Stop chasing money, chase being useful. The marketplace doesn’t reward [00:01:00] need, it rewards value. The more problems you can solve, the more valuable you become. And when you become valuable, the money has a funny way of finding you. I was talking to one of my coaching clients this week, a Fortune 100 CEO. You’d think someone at that level would be focused on titles or status, but he’s not.

We spent the entire session talking about one thing: how do I better serve my team? How do I remove obstacles? How do I make the people around me more successful? That’s leadership. That’s usefulness. And here’s the cool part. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a Fortune 100 company, selling real estate, coaching athletes, fixing boats, or just starting your first job.

The principle never changes. Show up early, keep your word, solve problem, make people’s lives better, become the person everyone knows they can count on. Because when you’re indispensable, you’re never begging for opportunities. They start looking for you. Today, we’re talking about something I think our younger listeners and honestly their parents need to hear.

For years, we’ve been told success has one road. Graduate high school, go to college, rack up debt, then hope someone gives you a job. But what if there’s another path? What if you could build a successful business by simply showing up, [00:02:00] working hard, and serving people well? Our guest today is living proof.

I’ve been blessed to coach Nick here over the past year, and I can tell you he’s the same guy behind the scenes that you’re about to hear today. Humble, hungry, coachable, and committed to getting better every single day. Nicholas Ross is a Jupiter native and the owner of Ballistic Marine Services, where he’s built a reputation for honest work, exceptional service, and helping South Florida boat owners and yacht owners keep their vessels safe, reliable, and ready for the water.

But here’s what I love. Nick didn’t go to college. He betted on himself, embraced the skilled trades, learned through experience, and built a growing business through grit, consistency, and solving problems. Now he’s expanding into entrepreneurship, real estate investing, and proving that success isn’t about the path you choose.

It’s about how hard you’re willing to work once you’re on it. If you’re a young person trying to figure out your future, a parent wondering what options really exist, or someone thinking it’s time to bet on yourself, then it’s time to lean in. So Nick Ross, thank you so much for coming in the studio, brother.

Nicholas Ross: Thank you for having 

L. Scott Ferguson: me, Freddy. Good morning. And also you brought mama San today. I did. She’s in from the Carolinas. This is so awesome to have her in studio as well. But I have [00:03:00] to ask you, let’s settle one important debate right out of the gate here. What’s the one thing every boat owner swears they’ll never do, and then almost every single one of them ends up doing it anyway?

Nicholas Ross: One of two things, either spending a lot more money than they ever thought they were gonna spend- … or selling it. And that’s the contention point that all of them hit about a year in, give or take. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

Nicholas Ross: The guys that are spending serious money on these boats- 

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah … 

Nicholas Ross: they think to themselves, “Yeah, we’ll handle it.

I’ll take care of it. My son, myself, you know- … we’ll take care of it on the weekends.” And then it gets away from them, and they s- say to themselves, “Okay, I’m … Can I either hire a professional to deal with this- 

… 

Nicholas Ross: Or I’m gonna sell it.” And that’s why you see so much turnover in the marine business.

Oh. Turnover between contractors- That makes so much sense … turnover as far as owners. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. 

Nicholas Ross: Owners go from Day one, I want this boat, to day 365- … I can’t stand this thing, it’s gotta go. 

It cost me too much money, it cost me too much time, it cost me too much stress, anger, anxiety, this, that, and the other.

That’s what we are chasing- It’s 

L. Scott Ferguson: like- … a solution for … almost getting a puppy when you’re a kid. Like- [00:04:00] It is … I’m gonna take care of it, Mom and Dad. I’m gonna take care of it. And it’s usually Mom and Dad that end up taking care of it, right? Correct. Correct. So that’s awesome, ’cause you’re like with…

If you grew up right here in South Florida, in the Jupiter, surrounded by the water, at what point did you realize, “I don’t just wanna own boats someday, I w- I think I can build a business around them”? 

Nicholas Ross: To tell you the truth, after I left college, so I did the stereotypical route that you just said. When I was 17, 18 years old, every teacher in my, junior, senior years of high school kept walking up to me saying, they’d say in front of the class, it’s going round, round robin, “Where are we going to college?”

Not, “What are you doing?” Not, “Are you going to college?” It’s, “Where are you going to college?” Because when, you take decent classes, you’re in honors classes, AP classes, whatever the case might be, there is no concept that you might not be going to college. It’s just an expected thing, and if you say you’re not, they all look at you like you came from another planet.

