Who or what is your inspiration in business?

My customers. I developed the idea for S and M Cranes in 2017 when the Permian Basin was still in a historic downturn. Nobody was handing out opportunities, so I T-Boon'ed one. If I had to name a person, it's every one-truck operator who slept in their vehicle and showered at truck stops using fuel credits for three months to meet an unfulfilled need. The oil field doesn't care about much. But it cares whether you show up, whether your equipment works, and whether your paperwork is straight.

How do you stay motivated?

I employ good people whose families depend on me. That'll keep you pretty gott dan motivated. Beyond that, I'm obsessed with building systems that let a small company compete with the majors. I taught myself Microsoft 365 automation, built our entire digital infrastructure, and pioneered a technical blog called Crane Time because nobody in this industry is talking about operations at that level. Motivation isn't the hard part. The hard part is staying solvent long enough.

What would you do with the $25,000?

Put it directly into getting from where we are to where the major players want us. That is, upgraded safety and compliance tech that wins us contracts with fractionator facilities who require best-in-class documentation, and marketing that gets our trend-setting brand in front of decision-makers across the Permian Basin. $25K won't change much, but it'll accelerate what I'm already building by about seven years.