I’m Mike Menzel — business growth consultant, entrepreneur, and investor. I help owners break through bottlenecks by clarifying their role, installing simple operating systems, and building teams that execute without constant supervision. I’ve lived the stress, paid for the wrong lessons, and learned what actually works — and I’m here to help you build a business that’s more profitable, less chaotic, and not dependent on you for everything.
THE START: I WAS ALWAYS BUILDING SOMETHING
I started selling at nine years old — walnut-shell boats with toothpicks and sails. That turned into buying and selling whatever I could learn: metals, electronics, and deals on eBay and Craigslist. I’ve always been obsessed with how commerce works and how value gets created.
LEARNING BUSINESS IN THE REAL WORLD
By high school and into college, I was wholesaling cars and creating early joint-venture deals with investors to buy, clean up, and resell inventory. In 2011, I got punched in the mouth — money was stolen and I had to rebuild from the ground up. I went to the oilfield to earn the capital back, made things right, and kept going. That season taught me discipline, resilience, and respect for risk.
BUILDING A REAL OPERATION
In 2015, I opened my first licensed dealership. After my first year, I was forced to move on short notice — one of those moments where you either fold or level up. I rebuilt, hired a small team, and kept scaling.
In 2016, I met my business partner and we formed Oaken Group (finance) and Oaken Properties (real estate). That’s where the lessons became real: capital constraints, leadership, execution — and how fast growth exposes weak structure.
SCALE, REAL ASSETS, AND HARD TRUTHS
In 2018, I bought the original dealership location through creative financing and partnership. We expanded into detailing and repair and scaled into a multi-function operation — eventually growing to dozens of employees across multiple locations.
Then COVID exposed weak points and intensified losses. From 2021–2022, we condensed hard — selling notes, inventory, and assets, simplifying operations, and stabilizing the business. It was a hard reset that forced better decisions and a sharper focus on durability and what matters.
THE WEALTH ENGINE + THE BREAKTHROUGH
Since 2016, real estate has been a parallel track — and in recent years it became a major focus: renovations, renters, property operations, and long-term stability. The biggest breakthrough came in the last 18 months: learning the difference between being a visionary and an integrator — and how trying to do both eventually becomes the bottleneck.
I’m a visionary by nature. The win wasn’t pretending to be the integrator — it was learning how to install and empower that function through the right people, operating cadence, and accountability so the business doesn’t depend on me for everything.
DUPLICATED but something about the early days
Not for fun. For opportunity.
While most kids were spending their weekends hanging out,
I was buying old phones, broken TVs, dusty electronics no one wanted.
Flipping them. One by one.
At first, it was just extra cash.
Gas money. Food. Freedom.
But then something clicked. I started seeing value where others saw junk.
An old telephone.
A scratched TV.
A “dead” item everyone had written off.
I learned how to fix it, clean it, price it, and sell it. Every day.
The wins got bigger.
The flips got faster.
The mindset changed.
By the time I graduated, I wasn’t just flipping items anymore —
I was flipping systems.
From everyday items…
To bigger deals…
To smarter strategies.
There were no shortcuts.
It was no overnight success story.
Just consistent reps, real-world learning, and a refusal to waste opportunity.
Because sometimes, all it takes to change your future…
Is seeing what everyone else overlooks.
DUPLICATED but something about the early days
Not for fun. For opportunity.
While most kids were spending their weekends hanging out,
I was buying old phones, broken TVs, dusty electronics no one wanted.
Flipping them. One by one.
At first, it was just extra cash.
Gas money. Food. Freedom.
But then something clicked. I started seeing value where others saw junk.
An old telephone.
A scratched TV.
A “dead” item everyone had written off.
I learned how to fix it, clean it, price it, and sell it. Every day.
The wins got bigger.
The flips got faster.
The mindset changed.
By the time I graduated, I wasn’t just flipping items anymore —
I was flipping systems.
From everyday items…
To bigger deals…
To smarter strategies.
There were no shortcuts.
It was no overnight success story.
Just consistent reps, real-world learning, and a refusal to waste opportunity.
Because sometimes, all it takes to change your future…
Is seeing what everyone else overlooks.
I’ve lived the stress. I’ve been in the weeds, lost sleep, and paid real tuition through mistakes and fast growth. Now I help business owners build something stronger — a business that runs with or without them, becomes more profitable, and gives them real options: scale, sell, or acquire.
If you’re ready to stop being the bottleneck and build a business that actually runs, let’s connect.
