Shortly after arriving in LA, I quickly realized there was a lot of work to be done. This was a booming city on the rise. With that, alot of money around. Not only in our own pockets but even more to be made, hustling. However, coming here I was bit of an outsider. I didn't really have a connection to profit from or the clout to protect a business.

My love of cigars is what broke me of this. It's something I've always been passionate about and have always said it's hard to find a good cigar. Being that, one of my first personal missions, when arriving in LA, was to find a good cigar when I had the opportunity. One day, when I was having a break from the daily grind, I spent the day looking all around Pasadena in various shops. I even tried a few places movie stars and some other local celebrities had recommended. One thing I've learned in my various travels, is that Latino's (in particularly Cubans) are known for world renowned cigars. So towards the end of my day looking, I stop by an old Hispanic, mom and pop, corner shop. I immediately smell rich, dried tobacco leaves as soon as I entered the shop. I knew I had hit the jack pot here, I didn't realized that I hit it in more ways than one.

I approach the cashier counter and speak with a younger Latino man. More so a boy, really. The poor kid and took one look at me and knew I was somebody who was "connected." I asked the young boy to show me an inventory or some of his finer cigars. The young man had a bit of a shudder when he replied with "yes sir" and reached under the counter. The kid brought up about 5 different boxes of cigars. All with labels I have never seen before. Most were strictly in Spanish writing. As I scrolled through the boxes one label caught my attention, as it some English on it that simply said MADE IN HAVANA.

"You don't see many of these this far from the east coast." I thought as I inspect the cigar. Giving it a smell and checking it for imperfections. As I do so, another Latino man dressed in a well tailored zoot suit enters from a door way from the back of the building, and gives me a glance. I look over at the man then turn my attention back to the boy behind the counter. "I'll take the whole box." I prompt the boy to the box of Cuban cigars.

The man in the doorway raises his eyebrow and comments on my purchase. "Good choice my friend, that's my last box and some of our best cigars." I look back over to the man who is reaching his hand out and walking over to me. I had put my hand in my pocket to reach for my cash to pay for the cigars but took it out to shake the mans hand. "Well I have good taste and appreciate a good cigar."

"I see that, I'll have to put some more on order from home." The man took my hand and shook it. Curious, I asked "Are you from Cuba?" as I reached for my cash again, and pull out a rolled up wad of various denominations of money to pay the boy. The boy stayed silent as he bagged up my package. "No, I am from Ybor." the man replied. I reached for the bagged up box of cigars after placing money on the counter, "I never heard of Ybor before." I mentioned. "It's in Florida, near the port town of Tampa. My family brings in cigars there once a month and ships them out us."

Not really paying attention to the price of the cigars and the amount of money I placed on the counter, The boy starts handing me my change. At this point I was taken back by how much change I was getting. "Man, these are inexpensive for nice cigars!" I joke, thinking the amount the boy was handing me was a mistake.

The man gave me a puzzled look and informed me, "I get them next to nothing, it's all pretty much profit."

A light bulb went off in my head and thought this would be a great venture to get into. I know plenty of smokers, problem is they don't know the difference between a good cigar and a shitty stogie, not to mention I've seen A LOT of competition, even though there product would not be as good as mine... even if that was so, not as cheap as mine.

The man was rambling on as he escorted me to the front door of the store as I pondered this opportunity. "When do you think you'll get more of these, pal? I would like to take them off your hands." The man opened the door for me as he thought my question over. "Should be getting 50 boxes next week."

I prop the door open with my foot as I reach in my pocket for the wad of cash again. I start to count the money and do the math,"I'll pay you upfront for all those boxes." I hand the man some cash,"If my math is right from what I just paid for this, this is half of money for the entire shipment of these cigars. I'll come back next week to pick up the rest and I'll give you the other half of the money... maybe with a little extra if all goes smooth."

The man gave me a smirk as he took the money, Almost as if he has made a deal like this before. "Yes sir, I'll have everything here. Meet me here at this time one week from today." The man took out his hand again. I shook his hand, not as a way of parting but as a way of entering a contract.