The End of an Era
In 1989 I shared with my brothers a great honor, being named
"Entrepreneurs of the Year" by the Muskegon Area Economic and Growth
Alliance. We were presented the award before lunch at the Muskegon
Country Club, (`wish I had a photo). Not many individuals ever experience
such an honor and I am greatful to be so fortunate.
But having reached this level of success, and after working as a partner
with my brothers for 10 years, I decided to quit and start my own
business. And that is what I did. On the first day of 1990, (a nice round
number) I started a business that I named "Daniel B. Mills". It was a sole
proprietorship which I ran for 3 years.
So here I am running said business. I took on enormous responsibility and
worked very hard. I started out small, but grew to where I employed more
than 20 people (on a contract basis) at any one time. It was rewarding but
had drawbacks. These became more apparent after I got married and became a
step father to 4 boys.
I am very proud here to have my new signs painted up and displayed. My
truck is a rolling billboard. I am in my driveway here. Soon after this
photo was taken I had a large warehouse and two more trucks.
I loved being "my own schmuck", but I found it hard to "leave it at the
office". I lived there! I couldn't go home from it because I was already
there (Dahh?) The phone would ring and I would answer it. Midnight
conferences were not uncommon. For the most part though, I enjoyed it.