What am I doing!

 

My life and identity were wrapped up in this craft. But lately I’ve been asking myself—why did I choose this path? What was I chasing? What made me different? What did I actually bring to the table? And more importantly… what did I miss out on?

Was I a great husband? A good partner? Or was I letting my stress become theirs?

I chose this craft because we grew up poor. The housing we had was okay—nothing fancy—but it was the best my parents could manage. Still, I wanted more for us. Each move we made, the housing got better. But we were also that family with plastic on the couches. Things were simpler then, and now looking back, I see just how incredible my parents were. They worked hard and gave my brother and me more than enough.

Fast forward to running a business—where sleepless nights and anxiety became routine. Knowing my numbers only made it worse. I saw the truth: things weren’t going well. Hiring help? Usually a waste. They couldn’t keep up or folded under pressure. And many quickly realized that restoration work was far harder than it looked—I just made it seem easy. I guess that means there’s real skill in what I do.

Getting work was never the problem. Getting paid was. Too many “Richards” out there—and let’s just say they lived up to their nickname, if you catch my drift.

Eventually I started to see that a lot of “successful” businesses weren’t that successful at all. And I had to ask—why keep pushing, why stay burned out, just to fall out of love with the very thing I gave my life to?

That’s when it hit me—my life, my partner, and my time are more important than reopening a shop and living buried under tools and bills.

My craft doesn’t define me. Legacy? That’s BS—Phil Lowe told me that himself just days before he passed.

Because no matter how many hundreds of clients you treat like gold, it only takes one cactus to paint you as a hack.

Today, business ownership feels overrated. I’d rather work as an employee, come home to my shop, and make beautiful things for my family—to enjoy them, use them, and live with them every day.

And that, my friends, is exactly what I’m doing.

Cheers.