As many have pointed out, I know it's a ridiculous AI photo...that's the point 🙃

Side note, AI photos are hilarious sometimes!

AI and systems scale the business. But never lose the ability to walk next door. FUFU.

A conversation. A little creativity. And a handshake.

Scaling a business isn’t just boardrooms and spreadsheets. It’s resourcefulness. A title doesn’t open a store.

Every customer in his chair heard: “Go grab a coffee next door.” One handshake solved a problem… …and built a marketing channel I didn’t plan.

But here’s what I didn’t expect… That barbershop became our #1 referral source.

We ran the line. Vendors got power. We stayed on schedule. Grand opening saved.

Went back. Owner laughed. Handshake. Deal done.

I told him to hold that thought and ran back. Turns out… A case of beer still closes deals on a job site. He was in.

And then it hit me… I hadn’t even asked my electrician.

Barbershop next door. Also under construction. I pitched the owner: “Let us run power from your panel. I’ll pay your electric bill for 30 days + free coffee for your crew.”

We were staring at weeks of delay and thousands in extra costs. I could’ve escalated it. Lawyers. Emails. Blame. Instead… I walked next door.

No power = • No equipment testing • No internet • No staff training And if you know utility companies… You’re not speeding that up.

That mistake almost cost us our opening. Several weeks before training was to start… We realized: We had ZERO power.

I had just gone from GC → Developer. Title went to my head a little. So I made a dangerous assumption: “I’m sure the utility paperwork is handled.” I didn’t check.

The barbershop next door saved the opening of our first Scooter’s Coffee. And it happened because I broke my own rule: FUFU — Follow Up or F*ck Up.

Through BraveHart, we bridge Physical Dirt with Digital Efficiency. Moving forward, I’m sharing the raw reality: • The "FUFU" rule (Follow Up or F*ck Up) • The 1-Player Game mindset • Why I don't have "employees" No corporate fluff. Just the grit. Let's build. #FUFU

In 2004, I was a 22-year-old dad and an Assitant Manager at Walmart. By 25, I was one of the youngest GM's in Best Buy history. Since then, I’ve scaled multi-unit businesses across the Heartland—from 14 Scooter’s Coffee locations in Wisconsin, to Hawaiian Bros locations in Iowa.

I’ve spent 22 years in the trenches—from the Walmart floor to the boardrooms of Choice and IHG Hotels—and I’ve mostly kept my mouth shut. That changes today. I'm done building in silence. Here is the blueprint. 🧵👇