Nasir Acikgoz's Advice to the Next Generation: "Everything Is Achievable"

From episode: EP47: Experience the Journey to success with Nova Hardscapes - Pebbles, Pavers and More

Willie: For you being someone that touches so much, that is powerful. At the end of the day, that can make things happen. You've overcome so much being a immigrant, with a dream and a vision. Not knowing whether you would be where you are here today. Doing what you're doing today and just going after it, Becoming Fearless. Conquering so much. Having God guide you on this path, knowing that things happen for a reason. Even if it might not be the way you wanted it to be. It happened for a reason, just like in finance. I don't want to take this course, but now you know what a P&L is, and you can look at it and see if you guys are losing or winning. What do you see for the future of the green industry and you know the youth when it comes to your path and your career and what you've been able to do and how you're still gonna be able to do more? What do you see for the green industry and the youth? What would you have to say to them?

Nasir: youth like they're new?

Willie: Younger generations or even people that are that are sitting on the sidelines of going after something that they think is unachievable.

Nasir: Everything is achievable that you will you put in your mind. Once you set your mind to it you work. Again, you know, first of all, you have to believe in God. God gives you a talent. God gives everybody talents. You have to find it. And you put something in your mind, you work, you wake up in the morning, you dedicate yourself to it, WORK HARD. You gotta work hard because some people say I'm doing this and I'm working but it's not happening. Then that means you didn't work, you know, you didn't work hard enough...

Willie: Or it's not what you're supposed to be.

Nasir: And it'll happen. In the green industry and the youth, what I would say is: You have an idea, Try it. Say look, You know what? I want to introduce a product in the market. "Do it". In your mind, obviously you have to do it and you have to draw how you want to do it, get the first prototype or first production, depending on the products. And like I said at the beginning of the podcast.. The opportunities are limitless. There's no limit. So it's gonna happen. Believe me. If it's a product, you put it out there. With the right time, the right person, the right platform, people will see it and they're gonna start buying it. Or if it's a service, again, It doesn't have to be a product. It could be a service, and they're gonna start using it. So Again, the green industry. I love it. Like I said, I start as a hobby, you know, a side business, for one of my tile businesses, but it became a an addiction to me and it's a.... I'm like, you know what? It's a good business. It's a huge business. And there's no limit. There's no, I would say, oh you can't. There's no, you can't do this in this business. You can do anything with plants, with rocks, with Synthetic turf now.

Willie: With everything

Nasir: With everything. Who would have thought we were gonna have synthetic turf back then. Maybe would have laughed at the idea.

Willie: And a huge movement. I don't know what that industry is now, but it's gotta be over a billion dollar industry at this point.

Nasir: It's billions of dollars right now. Yes, And in other states actually they're building like coffee shops kind of things, like you go there, some brand names that came out, you go, the products are out there. It's like a boutique, you pick the product, you have your drink. Yeah, the coffee or whatnot. You're like talking to the people and at the same time you're purchasing it. So people came out with the idea and they they didn't think it's not gonna work out and it worked out for them. Maybe it took a while to adapt that product into the industry or the service. But if you think it's gonna work and you did your research, right, It's gonna work and it's gonna happen. So never say never. Never say I can't do it. Never say this is not gonna sell. Never say people will not call me for this service. People will not call me for this product. If you believe in yourself, believe in the product, Obviously, first you got to believe in God. It's gonna all happen.

Willie: Even if you guys are going to school right now and you're like, man, the Industry that I picked, you know people in my niche of what I'm gonna go study, they only make sixty thousand dollars a year. That doesn't matter. That means that they make sixty thousand dollars a year.,

Nasir: exactly

Willie: You can get in that same Ballpark and blow it up and become something so much more, do something impactful that can touch the whole industry, and this industry $36.4 Billion, the plant industry for the state of Florida last year alone, for 2023. It was the strongest year. Well, no 2022 was the strongest year, Out of all the years, but the fact that it was done and that's just in plant sales

Nasir: 6 .4.

Willie: Yeah

Nasir: Billion dollars

WIllie: For Florida

Nasir: Imagine

Willie: Only