Hi I’m Josh and I’m 37. I’ve owned other businesses before but this will be my first construction company. In 2020 I bought an excavator with a brush cutter for my grandmas farm, in 2022 I had to sell my 50g to a guy I would work for the next couple years. Gained a lot of experience. Now I’ve got a day job that doesn’t pay enough. I don’t even have my dually anymore so I’m starting with nothing but determination and know how. Came across owner ops YouTube page and listened to a few videos while I was at work. I need a machine for my grandmas place again. Sadly I don’t have any pix of when I did this the first time they got deleted when I upgraded my phone. So I figured I might as well make money doing it and get away from my w2, never liked them.

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.