Great post. Here's a crappy summary, because I like trying to summarize things (still editing):

• I own a security alarm, audio/video, and general low voltage business. We install alarms, cameras, card access, home theater, home automation, commercial audio, computer networks, and almost anything else low voltage.
• I have two full time employees and I'm looking to add some office staff this year.
• My goal last year was $90k but I more than tripled that.
• I have a high school diploma but no college degree.
• First Job: I worked at the city DPW painting fire hydrants for $6.25/hr. My partner had been there for years before me and knew all the ins and outs of milking the clock. Out of a potential 30 hydrants a day, we painted maybe 6. It was awesome. So easy. I fell into the groove of his lead. Work was simple. ** Fast forward to my mid 20's, I had held down a job for 3 years. I was fantastic at it, but was being passed up for promotions to manager over and over again.
• Manager: "Jim, you have a passion for this job. You put in a good effort when you are here, but it's only when you are here. You never return calls to pick up shifts when someone else is sick and you often have excuses for why you can't make it here on time." I know I missed work every now and then, but it was never my fault, you know? I always had a valid reason to miss work. His reponse: "Whether it's your fault or not, you have to be here. Even if it was never your fault, whether it's you or anyone else, I will never promote someone I can't depend on."
• It's like a switch flipped in my head. I showed up early, stayed late, offered to cover shifts and I was promoted in no time. I was proud. I took my newly found ethic to other jobs. I rode a moped 8 miles to work in freezing temperatures for a whole winter season because my car died. I helped others with their work, even if it was outside of my duties. And I made sure I was never late again. I took pride in knowing that I hadn't taken a day off in several years, even with a broken ankle. One day I sliced my left palm wide open, passed out, went and got 12 stitches, then returned to work to finish out the day.
• I climbed the corporate ladders very quickly and it left a lot of people angry with me, like I was betraying them. I couldn't let it bother me though, I had to do what I had to to keep moving. I watched everyone else do their job. Do what they do but do it better. Do it faster. Do it more efficient. Walk with urgency, no meandering from one spot to another. Take two stairs at a time. Nothing or no one was going to hold me back anymore.
• After making it to VP of a $6 million a year company -- simply out of hard work, long hours, and a social life put on the back burner -- I looked at what was happening at the company and didn't see any reason why I couldn't do it too.
• I quit my job with $500 in my bank account. (I've never been good at saving, hence the petty $500) It was the scariest thing I've ever done. I registered my LLC, applied for an EIN, jumped through the hoops to get my state license, found a reasonable insurance plan, opened a bank account, and began going business to business, house to house, and trying to spread the word over Facebook. I set up a crappy website so people could find me on Google.
• My first couple of weeks were seriously rough. I collected scrap metal to make ends meet. My goal was to make $200/day to stay afloat. Some days I didn't make anything. I sold my car and bought a work van. I used my work van for everything -- going to the movies, grocery shopping, going out to dinner, attending funerals, work, everything.
• My first job came when someone found me on Craigslist. They wanted some cameras for their house. I landed my first job for $1,200. It felt incredible. I did it. I was addicted. It wasn't long after that someone else called. Boom, landed another. Then word of mouth started spreading. I was growing through my existing customer base and not cold calling anymore. I started posting pictures of my work on social media. I hired my first tech when another local company, a competitor, asked if I would do contract work for them because they didn't have enough staff to cover their workload. That kept us busy while I still focused on growing my own customer base.
• Then, out of the blue, an old friend from high school called me and said he saw my posts on Facebook and asked if I was looking for work. He set up an appointment for me to meet with some people at his company and I started installing data drops for them. A couple here, a couple there, nothing too big. I was still hustling to earn anything. But my quick pace and attention to detail impressed them.
• It also helped that I didn't have as much overhead as my competitors so I could offer lower prices. Then my big break came -- they wanted to install security cameras throughout their warehouse. We discussed it over a 3 month period and after many free appointments and site surveys, and feeling like I was just spinning my wheels and wasting resources, I landed an $84,000 job with them. That's when I hired a second tech.
• After that the business started piling up. Word of mouth began spreading exponentially. By the end of last summer I had a three-month backlog, which is fantastic in this industry. Some other customer or vendor would visit a site that I worked on and would ask who did their cameras/alarm/access control/etc...
• I also signed up with a service called HomeAdvisor. They provide qualified leads and connect me with customers. Work from them isn't guaranteed though. I still have to visit the site, talk with the customer, and win the bid. I'd say 15% of my work comes from there. A local restaurant chain with 6 locations found me through this service. My first service call for them earned me just $175. My second was a mere $90. After I blew their expectations twice in a row by delivering superior service and even providing detailed site maps that I made up to help myself, they offered me the opportunity to update their camera equipment at each location. That job went for $18,900.
• *Insurance problems: * My insurance company dropped me in September because I was offering too many services and they couldn't find an underwriter to fit my needs. That was a big deal because a) everyone worthwhile asks to see an insurance certificate and b) my state license requires I have it without a lapse in coverage. I finally found a policy but it was over three times the cost of my previous one. That was a hard hit.
• Taxes: I'm learning new information about how to handle my taxes every day. Yearly versus quarterly, that I have to pay monthly sales tax to the state, individual or S Corp...it just goes on and on. I felt like it was a never ending jungle of nasty surprises.
• Expenses: There were other hefty expenses along the way like tools, uniforms, marketing materials, and vehicle repairs. I had to replace ball joints, tie rods, and brakes on my cargo van one weekend in the rain because I had a big job planned for the following week that I couldn't miss. Another time I ended up needing 10-ply tires which cost me almost $1,400 for the set. I was blowing through money faster than I ever had in my life. It was disorienting and stressful trying to keep track of everything coming in and going out.
• Difficulty: People will tell you that running a business is the hardest thing you'll ever do. That you'll work 24 hours a day. And that it will turn you inside out. That is all 100% true. I had to put off my friends, make last minute service calls in the middle of the night, drive an hour to lock up a site that my staff forgot to, answer phone calls while on a ladder, and talk on two phones simultaneously. After my regular work day was done, I'd have to go home and do paperwork until I fell alseep. My girlfriend and I rarely spent any time together. I missed out on birthday parties for my cousins. I even skipped a family vacation because I just couldn't fit in.
• Payoff: BUT...but, it is all worth it. Never once have I regretted it. The best I can liken it to is having a kid -- you'll lose sleep, you'l be exhausted, it'll burn a hole in your wallet, and it'll leave you just a shell of what you once were -- but because it's something that you created, you have a deep love for it and none of that stuff matters. It is NOTHING like working long hours for someone else.

Being my own boss is the most rewarding thing I've ever experienced. I couldn't imagine ever going back to work for someone. It does have its downsides too -- like my staff complaining that I make bad scheduling decisions, that they shouldn't have to work out in the cold, or that it's like slavery that I ask them to complete a task in full before they clock out for the day. It's just like what I used to say about my bosses. Now I see it from the other side. Everything is done for a reason, even if they don't see it. Every dollar spent is crucial and wasting it is literally taking food from my table. I feel like I have to fight with them constantly to keep them on task. Funny, just today one of them told me he isn't coming into work because he is too mentally exhausted at 11:00am after having to put on a spare tire and taking the other in to be patched. They cut out early yesterday because it was too cold out but didn't tell me until after they were both home. Situations like this make it very difficult to schedule new work. So I'm battling with finding new work AND my staff to make it all mesh, and they wonder why I'm short with them from time to time.

• Profit: All that being said, I was profitable last year, if only a little. But that's still awesome because most business do not turn a profit so quickly. I'm going to keep at it as long as I can so that I can achieve my goal of an early retirement.