Illegal to Legal: Business Success For The (Formerly) Incarcerated

A formerly incarcerated citizen, now successful entrepreneur, shows how anyone can take their life experience and with passions and their strengths start a small business - even without money! R.L. Pelshaw was the youngest of seven raised by his single mother on welfare in a mixed-race household. He was the first from his family to conventionally graduate high school, first to attend college, and the first to become successfully self-employed. For twenty-five years, Pelshaw was a successful Midwestern real estate broker, developer, investor, and consultant with over $700 Million in career transactions. The Great Recession found Pelshaw financially over-extended. Coupled with trusting the wrong people, overspending, and some bad business decisions made, Pelshaw suffered a catastrophic loss of a multi-million dollar asset base. In his efforts to stay afloat and "rob Peter to pay Paul" Pelshaw stupidly temporarily misused $135,000 of SBA loan proceeds, which caused him to receive a felony and serve a ten-month sentence at Leavenworth Federal Prison Camp. Pelshaw has the unique perspective of a businessman and felon, and seeks to bridge the gap for others so they can have a new life without depending on crime for a living. Since serving his time he has focused on helping inmates, former inmates, and those at risk of being incarcerated create a legitimate source of income, through the book and services related to Illegal to Legal. To help felons find jobs, he founded and launched the HIRE EX FELONS (HXF). Sales of this book and workbook help support the Campaign. Pelshaw served numerous non-profit groups including being a Director and Officer for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters Chapter, his church, and most notably as an Associate Trainer for Dr. John C. Maxwell's global non-profit ministry Equip. Through Equip, Pelshaw has taught leadership globally to thousands. Pelshaw is a thrill-junky that loves to cycle, ski, bungee jump, work-out, travel, debate, do construction and renovations, tell cheesy jokes, read, cook for his wife, paint, mentor, teach leadership development, and eat. He is not lazy but admits to sometimes being "motivationally impaired." He is not "out of shape" and asserts "round is still a shape."