Business has always been my classroom.
I didn't come from Silicon Valley. I grew up in North Idaho.
I've cleaned construction sites, delivered newspapers, worked temporary jobs, and spent ten years managing shipping and logistics for a large electronics manufacturer. That's where I learned lean manufacturing, logistics, and how thousands of tiny decisions shape the health of a business.
Even today I still catch myself counting steps in a warehouse or rearranging shelves because I know small improvements compound over time.
I've always believed that efficiency isn't about moving faster — it's about removing unnecessary work.
Then I started building.
After leaving manufacturing, I simply kept saying yes to opportunities.
I helped start a video production company despite never editing professionally before. Within months I was editing full-time for organizations like United Way and businesses throughout our community.
Later I began selling on eBay, which eventually led me to military patches. What started as helping my grandfather sell patches grew into Popular Patch. Over time I was able to purchase the business, help my grandfather and uncle retire, and continue building what they started.
One piece of advice from my grandfather has stayed with me.
Keep it simple.
I didn't always listen.
Today I believe it more than ever.
Simple systems are almost always the strongest systems, and that philosophy influences everything I build.
I've always been obsessed with better systems.
Long before AI, I was already looking for better ways to work.
I can't seem to help it.
I'll rearrange an entire warehouse if it saves a few unnecessary steps. I'll rethink a workflow because someone has to click one too many times. I'll spend an evening experimenting with software just to see if there's a better way.
Some people love technology.
I love efficiency.
Technology just happens to be one of the best tools I've ever found to create it.
Today I spend a lot of time exploring AI — not because it's trendy, but because it has become the most powerful tool I've ever used for solving the kinds of operational problems I've been fascinated by my entire career.
When a new model, tool, or automation platform is released, I usually can't wait to take it apart, understand it, and see whether it can genuinely save someone time.
Most of the time, the answer is no. Sometimes the answer changes everything.
That's the difference I'm looking for.
I'm not trying to use AI everywhere. I'm trying to use it only where it actually makes work better.
Why CDA Partner exists
AI didn't suddenly make me interested in business.
It removed the handcuffs.
For years I'd think, "Someone should build a tool that does this."
Now I can.
Today I use AI every day inside my own businesses — not for demonstrations or presentations, but for real work.
Managing products. Customer communication. Marketing. Purchasing. Operations. Writing. Organization.
If one of those systems breaks, my own businesses feel it immediately.
That's why I believe in practical systems instead of impressive demos.
CDA Partner exists because I realized local business owners are fighting many of the same repetitive problems I've already solved inside my own companies.
What I'm really building
I love business.
I love solving problems.
I love building things.
I love finding the extra five steps everyone else walks without noticing.
I'm the person who will rearrange an entire warehouse because I found a shorter path between tape, labels, and shipping boxes.
Small improvements become hours.
Hours become freedom.
That's what I'm really trying to build.
Not AI.
Freedom.
The freedom to spend more time serving customers.
The freedom to be present with your family.
The freedom to leave work at work.
The freedom to build a business that serves your life instead of consuming it.
A little more about me
I grew up in Spirit Lake and graduated from Mountain View High School in Rathdrum. I've spent most of my adult life in Coeur d'Alene, where my wife and I are raising our four kids.
When I'm not working you'll usually find me outside — road biking, camping, hiking, or enjoying everything North Idaho has to offer.
A few years ago I contracted Lyme disease, and for nearly a year it completely changed my pace of life. Recovering gave me a new perspective.
Business still matters deeply to me.
But today I care even more about why we build businesses in the first place.
To make the soccer game.
To be home for dinner.
To take a Tuesday afternoon off because your family needs you.
To build something that gives you options instead of taking them away.
That's ultimately why I started CDA Partner.
Because I believe better systems don't just create more efficient businesses.
They create more present owners, stronger families, and more freedom to live the life you were trying to build in the first place.
For me, business has never been about building the biggest company. It's about building the freedom to spend your time on what matters most. If I can help another business owner find a little more of that freedom, then CDA Partner is doing exactly what I hoped it would.