And I don’t know if that’s the way it still is. I graduated seven years ago. Sure. But it’s sad, man. It’s, it really is sad, because you see a lot of people that had a lot of potential for- Sure … anything other [00:05:00] than, going and staring at a book for- … 12 hours a day, that go straight down the tubes- and then they end up in a different part of life they wouldn’t have ever wanted to be in,

L. Scott Ferguson: yeah. 

Nicholas Ross: When I w- Was 

L. Scott Ferguson: this something you trusted your gut on? 

Nicholas Ross: I trusted my gut on it after I went to college. So I did go to college- Okay … for about three months, and I couldn’t stand any second of it. And I left, and it definitely bothered some parts of my family.

Sure. And I, like I said, I left and I said, “All right, I gotta find something to do,” and tho- those that did support me looked at me and said, you gotta find something to do. You can’t just, screw around and do nothing.” 

L. Scott Ferguson: Something you’re passionate about, too. 

Nicholas Ross: You gotta find something that you don’t hate at a very minimum.

I’m blessed that I love what I do for a living. Yeah. And I think very few people truly do get that blessing- Yeah … and get to make, a great living with it. 

L. Scott Ferguson: You get to do it. It’s like we’ve talked about that, we’re, squad out there I’m also working with Nick on his investment properties and stuff, and we were talking about get to or have to.

Nicholas Ross: Correct. 

L. Scott Ferguson: You’re like, you get to get up and serve people every day, right? 

Nicholas Ross: I get to wake up in the morning and not detest my living, man. And I see that every day with a lot of these people, and a lot of them are my own clients. That genuinely hate what they do for a living. [00:06:00] And it is sad. They got a monster boat.

It is sad. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Million dollar f- It’s 

Nicholas Ross: sad … 

L. Scott Ferguson: million dollar boat. They don’t like it. 

Nicholas Ross: Love it. And it’s, if that’s, if that’s the life that you want, then that’s okay, sure. It’s not my life, but. 

L. Scott Ferguson: I’m not there to judge, you’re just… 

Nicholas Ross: Yeah. But I wake up in the morning and I get to do something that I really enjoy doing.

I don’t love it all the time. Ob- with any- Business, with any job, with any anything- … you’re not gonna love it 100% of the time, but- 

… 

Nicholas Ross: Waking up in the morning and getting to do something that you don’t hate- Love it … it is, to, to me, that, that means the world. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. A- and so many people, young people especially, they’re chasing followers, viral videos, and like shortcuts to it.

You built your, you’ve built your reputation on showing up, doing quality work, and letting customers become your marketing department, right? Yeah. And I know that because I’ve seen your customers, I’ve heard them, as I do, I refer Nick to everybody that I can, right? But why do you think old school work ethic like that still wins?

Nicholas Ross: It still wins ’cause it flip-flopped. That’s my personal opinion. So we went from 30, 40 years ago being in an economy in which service was everything- … that’s the only business anybody could really build, and then, over the course of the last 10 [00:07:00] years we just turned into a complete attention economy.

We… Ev- everybody wants to make a living by trying to film something and put it on the internet, or they want the easy way out. Essentially. They want the easiest way out of posting things on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok- … or YouTube or anything else, or trying to drop ship or, you know- any- anything of this nature where they don’t have to, truly provide service to people. 

L. Scott Ferguson: And- 

Nicholas Ross: And I think that left a vacuum for guys like myself- Yes … and a lot of my, friends and partners in these businesses that do the same thing. 

L. Scott Ferguson: And one thing I think I’ve said this to you before, this scares me about who’s coming up, me being 54 and me being, like, almost double your age, right?

That your generation is gonna be the first generation that does not make more than their parents. 

Nicholas Ross: Yeah, you said that to 

L. Scott Ferguson: me yesterday. You know what I’m saying? It’s… And I’m not saying that you’re going to make more than your parents or whatnot, but you’re the first generation- that is, too. So what is your takeaway from these kids out there? You mentioned a little bit where they’re trying to take shortcuts and go viral and stuff like that, but what is it about the [00:08:00] generation? ‘Cause you’re tuned into it. You- Yeah … live it every day. I do. What do you think it is?

Nicholas Ross: What do I think it is? I think it’s, honestly, social media has ruined the- … true entrepreneurship of- Yes … of our young society. And it’s not that it’s taken it out of them, it’s that it’s tried to demonstrate to them that they can get it a lot easier than- 

… 

Nicholas Ross: Than what is actually real. 

