Imagine losing everything—your business, freedom, and future. I rebuilt from rock bottom using hard-learned lessons to create systems that transformed my life. Now, those same strategies can help you break free, build a self-running business, and design a life on your terms. Ready to see how it could change your path? Keep reading.
I’m Louis Massaro, Founder/CEO of Moving Mastery, a mentoring, coaching, and education company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs in the moving industry increase profits by implementing proven strategies in marketing, sales, and operations.
I help entrepreneurs and business owners unlock their company’s full potential so that they can not only make more money but live a more balanced, fun, and fulfilling life.
I was nine years old when my father took me to see the classic mob movie Goodfellas. As we sat there in the dim glow of the theater, his voice dipped low and filled with pride. “This is the neighborhood I grew up in,” he whispered”. “I know all these guys.”
The screen flickered with images of power—untouchable men, draped in respect and power—and for a kid like me, it was mesmerizing.
With divorced parents, I lived two lives. On weekends, with my father, I was pulled into a world that felt like it was straight out of the movies. One moment, we’d be pulling up to the hottest South Florida restaurants in his friend’s Rolls Royce.
Next, I’d be sitting in the back of a grimy social club. Surrounded by smoke, poker chips clinking against the table, and conversations that felt as dangerous as they were thrilling.
These men—these kings of the streets—were everything I aspired to be: powerful, wealthy, respected. They took me in, teaching me not just how to survive, but how to win. But as I got older, the glitz and glamor started to tarnish.
The men I once admired started to drop like flies. Their body parts washed ashore. Gunned down in the middle of the street. Disappearing, never to be found again.
And it wasn’t long after, when I turned 19, that my father – the man I looked to for answers – my hero, was arrested. He was sentenced to life in prison where he died three years in.
Everything I thought I knew about success, about power, shattered like glass. But in that moment, I realized I needed to forge a new path—one built on something real, something that would last.
When I was in elementary school, I was that kid always nagging my dad for the next pair of Jordans, eyes set on the prize. He was my ticket to getting what I wanted. Until one day, he looked me square in the eye and said, “Son, You’ve got to learn how to make your own money.”
So, we hit Costco, where he taught me my first hustle. A box of Airheads or Blow Pops for a few bucks, flip them for 25 cents each at school turned a nice profit. Simple math, simple system. But to me, it felt like power. I wasn’t just selling candy; I was earning my place, proving I could make my own way.
As I got into middle school and high school my hustles expanded. I had my hands in a little bit of everything. Wherever there was a buck to be made, I was in. I knew I could apply a system to make it worth my time.
Hustling was in my blood. And I wanted to make my dad proud.
About a year before my father got locked up, the feds raided our house and pizzeria at the same time. That was when I started to see the writing on the wall. I was living with him full-time, working at the pizzeria, which was also a meeting spot for him and his crew. I knew something was going to happen, and my father didn’t want me tied to that life anyway. The streets weren’t a game, and there was no cheat code for winning in that world.
I had a choice: follow in my father’s footsteps or build something legitimate, something that could last. But damn, flipping pizzas or selling vacations over the phone wasn’t going to cut it. I needed more.
That’s when a friend of my Dad’s threw me a lifeline. “Why not start a moving company?” he suggested. It sounded like a clean break—a legitimate hustle with none of the street drama. So I went for it, knowing I had to carve my own path before everything hit the fan. I had no idea my father would end up getting life in prison, but I knew I couldn’t wait for the streets to decide my future.
Plus, back then, the lifestyle seemed like everything I wanted. Growing up, another friend of my Dad’s, owned a moving company. He had what I thought was the dream—the house on the water, the luxury cars, the front-row seats at every event. It looked like he had built a king’s life, but without the crime. For me, it seemed like the best of both worlds—a legitimate business and all the rewards of success.
I didn’t think much beyond that at the time—I was focused on the flashy life I thought I could build. So I went all in, ready to prove myself and create a future I could control.
So, I went all in. Moved to Vegas, full of ambition but utterly clueless, thinking I’d hit gold. I was wrong. Licensing issues, a partner who barely showed up, and no real systems or guidance left me staring at the ceiling, wondering if I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. Building my future in Vegas wasn’t going to work, after six months I shut it down.
But there was no going back. My dad was locked up, and I sure as hell wasn’t moving back home, a failure with no other options. The moving business was my way out, I had to make it work.
