Christopher Stone has been able to overcome many disadvantages and obstacles in his life by daring to imagine and investing in the power of belief. Born on May 26th, 1981 in Oakville Missouri, Chris’s parents divorced soon after his birth, which forced his Mother to move her two sons to their grandparent’s farm in Hillsboro, Missouri. He was ultimately raised in the country by his Mom who worked two full-time jobs just to afford the trailer they grew up in. Growing up as a latchkey kid, Chris spent a lot of time by himself and learned the power of imagination. Not fitting into his rough rural surroundings, he ended up dropping out of school before the end of the 9th grade and moved to Affton, Missouri to pursue work and better opportunities in life. Believing he was uneducated and having no money for college, he worked a lot of mundane jobs from sweeping shop floors to detailing cars at local body shops. Extensive time in physically demanding roles taught him the meaning of hard work and gave him the motivation to think even bigger. To make his next move up, Chris went back and finished his G.E.D at 22 years old and went on to Ranken Technical College to earn auto body certifications. Not long after becoming an auto technician he couldn’t help but notice the lack of positive mindsets within the industry and the limited potential for growth. It seemed to be a stagnate field. Having learned a lot about himself and looking for more, Chris made a move into the pipe trades as a union sprinkler fitter installing fire protection. This career promised higher wages, greater earning potential, and the stability of a highly skilled trade. Unfortunately, that promise was mostly hollow. Through his 5-year apprenticeship, he was laid off multiple times along with most of his fellow tradesmen. This meant repeatedly losing his health insurance and exhausting his unemployment benefits. It was time for another big decision. The decision was to either stick it out and hope for the best with the union or to take a chance on himself, power up that imagination, and become self-employed.
So, he left the pseudo-security of the trades behind and started mowing lawns and detailing cars to build up some savings. In very short order, Chris had accumulated $20,000. In 2012, he used that money to launch No Excuse Fitness (a mobile personal training company). To supplement that endeavor, he also started part-time selling insurance. Both of those adventures ended up paying off and in 2014 he expanded his presence in the insurance industry by launching an independent insurance brand called The Blue-Collar Broker. Setting record numbers in sales and having over 200 insurance carrier contracts, he was able to gain a seat at the table with fortune 500 CEO’s and large-scale mortgage companies and eventually become their go-to insurance expert. In 2016, Chris graduated from Dale Carnegie University has a high Impact Presenter to fuel his speaking career. He also started his own business brokerage which buys and sells businesses between 1- 25 million. In addition to these accomplishments and ongoing projects, in 2017 Chris merged his business ventures with e3 wealth and also started the Humble Beginnings podcast with his close friend Speaker and author Michael Patrick Burke, together they share stories of uncommon perseverance. Chris also believes very strongly in giving back. He serves and raises money for multiple charities.
Email: chris@thebluecollarbroker.com
Website. http://www.thebluecollarbroker.com
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