Friends, exactly what you just read in the title, is what I'm going to tell you in this video: how I was robbed of 5 million colones, equivalent to $10,000 USD. There's no clickbait, no deceit, no trick. I was robbed of 5 million colones, and here I am going to tell you, as a way to vent, so it doesn't happen to you. There's a chance that if you're an entrepreneur, or have a business, this could be happening to you without you knowing, or it could happen to you, and I hope to help you avoid what I'm feeling right now. I also want to share a part of my life, that you don't know, that I've never told you, because it has nothing to do with social media. In a previous video, I mentioned that I've done many things in life. Turns out, I was born into a family where most are merchants. Everyone does their own thing. My dad left his job when he was very young, to try something from scratch. That's how I was born, with that in my genes. I'm restless. I'm always looking for what I can do, what to do. I'm not ashamed, I've sold fruit on the street, because it was a good business, and honestly, I did very well with that sale. I imported things from China, and the last formal job I had before creating videos on the internet, was as a sales agent. I worked as a sales agent, and delivery man in a company for many years. I knew the whole environment well. I got along very well with my boss at the time. So, when I left that job, I started making videos on the internet and it started going better. I never neglected that part of doing projects, of investing here and there, because I really enjoy it. I invested in the company I had worked at for many years. I became a partner of who was my boss, because I had a vision of taking it to the next level. I saw a lot of potential, and I saw how it could be taken to the next level. That's what we did together with my partner. We started going to meetings outside the country, to get exclusive licenses for some products. Our company is dedicated to distributing bookstore supplies, office supplies, everything an office needs to function. We distribute them, we are wholesalers. Everything a bookstore needs to function, we distribute it. We also have everything institutions need, supermarkets to operate, butcher shops. We have point of sale rolls, reams of paper, inks, scissors, staples, correctors. Basically, everything an office needs, everything a school, a college, an institution needs to function, we have it. In fact, I'll leave detailed catalogs of the company here in the description, if you want to learn more about the project. I'll also leave the contacts if you want to get a quote from us. But now you have some context, about what we do. It turns out that, at a certain point, we started taking the company step by step to the next level, which was the initial idea with which I invested in the project. When you scale in a company, or in a job, even, for example, making videos, the way to scale is to delegate certain tasks to people. The way to keep scaling, to keep improving, is to delegate certain tasks to a secretary, to a delivery man, because at first, you do everything yourself. If you're an entrepreneur, you'll know that if you sell food, you cook it yourself, answer the phone, go and deliver it, collect the money. You do everything yourself at first. But to grow, you need a secretary to attend to customers, someone to deliver the food, another person to make sure it was charged correctly. That's how we scaled up. We hired a secretary, a delivery man. My partner just focused on making sure everything was okay. This is where the point of contention comes in. The person who stole 5 million dollars from us. The time came to hire a sales agent. The time came to open new routes, new customers, there just wasn't enough time. So we decided to hire someone, who was not only our employee, but also our friend. He ate with us at the table, he visited me at my house. We had a personal relationship with my partner, he ate with my partner, had coffee with my partner. And it turns out that since we hired him, the company started to slow down. Certain customers had overdue invoices. Things seemed to slow down, from the pace we were maintaining, with all the enthusiasm and willingness to work. What happened? It turns out that the sales staff stole from us. This could apply to your accountant, can apply to anyone, who is in your company, involved with payments, to be very careful, now or in the future, if you end up owning a business, you never know. Keep a close eye on that, because it often comes from where you least expect it. It even hurts to talk about it: from whom you least expect, something like this happens, a stab in the back. I'm going to tell you about the system he used to rob us. so that you know it and can monitor it in your businesses, if you have sales agents. It turns out he started working with us, began to open new clients. Everything started off very well, apparently, but as the months went by, we realized that some very old clients we had, who have always been excellent clients, even had open credit, started owing us and the invoices became overdue, 30 days, 60 days, and they weren't paying us, which was strange. But you place a high degree of trust in the sales agent, because first, he is the face of the company, then he is the ears of the company, and he is the voice of the company, he goes, talks to the client. The client explains that the situation is tough, or that this month he couldn't make the payment, but that he will make a deposit. So, you have to place certain trust in that person, so he can take care of the collection, of placing orders, of all this direct dealing with the client. What did he do? Turns out, with the old clients, with the clients who had been with the company for a long time, he started charging the invoices. He told them that the company's bank accounts were not working. So he charged the invoices to his account, and to the account of a sister of his. The two of them are not worth one, and the clients trusted this person, because they had been dealing with him for a few months. They deposited into his accounts, and what did he do? Let's say a client paid us an invoice of a thousand dollars, $500,000 colones. He would then make a deposit of $50,000 colones, $100 dollars, and claim that was all the client sent. And then, in a month, he would make another minimal deposit, when the client had already paid the invoice in full. But we, trusting his words that persuaded us, obviously failed