So I packed up and moved to Denver, where I could operate. This time with nothing but grit and determination. I didn’t have the luxury of failure. My back was against the wall.
I placed an ad in the Yellow Pages, rented a couple of trucks, maxed out credit cards on moving equipment, and got to work hoping something would stick.
We quickly became one of the biggest local moving companies in Denver. I was making a ton of money and started to think, “If I make this much with one location, why not expand to other markets and multiply the profits?”
So at 22 years old, I started my expansion into new markets. Over the next few years, I expanded into six US markets, started a long-distance division, and opened a call center to support it all. I turned that small hustle into a multi-million dollar empire. The money was flowing, and I felt invincible.
But underneath that success was a house of cards. I had built it on sheer willpower and hustle, not on solid systems. The streets had taught me hustle, but they didn’t teach me how to scale a business sustainably.
When the 2008 recession hit, the housing market started to crumble and so did my business. I built the company to thrive in good times, but I wasn’t ready to handle this shifting economy. Demand for moves slowed down – I had too many trucks, too many employees, and not enough understanding of my own finances. I tried to reorganize—sold off assets, downsized, and used personal savings. I did whatever I could to keep the business alive. But the truth? I was losing. I couldn’t even afford to file for bankruptcy.
I watched everything slip away—the dream house, the life I had built—and for the first time, I felt truly powerless.
Depression sank its claws into me, pulling me under.
The anti-depressants I was prescribed made me feel suicidal.
One night, I stood on the dock behind my house staring at the water, thinking of ways I could jump in and never come back up.
But something in me refused to die. I laced up my shoes and went for a run, desperate for clarity. And somewhere along that run, I had an epiphany:
When I got home, I stood in front of the mirror and faced the harsh truth: “You got yourself into this mess. Now get yourself out.”
But the truth was, I couldn’t do it alone. That’s when I started hiring consultants, going to seminars, and reading every book I could find. I knew there had to be a better way and I was desperate for answers. I realized that if I wanted my business to get better, I had to get better. That’s when I began my journey to master systems and leadership, understanding that hustle alone wasn’t enough.
My first coach Shari told me something that stuck with me. At the time, it hit hard, but it became even more real as my business began to struggle. She said:
I went all in, but this time it was different. I knew that if I was going to build back stronger than ever, then I had to be stronger than ever—not just in business, but personally as well. The first time around, I thought I could just focus on making money and that everything else in my life would fall into place.
But I learned the hard way that it doesn’t work like that. This time, I understood that success required balance. I had to focus on both the business and my own personal development. I had to take care of my business fundamentals, dial in my numbers, and strengthen my leadership—but I also became the best version of myself. I couldn’t build a thriving business without being strong mentally, physically, and emotionally.
The things that used to sound like hippie nonsense—meditation, personal development, health, balance—became my lifeline. I trashed the antidepressants and built a new system of discipline, not just for my business but for my mind, body, and soul.
That’s when everything shifted. I developed my “Profit and Thrive” philosophy, built on the idea that success isn’t just about money—it’s about building a life you love. Success requires systems. Systems for your health, for your business, for your finances, for your relationships, for your fulfillment. I dug myself out of the hole and scaled my business up to $20 million, but more importantly, I found true happiness.
And just when I thought I had it all figured out, the phone rang…
I was at a call center convention in Dallas with my sales director Dre when my phone buzzed. I answered it, expecting another mundane business call. Instead, my blood turned to ice. “The FBI is at our office. They have a search warrant.”
I flew back immediately, my mind spinning with every worst-case scenario. When I arrived I found my world torn apart. Eighteen agents in FBI windbreakers ransacked my office— demanding passwords with threats of seizing everything if we didn’t comply. My office—my sanctuary—where nearly 80 employees once buzzed with productivity, had been decimated into a crime scene.
I had fought my whole life to escape the shadow of my father’s past, but now, here I was—the prime suspect. The self-made entrepreneur, reduced to a criminal in the eyes of the law.
What should have been a simple dispute over moving charges spiraled into a nightmare. The customer wasn’t just anyone—it was a U.S. Attorney. Suddenly, I was under investigation for everything from money laundering to wire fraud.
They assumed I had followed in my father’s footsteps, running a criminal empire built on lies. The fear of being constantly scrutinized made me question everything—my business practices, my leadership, and whether I had been careful enough about who I trusted and how I operated.
