I loved my brother, but he was cocky about his business abilities.
He started his own contracting business when he was only eight.
He had a hammer and some nails, and he helped kids repair their toys. From repairing toys, he went to making them, and then he started repairing furniture. When he turned eighteen, he started working on homes, and his name as a top general contractor was all over by the time he was thirty. He would build anything from chicken coops to homes, and he always did it to perfection. No one questioned his skills when they saw the lovely woodworking he did in his home. He took an old mansion that had been knocked off his foundation during a flood and turned it into a showplace. He brought my younger brother into the business with him and they were unstoppable. As general contractors, my older brother did the building, while my younger brother did the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. They were quite a crew, even when working alone. I was proud of both of them, but good things always have an end. When my older brother, who was the lead the general contractor, got sick, they had to dissolve their company. My younger brother still worked, but he was no longer a general contractor. He called himself a jack-of-all-trades and started working for himself. Although he no longer calls himself a general contractor, he still gets calls from some people he and my other brother worked for. They remember what amazing work they did and want him to do more work for him.