I'm writing to you guys about this win, because I think some of you need to hear it. You need to hear that this business is real and you can do it if you follow the plan that @Austin Gray laid out so perfectly for us. Follow it and do exactly what he says. You just need to act. Cowboy up, and start buckin. Disclaimer: I have a full-time management job in aviation, so any of this new business idea stuff has to be weekends and afternoons. So keep that in mind while you read this. 5 weeks ago, I had nothing but a plan. No machine, no mulcher, no money. Nothing. I knew i had a small bonus from work coming, so I'd use that as ad money and operating capital. But I started with nothing. But I knew I could do this. I came across OwnrOps on YouTube and started soaking everything up. And I mean I watched it all. Luckily I didn't join any fb groups first, because I probably wouldn't have taken the leap. Most of that crowd is made up of losers and dream busters anyway. I watched all of Austin's starter info and got more excited and pumped the deeper I dove. I finally messaged Austin and asked him if he thought running ads without a machine and booking jobs was a good idea to test my market and my resolve. Well... the first 3 days of running ads, I booked 3 jobs from 4 leads. I was HOOKED. It was thrilling. Here I am... no machine and I'm scheduling jobs. Crazy, right!?! 😆 I needed to see if I could prove my business case to myself, and if it was worth me going and buying a machine. I thought, well... if I can book 3 jobs in 3 days from 4 leads, I'm good to go! So I did. I got financed (easier than financing a 30k car, which was scary) and bought a machine that costs more than my first house. Nuts, right?! It was going great for the first 5 days, then boom! I got stalled by fb- I started running ads 5 weeks ago, but Facebook shut me down for 2 weeks due to card verification problems. So truly my ads have only been spending for 3 solid weeks. Since they started spending, almost everyday I've been quoting jobs after my 9-5. Sometimes 3 and 4 in an afternoon.

I started truly pursuing the business about one month ago. I thought it would be helpful, mainly to myself, to provide little updates each month to show the progress I have made towards landing my first paid job. Here is a quick summary of what I have done in the last month. 1. Registered the business with the State, got EIN - in PA, you can do this online for $125. Takes about 15 minutes. I received an EIN from THE IRS in 3 minutes online as well. 2. Visited local Bobcat dealership to discuss pricing, machine options, and potential CDL issues - I am going with Bobcat because there are three service centers within an hour's drive from my location. 3. Started the process to obtain CDL Class A License - I have arranged with a school to offer an abridged course (40 hours vs. 160 hours) to obtain my Class A. I did find out that most schools only offer the full course so you do have to shop around to find one that will work with your schedule. I can obtain my CDL permit relatively easily on my own, which is an entire week for most schools. 4. Opened Business Checking Account and Business Credit Card (Chase Bank) - I already bank with Chase and this made it the simplest option. Unfortunately, Chase and most credit unions require two years of business history to offer any type of financing. 5. Set Up Online Tools & Presence (Initially) - I created a Jobber account, Google Work Space, business cell phone (Mint Mobile e-SIM), and purchased my domain name from GoDaddy. 6. Logo & Apparel & Business Cards - I used ChatGPT to help create a great logo, and a friend owns a custom apparel company who is going to make me a basic starter kit at cost. The kit I decided on was hoodie, long sleeve, short sleeve, and a hat. I figured that as I start to give on-site estimates for potential clients I want to look professional, uniform. I am ordering my business cards from Vista Print this weekend. 7. Contacted local municipalities - My girlfriend/business partner/cheerleader is a zoning officer and reached out to municipal contacts to understand how they contract out their brush clearing and forestry mulching. It was really informative for us because many of the really small townships in my area don't have the ability to hire full time for the jobs. 8. Business Plan - I wrote out my business plan and operating agreement, including 1-sheet financial estimates. This has helped me talk with banks and lenders effectively because they can quickly see the size, scope, and intention of the business.