I realized that while I hadn’t done anything criminal, I could have built the stronger systems to prevent mistakes or miscommunication. The investigation forced me to look at every corner of my business with fresh eyes and think about how I could prevent anything like this from happening again. It was a wake-up call that I needed to put stronger systems in place—not just for growth, but for protection and accountability.
Realizing that I needed to take control of every aspect of my business, I made the difficult decision to close our broker division. It was a part of the company where we would book moves and then subcontract them out to other carriers, but it left too much room for error and miscommunication. I couldn’t afford to be in a situation where I didn’t have full control over the customer experience.
I knew it was a tough call—cutting off a revenue stream is never easy—but I had to ensure that my business was operating with complete transparency and reliability. I wasn’t going to let someone else’s mistakes come back to haunt me or my company again.
After a few years of waiting, the government came back with claims from 52 customers out of approximately 48,000 moves we had booked in that period. They accused me of defrauding these customers, claiming that they had been quoted one price and charged a higher amount when the carrier we brokered it to showed up. The truth was that not all 52 customers were even mine, but in order to move forward with the plea deal, I had to accept responsibility for all of them.
I was sentenced to one year in prison. However, during the restitution hearing, the judge took a closer look and found the fact that many of the customers they claimed I had defrauded never did business with my company. The number of customers was reduced from 52 to 23. Because of this, my sentence was changed to two years of probation, with the first eight months under house arrest.
The legal battles were tough—fighting these claims felt like another blow to a business I had already worked so hard to rebuild. But I had to make peace with the decision, knowing that the plea deal, while unjust, was the only way to avoid potentially devastating consequences for myself and my family.
Being sentenced to house arrest could have felt like the end, but I saw it as an opportunity. I set up an office in my home and threw myself into creating something new. The ankle bracelet I had to wear was a constant reminder of the mistakes I had made, but it was also a signal that I had a second chance.
During that time, I started working on a course for movers—an idea that had been simmering in my mind for years. I wanted to help movers avoid the mistakes I had made and show them how to run a profitable, ethical business. I followed Brendan Burchard’s strategies to the letter, recording videos in the second bedroom of my house, ankle bracelet and all.
This wasn’t just a course—it was the beginning of what would become Moving Mastery, a complete educational system for movers. I launched the Moving Sales Academy, held live 3-day seminars, and created training programs that helped movers streamline their businesses and operate more efficiently. The impact was immediate—the seminars and courses sparked a fire in the industry, and soon Moving Mastery became the go-to resource for movers who wanted to grow their businesses the right way.
Through Moving Mastery, I didn’t just provide tools for success—I created a community of movers who were committed to elevating the standards of the industry. The success of Moving Mastery paved the way for the next chapter in my journey.
It was during this time that my journey took another unexpected turn. One of my seminar attendees, Tobe, approached me with an idea for software that could automate the very systems I had been teaching. At first, I brushed it off—people pitched me ideas all the time. But one of my private clients insisted I take a look.
When I finally did, I was impressed—not just by the software itself, but by Tobe’s drive and intelligence. I saw in him the hunger that I recognized in my own journey. It was clear that this wasn’t just another pitch—this was a perfectly aligned partnership.
In 2019, we co-founded Smart Moving Software, a platform designed to solve the very problems I had spent years teaching movers to overcome. With little marketing, we launched the software through my network, offering it at my seminars and including free trials with my courses. The software quickly gained traction and became one of the leading platforms in the moving industry.
By 2022, we had built something bigger than I ever imagined. I sold my interest in a private equity deal with Mainsail Partners worth $40 million. It wasn’t just about the money—it was about elevating the industry, providing movers with the tools to operate more efficiently, and ensuring that the customers received better service.
Selling Smart Moving Software was a milestone, but it wasn’t the end of the journey. From the very first video I posted in 2017, I always signed off with the same message: “Profit in your business, thrive in your life.” This wasn’t just a tagline—it was the core of my philosophy.
Over the years, I had given movers all the tools they needed to run successful, profitable businesses, but as I worked more closely with entrepreneurs, I realized something: they were excelling in business but struggling to thrive in life. It was the same issue I had faced years earlier—building a great business but neglecting my health, balance, and relationships. The more I coached, the more I saw this pattern in others.
