About Good Guys

On a blistering January night, I lay awake in a charity house 3 hours from home…

A few blocks away, my newborn twins fight for their lives in the Sanford Fargo hospital.

One of them, Valerie, almost didn’t make it out alive…

There were a few nights we were unsure if she’d still be with us by morning.

Talk about staring death in the face. Valerie did.. A few times.

We were staying in a charity house in Fargo, because I was too broke to afford a hotel while we waited for our children to show signs of improvement.

And the final notices that I may lose our house were piling up.

Here I am… a new father…. And I may not even have a home to bring these beautiful girls back to. If my beautiful girls even make it home at all, that is.

This is not what I pictured fatherhood would look like.

But here we are.

Wracking my brain for how we were going to save our house, I turned to my wife and said “Maybe I could clean carpets? I always liked doing that.”

“I don’t think a company is going to hire you for just a few months,” she replied.

“Maybe I could just do it on my own?” I suggested.

That’s when she looked me dead in the eyes and said “Fine. But if this doesn’t work… that’s it. No more business ideas.”

I nodded.

She wasn’t being rude. She was right to say it. We couldn’t afford another of my many failures from the past. And maybe that was the kick in the pants I needed.

Desperate times = desperate measures.

I didn’t know where to start. We were 3 hours from Bismarck. I don’t know anyone here…

So the next day, I made a post on Facebook. I got a few bites.

A few days later, I took *almost* my last $20 and rented a machine from Home Depot.

As I approached the house of my first client ever, I pushed aside my raging nerves.

I was in way over my head and way out of my comfort zone.

“Just don’t think about it.” I told myself.

I forced myself to knock on the door, my heart was pounding.

I didn’t even have a real uniform! I was just wearing a “slightly too small for me” button up as it was the most “professional” thing I had.

2 hours later I walked out with $99.

This was the beginning of how I saved our home.

Fast forward 4 months… After an open heart surgery in Minneapolis on our 5 pound, 4 month old little Valerie… we were finally able to go home.

Slowly but surely, after 18 straight months of constant struggle – almost losing the house & the entire business a few more times – this finally became a steady thing.

I will forever be grateful to these little ladies. Because had I not been backed into a corner, I may not have my business today. And I love my business.

And I love that it started because of family, and it continues with a “family first” attitude.

I owe a great deal to Valerie and her twin sister, Eleanor. They’ve given me so much, and I am lucky to be their dad.