L. Scott Ferguson: That’s one thing I love about you, you’re always flexing your hustle muscle, man.

You’re always out there. Every day- Oh … you’re grinding, right? And it’s- 

Nicholas Ross: It’s not free, man, and I, I- … everybody wants to sit in Dubai and do nothing and make millions of dollars. Sure. If I could do that, I would do it, too. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Absolutely. 

Nicholas Ross: But it’s not real. 

L. Scott Ferguson: I love that- I don’t care 

Nicholas Ross: what anybody 

L. Scott Ferguson: says

you’ve came to that realization- It’s not real … at your age, Nick. So one thing that I do, another thing I guess that I admire about you is that you don’t just fix boats or yachts, right? You create confidence for boat owners before they ever leave the dock. They’re confident in the work you do.

How is changing your mindset from I’m fixing something to I’m serving something change your business? 

Nicholas Ross: So the fixing something mindset is where we started. So that’s, every shop. You go to any shop in South Florida and you look up boat repair [00:09:00] shops and that’s what you find, is you find 500 shops down here, this is the boating, boating state, it’s a boating town- 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure

Nicholas Ross: that all they do is say, if you got a problem, come in and we’ll fix your problem.” 

I flip-flopped that. I said, “Let’s fix these problems before they start.” Okay. Let’s catch these problems before these people go- Through a 

L. Scott Ferguson: maintenance program, 

Nicholas Ross: right? Through a maintenance program. Okay. So let’s fix these problems before you’re out with your family and you look like a fool when your boat doesn’t start.

Let’s be- let’s catch this before you’re sitting at the dock with your wife and your kids and the coolers and every, and everything else, and everybody’s ready to go, and you turn the key and one of these, one of your motors doesn’t start. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

Nicholas Ross: And then everybody’s looking at you going, “What are we doing?

What are we doing?” And you say, “I don’t know.” ‘

L. Scott Ferguson: Cause there’s so much planning that going on in the water. It’s not like you just go out in a boat and go. No. There’s “Okay, we’re gonna be at this”, watching weather, getting the food together. Yeah. 

Nicholas Ross: You 

L. Scott Ferguson: know, life jackets, all that other stuff, right?

Nicholas Ross: Yeah, exactly, man. And I’m, and I can’t be there for them that day, but I can be there for them on Friday. I can be there for them on Friday afternoon, start their motors up, and say, call them and say, “Hey, look, you’re good to go. I flipped all your switches. I started all your engines. Your generator works.

Your AC works. Your family’s not gonna sweat in the [00:10:00] cabin if they choose to go down there to take- Sure … to take a few minutes out of the sun. You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna have a good Saturday.” 

Instead of them going down there and then freaking out on Saturday morning, calling every shop that might actually, might answer the phone on a Saturday morning, but probably not- 

And going, “Hey, can you help me? Can you help me? And can I pay five times the, your typical labor rate to come and save me- … so that you can save my weekend?” 

And that is what has built the maintenance program entirely. 

L. Scott Ferguson: So when you turn the main- you build the maintenance, like I know you’ve told me this, but tell the listeners out there, especially you boat owners or aspiring boat owners, like the conversation that you have with them after you’ve did the work and walking it through.

Do you have a checklist system for them to work off of? Or like how is it that you would- So 

Nicholas Ross: we’ve got so- we’ve got software that they have access to. They make their own login and they, we set their boat profile up and they can see every time we run through their checklist. So based on what they pay for and the plan that they want, they can see that their checklist was hit.

And then, and I’ll shoot them a text and say, “Hey, look, check the app. You can see everything that you need to see. It’s called Boatyard.” 

L. Scott Ferguson: Okay. “

Nicholas Ross: You can [00:11:00] see everything that you need to see that we’ve flipped through, all, let’s say, I don’t know, something didn’t work. Let’s say port center motor didn’t start.”

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: There’s a checklist that says port center, starboard center, and starboard outer, do they all start?” Yes, they all start. Okay, if you have an AC, does it run? If you have a generator, did it start? If you have, this, that, and the other pump, this, that, and the other light, did they all run?

