LAZARE
Melilla Concepts LLC is the brainchild of Dennis Champion, bestselling author, speaker, coach, spiritual leader, and entrepreneur. Growing up on the rough streets of the South, Southeast, and Northwest is no place for a budding entrepreneur to run his money game. But as they say in New York, “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” I had numerous encounters with undertakers, territorial lieutenants, and hit makers. I survive all this madness because my imagination was greater than street knowledge, and my passion for success was stronger than street life statistics.
NO, NOT HERE. I grew up in a small town between two extreme economic phenomena. I hated this place, and I would always cry out from the inside saying ‘why was I born here? No, Not here.” On my northside is the economic rock bottom “Rockies” blue color neighborhood of hardened uncreative worthless thugs. The people here live hard and die young. Their homes were older, smaller, and rundown, and the environment was very depressing. This place was just an economic wasteland.
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Now on my southside, is the gated communities of the who is who in the big money zoo. Here you will find wealthy politicians, doctors, lawyers, and businesspeople with their rich spoiled kids who spent their days crashing expensive cars under the influence and coming into my neighborhood with large wads of cash looking for high stakes action.
In the center between the “Rockies”, and my southern “Richland” neighbors, is my blue color neighborhood which was two ladders higher than the “Rockies”, but over a thousand ladders lower than “Richland” on the southside. Here, our homes were newer, larger, and clean. We were creative people who had our own Las Vegas style economic system. My dad run an underground casino, so he was always getting into trouble with the law. I moved from school to school because my dad notorious reputation would follow me, and the schools were not happy with that. However, our neighborhood, was the life of both sides of the economic fence. Rockies and Richlanders converged in my neighborhood looking for action.
LAZARE STREET. My dad underground casino code name “Lazare” was the place where these rich kids would go to get their wallets emptied. Our house was the casino and it literally stood on the border of Lazare which was the street name and the name of the rich community next door on the southside. I learned to play high stakes poker, but I could never win the game. I quickly figured out that my money game cannot be won in my poor community but in the Richlands of Lazare. While the Richlanders converged in my poor community looking to run their money game, I conceived a plan to achieve my financial goals in their rich neighborhood.
Ambitious and ready to change my life, I borrowed a lawnmower and started a landscaping company on Lazare Street. My first client was a rich European businesswoman who had a mansion in the rich Lazare community. After the job was completed I presented my invoice for payment, but to my surprise my client said to me, "young man, I am going to teach you how to do business with wealthy people. First, your price is too low. Here is how to price your work. Second, never begin a job without getting full pay upfront. Third, make sure your clients agree to a weekly landscaping service. Finally, your best clients will be female homeowners with a business who are too busy to take care of their property." Wow! This was golden.
THE CLA FRAMEWORK. My Lazare Experience turns out to be a blessing. I am eternally grateful to my High Power, and all those who helped me on my way to big success. Lazare originally means “God is my help” and so I now know that it was divine providence that my house was on Lazare Street, and that I began my first successful business in the rich community of Lazare. I am also grateful to my first business coach /consultant who showed me how to find my waterfall of abundance, how to implement a subscription based service for guaranteed income, how to measure work, how to specialize in high end clients, and how to charge premium price based on results. My CLA Framework of BIG Success was born because of my Lazare experience. My first coach triggered an aha moment when I said deep inside, this is what I want to do. I want to help startups and growing entrepreneurs do business on Lazare Street. Today, The Lazare Street Playbook™ is the core tool in my coaching and consulting practice.
Blessings,
Dennis Champion