College student loses weight, gains a business

By Lauren Caggiano, University of Dayton

Money. Fame. Love. Friends. Family. Faith. Who or what motivates you? We all have different driving forces. For Charles D'Angelo, it's looking and feeling good. The 20- year-old student at St. Louis University has quite a success story to share. After struggling with his weight for most of his adolescent life, D'Angelo decided to regain control of his health.

Through a balanced diet, a strict exercise regime and loving support from family and friends, he achieved a healthy weight. Now over a period of two years, D'Angelo has successfully maintained his weight after a net loss of 156 pounds.

With a new sense of confidence and heightened energy level, D'Angelo was inspired to pursue new ventures, as he said with "more energy and ability." He channeled his energy into sharing his success with people who were like himself – overweight and frustrated. D'Angelo started with a simple goal: to try to help many others do what he's done.

In the spirit of entrepreneurship, D'Angelo started a nutrition counseling business to cater to children's, adolescents', and adults' needs. Today he has more than 85 clients, whom he meets with on a biweekly basis. He currently offers in-person consultations, as well as phone appointments.

D'Angelo works with his clients to help them achieve noticeable results. "Seeing people change for the better" is a motivating factor for him. Helping people to look and feel better is essentially his business. He says that experiencing new things every day, meeting new people, and problem solving, are what he enjoys most about his business.

The young entrepreneur has some advice for those who want to lose weight. He advises his clients to be persistent, as it took him two years to achieve his coveted six pack abs.

"You can't ever stop," he said. "Give it your best every time," he added.

He wishes to remind people that it's never too late to take control of your life. Furthermore, he firmly believes that making changes in your diet will result in success.

D'Angelo is the founder of two Web sites: www.starttolose.com and www.charlesdangelo.com. The former is a resource for adolescents to learn how to lose weight. He shares his success story with the world on his self-titled Web site. As he explained, both are a means to "spread the message."

D'Angelo attributes his success in both weight loss and business to three things: determination, consistency, and persistence. To succeed in anything in life, he advises to "keep the end result in mind."

In his personal life, his high school dean, Ray Bahr, has been a major source of inspiration. Bahr has taught him "a lot about business and life," he said. "He has been a great influence on me," he added.

As both a full-time student and an entrepreneur, D'Angelo must manage his time effectively. He goes to school from 8 a.m. to noon, and then works from noon to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"My life is pretty much dictated by my career," he said.

However, D'Angelo finds his job as more of a source of satisfaction than a labor.

"I really enjoy what I do," he said. "Anything you want to do is possible if you put your mind to it. Don't ever limit yourself. Nothing's impossible."

D'Angelo likens his persistence to hitting a brick wall. You might fail several times, but you will eventually succeed if you don't give up.

"Don't let anyone stop you," he encourages.

He is currently pursuing a degree in premedicine and psychology at St. Louis University. He hopes to combine his interest in the medical field with his entrepreneurial skills upon his graduation in 2008. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the piano and keyboard, reading, movies, and "hanging out" with his friends. He is also a member of Mutual Friends Investment Club, a local stock club. Perhaps most impressively, he recently bought a house with profits from his business.

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