Did they all work? Your boat’s clean. Here’s some pictures and we’ll up- upload those, too. You get a four or five pictures from the front to the back and then the sides showing that your boat’s clean, so that you’re not gonna show up on Saturday- … morning to a boat that’s covered in, dirt and dust and salt.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

Nicholas Ross: And it gives them a bit of a peace of mind. Sure. They show up to their boat and, like I said, instead of being the guy that gets the call at, 9:00 in the morning on a Saturday, “Can you please fix this?” 

Instead it’s, a text saying, “Boat looks great. Everything works great.

Thanks for t- No, it feels great, doesn’t it? Thanks for checking on it.” 

It’s less stress for them- Yeah … because they know that they’re gonna get there and there’s not gonna be a problem. 

L. Scott Ferguson: If something goes sideways, there’s a checklist that you have on that Boatyard app, right?

Yeah, exactly. That can go through and maybe find out what it is. Exactly. Maybe [00:12:00] it’s a flip of a switch or something, right? 

Nicholas Ross: And I try to hit all the maintenance boats. Sure. We start doing, things like maintenance services and, bigger details and stuff like that towards the end of the week.

But I try to hit all the maintenance boats in the beginning of the week- Sure … Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday- Yeah … so that if we find something, I get the chance to take care of it, whether I’m subbing it out, I do a lot of subcontract work, things like heavy e- heavy-duty engine work, diesel inboards, upholstery, Gelcoat repairs, things like that.

Sure. I’ve shown up to boats and then they have gashes in them and I call the owners and say, “What happened this weekend?” 

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. And 

Nicholas Ross: so we’re- and they say, “What are you talking about?” And turns out it, it could’ve been anything. Could’ve been somebody dinged it, you know- 

At the dock or something like that- At the dock or something, yeah … and they had no, and they had no idea or whatever the case might be. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it. And squad, w- when we come back, we’re gonna kinda talk to Nick a little bit about, being coachable and also being, leaning into other people and what he’s teaching other people, as soon as we throw it to our sponsor, Steve Austin from Rise Mortgage, that I’m blessed to have.

Steve, take it away. 

Steve Austin (Show Sponsor): Thanks, Scott. Happy Saturday, everybody. This is Steve Austin with the Rise Mortgage [00:13:00] Dynamic Team with your mortgage tip of the week. Getting a mortgage can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be hard. While there are a lot of intricacies that go into the financing process, that doesn’t mean it needs to be a bunch of extra stress that you carry during your home purchase process.

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To learn how our team is setting up for success to navigate the home buying process without the unnecessary stress, give us a call at 561-250-6044. That’s 561-250-6044. That’s it

for this week. This is Steve Austin, your branch manager, NMLS 762328 with the Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team, NMLS 1604663, an equal housing lender. 

Are you looking to finance your dream home, vacation getaway, or an investment property? The Rise [00:14:00] Mortgage Dynamic Team and Company is here to help. Steve Austin and his team, their expert loan advisors, combine local knowledge with cutting-edge technology to make your financing process efficient and seamless.

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L. Scott Ferguson: Hey, Steve, thank you so much for the market update, and it’s just a blessing to work with you, do some [00:15:00] business with you, and to have you as my sponsor. We’re back with Nicholas Ross from Ballistic Marine Services and Nick, I’ve been blessed to coach you for a little bit now, right? One thing I’ve watched is your willingness To listen, to adapt, to keep impr- improving.

Like, how important is having mentors and coaches? And I’m not just saying me. You have other mentors in your life and whatnot. How important is it to have those at someone your age? 

Nicholas Ross: I think it’s hard for a lot of people to come to the realization that they can’t do it all by themselves. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Or know everything.

Nicholas Ross: Or know everything. You can’t do it without a team, and you can’t do it without other people that truly know what they’re doing. Sure. People that wanna sit in their office and do every bit of their office work. They wanna do their tax work, whatever the case might be.

Find people who are good at things and let them do it. Find people who are good at things that you’re not- Yes … and shut up and listen. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

Nicholas Ross: And just let them talk. If you find somebody that’s good at something that you wanna be good at, shut your mouth- Sure … and listen to what they have to say.

Sure. If they have something valuable to [00:16:00] say to you, let them tell you. I don’t know why people want… they seem to wanna talk instead of listen, close, close your mouth, open your ears. Let people, if they choose to, if they’re, gonna bless you in that way- Sure

let them give that, give you that knowledge,

L. Scott Ferguson: no, I love that. And y- you know what with you, I’m blessed to have spoke with your mother, who’s actually in the studio. She’s not gonna get on mic, but she told me that from you were age five, she would tell you something and you would go through and count on your fingers and repeat back to her what it is.

