We really ended up failing our way into this model like it just didn't work didn't work didn't work kept trying kept changing until we found one that just randomly did work on a whim basically trying to get out of the business.

It was like we struck gold there was just this hole in the market that nobody was serving.

And we went and I think the first six months we did seven million dollars.

And then the second year we did 27 million in revenue and like 18 million in prop I mean it was just insane it was ridiculous and it was also working because you don't feel like you know what you're doing.

I'm on this journey with me each week when you join me you're going to chase down our goals overcome adversity and set you up for better tomorrow.

I'm ready for my close up. Hi and welcome back. I'm so glad for you to meet our guests this week over the last seven years.

Layla Hermosi has started and scaled for eight figure businesses for across four different industries unheard of.

Layla is the active CEO of acquisition.com a portfolio of companies which currently exceeds 200 million a year in revenue.

Layla is known for her expertise and scaling businesses by focusing on the people.

She is passionate about mentorship and teaching CEOs how to build a company through praise rather than punishment.

That's a novel idea building a culture that reinforces employees to work hard and enjoy what they do.

Layla thank you so much for being here today.

Thanks for having me on Heather. I'm excited.

Okay let's get into your story because listen the reality is this and you know what people look at you and all that you've achieved and you're so young and you've done it so fast.

I hate when people see this for the reason that they'll say that oh she did it because she's pretty she did it because she's smart she there's something that you have different than you know this magic sauce.

When you and I both know the struggle was real for you right like you weren't born into some CEO position I'd love to go back to what that beginning was like for you.

Yeah I'll kind of give like a really brief of you know teenage and then where it kind of more so started started you know I think that what had a big influence over me growing up was watching my dad and listening to him and him talking about you know he was a professor of mechanical engineering.

And Tim talking about choosing that path versus choosing an entrepreneurial path that others in his family took and I think seeing kind of his always wondering what it would have been like to just do something on his own.

That sparked the curiosity for me especially because I was in a town I grew up in a small town where pretty much everyone it was like you waitress in high school then you got enough money went to college you worked your way through college usually pay for it yourself because it wasn't like a town where a ton of people had a shit ton of money or anything.

And then you end up getting a job at either the hospital and insurance company in town or one of the car dealerships because you know Michigan cars and so that was kind of the path for a lot of people and you know I was like I just don't feel like I want to do that it just sounds honestly sounded boring to me and so.

At a young age I started listening to you know Tony Robbins Jim Rowan a bunch of like self development speakers at the time you know people might not even have heard of them at this point but they were you know kind of who was ringing in my ears and I want to say I was 17 18 that is when I was probably at the worst point in my life where you know I've been listening to all these people but at the same time I still fell prey to some of the things that I think you do when you're young which is you know social pressure wanting to fit in wanting to rebel.

When you know you've been in a house where there were strict rules for a decent amount of time and so when I was between the age of like 17 and close to when I turned 19 I actually got arrested six times I gained like 50 pounds so one it's like I hadn't always been in shape I don't even think until that point in my life I was in shape I was not really you know I was drinking all the time I was doing drugs I was hanging out with people who weren't productive whatsoever you know they were just going in the opposite direction of you know all these people.

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