How to start

Find something you can do. Humble yourself. Close your first deal.

The photo you see is me in 2016, fixing the leg of an antique chair.

Back then, woodworking was my passion, and I thought one day, when I retired, I’d become a furniture maker.

Retirement came early.

A little over a year after that photo, I was laid off and had to figure out how to make a living.

2017 wasn’t a great year for the oilfield.

Truth be told, no year after Q4 2014 was.

When the layoff happened, I leaned on what I had: a laptop, a truck with 300,000 miles, and a garage full of woodworking tools.

That was my starting point.

I made my first sale to Wendy Fong, I still remember the conversation.

That was the moment this journey really began.

For two years, I built a business from my love of working with my hands.

Then, we pivoted.

The reason I’m telling this story on a Monday morning?

Someone out there is asking, What now?

My advice: Do something.

Anything.

Just keep moving.

It would have been easy to sit in self-doubt and overthink every decision.

Instead, my wife and I made a plan.

We decided to build things.

That idea started with furniture, and now, eight years later, we’re working in multi million dollar homes and hospitals.

The business has changed, but the mindset hasn’t.

There are things I’d do differently in hindsight, but the resilience I’ve gained?

I wouldn’t trade it for any amount of money.

Sometimes, the setbacks aren’t there to break you—they’re there to build you.

Question: What would you do if you knew you could not fail and did not need to make money?