Sometime very soon—maybe tomorrow, maybe
next week—I’ll hit “publish” on my 10,000th article. Even after typing that
number, I still shake my head. Ten thousand. That’s a lot of early morning
coffee, 4:00 AM edits, cross-country travel, factory tours, open houses,
modular sets, conferences, conversations, and yes—more than a few aching
fingers on the keyboard. Some weeks I publish a modest eleven or twelve pieces.
Other weeks I've passed twenty without even realizing I’d crossed that line.
It’s taken twenty-three years to get here, and if I start eating better and
moving a little more, I just might be able to squeeze out another ten thousand.
But before that milestone arrives, I want to
share how this journey—this unexpected second career—actually began.
The Accidental Beginning
Long before LinkedIn algorithms and curated newsletters,
before blogs and clicks and impressions, I was working at Signature Homes. Back
then, I wrote a simple little newsletter for my builders. Nothing fancy—just
what I had learned about new options we were offering, what I picked up in
conversations on job sites, or what other builders were experiencing. It was
meant to be helpful. It was meant to be human. That was the early 2000s.
When I retired in 2009, like so many others in that era, I
stepped out into a housing market that had fallen off a cliff. I wasn’t sure
what I was supposed to do next. Suddenly I had too much time and not enough
purpose. So, naturally, I tried to help out around the house.
That lasted one week.
Peg looked at me—lovingly, but firmly—and said something
every retired spouse recognizes instantly:
“Stop helping. Find something to do.”
So I did. I went back to the only thing that kept tugging at
me: writing.
There was no LinkedIn for publishing yet. The only digital
tools I had were Facebook and a worn-out email list from years in the modular
world. I dusted off Constant Contact, wrote an article, and sent it to everyone
I knew.
Within a year, 5,000 people were reading them.
The People Who Carried Me Forward
No writer ever truly walks alone, and I certainly didn’t. I
don’t have enough room—nor enough ink—to name everyone who helped shape this
journey. But a few names deserve to be said out loud because they helped me
find my voice and my footing when I wasn’t sure I had either.
My first mentor, the late and always-kind Jerry Rouleau,
set the tone for professionalism and generosity in this industry. Then came Vic
DePhillips, Ken Semler, Rob Ebbets, Scott Stroud, Bill
Murray, Tifanee McCall, Ben Hershey, Jean Lyons Lotus,
Anna Stamm, and truly thousands of others who offered insights,
ideas, encouragement, corrections, and friendship.
Every one of them helped build the writer I am today.
Still Energized at 78—Still Curious, Still Learning,
Still Writing
People sometimes ask when I plan to slow down. The short
answer is: I don’t feel the need. Today, at 78, I feel just as energized about
writing as I did more than two decades ago. In fact, I write more now than
ever—across three websites, two LinkedIn newsletters, and email newsletters
that reach thousands.
And somehow—against all logic—I now have a combined
following of nearly 50,000 people. I can’t begin to explain how humbling
that is.
I try to cover every corner of this industry. Yes, sometimes
I write about factory failures, companies that go under, and challenging truths
many would prefer stayed in the shadows. But I also write about the
breakthroughs, the innovators, the doers, the hard-won successes. The good, the
bad, the inspiring—it's all part of the same story. And my job is to help us
learn from it so we don’t repeat the mistakes that keep holding us back.
Occasionally someone emails to tell me I forgot to mention
something or someone—usually with a smile. All I can say is: I’m 78! Memory
comes with mileage.
A Simple but Sincere Thank You
What I really want to say is this:
Thank you. To everyone who has read, shared,
corrected, challenged, encouraged, debated, or simply followed along—thank you
for allowing me into your day, your inbox, your factory, your conference room,
your conversations.
Writing has given me a second life I never expected, and you
have been part of it every step of the way.
A New Chapter Begins
And because I never know when to stop, I recently launched
an improved version of my Offsite Straight Talk Newsletter. It now includes not
only my articles but more than a dozen carefully curated stories, videos, data
points, and industry surveys from leading sources across the world of offsite
construction.
If article number 10,000 is around the corner, article
10,001 won’t be far behind.
Thank you for taking this journey with me. The best stories are still ahead.
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