I thought I was smart. I built Contractor Training Center from nothing into a nationally dominant brand in just 5 years. We scaled to multi-millions, dominated our market, and I eventually sold the business. By every measure, it was a massive success. Then I sold it to one of the largest Private Equity groups for almost 8-figures.

But here's what I didn't realize until years later: I did it the hardest way possible.

I was working 80-hour weeks, personally involved in every decision, and had built a business that completely depended on me. Every process was manual. Every system required my input. Every decision flowed through me. I had created a job for myself, not a business.

Don't get me wrong - the business was profitable and successful. But I was trapped inside my own creation.

Then I discovered AI.

Not the flashy stuff you see in the news, but practical AI that can actually run business operations. I realized that systems I spent years building manually could now be built in weeks. Decisions I made personally could be automated based on my criteria. Processes that required constant oversight could run independently.

The revelation hit me like a ton of bricks: What took me 5 years to build through pure hustle and manual systems, AI could have helped me build in 6 months.

But more importantly, it would have given me something I never had as a founder - freedom.

That's when I partnered with Rick Ables to create Build and Scale, and developed what we call the AI Operating System. It's not about replacing humans with robots. It's about creating systems that think and act like you, but scale infinitely without burning you out.