People often ask how I got started, or how I ended up speaking about leadership, business, and growth.

The truth is, I never set out to become a speaker.

I simply wanted the freedom to build something of my own.

At 24, I started my first business with a 50-page business plan and $5,000. Looking back, I knew enough to get started, but not enough to know what was ahead. Like many entrepreneurs, I thought hard work would solve every problem. I quickly learned there was much more to building a business than working long hours.

Growing up around people who built things with their hands taught me that success comes from showing up every day, staying consistent, and doing the right thing, even when it's the hard thing. Those early lessons shaped the way I approached business, leadership, and life.

As the business grew, so did the challenges.

I learned that every stage of growth demands something different from you. The skills that help you start a business aren't always the skills needed to grow one. I made good decisions, and I made mistakes. Looking back, I learned as much from the difficult seasons as I did from the successful ones.

One lesson changed everything.

If you don't build systems that work, you become the system.

That realization changed how I led people, built teams, and thought about growth. I began focusing less on doing everything myself and more on creating a business that could succeed because of its people, not because it depended on one person.