, affiliate marketing, multi-level marketing and affiliate marketing.
You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
The learning curve was steep. Even though I always had an interest in computers and I was “the guy” for all my friends and family who needed help, I still struggled to grasp certain concepts.
After many long hours, lack of sleep and frustration I figured that I wanted to rank websites and make commission through referring products to people, so I became an affiliate marketer.
I began learning everything about Search Engine Optimization, social media marketing, video marketing, paid advertising and more. I knew all these things would ultimately help me rank my websites and make me money.
Fast Forward to Today
I currently own a digital marketing agency called BlackBeech Internet Solutions, which specializes in helping businesses increase their revenue through targeted digital marketing strategies. Business is great and I enjoy helping others succeed through my expertise.
I am heavily involved with affiliate marketing, and I manage a team of people who assist me with my goals. I have shifted from doing all the work myself, towards a more hands off approach where my responsibilities are to dream up ideas, create projects and delegate tasks to specific people.
In the distant future I am looking at making the shift into Commercial Real Estate Investment which has interested me for a very long time!
If you have read this far I want to thank you for taking the time to get to know me. If I can be of any assistance to you or your projects, please feel free to reach out to me here.