I started working in a rope mill when I was 7 years old. I worked with my aunt running a rope machine and she paid me out of her pocket. When I graduated from high school, I went to work at Crowe Rope in Warren Me. I was given the hourly rate of $3 an hour and my dad told me if I could do every job in the factory he would give me a raise. I spend the next 20 years learning and doing every job in the entire company except accounting, DP, and maintenance. I could run the machines, drive the forklift and manage every factory he owned. I could make any type of rope, cordage or twine and knew how to make it right. After 15 years in manufacturing I was moved into sales. I was a part of the team that grew to the company from a million dollars in sales to 35 million in sales. The more I learned the more responsibility he gave me. Eventually I was the president and sales manager. In 1995, he sold the company due to offshore competition and government regulations. We had over 600 people and 12 factories in 8 different locations in Maine at that time. I moved to Texas and got out of the rope business for about 10 years. I was a sales manager at a car dealership. When I got sober in 2008 I switched to furniture and soon became a sales manager for a privately owned furniture store. in 2010, I started making and selling rope mats while still managing a furniture store full time. I did this until 2017 when I gave up the job and devoted all my time to the mat business.