I grew up in Kentucky around hardworking people. I didn't come from money. I didn't have a business degree. What I had was a work ethic that came from watching the people around me show up every day and do what needed to be done.

After high school, I went to Northwestern University in Lima, Ohio, where I earned my associate degree in auto diesel technology. I spent years as a diesel mechanic — tearing engines apart, diagnosing problems, and putting things back together.

That might not sound like business training, but it taught me something most business coaches never learned: how to think in systems. When you're rebuilding a diesel engine, you can't skip steps. Every component depends on the one before it. That's exactly how I think about building a business today.

While working as a mechanic, I became a firefighter with the Georgetown, Kentucky fire department. Over the next 15 years, I earned certifications as an EMT, Hazmat Technician, Public Safety Diver, and OSHA 30.

Firefighting taught me leadership. Not the kind you read about in books — the kind where you're making decisions in high-stress situations, managing volunteers with different skill levels, and trusting your team to execute when lives are on the line.

I joined water rescue operations in 2004 and have been involved ever since. Today I serve as Captain of Boone County Water Rescue, leading 47 to 50 volunteers in water rescue operations across multiple Kentucky counties along the Ohio River.

In 2012, I started a pressure washing business in Burlington, Kentucky. I had $2,000, a truck, a pressure washer, and the willingness to knock on doors. There was no business plan. There was no investor. There was just frustration with the political side of things in public service, a desire for financial freedom, and the belief that if I worked hard enough, I could figure it out.

And I did figure it out — partly because of my mechanic background. I was able to build my own pressure washing equipment, customize rigs, and solve mechanical problems that would have cost other operators thousands of dollars. I systemized everything.

By 2014, I realized that pressure washing contractors had a massive gap in their calendar: winter. So I started installing Christmas lights. Not because I loved heights — honestly, I was uncomfortable with them at first — but because the revenue opportunity was too obvious to ignore.

That first year I did $40,000 in Christmas lights. Within a few years, my combined businesses were generating over $1 million in annual revenue.

I sold the service businesses in 2018 and went all-in on what I realized I was best at: helping other contractors do what I did.

Since then, I've coached over 3,000 contractors through weekly Monday night Zoom calls, in-person training classes at my headquarters in Burlington, Kentucky, and hands-on events where business owners fly in from across the country.

ChristmasLightHQ.com — Wholesale Christmas light supplier where contractors buy the products they need to run their businesses.

King of Pressure Wash — Coaching community with over 51,000 YouTube subscribers.

Christmas Site Install Training — 43,000-member Facebook community helping contractors launch Christmas light businesses.

King of Marketing — Marketing coaching for service contractors.