Fred Grosse

Can you tell us your name, age and dream?

My name is Fred Grosse, I’m usually ten years older than you and my dream is to start my own business on an innovative idea. Bonus dream with this current idea is to get others to pursue this industry to help save the environment and to help others survive under any economic condition.

What dream are you living out?

I’m living out the dream of having my own business. For now I have a simple plan of action; collect biomass and sell the finished product. In years past, each time I attempted to start my own business, I failed. Some years ago I read a quote that Winston Churchill coined, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” I can and do identify with Churchill himself who had a unique approach to life. I think it’s important to find successful people you can identify with and use their example to inspire you.

When did you decide it was possible to pursue your dream?

Just a few years ago I gave my creativity a shot by attempting to launch www.minimoment.com. I thought it would be very cool if people would share with one another their stories about someone retiring, someone getting married, or to build a memorial for someone who had died. So I spent my life savings and borrowed as much as possible to get this website up and running. Over the course of five years I failed to find enough capital, I failed to find the right people, and mostly I failed to market or find enough paying customers to launch the product properly. Again, I thought it was a really good idea at the time, and it still is.

Today, I’ve learned to no longer worry about finances. I simply keep moving forward believing the money will come and if it doesn’t, I will make this happen on a small scale. Unlike in years past, I am seeking assistance from others; this alone has already made a difference.

I got a call this spring from a friend of mine who I have gotten to know over the past few years. He was talking to me about biomass and its possibilities for the future. It’s a simple process: collect waste, process it into a pellet and burn it as an energy source. As I got into this product I realized how important this energy is.

Did you have an epiphany or change in mindset? When and what happened?

Over the past two years I have been miserable in my job, successful, but miserable. I have watched as a tragedy played out among peers whose “god” was materialism. I watched as inner circles of so called “friends and associates” manipulated one another to advance themselves to the top of the heap.

Once my friend spoke to me about biomass, I thought I’d investigate and I did. After a month of due diligence I started to write a business plan. I called up my friend in Alaska and told him what was happening. I asked for and he sent me a three million dollar quote for a pellet mill. This was my introduction to the mind boggling cost or the first hurdle I would have in purchasing my own pellet mill.

Two months into my progress working toward finding three million dollars, I was referred to a guy who manufactures wood pellets and has been in operation for about 5 years. He explained to me what raw materials can be used to make pellets. He told me he has invested about 2.5 million dollars into his facility and that he was in the process of selling off that equipment because it was too big. He said I could get used equipment and start an operation for much less. I asked if he would make product for me if I brought him materials and he agreed to sell me the finished product. Slowly I have been working my way into inventory. I expect by the end of October I will have enough product to get started.

When you committed yourself to walking that path, what changed for you?

This time around I decided to move on this because I have backing. My mentor, the operator I referred to who is also a friend of mine, has experience working with this industry. Plus the past two years have been one disturbing lesson after another. I have little to fear; as the saying goes, “You can’t fall out of the basement.” The economy isn’t getting any better, credit is tight and if I let money get in my way I’d never start. I continue to search and apply for capital anyway. I don’t dwell on the “what if I can’t find it” mentality.

What mental barriers and fears did you overcome?

Depression; ever since I lost www.minimoments.com, I suffered from depression. Letting that project go was tough and it took a toll on me. That was in 2003. It took five years of depression and a close friend’s constant concern to get me to admit I should seek help.  Having lived with depression hanging on me for so long, and now living without it, has given me a new attitude: steady as she goes!  Admitting you have a problem is the first step and getting the right help is a bold move.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I have begun to trust in others more and more; this is a weakness becoming a strength. For example, I just suggested to a friend in England that he could collect raw materials and have them turned into product, then sell it through my website. I’m thinking this may work well for anyone who would want to sell product in their neighborhood as well. Instead of fearing others competition I am creating opportunity for others.

You may know your strengths now and you may know your weaknesses now but once you venture into starting your own business you’ll be introduced to weaknesses and strengths you didn’t know existed.  Experience may be the only way for you to overcome your weaknesses. My weakness has in the past been to do it all myself. I am on the offensive distancing myself from that weakness. I have partners in this venture. I found people I can rely on for advice, for insight and for physical help. I have an offer to team up with two guys that have more than 20 years combined experience in this industry. When the money comes I will partner with these guys to put it all together and build upon the strength that teamwork provides!

How has doing what you’re doing changed how you see future opportunities and challenges?