That’s why I launched the Profit and Thrive Mastermind in 2022. I wanted to create a community dedicated to helping business owners achieve success without sacrificing their lives in the process. The same way I had learned that a thriving life is the key to long-term business success, I wanted to help other entrepreneurs build a life they love—one that includes balance, health, and fulfillment, alongside financial growth.
At the end of 2023, after wrapping up my last Moving Mastery Summit, I was at a crossroads. I had spent years building the moving industry, coaching entrepreneurs, and leading seminars, but I felt like I needed something more. It was a transitional time for me—I was searching for the next big move that would re-ignite my passion and drive.
That’s when my long-time mentor and friend, Dean Graziosi, reached out with an opportunity. Dean and Tony Robbins had built an incredible company, Mastermind.com, with a mission to empower people and transform lives through education and mentorship. Their goal was to scale into the nine figures while positively impacting millions around the world. Dean asked me to come on board to help lead that initiative and build out the infrastructure to take this vision to the next level.
It seemed like a perfect fit for where I was at that time, and I knew it could be a chance to push myself in new ways. I had already worked closely with Dean over the years—after joining one of his masterminds, we became friends, and then, I hired him as a coach, investing $250,000 a year to learn directly from him. That investment in my own growth was something I believe in deeply—it mirrored the same type of coaching I was offering to entrepreneurs, and I wanted to practice what I preached.
The chance to work with both Dean and Tony was an incredible opportunity. During the first half of 2024, I worked with them and their team to build systems and structures that would drive growth and scale their vision. It was an exciting challenge, and I learned a tremendous amount during my time there.
But as much as I loved the work and the people, I realized something important: I’ve always been driven to forge my own path and build something that’s uniquely mine. Working with Dean and Tony reinforced my commitment to creating a legacy that reflects my personal journey and vision for the future.
Even though I stepped away from working directly with them, my relationship with Dean and Tony continues to grow. I’m honored to be part of their private business club, Zenith, an exclusive group of entrepreneurs and visionaries who are committed to achieving extraordinary results in life and business. Being surrounded by leaders like Dean and Tony, and the other members of Zenith, keeps me focused, inspired, and always striving for the next level.
As I move into this next chapter, my focus has shifted to partnering with forward-thinking companies and raising industry standards through collaboration and innovation. By creating and implementing the ultimate operating system, I aim to ensure exceptional service, profitability, and scalability for the businesses I work with, while fostering a culture of shared success.
This isn’t just about growing individual companies—it’s about elevating the entire moving industry. By working with vendors, service providers, and successful moving company owners, I’m building a model that not only helps individual businesses thrive but also establishes a higher standard for how the industry operates as a whole. Whether through partnerships or by making elements of this operating system available to all, I want to ensure the tools and strategies I’ve developed can positively impact the broader community.
For some, this means the opportunity to collaborate deeply as partners, creating a shared vision for success. For others, it’s about learning from the systems, tools, and methods I’ve spent years developing to help businesses scale and provide exceptional service. Together, we’re driving a new era for the moving industry, one defined by innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
Everything I’ve been through—hustling in the streets, surviving the recession, rebuilding my business from the ground up—has taught me one thing: systems create success. That’s why I’m passionate about building these systems now, not just for myself, but for every entrepreneur and business I work with. We’re not just building profitable companies; we’re creating structures that stand the test of time.
Looking ahead, I’m more committed than ever to helping entrepreneurs achieve success without sacrificing their health, their families, or their happiness. This is about creating a life you love, where success in business is just one piece of the puzzle. It’s about creating a balance that allows you to thrive in every area of life.
Looking back, I can see that every part of my story—from my early days hustling in the streets, to the collapse and rebuilding of my business, to working alongside mentors like Dean and Tony—has been a stepping stone to this moment. Now, I’m ready to take everything I’ve learned and apply it to my mission: elevating industries, building successful partnerships, and creating a legacy that empowers entrepreneurs to thrive, not just in business but in life.
I’m passionate about helping entrepreneurs avoid unnecessary struggles and
stresses while becoming more profitable in their business and happier in their lives! I
hope that the free information on this site provides you with great value and look
forward to meeting you some day.
Started my first moving company
Exited completely from Neighbors Moving & Storage.
2019 Co-Founded SmartMoving Software
2022 Founded/Launched Profit and Thrive Mastermind
2024 Worked with Mastermind