So i- was that just instilled in you early age, just to be- I- … super curious? 

Nicholas Ross: I think it was instinctual- Yeah … to tell you the truth. I think it just kinda, it just was the way I… I think some people are born a certain way and some people- Sure … are not, whether it’s their family that made them that way or, whatever the case might be.

I never really was the one to wanna go up and start talking and spouting off to people. I’d rather listen and hear what you have to say. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it. 

Nicholas Ross: And, kinda internalize that- Sure … move on with my day and use that later on. 

L. Scott Ferguson: That’s why- … at 24, you’re where you’re at, but y- and you’re still a young entrepreneur, right?

So yet you’ve already learned lessons that people twice your age haven’t learned, right? So what’s one belief, though, [00:17:00] since you’ve had at age maybe 20, that you’ve completely changed your mind about in those four years? ‘Cause you’ve just grown so much in those years. 

Nicholas Ross: Like I said, the lone wolf concept, ’cause when I first started this I said to myself, I said, “I can do everything.”

I said, “I don’t need anybody’s help. I don’t need an- ” when it comes down to the little stuff, say, your taxes, say, your office work, say, anything else, even working on boats, I can do this, that and the other, and if I don’t know how to do it, I can learn it and then I’ll do it all by myself.

There’s no reason for that. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: There’s no reason for that. Find something that you’re truly good at or a few things that you’re truly good at, do them, and either sub out the rest- 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure … 

Nicholas Ross: or use some- and hire somebody that’s good at it, whatever the case might be. Thank 

L. Scott Ferguson: you. Yes. 

Nicholas Ross: And bring somebody in to do the things that you either don’t know how to do-

don’t wanna learn how to do- … or, have a learning block towards doing. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

Nicholas Ross: And there’s a lot of those. It doesn’t really matter what industry you’re in. Sure. There’s gonna be things that you’re not good at, and is your time better spent doing the things you are good at or trying to learn- Right

things that you’re not good at? But 

L. Scott Ferguson: where did this come from, the knowledge? Again, 24 years old, it doesn’t happen. [00:18:00] 

Nicholas Ross: Good mentors Yeah To a teacher Yeah, okay. When you were growing up good mentors that have looked at me and said, “You’re being stupid for X, Y, and Z reason.” 

L. Scott Ferguson: Okay. 

Nicholas Ross: I’m very lucky to be in a business where my clients have been, oftentimes end up becoming my mentors.

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it, 

Nicholas Ross: yeah. My cl- clients are oftentimes the people that I wanna be to tell you the truth. No, I 

L. Scott Ferguson: got you. Yeah, 

Nicholas Ross: absolutely, man. And that was the reason why I chose this business, see, I realized that it was the easiest way, you know Put it this way, you stand outside l- long enough, eventually it’s gonna rain, and eventually you’re gonna get wet.

Right. When you put yourself in the middle of the flow of money, you’re gonna get wet eventually. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. And- That makes sense, actually, yeah … 

Nicholas Ross: when you’re around people that have what you want to have, I c- you could s- do, say, pressure washing and be around, the typical, average person all day long.

Steve Austin (Show Sponsor): Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: 90% of my clients are top .1% of income earners or net worth or any- anything- Sure … of that nature, and that’s the type of people that I get to be around, and very often they’ll drop some knowledge for me, and I’ll go, “Oh, wow,” yes. “He’s right.” 

L. Scott Ferguson: Dude, that, that’s amazing. That, I’m looking in a mirror of me 25…

And I think our producer is also looking, shaking his head right now. [00:19:00] He’s looking in the mirror and seeing ourselves, and this is what makes me confident about the future of this world if there’s people like you that’s walking it. And you and I have talked a lot about playing the long game, right?

Yeah. So how do you, how are you, again, staying patient when, again, we’re gonna throw it back to social media and whatnot, makes it look like everyone else is getting rich overnight. How are you staying so patient the, in, in staying in the moment? 

Nicholas Ross: Because I know at the end of the day, most of the social media stuff is short-term.

Yeah. Like I said, we live in an attention economy, and attention only lasts so long. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: And look at all the people that were famous five years ago on-

They’re doing nothing … facebook- … tikTok, Instagram. It’s, so on and so forth. Yeah. All of these things. Look at all these people that blew up overnight, and try to think of somebody back from five years ago- … that blew up really fast overnight, and go see where they are. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Go see where they are.

