Create a Micro-business in Construction

Why Curtis became an entrepreneur

Curtis is an ex-Marine recently back from the Middle East. He and his wife have four children whom they are homeschooling. Curtis has experienced some difficulty with post-traumatic stress, and because of this it is important to him to work outdoors. He is incredibly thankful to have survived his service, and because of this, is committed to giving back by volunteering with the Christ in Action disaster relief organization. He wants to create a business that will allow him to do so.

What matters (Values)

What he loves (Joys)

What he’s good at (Skills)

How the 5-Stage Business Model worked in a construction business

Do: Start small, keep moving

Curtis began by simply doing the things he was good at. He used his talent for creative reuse and sturdy craftsmanship to add a workshop lean-to on his garage and build a treehouse for his children. A neighbor who saw the treehouse asked if Curtis would be willing to repair her deck and build a few birdhouses, and then commissioned a playhouse for her granddaughter.

Other small projects began to roll in, most of which could be completed during evenings and weekends. As his project list grew, Curtis realized that he was earning almost as much at his side work as at his day job. His hobby had become a full-fledged microbusiness.

Share: Show and tell how your Task can benefit others

Teach: Become an industry expert

Package: Create passive income

As Curtis did a year-end assessment of his business in preparation for the new year, he realized that he had lost touch with one of his “things that matter.” He no longer had the flexibility to volunteer whenever he was needed. After brainstorming with his family, Curtis decided he needed to create some passive streams of income so that he could earn more while working less.

His wife helped him put together patterns for some custom wood projects suitable for various ages, and they listed them as downloadable e-products on Clickbank. Because they knew many people in the homeschool world, they sent review copies to influential bloggers and donated a few pattern sets as door prizes for homeschool events. In addition, Curtis’s daughter added the patterns to the business website along with a plug-in that allowed small ads from Google AdSense to show up at specific locations on the site.

Multiply: Do more of what you love, less of what you don’t

Passive income from the project patterns and website ads slowly gained momentum. With Clickbank sales deposits showing up every other Wednesday in his bank account, and a check from Google Adsense every month or so, Curtis had an income and was able to become more picky about the kind of jobs he took. He returned to his original focus on small, custom-designed creative projects that involved the creative reuse of unique materials.

He and his family created more patterns, then a short how-to booklet, and finally, even a two-semester home study course based on the college classes Curtis taught. The website continued to grow as each of the children learned to add photos, tips, short articles, reviews of construction books and products, and more. As passive income increased, Curtis realized he had achieved the dream of earning what he needed, doing what he loved, right from the workshop in his back yard.

And that’s what it means to do what matters and make it pay.