Part 2 How I took my excavation company full time, at 20yo

@dkdirtworks

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Promoted product

DK Dirt Works

Texas' Trusted Excavation and Land Clearing Company. — Serving homeowners, ranchers, and developers across Texas with full-service excavation and land clearing.

Why it worked

The video resonated with viewers by showcasing a relatable journey of entrepreneurship, emphasizing hard work, strategic financial decisions, and a clear progression from renting to owning essential equipment, which is a common aspiration for those in trades.

Summary

The creator shares how he transitioned his excavation company to full-time operation at the age of 20. He details his early strategy of working for a smaller company to learn the trade, taking on side jobs, and strategically renting equipment before he could afford to purchase his own truck, trailer, and skid steer.

Structure

1Starting from scratch without equipment
2Learning the trade by working for others
3Taking on side jobs and renting equipment
4Strategically purchasing essential equipment

Original caption

I didn’t buy my way into the excavation business. I built my way into it. 👀👇 After graduating high school, I left the company I was working for and went to a smaller excavation company. 👍 I knew I wanted to start my own business, so I wanted to learn the type of work I’d eventually be doing myself. 🏗️👇 After about 6 months, I started taking on small jobs of my own. 🚀 The only problem? 😂👇 I didn’t own a truck, trailer, or skid steer. So I rented equipment and paid someone to haul it to and from every job. 💰👍 Then I started building piece by piece. 🧱👇 🚛 Truck ➡️ Trailer 🏗️ Skid steer About 6 months apart. 👀 No massive debt. Just reinvesting and building the business one piece at a time. 💪🔥 And this is where things really started to take off… 🚀👇 PART 3 👀 How I took DK Dirt Works full time. #excavation #dirtwork #construction #entrepreneur #SmallBusiness

More from @dkdirtworks

On-screen text

Part 2 How I took my excavation company full time, at 20yo OLD. AND SO I WANNA START DID NOT START WITH A TRUCK, A TRAILER OR STEER. UH, THAT WOULD HAVE PROCESS A LOT EASIER ON ME. UM, BUT HERE'S HOW I GOT THOSE THINGS. HIGH SCHOOL, GRADUATED, I LEFT THE COMPANY KEIWIT, BUILDING HIGHWAYS THAT I WAS WORKING FOR. I KNEW THAT I NEED TO LEARN WHAT ACTUALLY PERTAINS TO ME AND WHAT I WANT TO DO, LIKE HOUSE PADS, DRIVEWAYS, STUFF LIKE THAT. SO I STARTED WORKING FOR A SMALLER EXCAVATION COMPANY. PRO TIP. AND I LEARNED A LOT. BUT ABOUT SIX MONTHS INTO WORKING WITH THIS COMPANY, I STARTED DOING SIDE JOBS. I KNEW I OWN COMPANY. AND SO HERE'S WHAT I WOULD DO. CAUSE I DIDN'T I DIDN'T HAVE A SKID STEER. I WOULD RENT A SKID STEER AND I WOULD PAY SOMEONE TO THE RENTAL SKID STEER TO DROP IT JOB SITE. THIS HAPPENED FOR LIKE THE FIRST 10, 15 PROJECTS I EVER DID. UM, I LOOK SO GOOFY DOING IT. UM, BUT ONE THING THAT HELPED ME OUT TONS WAS I BUILT MY, MY BUSINESS VERY, VERY PRECISELY IN PIECES. SO THIS IS IS THAT I A LOT OF DEBT STARTING OFF. UM, ABOUT 6 MONTHS INTO WORKING WITH THIS COMPANY, I WENT, UM, REALLY MORE CLOSE, LIKE 8 MONTHS. AND I BOUGHT MY FORD F3 50 FLATBED DOOLEY. PAID CASH FOR IT. UM, SIX MONTHS AFTER THAT, I WENT AND BOUGHT A TRAILER, PAY CASH FOR IT. AND THEN, UM, REALLY, PROBABLY ABOUT FOUR OR SIX MONTHS AFTER THAT, I WENT AND I FINANCED MY SKID STEER. UM, BUT REALLY, THE WHOLE ENTIRE TIME, UM, AFTER I BOUGHT MY TRUCK, I STILL RENTED THE SKID STEER AND TRAILER. I RENTED THE A YEAR AND A HALF. AND MY BUDDIES ARE THAT'S SO DUMB. YOU'RE THROWING MONEY OUT THE WINDOW. I'M PUTTING THE PROOF IN THE PUDDING. MAKE THIS BUSINESS HAPPEN WITH A RENTAL, I CAN SURE IT HAPPEN WHENEVER AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'VE DONE. UM, AND SO, JUST MADE IT WORK FOR MYSELF. UM, AFTER ABOUT A HALF WORKING OR YEAH, AFTER ABOUT A THIS COMPANY, UM, I WAS DOING SO MANY SIDE JOBS ON THE WEEKENDS, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, WEEKNIGHTS. WAS WORKING SEVEN 24 HOURS A DAY. DIDN'T REALLY GET ANY SLEEP. UM, I WAS GRINDING, UM, WHAT I WANTED GONNA MAKE IT HAPPEN. THAT'S WHAT I'M STILL DOING. UM, BUT ULTIMATELY GOT MAKING MORE MONEY ON THE WEEKENDS DURING THE WEEK. WAS MY SIGN I NEED TO FULL TIME. MAY 30TH, 2025. UH, QUIT MY COMPANY. AND YOU KNOW, HERE WE ARE, A LITTLE OVER AND WE'RE KILLING THANKS TO THE UP WHOLE BUNCH

Transcript

I'm a 21-year-old business owner. And this is part number two of how I took my excavation company full time at 20 years old. And so, first things first, I wanna start with this. I did not start with a truck, a trailer or brand new skid steer. Uh, that would have made this whole process a lot easier on me. Um, but here's how I got those things. Right after high school, graduated, I left the company Kiwit, building highways that I was working for. I knew that I need to learn what actually pertains to me and what I want to do, like house pads, driveways, stuff like that. So I started working for a smaller excavation company. Pro tip. And I learned a lot. But about six months into working with this company, I started doing side jobs. I knew I own company. And so here's what I would do. Cause I didn't, I didn't have a skid steer. I would rent a skid steer and I would pay someone to the rental skid steer to drop it job site. This happened for like the first 10, 15 projects I ever did. Um, I look so goofy doing it. Um, but one thing that helped me out tons was I built my, my business very, very precisely in pieces. So this is, is that I, a lot of debt starting off. Um, about six months into working with this company, I went, um, really more close, like eight months. And I bought my Ford F-350 flatbed dooley. Paid cash for it. Um, six months after that, I went and bought a trailer, pay cash for it. And then, um, really, probably about four or six months after that, I went and I financed my skid steer. Um, but really, the whole entire time, um, after I bought my truck, I still rented the skid steer and trailer. I rented the skid steer for like a year and a half. And my buddies are, that's so dumb. You're throwing money out the window. I told him, man, I'm putting the proof in the pudding. If I can make this business happen with a rental, I can sure make it happen whenever I buy my own. And that's exactly what I've done. Um, and so, just made it work for myself. Um, after about a year and a half working or yeah, after about a year and a half working for this company, um, I was doing so many side jobs on the weekends, Saturday, Sunday, weeknights. Was working seven 24 hours a day. Didn't really get any sleep. Um, I was grinding, um, what I wanted gonna make it happen. That's what I'm still doing. Um, but ultimately got making more money on the weekends during the week. Was my sign I need to full time. May 30th, 2025. Uh, quit my company. And you know, here we are, a little over and we're killing thanks to the up whole bunch