Ken Skinner is a veteran of over forty-three (43) years of Commission Sales.  In addition to selling, he has  been a Business Owner, Consultant, Sales Trainer, Author, Public Speaker, Real Estate Developer and Investor. He is one of a small, elite group of salespeople who has repeatedly earned in excess of one million dollars a year in “take home” commissions.

Ken's major goal in life today is to utilize his experience and knowledge to help others attain the greatest level of success they are capable of achieving.

Born into a lower middle class family of twelve children in Albuquerque New Mexico during the great depression, no one in Ken’s family had ever been in sales so it was an unlikely path for him to choose. Yet even as a boy, to earn spending money, Ken learned that selling was a more enjoyable and lucrative way to earn money than any of the other alternatives available to him. He also learned the importance of setting goals. He accomplished his first big goal in life when, at the age of eleven he “sold” his parents on the idea of allowing him to go to work as a cowboy on a ranch over seventy-five miles from home. He worked there for a full year, punching cattle, branding calves, riding in Rodeos and doing all the things cowboys do. From that point on, he essentially supported himself.

In his late teens, Ken accomplished several more of his goals by becoming a U.S. Marine, a husband and a father. After receiving an Honorable Discharge from the Marine Corps, Ken began working in the Civil Engineering field while going to school fulltime. One evening however, an enthusiastic young salesman knocked on their door and before the evening was over, he had convinced Ken to join his team selling Cutco-Cutlery part time. Within a few weeks, Ken had fallen in love with selling and soon decided to make it his life’s work. Over the next few years, Ken sold Cutco Cutlery, freezer food plans, life insurance, vacuum cleaners, investments and printing equipment.

At the age of 30, Ken came to the realization that his life was headed in the wrong direction. He was drinking, smoking and staying away from home far too much. The family, now expanded to five children, was in serious financial difficulties and, with the exception of his wife and five wonderful children none of his dreams of success were coming to fruition.  At one of the lowest points in his life, he began to read The Bible, along with several Self Help books including Think and Grow Rich and The Power of Positive Thinking. He became a Christian and began to learn many powerful lessons, including the power of goals and the importance of self-discipline. One day, broke, discouraged and scared, he decided to put it all to a test. He sat alone at a park bench and began to write out his goals and a plan for his life. He wrote goals for improving his family, career, health, spiritual, intellectual, financial and emotional well being; and he committed himself to their accomplishment. He also wrote out a complete Plan for his life.

An amazing thing occurred that day. When he left that park bench, he was a different man! He began to walk, talk and act like the successful person he was determined to become. He soon quit smoking and drinking, began attending church regularly, and began to focus all of his energies on the accomplishment of his written plans and goals. He began immediately to work and sell like the dynamic person he had described in his goals and plans. Within weeks, one of his competitors noticed the change and Ken was offered a sales position with The Xerox Corporation, one of the elite marketing companies of that era. The first year, he almost doubled his previous year’s income! More importantly, Ken began to enjoy a level of joy and fulfillment such as he had never dreamed possible. His entire life, including his marriage, health and his spiritual walk improved dramatically.

In 1978, after accomplishing all of the goals he had written down that day in the park, Ken left Xerox and joined the Grubb and Ellis Commercial Real Estate Company (G&E), where he continued to excel. In 1983, Ken was the #1 salesperson nationally for G&E. The following year he was one of the first in the company’s history to earn in excess of $1.3 million dollars in “take home commissions”.

In 1985 Ken left G&E to go full time into Real Estate Investments and Development. Within a few short years, his personal net worth was appraised at over $27 million. A few years later, the bottom fell out of the real estate industry and Ken saw his entire fortune wiped away, leaving him broke, divorced and millions of dollars in debt.

At the age of 57, Ken had just hit bottom again. He chose not to see it as a failure, but rather to treat it as simply a temporary setback. He set new goals for himself, went back to selling, paid off his debts and his net worth began to grow back into the millions again.

Over the years Ken served as CEO for a Dot Com Company, President and CEO for Ideas Unlimited of Scottsdale Inc., President and CEO of Skinner Financial Group and Managing Partner for numerous LLCs etc. One of the greatest accomplishments of his life occurred during the years when money was flowing his way. He and his family agreed that one of the great things he could do with the money is use it for the greater good so they built, staffed and supported an orphanage in the little villiage of Imuris, Sonora, Mexico. Although he went broke, the orphanage continues on to this day with well over 2000 children whose lives have been enriched by their years at Casa de Elizabeth.

Today, Ken is remarried to Victoria Skinner, an Artist of considerable renown. They share a great life, a wonderful family, many treasured friends, a beautiful  home in Texas where they spend their winters and a summer home in the Mountains of northern New Mexico.  They enjoy good health and adequate resources to travel and live well. Ken is back enjoying his love of  selling, writing and public speaking. In addition, he is involved in developing land in New Mexico. He is also active in his church, charitable activities and politics.

His Life's Mission now is to help others discover the huge reserves of power and potential that lies within them and to inspire them to rise to the highest level of success they are capable of achieving.