Building a "Not Of This World" Business
 From Cuban Refugee to American Millionaire to Grace

By Aurelio F. Barreto III

 Soon after the sale of Dogloo Inc., an international company which I co-founded, I found myself with all of the material things of this world, but without much purpose in life. By the time I was 30, I had made millions. At 38, I never had to work again. Who wouldn’t be excited about that kind of success?
But here’s the thing: The more I earned, the more stripes I put on my shoulder, the more depressed and paranoid I became about losing it all. After realizing my achievements could not fill the emptiness, and fear inside, my mind ultimately led me to thoughts of despair and suicide. (Back to that later.)

 
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THE AMERICAN DREAM

 All my life, all I knew was to work hard and earn what I could. That was the path my parents set for me, ever since I was a child in Cuba, back in 1967. When I was seven, my family fled Cuba in search of the American Dream. I can still taste the fear that engulfed us.
Faced with just "making ends meet" in our new country, I made myself a promise: a million by age 30. It was a huge dream for a boy who’d just arrived from Cuba, but I was determined. I held on to the dream, even in the toughest of times.

RAGS TO RICHES

 Following my tumultuous teen years, by God’s grace I became a self-taught design engineer, freelancing for companies such as Xerox, Hughes Aircraft, and Mattel Toys. At Xerox, I learned mechanical design. At Mattel, I learned about marketing a consumer product. After a couple of years at Mattel, I accepted a contract with the Hughes Aircraft Corp. From designing toys to designing radars!
Work was my medicine, my measuring stick, my life. That’s why I invested in my first business, Eagle Vending. I designed a bubble gum vending machine with two other partners. We then placed those little machines all over town. Eagle Vending prospered. In fact, it soon generated three or four million a year in sales.
This wasn’t rocket science, but common sense. I found out business was about the innovation of new products and seizing the opportunities created. It was about coming through with what you had promised, and making things happen… at a profit.
It wasn’t unusual for me to work 60 to 80 hours a week, between my jobs at Xerox, Hughes Aircraft, and Eagle Vending. I’d obsess over decisions, worry about what was around the corner. I wish I had known Jesus at that time. But instead of relying on the Lord,
I relied on myself. In the process, work became my life and my God.
Despite Eagle Vending’s success, if I were to fulfill the dream of being a millionaire by age 30, I’d have to run even faster. I was already 25, and only had five years to go. I thought if I could just work a little longer, push a little harder, I’d reach that pot at the end of the rainbow. Of course the desire was never satisfied, and the flame nearly consumed me.

THE ULTIMATE DOG HOUSE

 Baby and Story (our family dogs) didn’t know it, but they had a lot to do with pushing me in a new direction. They couldn’t help it that they were rough on the little wooden dog houses I’d built them. Between dog hair and winter rain, my dog shelters were always falling apart. So one weekend I grumbled to myself, “Why can’t somebody build a dog house that will stand up to abuse? And while we’re at it, how about one that’s easy to clean too?”
I started thinking about it from a business point of view. Maybe I could create a better dog house. Something that had never been done before. Something like an indestructible, easy-to-clean dog house. After all, I knew a little about design.
“Be different,” my wife Peggy suggested. “You know, something unique. Why not make it an igloo shape? Will that work?” The more I thought about it, the more the igloo concept made sense. So the next day my partner Darrell Paxman and I jumped on the computer to design the ultimate dog house—shaped like an igloo. It would later be named “Dogloo.”
Store owners laughed at it, but we talked a couple of them into trying it out. The funny thing, though, was how differently pet owners reacted. Right from the start they loved the Dogloo, and so did their dogs! That first year of business (1987) we sold 1,800 Dogloos to southern California mom-and-pop pet stores. By 1997, Dogloo, Inc. had leapfrogged to $62 million in yearly sales.
Wasn’t this what I dreamed about for so long? The rags-to-riches story, the immigrant who struck gold? Darrell and I could call ourselves millionaires many times over. I had crossed the finish line.

HOW I MET JESUS

 Everything changed the day after we sold Dogloo. Never mind the money. Without a job to report to every day, I had a little more time to think, and that could be dangerous. I had lost my identity when I was out of my company. I kept wondering why nothing ever seemed to add up. Why was I no happier now than before I’d graduated to the millionaire club? I started wondering what would happen if I were to die, and why I was even born. What was the point?
I was a responsible, moral man; I loved my family and prayed every night, but I had never heard the gospel nor did I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
In March 18, 1998, while visiting my children’s school (Woodcrest Christian in Riverside, California), I chatted with the school superintendent, Randy Thompson. He mentioned my daughter’s CoLene's faith, and I wondered out loud how a sixth-grade girl could possibly truly know God. That’s probably what tipped him off. He asked me to lunch, then asked me about the stuff in my life that I tried to sweep under the rug.
By the grace of God, I became aware that I was a sinner who would face eternal judgment one day. It was clear I could not work my way into heaven as a mere moral man. Without a Savior, I was headed straight to hell. That's when I turned away from my sins and asked Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior!
Slowly my life began to change. I was able to forgive people who had wronged me. I began to experience peace like never before and the assurance of my salvation. I began attending church and was baptized as a public acknowledgment of my newfound faith in Jesus. I was so grateful for His grace. I joined a weekly Bible study group and began obeying the words in the Bible. I could not get enough of God!

