Tom Koppel: About Me

Hi, my name is Tom Koppel and I wrote this website with the purpose of helping people determine their own destinies by starting their own businesses. I know that I have been incredibly blessed in my life and I feel it’s my obligation to help others who want to help themselves.

Take a look at this one-minute video and see if it describes you:

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was actually born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Ecuador is a small country in South America. My parents' families were immigrants who came from Europe with absolutely nothing. My mother’s family came just before World War II. Ecuador allowed them to enter the country if they would farm some land nobody else wanted to farm.

My father’s entire family was made up of refugees who came from

Europe during and just after World War II. Here I am with my cousins on my father’s side. I’m the second from the left. Out of all my cousins, my brother, who is not in this photo yet, was actually the only one born in the United States. Here’s a photo at a family gathering a couple years ago. We’re still in age order with my baby brother at the far end. You can tell family is important to me.

In 1980 Pam and I got married. This is a picture we recently took. I know that many couples couldn’t stand being together all the time but Pam and I are together almost constantly. We love being together—we’re best friends!

I’ve owned my own businesses for the last 30 years. The last 19 years I’ve worked from home. My commute varies from 17 seconds to 24 seconds, depending on whether I walk quickly or slowly. The fact that we own our own business gives me the freedom to choose to be at home.

I especially have always liked being at home in the afternoons when the kids came home from school. You give them their snack and sit with them. That’s when the kids open up and talk about their day. You get to share more about their lives that way.

Pam and I have three children. Here we are in our back yard. We have a 40 foot long swimming pool that’s a great attraction for the neighborhood kids in the summer.

The window behind us is where we eat. I love to sit there and look out the window. You can see the entire east county of San Diego stretching out in front of you, starting with the lake that we live about 3 blocks from.

The boys are now both in law school and Rebecca has gotten used to being an “only child”. She’s got her license now but before she was able to drive, we were her chauffeurs, whether it was to gymnastics, dancing, girl scouts, flute lessons, or play dates with her friends.

When the kids were younger Pam and I always volunteered at their elementary schools. The teachers were glad to have me come in and take a group of children and do enrichment activities with them. I did that from the time David got into kindergarten until Rebecca graduated from elementary school.

I usually taught either advanced math or I gave them a start in interpreting literature with Junior Great Books. When they were in second grade I helped the kids in their classes memorize the states on a blank map and learn all the state capitals.

I love to teach. Even now it’s one of the most rewarding things I do. When I find people who are coachable and self-motivated, I help them by working one-on-one with them and teaching them the skills needed to become successful according to their own goals. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than teaching people how to become self-reliant and successful.

Our family loves to go on vacations. This was in Costa Rica. The whole family went to celebrate my in-laws’ 50th wedding anniversary. Here we are preparing to go on a series of zip lines, flying above the jungle. We actually rented a small bus for the week we were in Costa Rica with a driver and a guide! We were so glad that both boys were able to go with us. That made the family complete.

Here’s a picture of another trip. This was taken in the fall of Josh’s sophomore year in college. He went to school in Boston and we visited him one fall so we could see the leaves change and have him show us around the city.

Giving back is also important to our family. When David graduated from college he decided to spend a year with Americorp’s Disaster Relief Program in St. Louis. He spent a year working in cold weather shelters, fighting forest fires, helping after the hurricane disaster in the Gulf Coast, blazing trails in state parks in Missouri, and working in Kansas after a tornado had devastated a town. David had bought himself a car and he and I drove to St. Louis, where he was headquartered, stopping at many sites along the way. Here we are at the Grand Canyon. In addition I’ve taken David bicycling for several days in the San Juan Islands, off the mainland in Washington State. I don’t have to ask anybody for a vacation. I just take the time off knowing that these opportunities will never come back.

Of course, I do work, and when I work I work pretty hard. I’ve got goals and a way of life that takes money. Nothing comes without work. That doesn’t mean I can’t have fun at work, though. Here are some of the people I work with. I think we’ve got the tallest person (6’3”) and the shortest one (4’9”) in this picture.

Here’s another picture, this one at a celebratory dinner. We asked a waitress to take this picture so that I could be in it. We like to celebrate wins.

Here’s a picture Rebecca took at our house.

We stopped what we were doing for a minute to pose. This picture was taken in our dining room. We usually work together around our dining room table.

Here’s another picture at that same meeting. You can see the telephone on the table. We actually had a whole group of people on speaker phone. These were co-workers from all over the country who were participating in the meeting. Each of us owns our own business and each of us is our own boss. Nevertheless, we are a team, each one helping the other to be successful. It’s a great way to work as colleagues. With modern technology, I can train and support somebody across the country as easily as I can my next door neighbor.

Look at this one-minute video to see why I may be able to help you to become successful.

My Timeline

1953 Born in Ecuador into a refugee family.

1960 Immigrated to the United States; moved to San Diego.

1971 Graduated from high school in San Diego and went to the University of California at Santa Barbara. Partied.

What I learned: English doesn't have to be your first language to succeed. It's my third.

1973-74 Foreign exchange student in Germany.

1975 Graduated from UCSB and entered the MBA program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Started my first business.

What I learned: Experience is a better teacher than a professor. A mentor is the best teacher of all.

1977-1980 Received my MBA and went to work for Arthur Andersen & Co. Received my CPA while working in their Small Business Consulting and Auditing Dept. in their San Diego office.

What I learned: The devil is in the details. Give value always. I never want to be an employee again.

1980 Went to work in the family import-export wholesale jewelry company, becoming managing partner and growing the company from $900,000 in sales to $3 million.

What I learned: How to make money; how to work hard to get what you want.

1991 My parents divorced and I was out of the business. Went on vacation for 6 months and started volunteering at my children’s schools. Decided that in my next business I would not have partners. Instead, while I was providing for my family I would do something for the community I lived in. Wrote a goals sheet to make sure my future business would meet my personal and business goals.

What I learned: There's more to life than money but money sure makes things easier. Never have a partner again.

1991 Started the St. Vincent de Paul Vending Outreach program. Eventually put close to 2,000 vending machines throughout San Diego county, providing for my family and at the same time helping Father Joe Carroll feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, and clothe the naked. These fifteen years were among the most satisfying of my life.

What I learned: It's more satisfying to give than to receive. To get what you want you first have to decide what it is you want. The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

2006-present Got tired of having employees and sold the vending company. Went into the business my wife, Pam, had started two years earlier and
I specialize in helping other people by introducing them to my business, helping those with whom I have a good match to start their own businesses, and mentoring, training, and guiding them so they can succeed according to their own goals. We all use the four principles of business I have learned.

My daughter, Rebecca, (front, 2nd from right)
leading a walk for the Children's Hunger Fund

What I learned: The more people you help get what they want, the more you get what you want.

2008-present The recession hits. We’re in a great business. It’s counter-cyclical, meaning it actually does great in a recession!

Watch the following one-minute video explaining why I want to help you.

Our business model creates a unique environment that allows us to realize our goals, reclaim our destiny and design our own future.

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