D- yes, I, it- 

Nicholas Ross: And when’s the last time you’ve heard their name? And you don’t. 

L. Scott Ferguson: I 

Nicholas Ross: speak at 

L. Scott Ferguson: high schools. And that’s the problem. I use that. I don’t know if I told you that, but I use [00:20:00] that at high schools that I speak at. I speak at their entrepreneurship, groups that they have at high schools, and I’m like, I use that exact same thing.

Like, all these people that were balling out, and I say that- Yeah … air quote squad that’s out there listening. It’s like they’re balling out, but go back and they’re living a different, way different life, right? 

Nicholas Ross: It’s a real thing, man. Yeah. It’s a real thing, and it’s, it’s ex- explosive growth runs out of oxygen- Sure

really fast,

L. Scott Ferguson: yeah, and so you’re a big advocate for kinda the skilled trades that, that’s out there. Yeah. And if you had, like myself right now, like five, 10 minutes in front of every high school that’s out there… Because a lot of people would be like, “Hey Ferg, coach, should I go to college?”

I tell them absolutely if I don’t see the entrepreneurship in the way they talk or ask them questions. I tell them, and the reason why I do that is because they can join a fraternity. They can make brothers or sisters that they can lean on later in life, yeah. Because again, I know friends of mine that are very successful that went to school, and they have fraternities, and they’re like, “Oh, I need an attorney, I need a doctor.”

They have one in the stuff. But what about the [00:21:00] people that are like you, that are about servicing people and whatnot? What would you say to them about the skilled trades, apprenticeship, and, opportunities that- A lot of people d- ’cause it’s not sexy, it’s not pretty. 

Nicholas Ross: Well- 

L. Scott Ferguson: You know what I’m saying?

Nicholas Ross: Yeah. Let me start here. I didn’t mean to make college sound like it’s this bad, demonic thing- no you didn’t. Yeah … that is, that, that’s that’s, that I frown upon. If you’re gonna go be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, something of that nature, an architect, and you have a path to make money and you have a path to succeed- 

Steve Austin (Show Sponsor): Yeah

Nicholas Ross: then go to college, fine. Sure. My, my only point is if you’re gonna leave high school and you’re going to college ’cause you don’t know what you wanna do- Sure … and you’re like, “Oh I’ll just go to college and go drink every weekend and-” Yeah … go party and, I’ll get a bachelor’s degree in business from a professor that doesn’t own a business.

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: And, then I’ll figure it out from there. It’s 

L. Scott Ferguson: so true. 

Nicholas Ross: That is the worst possible thing you could do. Yes. 

Before you go do that, go do a bunch of stuff that may m- find out if you like it. 

I… The thing is, man, I didn’t really start this until, 23. 22, 23. I started it when I [00:22:00] was 20, and I didn’t take it extremely seriously, and I wasn’t- 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure

Nicholas Ross: completely full time with it. I still had great jobs making great money. Sure. You don’t have to start a business in the blue collar space to make money. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

Nicholas Ross: I s- started as, a $15 an hour helper guy- … when I was 19, ’cause I realized I hated school and I didn’t wanna be there. I went to engineering school.

And then I, I went up and I worked my way up, and eventually by the time I was 20, 21, I was making really strong money. I was making- Sure … six, six figures in the marine rigging space. Wow. And that’s not unheard of. I have a dozen friends- Yeah … that are still working for other people- 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right

Nicholas Ross: That do exactly what I did that are w- are making the same money, that are making strong six figures. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Nice. 

Nicholas Ross: You don’t ha- is there absolutely more space to make money if you own your own company? Of course. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. Because- Along with it comes responsibility and- 

Nicholas Ross: That, exactly … and headaches and stuff like that

and if you don’t wanna own your own business- Yeah … that’s okay. Yeah. You can still make money in the blue collar space- Sure … not doing that. You could still provide for your family. You could still- Yes …

L. Scott Ferguson: live 

Nicholas Ross: comfortably. You could still do all these things and live comfortably- yeah … and live a good life and enjoy your life.

L. Scott Ferguson: [00:23:00] Right. 

Nicholas Ross: And if college isn’t what you wanna don’t let anybody push you into it, thinking- … that is your only option, or if it’s the I don’t know option. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: If it’s the I don’t know what else to do, so I’m gonna do this, that’s like the worst option. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right.

