Every Square Inch
Making the most out of every piece of land
We live in a country of waste: of one-use packaging, plastic-loving mayhem. I never would label myself a conservationist per se, but when it comes to maximizing the land I own, I suppose I am. In a use-every-square-inch-since-you-get-squeezed-by-property-taxes sort of way. Like, that-patch-of-grass-could-earn-me-money-and-it’s-worth-a-hell-of-a-lot-of-work-to-get-here way.
Let me tell you about how the most beautiful electrical box you have ever seen come to be. You might have thought I was going to tell you about the shaved ice trailer known as RetroSno that made its home in a patch of grass seemingly useful to no one, but that is just how the story ends. It was the getting there that matters.
You see, maximizing the land you own is a lot like being a parent. You pay for its living expenses and keep it out of trouble, but it really cannot reach its potential without some loving guidance.
“YOU, little triangle of grass, you can be more!”
For me, that loving guidance came by way of bringing power and water to the most unlikely of places. Being the “use every square inch” kind of person I am means that I tend to be on the parsimonious side of the fence … I’m a little tight with money to lay it all out there. And when that $3,000 quote for a power box came in to bring my fledgling grass triangle into its full enterprising potential, I decided to figure out just what it would take to do it myself.
So I did. I DIY-ed my way through power installation, permitting, even picking out my own gorgeous pole with its accompanying power box. I sat on hold with Duke Energy for more than 20 hours because, by then, my grass patch was going places with its new tenant, RetroSno. It took strings and connections to finally get the power turned on, and then I realized where that $3,000 quote of work came from.
But now, looking at the electrical box I made happen and the resulting business flourishing on my previously inconceivable no-man’s-land corner of the world … I am so damn proud. It is emblematic of all the work I have ever done as an everyday hustler.
The work ultimately wasn’t that hard but the know-how was priceless. And I have come to learn know-how can never really be fully achieved on your own.
Any project of this sort is never done in a vacuum. I may be a lone wolf entrepreneur, but I have come to understand the extreme power of the right relationships with the right people. Like Shane, my go-to get-it-done guy. (Sidenote: My husband’s name also happens to be Shane. I’m pretty fond of each. They both make my world go round for different reasons.)
Work Shane is a water/plumbing/laundromat/dirt/poop expert. In my line of work, these are the essentials. He is literally a Godsend. His strengths are my weaknesses. Thankfully there are literally infinite poop jokes, so there are always laughs even in the worst of situations.
Most people assume “commercial developers” like me are white collar office people who haven’t seen a dirty work day since their childhood. They forget or don’t understand the gritty, dirty, and smelly jobs associated with the rental biz or the laundromats. They forget we are literally the ones picking out power poles and learning just how many amps are needed to run a small snow cone operation.
It isn’t one bit glamorous but it is real life. And in my line of work turning patches of grass into someone’s livelihood, real life is just what we do.
