Happy belated Independence Day!

I'm offline on vacation this week with my family in Illinois -- and for the first time in 10 years, I'm not working on the trip at all.

This trip will be 100% vacation and family time (... except for ONE amazing interview just for fun with my first boss at the garden center where I worked in high school that you'll have to tune in to see in the coming weeks).

Ten years may seem like a long time -- but I know others who have and will go longer. Running a business and getting to the point where you can vacation (or mainly, getting out of your own way of going on vacation) can take a while.

But you know what - I'm stoked. I love what I'm doing.

Why did you start your business?

I'll bet you were good at something and didn't like working for other people.

I recently interviewed a guy named Pete Clare who runs Turkey Trot Acres, a turkey hunting lodge in central New York that he runs with his wife, Sherry. Turkey Trot Acres is a magical place.

Pete's story reminds me why I started Ramblin Jackson. I saw a problem I wanted to fix in the marketplace. And I just went and did it and worked like hell to build the business.

Pete literally cut down trees and used them to build his entire lodge by hand!

What a guy! No prior construction experience -- just went out, bought some tools, chopped down some trees, took the trees to the saw mill, figured it out, and built this incredible lodge and business by hand with his wife and the help of some friends.

 

Since then, he's expanded it to include wedding receptions, special events, and even a concert hall.

Watch my interview with Pete to see
- the oldest oak tree I've ever seen - planted around the Civil War!

- how Pete continually finds additional little revenue streams for his business

- a tour inside and out Turkey Trot Acres

- which famous country side to the Grateful Dead played at Turkey Trot for 10 years in a row and recorded

Jack Jostes

CEO
Ramblin Jackson