I Failed At Being A Creator. That’s Why I’m Betting on Blue Collar Work to Change My Life

I worked in warehouses, ran an eBay business, took up marketing, and tried being a content creator. Now I’m putting it all together to build a blue-collar business that can actually support me and my kids.

I’ve been saving money for over six months now while working construction with my dad. I love this kind of work, and I love being in the service industry.

But after every long day, with sweat-drenched clothes, I feel just a little more tired seeing my weekly checks evaporate into messages saying “Bill Paid”. Every week we bust our asses off out here, and still it’s just barely enough to get by.

As much as I love construction — from digging trenches, to laying rebar, framing, to the final touches on cabinets and trims — I just don’t make enough to get by on my own.

Right now, I work 40 hours a week at $22.50 an hour. That's barely enough to survive, with just a little left to save. Even if I eventually reach the industry ceiling of $40 an hour, there's no clear roadmap to get there—no defined milestones, no set timeframe, nothing concrete to measure my progress against.

This uncertainty about when my skills will translate into better income is frustrating. I want to know exactly what steps I need to take to earn more money. And realistically, when the next raise does come, it'll probably only bump me to around $25 an hour—not enough to change my situation.

So instead of waiting years, I'm taking control of my financial future now by creating my own service business in something I already know inside and out, and that'garage door installations and repairs.

I kept doing it on and off until I was 27 years old. Over that time, I developed real skills in the trade. Learning how to use the tools, how to talk with clients, handle payments, driving work trucks, and troubleshoot problems.

I also saw my dad run his business — grow it into a million-dollar company — and then shut it down when the work dried up. It was tough seeing his business come crashing down when the economy took a hit in 2008.

But looking back, I can think of a thousand ways things could have gone differently.

Now, I’m ready to follow in my dad's footsteps in this industry and start my own garage door business.

Working in my dad’s current construction business doesn’t seem like the path to financial freedom. I’m $40,000 in debt and only working 40 hours a week, so it would take me several years before I can move out of this little 100 sq. ft. bedroom.

And that’s assuming everything goes perfectly — no layoffs, no surprise hospital visits, no emergency expenses, no rent increases, no setbacks. But life always throws the nastiest curveballs at the wrong time.

I’m 39 years old right now, living in a small shared space with my daughter, and neither of us can do this much longer.

I’ve gotten used to heavy labor, providing service work, working directly with clients, managing teams, and managing a business. I’ve also learned from watching other business owners what to do — and what not to do.

And then there’s my time as a creator. Just a couple of years ago, I went deep into content writing, creating websites, blogs, newsletters, funnels, social media, and digital products. I even launched The One Person Startup, my creator business.

Now I get to combine those skills with my trade experience to build my own service-based business.

I haven’t had a car for the past two years. I relied on public transportation (which I actually loved), and that helped me save money since I wasn’t paying for a car, insurance, or gas.

But for a home service business, it was time to get a truck. It’s what allows you to carry materials, parts, and tools to every job. Over the past six months, I managed to save enough to finance a truck.

There's so much I can say about this part, but for now, I’ll just say I’m absolutely ecstatic that I qualified to get this Ram 1500.

I love this truck, and I’ll talk more about the best work trucks and why I chose this one in future posts.

I’m not quitting construction. I like the work, and I’ll keep working with my dad. That weekly paycheck is going to help me fund my garage door business.

I’ll need about

Once that's all covered, I’ll be set to start and fully operate the garage door business.

I've been watching tons of YouTube videos from UpFlip and Codie Sanchez, and nearly every business they interviewed started with little to no money, which I think is amazing. These videos are what encouraged me to pursue my own business with the skills I already have.

The plan is really simple: keep my day job working construction, then work on servicing garage doors after hours and on weekends.

I don’t have any employees, and I plan to run this completely on my own till everything gets going. So, I’ll be leveraging all the best free and low cost tools out there to help me do that.

I’ll break down all the best software tools to run a one person startup business in a future newsletter issue.

For now, I’ll be using the same marketing skills I developed as a creator. That means building websites, copywriting, and creating social content. My goal is to create financial freedom, scale a service business to a million-dollar company (God willing), and finally enjoy the kind of life me and my kids always dreamed of.

That’s it for this post. Next week, I’ll share:

If there’s anything specific you want me to cover — or if you have tips for me — I’d love to hear them. See you next time.