Buy the Scooter.
Tony Hawk's first year as a pro he had $640 and he bought a scooter. I had almost nothing coming in and I bought a $150 dolly. Same trade.
Notes
Essays and observations on building with AI from an operator's desk.
They Found Me in ChatGPT. I Didn't Have the Washer.
My last 5 customers found me inside a chatbot. I said yes to every one of them before I owned the machines, then spent the week scrambling to make it true.
Two People Asked. Both Bailed.
A woman called this morning wanting a washer and dryer. I said yes. I don't have one, because I broke my own rule and bought two machines nobody wanted.
Nobody Walked Me to the Door.
My daughters knocked on 60 doors in 100 degree heat handing out a flyer they colored themselves. I spent my whole childhood avoiding one.
Stop Asking Me.
Tim Grover says you cannot negotiate with a two year old. I heard it at mile 5 of a 10 mile run and thought about what I say to my daughter.
Seek the Problem, Not the Customer.
I found a customer before I found his problem, then spent 5 weeks building the wrong thing. The call logs had been telling me so the whole time.
Incentives Drive Human Nature
I get paid to finish the route. My helper gets paid by the hour. Neither of us is wrong, but the company pays us to want opposite things.
I Blew It.
My first inbound lead booked a call. I found out 3 days late, left a voicemail with the wrong number, and hung up. I'm still glad I did it.
My First AI Client Said Yes... Kind Of.
My first voice agent captured every missed call and still wasn't worth the price. The mechanic showed me what it needed to remember.
Look Stupid on Purpose.
A pickleball court at midnight, full of people dressed like players who can't play. Everybody's buying the costume instead of doing the reps.
My First AI Client Doesn't Use Computers.
I spent 6 months chasing my first AI consulting client. He walked up while I paid to get my car fixed, and he barely touches a computer.
My AI Is a Genius Who Never Learned to Cross the Street.
Replit's AI deleted a production database during a code freeze. The smartest tool you use will walk into traffic. Here's how to build the railings around it.
My Wife Is Usually Right. I Build It Anyway.
My wife tells me where the project is thin, and she's usually right. I build it anyway. The problem was never building alone. It was overruling the room.
I Sell AI for a Living. Take the Phone Out of Your House.
I sell AI skills for a living, and I'm telling you to take the phone out of your house. Not because I beat the addiction. Because I lost to it, and removed it.
I Built 26 Products. The One That Worked Rents Washing Machines.
I shipped 26 products in 34 months and sold almost none. The one that finally worked rents washing machines. Here's what building taught me about selling.
Rick Rubin Called Himself a Reducer, Not a Producer. So Should You.
On the records that made his career, Rick Rubin printed 'reduced by' instead of 'produced by.' Selection is the AI-era moat synthesis can't copy.
AI Isn't Replacing You. It's Waiting for Instructions.
The fight isn't AI vs. you. It's whether you're willing to teach it how to do your work. Why both AI doomers and AI maximalists miss the point.