Nicholas Ross: ‘Cause you’re gonna end up getting into debt. Maybe you got a college fund. If you do, then great, but- 

L. Scott Ferguson: … If 

Nicholas Ross: you got that college fund, cash it out and go start your company. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

And I love that it’s success to you over significance. In on a write-up hunting properties yesterday, I dropped that, success is living a life of options and not obligations.

Yeah. Which is I see you really leaning into. But I have to ask you, I have to ask you a canned question, right? That I ask all my… And you’re so young, right? But how do you want your dash remembered? That little line in between your incarnation date and your expiration date, your life date and death date.

Hopefully it’s a gajillion years down the line. But if you were to look back, sit in that rocking chair, and look back, how do you want to be remembered? 

Nicholas Ross: To tell you the truth, to say that I absolutely, 100% of the time, did my best every day of the week. And I really do believe that if [00:24:00] you wake up in the morning and you don’t screw other people, you don’t lie, you don’t cheat, you don’t steal, that, you’re gonna, you’re gonna win.

L. Scott Ferguson: You’re 

Nicholas Ross: gonna succeed. You’re gonna, you’re gonna lose battles, but- … you’re gonna win, you’re gonna win the war. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it. 

Nicholas Ross: And I don’t wanna be remembered as the guy that, hosed everybody possible on the way up- Yeah … to get there.

L. Scott Ferguson: You served, and you’re … I think that you’re gonna be a person, like I, I know I’m tooting my horn, but it’s like myself that’s gonna see somebody.

‘Cause the way we met, you’re like, “You own properties?” And I’m like, “Yeah, I own properties.” But then you started asking what I call qualifying questions of me, and I’m like, “Okay, yeah, I definitely wanna see if I can lean into this Nick kid.” And you’re gonna do the same. You’re gonna bring the people up.

You’re gonna look back and go, “Okay that’s awesome.” So but let’s get in. We got about two minutes left. The platform is yours. What would you like to put out there about Ballistic Marine, what you offer and whatnot? 

Nicholas Ross: As far as what we offer, like I said, guys, we started as the, boat repair, call me if something breaks.

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: And we ended up as the call me before something breaks. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. 

Nicholas Ross: So part of what the- Love this, dude … what the maintenance program [00:25:00] is- Love it … is we take care of everything that could possibly go on wrong with your boat. If I don’t do it, I have somebody else who does. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: Upholstery, Gelcoat repair, inboard repair, diesel, I don’t do any of that.

I have people who do. They’re better than at it than me. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. 

Nicholas Ross: That’s why they do it. 

L. Scott Ferguson: You maintain your lane. 

Nicholas Ross: So- 

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it. Yeah … 

Nicholas Ross: we take these boats, let’s say we, we’ve got a 42 Yellowfin. We’re there once a week to wash it. We’re there every three months to wash and wax it. We’re there once a year to service the motors.

You’ve got a flat rate fee at the beginning of the month that you pay, and it takes care of your boat. Maybe it’s $500 a month, maybe it’s $1,000 a month. I’ve got a sportfish boat that’s $1,200 a month. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure. 

Nicholas Ross: That’s, that’s what they pay for, and they look at their, the amount of money that they pay and say for the fact that I don’t have to go to this boat other than to use it, and that’s worth the money to them.

Yeah. And I don’t bla- I don’t blame them, I wish I … I think there’s a lot of spaces in life, whether it’s houses or any- anything else that you could apply that concept to. To the concept of- The preventative maintenance … to the concept of people that have the money to pay- Yes

to buy their time back. 

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. 

Nicholas Ross: So that’s what I tell all my clients, “Let m- me give you back your time. [00:26:00] Buy your time back from me.” 

L. Scott Ferguson: That is awesome because, again, the people that buy a boat, they wanna get in the boat- … and go. They wanna pack their food for the day. They wanna get out on the water and have fun.

They don’t have to worry, “Is it gonna start today? Oh my gosh, did I- Yeah … did I make sure that was checked and that was checked?” And squad, I just had the best conversation with somebody that’s already arrived, but is gonna continue to ascend. Thank you so much, Nick, for coming on, brother.

Yeah, of course. Thank you for having me. Really appreciate you. And thank you so much to my producer, Brian Mudd. Thank you much to J- WJNO. Squad, go out there, be safe. Remember our troops, please, that are doing the deed for our country. Love your guts.