Day 1 of the rest of my life. Well, sort of... Let's say, Day 1 of documenting Day 1 of the rest of my life. My name is Bobby Morehead (notice the clever website name). I was born and raised in Carrollton, Georgia and I've been here my entire life. Unless you count the 1 year exactly, that I spent away at college and then came back. I grew up in a basic, southern, small-town area with hard working parents whom I believe did an excellent job raising my siblings and me. We definitely got into situations that should have been avoided and there are many stories that my parents don't know of, but only a few stories that I would be ashamed for them to know about. Yes, I am sure there will be many stories from the past that come up on this blog in order to better explain certain epiphanies, but there are no stories from my life that I wouldn't be willing to discuss openly and admit to my faults. Although there are several things that have pushed me towards starting a blog/vlog/website, none compared to the fact, that I simply, woke up. I worked multiple jobs throughout my life, starting at K-Mart at 16 to working for my father off and on for about 7 years. It would take a while to list the jobs I've had and the skills I have learned along the way. The last time I had gotten lazy, or... "uninterested" at my job as an Underground Utility Locator (15 an hour and unlimited overtime, with bonuses) and I was asked to turn in my truck and gear. I called my dad immediately, working for him was almost a guaranteed job, at least based on past experience... I called my dad and filled him in on what had happened and what I didn't expect to hear... "I don't have any extra work right now." My dad owned Mini Storage Units, Rental Houses and he dabbled in other things like goat cheeses, farming, cooking and selling bar-b-que and more, but his main business was running a small Trucking Company. My favorite thing about his trucking company, was the story he told about how he came up with his company name. Firstrans, Inc. broken down, it stands for ( F*** the IRS TRANSportation ) I still laugh thinking back to hearing that story. Let's return to my "oh crap" moment. My dad tells me that he has only had enough work to cover his full-time guys, and if I needed work and wanted to drive for him, I would need to use my vehicle and my fuel and my time, to go speak in person with some of the shipping managers within a couple hours away, and secure work or myself. He gave me a list of about 5 companies he thought I would have a good shot with. I went to the first company about 2 hours away in Griffin, Ga and I was able to gain about 1 load a month from them. Not much but a good start. I went to the second one and it was about 45 minutes away in Lithia Springs, Ga. I met with the guy running the shipping department a few times, took him out to play golf (My dad paid for that one) and after about a week, they offered me 3-5 loads per week at a rate of $2.10 per mile, which is what my dad told me I needed to get, in order to make the numbers work. I was beyond excited about what I had just accomplished and couldn't wait to get started. I was making about $1,000 to $1,500 weekly and the company we were hauling for was just as happy as my dad was. A few months into hauling for this new company, I was able to bump our rate from $2.10 up to $2.40 per mile, plus a fuel surcharge of about $0.25 per mile, and added tarp fees, extra drop fees and COD fees. That brought in an average of about and extra $150-$200 per day for my dad's company. Again, my dad was definitely happy to hear about that and I felt great, I felt important, and I felt like I knew what I was doing. To skip ahead a bit, I tried bringing in some of my dad's other drivers to help out with some of the extra loads, but after a short time, I was told by the shipping company, that none of the other drivers were up to the standards that I had set for our company, and that it would need to be me hauling the loads or no one at all. I found myself stuck, buried deep in the life I had somehow gotten myself into. I was making good money, but I was stuck. I couldn't replace myself as a driver because out of the 7 or more drivers I tried to get to replace me, they all sucked. Which means I have to do all the work for that company myself. Which meant I was stuck. I couldn't quit because I had young children and my dad now depended on the money, I was bringing in... All those other drivers I mentioned, all gone... completely. I was the only one left. Aside from my dad's rental properties and storage units (which was just enough to pay his bills) i was generating the only income. I was stuck. I had just gotten through a divorce. My girlfriend, now fiancé and I found out we were expecting, and I was going to have my 4th child, which brought our combined total to 6 kids. 3 boys and 3 girls. And I needed to provide for them. I couldn't get a raise and I couldn't work more; I was already pushing about 70-80 hours a week driving an 18-wheeler and illegally changing my logbooks. Again, I was stuck. At the time, my nephew and I talked often about life and starting our own businesses someday. I was a dreamer with an employee mindset. Until the day my nephew told me, he did it, he jumped in and started his own business. I don't remember what pushed him, but he broke through what seemed like an extremely difficult wall as if it was nothing. I thought to myself, we were literally raised together, if he can do it then I can just as easily do it. He told me where he got started, and after talking to my fiancé, Whitney, we both decided to come up with a name, and just jump in and see what happens. Hauling had already slowed down and I was down to working maybe 2 days per week. So, on my off days, I was scheduling jobs for my new business. I didn't know what I was going to do exactly, but I was advertising for everything I knew how to do. I was building decks, repairing fences, hauling off junk and whatever else I could think of. I was making an extra $100-$300 daily, staying local and working less hours, which was exactly what I was making while hauling freight full time. My eyes were opening! I remember