I was a pastor of a small church in
Snowflake so we are probably going to get out of here late!
I was born on an Air Force base in Africa. We
left there when I was a year old. Because my father was in the
Air Force, I traveled extensively as a child. From 1971 to
now, I have been a native of Arizona. I did one year of college
in California where I met my first wife. We were married for 7
years.
I was a licensed realtor at 19 years old which is
how I put myself through college. Those were tough times.
Interest rates hit 14-15%. But I survived it. I became
an investor then. I have continued to do so to this day.
My senior year in college I started a moving
business. You don't have steady cash flow in real estate
so I borrowed money on my credit card to by a used truck...Not
recommended! I had a client tell me "You look like somebody I could afford".
That is not a
great compliment. Now I buy new equipment and put wraps on
them. During that time of my life I learned some valuable
lessons. I actually bought an apartment complex and did a
condo conversion. That, I still believe, is the reason for my
divorce. I was never home.
My second wife Lisa and I have been married 20 years. God has
richly blessed us. The things you value, that is where your
heart is.
After I sold my moving business, I didn't do a lot for year.
I got good at shooting pool. I then went to work as a salesman for a
trucking company. I preferred working for myself so I bought
some trucks and moved furniture. I only made money when I sold
the business. I caught myself repeating past mistakes and
working long hours. I sold this business as well. I
stayed on for a year to help with the transition.
After that point, I went a completely different
route and sold life insurance for two years. It was a
lucrative business. I made money but I did not like it.
I was hired by a customer that owned Oak Interiors and began selling
to the same clients I worked with as a mover.
About this time I had an alien move in. My
daughter became a teenager. My ex-wife bought her a
car. I noticed her weaving. She was stoned. The
next day I took my kids for drug testing. My daughter rated 49
out of 50 and my son was
0. This was another time in my life to "re-evaluate".
Over the previous couple of months I noticed her friends change from the
straight A group to the Goth-looking group. I started to think
I needed to take more time off and spend more time with these kids.
We sold everything and moved to a small town.
We bought a ranch in Snowflake. Life was nice and simple. I was a
gentleman rancher. I maintained a couple of lines of furniture
and worked out of my house. It was a good move for my kids. Both graduated from
Snowflake High. My daughter hated me at the time. Not
only did I move her to a small town, but I sold her car and
she didn't get it back until she went to college. I drove them
to high school for the first 6 months. Had lunch with them
frequently. I started a furniture store in Snowflake.
The kids worked with me at the store. They learned about
purchasing and customer service. Today they are both salesman.
I soon found that I wasn't a guy that could
slow down. After eight months of living the small town life I
was bored. My sister owned SOS Exterminating. She asked
me to move back to the Valley and help her with marketing. I fell in love with the business. My wife loved the
small town life but she gave it up so I could pursue my new career.
We built up SOS Exterminating. My sister and
her husband stepped back when I took over management. It was
fun a fun challenge for me. But they got divorced and, being
co-owners, things became extremely difficult. They sold the
business. I
lasted 6 months with the new owners. With my sister we had marketed ourselves as
a Christian company. The new people that took over had
different values. They cut out all advertising.
I had surveyed many businesses. I saw a lot of
potential in the pool business. It was easy for me to market
to and understand the home owner. It was the same concept as
the pest control business. Because I bought a store I have the best of
all worlds. I can sell to the do-it-yourself home owner, run a truck
route myself and sell wholesale to other truck routes. I am continuing to advertise my new business.
I am a small business. Advertising is what will make my company grow.
