Moving Up E131
Dustin Carreon spent his early years learning just how hard life could be. After joining his father’s one-person operation scrap business, he had a dream to grow and make something bigger. He took that vision and made it something real. He learned the value of his time and the importance of delegating to the right people.
Tune in to hear about how Dustin went from a two-person company to a holding company that operates four separate companies. Learn more about Dustin at www.coiholdings.org or find him on LinkedIn.
C.O.I. Holdings is a holding company that acquires, manages, and grows small businesses. COI mission is to create opportunities by acquiring a small business, creating value for employees and customers, and helping owners/founders with an easy transition onto their next venture.
In addition to Freelance Electronics, which Dustin Carreon founded in 1996, COI holdings own and operates three industrial supply businesses in California and the State of Washington.
Dustin Carreon grew up with a father in the scrap and precious metal business. He was attracted to the hustle and grind of buying and selling junk. Dustin Carreon eventually joined his father’s one-person operation scrap business.
The scrap business opened the doors to recycling old computers and electronics. With his father’s backing and encouragement, Dustin Carreon launched an electronic component distribution business from a modest 1200 SQF warehouse in 1996.
Freelance Electronics grew as a result of the technology boom. In 2001 Dustin Carreon acquired 51% shares of the company he didn’t own. Over the next 10-15 years, the business had many booms and busts related to the cyclical nature of electronics.
Seeing an opportunity to diversify from economic swings, in 2017, Freelance Electronics acquired a 40-year-old industrial and defense fastener company to operate as a stand-alone company.
Today, Dustin Carreon and an incredible team operate a total of 4 companies, including Freelance Electronics, B&B Sockets, Quest Fasteners, and Sierra Pacific Supply.
Connect with Dustin on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About the Show
Tycoons of Small Biz spotlights the true backbone of the American economy, the true tycoons of business in America… the owners, founders and CEO’s of small businesses. Join hosts, Austin L Peterson, Landon Mance and the featured tycoons LIVE every Tuesday at 1 pm, right here on Business RadioX and your favorite podcast platform.
About Your Hosts
Austin Peterson is a Comprehensive Financial Planner and co-founder of Backbone Planning Partners in Scottsdale, AZ. Austin is a registered rep and investment advisor representative with Lincoln Financial Advisors. Prior to joining Lincoln Financial Advisors, Austin worked in a variety of roles in the financial services industry.
He began his career in financial services in the year 2000 as a personal financial advisor with Independent Capital Management in Santa Ana, CA. Austin then joined Pacific Life Insurance Company as an internal wholesaler for their variable annuity and mutual fund products. After Pacific Life, Austin formed his own financial planning company in Southern California that he built and ran for 6 years and eventually sold when he moved his family to Salt Lake City to pursue his MBA.
After he completed his MBA, Austin joined Crump Life Insurance where he filled a couple of different sales roles and eventually a management role throughout the five years he was with Crump. Most recently before joining Lincoln Financial Advisors in February 2015, Austin spent 2 years as a life insurance field wholesaler with Symetra Life Insurance Company. Austin is a Certified Financial Planner Professional and Chartered Life Underwriter. In 2021, Austin became a Certified Business Exit Consultant® (CBEC®) to help entrepreneurs plan to exit their businesses.
Austin and his wife of 23 years, Robin, have two children, AJ (21) and Ella (18) and they reside in Gilbert, Arizona. He is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in French and of Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management with a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in sales and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Austin on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Landon Mance is a Financial Planner and co-founder of Backbone Planning Partners out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He rebranded his practice in 2020 to focus on serving small business owners after operating as Mance Wealth Management since 2015 when Landon broke off from a major bank and started his own “shop.”
Landon comes from a family of successful entrepreneurs and has a passion and excitement for serving the business community. This passion is what brought about the growth of Backbone Planning Partners to help business owners and their families. At Backbone Planning, we believe small business owners’ personal and business goals are intertwined, so we work with our clients to design a financial plan to support all aspects of their lives.
In 2019, Landon obtained the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation through the Exit Planning Institute. With this certification, Backbone Planning Partners assists business owners through an ownership transition while focusing on a positive outcome for their employees and meeting the business owner’s goals. Landon is also a member of the Business Intelligence Institute (BII) which is a collaborative group that shares tools, resources and personnel, and offers advanced level training and technical support to specifically serve business owners. In 2021, Landon became a Certified Business Exit Consultant® (CBEC®) to help entrepreneurs plan to exit their businesses by counseling owners about exit options, estimating the value of the business, preparing the business for exit and tax considerations.
Landon enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife, stepson, and new baby twins. He grew up in sunny San Diego and loves visiting his family, playing a round of golf with friends, and many other outdoor activities. Landon tries to make a difference in the lives of children in Las Vegas as a part of the leadership team for a local non-profit. He regularly visits the children that we work with to remind himself of why it’s so important to, “be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Landon received his B.S. from California State University Long Beach in business marketing and gets the rest of his education through the school of hard knocks via his business owner clients.
Connect with Landon on LinkedIn.
