built4them

optimist. skeptic. 20 year military guy. owner/operator of a part time 1 man show.

[Jason Bassler @JasonBassler1]

💥 America once declared war on pinball.

NYC banned it from 1942 to 1976.
Chicago and LA had decades long bans, too.

Politicians said they were too addictive and corrupted the youth. Cops raided bowling alleys, candy stores, and bars to smash them with sledge hammers.

50 years later we carry prediction markets and entire casinos in our pockets, and nobody bats an eye.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@rootforcegrind Love it. It’s a great time to be alive!

[Ross Simmonds @TheCoolestCool]

The biggest lie self-help has sold us is that comfort = happiness…

Comfort is what happens after you've done the hard thing. Skip the hard thing and you skip the joy on the other side of it.

Want a more fulfilling life?

Chase for the discomfort everyone else is avoiding. Do the research no one wants to do. Do the work everyone sleeps on. Go for the run you’re avoiding. Jump in the cold plunge. Have the hard conversation. Ship the honest but necessary email.

That's where the version of you that you actually respect lives..

[Casey McDaniel - Pest Control Guy @pestctrlguy]

Now this is the most aggressive close I’ve seen in a while.

We got some quotes to cut down a tree earlier this summer.

They’ve followed up a few times already.

This time they just told my wife she’s on the schedule and she said sure!

Definitely going to start using this and closing more deals and pissing off a ton of people.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@keyan_concrete That’s awesome - looking forward to the play by plays!

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@reallyoptimized @punishedfounder Mine also arrived today. Preordere months ago. Had the apple juice this afternoon / evening. Was delicious.

[Anthony Migliorino @PeacefulFathers]

One of the hardest shifts in fatherhood is remembering that your child's immature behavior isn't necessarily disrespect toward you.

Sometimes it's immaturity, or they forgot, got overwhelmed, lost control, became distracted, couldn't tolerate disappointment, or made a stupid decision.

In other words, their brains behave suspiciously like children's brains.

Your job isn't pretending none of that matters.

Accountability still matters, but you can correct immaturity without treating it like a moral failure.

You don't shame someone for lacking a skill you're supposed to be helping them develop.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

Last year I thought it was crazy that @StumpGuyTy had 100 Google reviews.
Today I have well over 100 largely due to him and his free advice. Thank you sir.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

Just heard about Instinct AI and am super bummed I can’t access it yet. Does anyone have a friend referral I can use?

Also, just started using Muse with limited access to my email and Meta socials - I’m hoping it can make me more efficient and also automate much of my business posting.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@sellsglass 🤣 that’s about the answer I expected. Thank you!

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@EBikeMikeVA Thanks- it’ll be more than twice the price of any prior job I’ve completed.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

Just quoted my first multi-day job. $4-6k for about 50 stumps as part of a land clearing project. Fingers crossed the tree co gets the job!

[Adam Rossi @rossiadam]

Spending a ton of taxpayer money on a COVID memorial is objectively crazy.

But you have to think about it from the bureaucrats’ perspective.

They are mourning the loss of the greatest time in their lives.

COVID was their Super Bowl, their Christmas, their great Victory.

Here in Fairfax county, the leftist government functionaries got to wear the Ring of Power.

They got to tell their fellow citizens who could work and who couldn’t, who could step outside and who had to stay indoors, who could drive and who could not.

They got to decide which businesses would remain open and which businesses would close.

They were able to command churches and schools at their will.

Fairfax even ran a snitch line and a command center where they would hound citizens relentlessly if there was even a rumor that someone in the household tested positive for COVID.

This was their shining, golden moment. And they DEEPLY MOURN its loss.

This is a monument of mourning for what was, and hope for that which may be again (another pandemic).

[ContractorKeith @contractorkeith]

@BlueCollarInvr "luckily i realized if i kept going with those prices i wouldn't be here to service your next project"

your customers DESERVE for you to make a profit.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@BlueCollarInvr @EBikeMikeVA Not bad at all - I was letting my imagination run wild picturing stumpopolus

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@BlueCollarInvr @EBikeMikeVA You undercharged. $2400 was a steal.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@BlueCollarInvr @EBikeMikeVA Did you type 67 feet? If so that’s insane.

[built4them @AaronZimmer123]

@Jaredkotter But small o on Co

[Tim Leary @TimFlynnLeary]

When I started Handy’s, I sold a job over the handyman limit.

Then I learned there was a handyman limit.

We broke a customer’s light fixture and realized we probably needed general liability insurance.

A tech dented the shit out of the roof of our van AND we had the cops call the office about his reckless driving.

Then we learned we needed GPS in every van.

We hired a tech who lied about his skillset and ended up having to replace a customer’s carpet.

Then we learned to do working interviews and actually verify skill before hiring someone.

The point is… just fucking start.

You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to build systems AFTER something goes wrong. You’re going to look back and wonder how the hell you didn’t know something that seems completely obvious now.

I actually SEARCH for failure.

I want to find the holes. I want to find what breaks. I want to find out where I’m wrong as quickly as possible.

Because every time something breaks, we fix it and build a system so it doesn’t happen again.

Every failure means I’m one step closer to figuring out what actually works.