BACK TO BUSINESS

 I prayed, “How do you want to use me, God? Certainly not in business, right?” As a new Christian, I worried that no one could fully serve God in the corporate world I’d just come out of. I was afraid that dealing with money matters was somehow not spiritual enough. A cut below.
Good thing God was patient with me. It took a while, but I realized money is not evil in itself—and neither is a call to serve God in a business setting. Yet I still arm-wrestled with guilt for wanting to serve God through business. I yearned to have another business, to know I had a place in His work and His economy, using the gifts and talents He’d given me.
Finally after a few years of prayer, and the early stages of developing an infrared portable barbeque, I felt Him moving me to open retail stores for youth. Initially, I wasn’t sold on the thought; it didn’t make much business sense to start a retail store in that day and age. A Christian store for youth was an unproven retail concept. Only by prayer and faith did I proceed. The more I prayed, the more I understood that despite all the uncertainties, I could not run away from what God wanted from me.
I did not want to someday get to heaven and have God ask me "Son, why did you not use the gifts and talents I gave you to glorify me?"

BECOMING A MARKETPLACE MINISTER

 After much opposition from malls, the Lord opened our first door in 2001 at the Tyler Mall in Riverside. We named our company C28, inspired by Colossians 2:8—“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Not long after that, the Lord opened the door for us to sponsor our first Christian concert, right there in the mall. We could hardly believe it when, in the rain, more than 5,000 people came—and many received Christ as their Savior. Since then we’ve sponsored concert after concert, with up to 10,000 people now packing in.
What are the chances? “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself,” Jesus told His disciples. “Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.” (Matthew 19:26, The Message). The key is understanding that God can deliver these kinds of results. But first we have to believe and walk by faith, instead of waiting for signs from God that never come. God is glorified when we step out in faith!

8,500 SOULS AND COUNTING

 One of the earliest redemption stories came from our Escondido store, the day after it opened. A hard-looking young man walked into the store with a “666” tattoo on his hand. He asked Tim, our store manager, what C28 was all about and where the “ideas” came from.
Tim shared the life-changing gospel message of the grace, truth and love of Jesus with this visitor. An hour later the young man broke down sobbing as he realized he was not living for anything that would last. Tim asked if he was ready to repent of his sins and place his trust in Jesus Christ. The young man said yes. Yes!
Later, the young man’s older brother came into the store. Tim almost panicked as the man walked up to him and demanded, “What have you told my brother?” What seemed to be the problem? “I’ve never seen him happier,” the man told Tim.
Tim spent the next few minutes sharing the gospel with this man too. Finally the tough guy wanted to know, “Can I have this too? What my brother has?” Tim then introduced this seeker to the Lord, just as he had done with his brother.
It didn’t stop there. Since then, more than 8,500 people have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through the ministry of C28 stores. Little did they know that what started as an ordinary shopping trip would end up with the best gift of all: Salvation through Jesus!

WANTED: JESUS FREAKS

 I would estimate that nearly a third of C28 customers are “alternative” customers. They’re secular people, tired of mainstream brands, and looking for something different. Most haven’t heard of the real Jesus, what He stands for, and don’t yet believe in His redeeming grace. So we’re here to make introductions, and then step back to let the Spirit of God do His work.
C28 stores are different not because of what’s on the shelves. They’re different because our priority is sharing the gospel, full throttle. To do that we recruit bold, in-your-face believers who want to share their faith, not hide in the corner. Anyone who wants to work for us knows that talking to others about the Lord is just part of their job. We even ask them in their job application if they have experience praying with people, because that’s going to be expected of them. Some customers come in just for prayer.
Basically, we’re looking for radicals. Many in our staff have piercings and tattoos. But it’s not those things that make them radical; it’s their attitude, their heart. Because they’re not just in retail, they’re in relating.

DOLLARS AND SENSE

 In the process, we obviously have to keep an eye on our bottom line or everything will grind to a stop. Our stores have to make a profit to stay in business and push us toward a much greater goal: Saving souls.
Today we have six C28 company stores, four C28 franchise stores, a clothing brand called "Not Of This World" and a thriving internet business on C28.COM. But as we grow, we always have to come back to the ultimate bottom line in the changed lives of customers and seekers—not necessarily increased sales. Our sales and profits allow us to expand our ministry of sharing the grace, truth and love of Jesus!

YOU’VE SEEN NOTHIN’ YET

 Salvation is the starting point, but there’s so much more. The gospel is designed to turn our lives upside-down. The power of the gospel is available to those who seek Jesus, who surrender their circumstances to Him, by the hour, by the minute.
If that sounds like a sermon, maybe it is. It’s also a business plan and a motivational blueprint for real success. I know that the next time I run into red ink, or the sales projections don’t work the way I hope, I just have to remember for a moment where I’d be if I got what I really deserved. I need to remember the transaction Jesus made when He died and was raised again, and what that means for my life and work today. I need to remember whose coattails I’m riding, and how small my troubles will seem someday.
And then I just need to think on where my hope comes from, in life and business: From the foot of the cross. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Aurelio Barreto III is the Founder and CEO of C28 & NOTW, a Christian retail store chain and clothing brand based on Colossians 2:8 (not of this world, and all about Jesus), and C28 Outreach, a nonprofit designed to lead people to Jesus Christ through concerts, speaking events, Bible distribution, and more. Learn more and contact Aurelio at www.c28.com.