Blah . . . I don’t want to take on politics and politicians but getting into biomass has made me aware of how much complacency there is in our government. I’d rather turn a blind eye and make a product and be a typical hard working American. Progress has given us the false sense that fossil fuels will be here forever and up until about a year ago, that they’ll be affordable. Like many others, I feel frustrated over the hopelessness felt when it comes to filling up at the pump. While researching this business I have discovered I can run my car on spent coffee grounds! But for now what can I do about the price of gas? Wood pellets and the machinery used to make it, is in and of itself, a type of solution. This industry has the potential to challenge fossil fuels and big business.

Want to see what your personal footprint is? Check out this website; www.maineenergysystems.com/Carbon_Calculator.htm

Looking into this industry has also given me insight into how big money, special interest groups and lobbyists, have brainwashed Americans and politicians alike regarding clean coal. You will have to look far and wide to find a politician who doesn’t say clean coal is a future worth investing in. Spending billions of dollars of tax payer’s money on an industry that will need 20 years to perfect a clean coal product is in my opinion, a dynamic waste. Put that same money into biomass and see what happens! The new discoveries made about biomass will come from individuals like me who tinker in their garage, but if our government hears from their constituents it will come from Universities and the capitalist private sector.

As far as I can tell biomass producers don’t have lobbyists and special interests groups throwing money at politicians. In the state of Illinois there are zero grant programs available for wood pellet operations. I’d like to believe Obama when he says he will bring alternative energy to America. I live in Illinois and I have searched high and low for grants for biomass for my business but there are none. You would think that if he was telling the truth you could find alternative energy grants in the city and state he represents.  Maybe he is no different then all the other politicians who have promised but never deliver. In Ohio there was almost 150 million available to alternative energy projects. Clean coal research got 66 million of it. The rest is to be divided up between solar, wind and biomass.

I see this industry as an industry that will free many people from the constraints of big business. However it will take time and it will take pioneers. It requires people who are not concerned about making millions but who are concerned about the environment and about America and the communities in which they live.

How has your perspective on life changed?

Biomass has given me hope for our economy but it has also opened my eyes to what is wrong with our government and its influence, or should I say the influence of big business, on energy policies. The democrats have the majority in the house yet they were unable to pass an energy bill this past year. I would have never known anything about this unless I had looked at biomass as a way to make a living. My life has changed because I have begun to ask questions. If you want change don’t depend on anyone but yourself.

What is your next dream?

My next dream is my current dream of being a Capitalist! I hope to impress upon my local representatives that it is important to hold up our freedoms to be capitalists and to push to reduce the size of government.

What kind of advice were you given and how did you perceive it?

The advice I got on wood pellets was simple: “Even if you don’t find the money to open your own manufacturing plant you could open your own retail store and sell stoves. This is an up and coming market.”

How do you perceive society?

I see life in America as a great place for opportunity. Whether we drop into a great depression or a deep recession there is opportunity everyday. I think our society is coming around to be more responsible. I perceive a turning tide in America as Americans on a whole are backed into a corner with the rising cost of energy. I perceive society taking the time to look at ways to improve our stance in this world and since we are forced to look at it we will do it, and bounce back better then ever!  I perceive a momentum shift in Americans view of our leaders and certainly the lack of leadership in the political system. Ultimately, I see a frustrated society wanting to break out and change our system, dig in, tighten our belts and get it done.

What is important to you in life?

The right to privacy is important to me; it is probably my most treasured American right and it has eroded with the advancement of technology, but its something worth fighting for. I also think it’s important that we have rights to free speech and free enterprise.
Having an opportunity to worship freely is another freedom that I hope remains intact in my lifetime. Supporting artists, we can never have enough artists!

What is the best advice you can give to someone to live out their dream?

Be yourself! Nobody can do what you do.

Realize it will take three times more time to develop then you anticipate.

Pick up this book: It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden.

Lastly, this advice has helped me in my past: at any given time, make an effort to walk away from your business to look at it from the outside in. Don’t be paranoid to maintain its secrecy. It’s one thing to invent something and keep it hidden until launched; it’s another to hide it, launch it, and then find out it’s already on the market or that it’s useless.

What are you most proud of in your life?

I am proud of my family heritage. My grandfather started his own business in 1945. At the age of 90 he was still working a few days a week at his business. I am proud of my mother who raised five kids on her own. I am proud of my sister whose experience as an entrepreneur among the famous inspires me and my other siblings’ successes. I am proud of the many chances I have taken and failed at, having never given up on the next possible success.

To learn more about Fred’s biomass project click on the link below:
www.mojopellets.com