Kindred Spirits.

That would be me and  Mr. Ed Gates. Both born in the great month of August, under the Leo sign and graduates of THE University of Richmond. I’ve had the great pleasure of knowing the man, myth and legend of Edward Gates Jr. since 2010 the year right before I graduated. Didn’t know then that he and I would be business partners in our investment group, but I definitely knew his business acumen was at a level that I wanted mine to be. Having a Business Administration degree with a concentration in Management Information Systems, Ed Gates probably didn’t know that he inspired me to pursue my MBA and have a concentration in Management Information Systems. The way he talked, the way he met not a single stranger in life, his positive attitude about all that he is faced with it’s infectious. He makes you want to be in his circle and I’m sure anyone who has ever met Ed Gates will say the same.

But we’re not here to talk about how great of a guy Ed Gates is. We’re here to talk about Gates International, the business he built from the ground up back in 2002. The mission of Gates International was initially to get people more comfortable with using e-commerce and helping companies build their online presence for marketing and sales purposes. Ed began his entrepreneurship journey with a couple partners he went to school with and as a team, they made business partnerships in which the fruit of their labor could pay them residual income for two generations to come.

As e-commerce became more widespread, Gates International also evolved. The goal after 2008 was to connect businesses based on the needs and requirements of a particular project the company had and the services another company had to fill in those needs. For example, Gates International will help connect a real estate company that owns office space to a janitorial service that provides weekly cleaning services for multilevel buildings. Gates International will find the connections your company needs and allow you to focus on what you do best. The contract is handled and renewed after periods of time so as long as you are pleased with the company that is providing the services. The contract is renewable through Gates International as long as necessary. From this business structure, there is no overhead, no inventory or anything that requires maintenance from Ed Gates besides the personal and business connections. He gets residual income from making the connections and making sure everyone’s needs are met.

Folks, I don’t want to spill the beans too much before hand, but if you want to hear more about Ed Gates and Gates International please listen in to the full X is for Xcellent show here.

Until next post folks…