by trusting so blindly in one person. I think this was our main mistake. It won't happen again. I tell you this, not for you to judge me, but hopefully, it can be of use to you. We trusted that he told us that sales were tough, that clients were not paying, we did not call to collect, because in theory, he was dealing with them. Later, when he opened new clients, he made the sale for cash and gave them credit. When we think no company gives credit on the first purchase, he offered credit on the first purchase, and if they made a purchase of $200,000 colones, $400 dollars, he noted it as credit, he collected it as cash, and put it all in his pocket. So that new client started out as delinquent from the moment they began with us. And the worst part, what hurts the most, is that, besides stealing all this money, about $5 million in total, after having robbed from a client who had been working with us for years, he stopped visiting, stopped selling to them. Because, of course, in our system, that client appeared delinquent, but the client had already paid. So he stopped visiting them so we wouldn't find out. Many clients told us he said we had no inventory, that we had nothing in the warehouses, that the company was doing poorly, it was going bankrupt. When we are actually in a very good moment, we are fully motivated to work, and he was telling people that. So he not only stole from us, but he damaged our image, he left us in a bad position with new clients he opened, never visited them again. So he damaged us socially, economically, morally. And here's another thing that makes me think a lot, and it's that, thank God, this company was made with investments, and we don't depend directly on the company. I have my main activity, which is this work that, thank God, I have. But what would have happened, if this company, had been even my partner's many years ago, when it started with a bank loan, where the family depended on what was sold, the collaborators depended on the company, and along comes a person, the first one hired and steals everything, leaves everyone without work, and leaves the entrepreneur who took a risk to start a business, with a debt at the bank and bankrupt. How can there be such bad people? How can there be people like that? I repeat, I tell you this from the heart, because I hope it never happens to you, and if you are entrepreneurs or climbing up, take care of this. To spare you the bitter experience, which is a stab in the back from someone you know. Now, having told you what's happening in my life at this moment, telling you about this other passion I have, which are the projects, the investments, the businesses, I want to take the opportunity, of course, to also tell you that if you want to buy from us. want to get a quote or want to bid on us. If you belong to public companies, schools or institutions, we have everything in order, to participate in the corresponding bidding platforms. If you have a bookstore, I don't know what you're waiting for to buy from us. Quote us to see the prices we offer. We are direct importers of exclusive brands. For example, in the northern area of Costa Rica, where our warehouse is located and where we work, we have the exclusive license of the Ampo brand, recognized in the office sector, and many other brands as well. So, as I was saying, if you work in hotel supplies, pineapple farms, institutions or if you have a supermarket, a butcher shop or any business, that needs point-of-sale rolls, reams of paper, printer inks, scissors, staplers, correctors, we even have a cleaning line, including bleach, disinfectant, brooms, gloves. Pretty much everything you need in those lines, you can consult us without obligation, on the contacts I'll leave below, whether by email or phone. I'll leave you the catalogs, so you can see all the products we offer, which are many. And, as I say, we are wholesalers. In fact, we don't sell directly to the public; we are the ones who sell to the bookstores, so that they can sell to the public. So contact us without fear. It might even be me who visits you, since I like to visit some clients from time to time. I used to be a sales agent, which I enjoyed very much. I don't know if it counts as a plus, but I might personally visit to negotiate. If not, you can still schedule a meeting with our sales agent, we hope by God that this one doesn't turn out like the other. But besides, we've changed many things, so that, God willing, it won't happen again. So now you know, you can quote us. In the northern area, we offer free shipping, depending on the purchase you make, it's just a matter of negotiating. We ship throughout the country, whether to Guanacaste, Limón, or San José. So just quote us and let's negotiate. Something that is, I believe, the most beautiful part of this type of projects, and that is what hurts me the most about what happened, is that in a project like this, for example, it employs people from the area. Here, people from San Carlos are employed; there are families that depend on this project. And along comes this person who didn't care, that others were affected by what he did and he stole everything. That also hurts me about what happened. But I really like that we can contribute something, to the area where I live, which I love. And tell me also if you want me to talk about other projects I'm working on, maybe about a project that didn't work, to see what we can all learn from there. I always like to be doing different things. I hope all this that I've told you today will be useful, or may be useful to you in the future. You never know, especially if you are entrepreneurs, or if you have any ideas. Unfortunately, there are bad people, so I have to tell you to be wary, of new people who come along, or even of people who have been with you for a long time. Because you never know who, when you least expect it, might do something like this. I don't want to convey a negative message, because starting and having such projects is beautiful. But, for example, this is the first time, that I've taken such a hit, a theft of, $5 million colones, $10,000 dollars, is significant. It's a lot of work to gather that amount of money. It also hurts, believe me. That's a lot of time and effort that someone stole. I don't want to go on any longer. This is the story of how they stole that money from me. Don't forget to subscribe, share this video if you think it was helpful, or could be helpful. See you in the next video. Pura vida and kisses from someone who was literally robbed.
