I never wanted a boss. So I learned the one skill that let me build four.

I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Before I ever ran an ad for myself, I called local home service businesses and offered to do their marketing for free. I wasn't trying to land clients — I was trying to learn the game on someone else's calendar.

I ran Google. I ran mailers. I cold called. I tried every channel anyone would let me touch. Most of them were the same: you pay more, you get more, and you look identical to your competitor.

Meta was the only platform where you could spend less and get more — if the creative was good enough to position you as the obvious choice. Once I figured that out, everything else followed.