a conversation I had with a buddy of mine, Matt, at the beginning of starting my company. Matt owned his own business, Atlanta Gutter. They clean and install gutters at an affordable price. No, he didn't pay me to say that, but it felt like the right spot to type it, lol. Are you supposed to "lol" on a blog? is there a certain way to laugh on a blog that makes you sound more professional to anyone who may be reading your blog? the world may never know. Anyway, I was talking to Matt, and I remember being excited when he asked how much money the company was bringing in, and I told him I was bringing in $1,500 per week! (that's 6k per month)! And I kid you not, his response was, $1,500 per week? That's it?... I froze, unsure how to respond to that because based on my entire life's work, all the jobs I've had, all the commissions I've made, $1,500 per week sounded amazing! Matt told me that's not bad for starting out but that I needed to grow. I wasn't exactly sure how to grow with no advertising budget, but i knew I was about to find out... My eyes were opening. I spent some time thinking about what jobs I could do with the equipment that I have, and that just wasn't enough. I started to think about the jobs I could do, with equipment that I could rent. That alone, opened up more options than I was expecting. I had learned and knew all about how to do other jobs with bigger, better more expensive equipment, I just hadn't thought about renting equipment I didn't have. Well, guess who spent about 3 years on a farm driving a Skid Loader (basically a bobcat) and could now advertise for tractor work instead of deck repairs? This guy! I booked my first tractor job. I looked at the job and figured in what it would cost based on what I had learned about grading. The job was worth about $1,500 and the client chose me to perform the work. I was actually able to borrow my dad's tractor for this first job. I showed up for the job, busted my tail and I gave the client exactly what they were expecting and more! I got to the job site at 8:00am and worked steadily until the job was completed. I stood back and looked at my work, then checked my phone, and I realized... It's only 10:00am. I was done, at 10am... I started to panic... How am I supposed to inform the client that the job was completed, and they owed me $1,500 and I was only there for 2 hours? Including throwing out grass seed and hay! I wasn't sure what my response was going to be when they asked, but I had to face the music... I knocked on the door and the client came out to see the final product, and I swear to you, that lady could not have been any more excited to write me a check for $1,500 with no questions asked, she loved it! I was mind blown... I had just made $750.00 per hour for 2 hours. $1,500 in a day and I was off work at 10am. It was at that moment, i knew exactly why Matt responded the way he did, when I excitedly told him I was making $1,500 per week. About 1 week later, I had gotten a call to price removing a 15-foot-tall Cedar Tree. I had never done tree removal, but I did recall a time when I was about 12 when I was at a sleep over at my friend Brian's house. We found a hatchet in his garage, and we went into the woods and used it to practice what we had learned from watching tv. We chopped down some skinny Pine Trees behind his house. That was the extent of my tree removal knowledge. The quote was about 45 minutes away in Graham, Al. A lot further away than I cared to drive for a quote on such a small, 15-foot Cedar Tree. I quoted the lady $500 over the phone to cut down and haul away their tree. Upon arrival, it turns out that what the elderly lady meant to say, was a "50" foot Cedar Tree engulfed by about 20 other saplings and bushes! NEVER quote trees over the phone. I wanted the work, and I was already there, and I was new at this, so I agreed to honor the price at $500. It took me 3 days, and calling in my dad, my 12-year-old son and one of my dad's employees, to get the job completed. It was NOT an ideal situation, but my dad didn't charge me because I let him keep the Cedar log so he could take it to the sawmill. (That was 3 years ago, and he still has the log, uncut). I was instantly able to learn what needed to be done differently next time, so I was actually okay with the entire outcome. The day after that job, I had gotten another call for Tree Removal. This one was a HUGE Sweetgum Tree about 10 feet from a house and they wanted it to be dropped in the yard. They said they would clean it up themselves and they just needed it dropped safely without hitting the house. I quoted it for $1,200 and got the job. I played this one a little differently. I knew a guy that I've heard my dad and my brother talk about who was great at cutting down trees, and he had been doing it his entire life. I asked for his number and gave him a call. I asked what he would charge me to come out and help me drop this tree, and he told me he would do it for $100 cash. I told him to meet me there at 8am. I pulled up to the jobsite at 7:55am, just in time to catch the last 30 seconds before the tree hit the ground. Chunky, the tree guy, had just dropped the tree for $100. I walked up to the client, collected $1,200 and profited $1,100 within 10 minutes. Obviously, they don't all happen like this, but at that moment, I knew Chunky was going to be my first employee ever and I was about to go into the Tree Business. I changed ALL of my advertisement over to Tree Service and I changed my company name. The next phase of my life began as the owner of Stingray Clearing LLC. My eyes were opening. This first blog has gone a lot more in depth than intended, I think I'm going to call this section: My Eyes Are Opening. I have a long way to go on this blog, seeing as this all happened 3 years ago. Hopefully if all goes according to plan, this is just the beginning of explaining how I was able to open my eyes to the opportunities that life has to offer each and every one of us. Whether you already own your own business, or you're in a position where you think you can't do it, follow along and hopefully you can get some good advice that will be helpful along your journey.