George Rivera first realized he was an entrepreneur at around 15 years old in the early 1990s when he discovered Don Lapre's infomercials. Don Lapre would run ads standing on a beach in a Hawaiian shirt, talking about how much money he made out of his tiny one-bedroom apartment.
George's journey began when he:
- Started following Don Lapre at age 15-16
- Finally bought Lapre's product using his mom's credit card around age 17
- Started putting the course into action with classified ads
- Failed miserably and didn't make any money initially
Despite the initial failure, George discovered something crucial: "Once you see it, once you see that other side and you've got that dream, there's no going back."
How Did George's Upbringing Shape His Entrepreneurial Drive?
George's father was a successful medical doctor with a thriving practice, which gave George a unique perspective on wealth and work ethic.
Key influences from his father:
- Perspective on privilege: His father was raised poor but built a successful practice. He would remind George and his siblings: "We're a very blessed family... there's other people in the world that they don't even know how they're going to eat tonight and we don't have that problem"
- Work ethic: His father told him clearly: "If you want to maintain the kind of lifestyle that you currently have, you're gonna have to work hard. Nobody's gonna hand it to you"
- Expected path: George initially went to university as pre-med, planning to follow in his father's footsteps as a doctor
What Was George's First Major Success?
George's breakthrough came during college when he started selling supplements online, specifically working as a middleman between U.S. suppliers and international buyers. By his junior year in college, George was making as much money as some doctors make.
The supplement business model:
- Found Vitamin Power through Small Business Opportunity magazine
- Created a catalog website (very difficult and uncommon at that time)
- A big company in Korea (similar to their version of GNC) found him online
- They apparently thought they were talking to the manufacturer Vitamin Power
- George was actually a distributor representing the brand
- He got approximately 20-25% cut on large orders
- Maintained this relationship for a couple of years
As George describes it: "I had a nice little system for it... they must have thought, hey, we're talking to Vitamin Power here instead of a distributor."
How Did George's Father React to His College Success?
When George achieved a six-figure bank balance while still in college (worth roughly $300,000 in today's money), he was eager to share his success with his father.
George remembers the moment vividly:
- This was when you had to call into your bank to check your balance
- He three-wayed his dad into the automated system
- The recording announced his six-figure balance plus direct deposits
- George expected validation and pride
Instead, his father's response was simply: "Son, you gotta pay taxes on that."
George reflects: "He might as well have poured cold water on my fire." While there's apparently a redemption story to that moment that comes later, in that instant it was crushing. Still, George kept pursuing his entrepreneurial path "stubbornly, against the grain."
What Other Businesses Did George Build in His 20s?
After graduating college, George stuck with entrepreneurship and built several ventures:
One Day Diet Weight Loss Supplement
- Sold several million dollars worth of this supplement
- Capitalized on early pay-per-click advertising when it was incredibly cheap
- Used GoTo.com (which became Overture, then was bought by Yahoo)
- Could get the term "weight loss" for like 50 cents per click
- "Just cash in all day long" at those rates
eBay Car Sales
- Had a friend who owned a car dealership
- Sold cars on eBay when margins were good
- Found a specific profitable niche: the Chrysler Sebring
- Could buy them for $3,000-$4,000 and sell for $8,000-$9,000
- Sold at least a dozen at these margins
- George jokes it's "quite the eyesore today" but was desirable back then
Personal Self-Defense Items
- Another distribution business selling other people's branded products
- George notes a pattern: "There must be a theme there where I'm just selling other people's stuff"
What Was George's First Big Revenue Year—and Biggest Lesson?
George's first million-dollar year came in 2005 from Google AdSense, creating SEO-optimized websites with automated software and a team in India cranking out sites. However, this success came with a harsh lesson about platform dependency.
The Google AdSense operation:
- Used software that would spit out SEO-optimized websites quickly
- Had a team in India cranking out websites "like crazy"
- Generated significant revenue from AdSense
The catastrophic overnight change:
- Google's algorithm changed suddenly
- Went from "great money to nothing"
- No gradual decline—just "poof, it's gone"
George admits: "I know I didn't learn my lesson with that, as the next few years roll out."
What Happened After the Google Algorithm Change?
George continued experimenting with different business models:
Direct Sales / Two-Level Program
- Did a "two-level deep sort of high ticket program"
- Ran this for a couple of years with success
- Eventually the effectiveness died off
12 Month Millionaire Resale Rights
- Bought resale rights to "12 Month Millionaire" by Vincent James
- Added his own material from ~15 years of online marketing experience
- Vincent's content focused on offline strategies
- George added online marketing knowledge
- Positioned it as "the total package to make money online and offline"
- Did a couple million dollars in gross revenue over a couple of years
The business ended when:
- Google killed the "BizOps" (business opportunity) space around 2011
- George remembers outliving many competitors before finally being affected
- "A lot of my friends have gone down... and then they finally got mine"
How Did George Transition to Agency Work?
After the BizOps crash, George accidentally started an agency helping other companies launch their products online. The pivot came through a mastermind group.
The accidental agency start:
- One of George's mastermind peers had a real estate guru course
- She was only getting 30 cents EPC (earnings per click)
- George offered to help, presumably to improve her results
- This led to more clients wanting similar help
- The agency model emerged from solving real problems for peers
Connect with George Rivera
Want to learn more about George's current work and insights?
Website: YourTop25.com
LinkedIn: George Rivera
Facebook: George Rivera
Key Takeaways from George's Journey
George's 25+ year entrepreneurial journey offers several powerful lessons:
- Early failure doesn't define your future - Don Lapre's course didn't work, but it sparked the entrepreneurial fire
- Distribution can be highly profitable - George built multiple businesses simply selling other people's products
- Cheap traffic doesn't last forever - Whether it's 50-cent clicks or algorithm changes, platform dependency is risky
- Niche opportunities exist everywhere - From Korean supplement buyers to Chrysler Sebrings on eBay
- Adaptation is essential - From supplements to AdSense to agency work, George kept evolving
- Sometimes success comes accidentally - The agency model emerged from helping a friend, not from a grand plan
The common thread through all of George's ventures? A willingness to experiment, learn from failures, and keep moving forward regardless of setbacks.
