September 14, 2025 – Daily Recap

This morning’s “big mission” was glamorous in the way only small biz life can be: returning a generator to Home Depot. That’s it. That was the whole agenda. The good news? They don’t open until 8 a.m., which meant I scored an extra hour of sleep. Honestly, I might have needed that more than the generator itself.

The return was quick, painless, and still somehow annoying—because these little post-event errands always are.

The Hidden Cost of Nick Nacks

Here’s the thing: when you’re the owner-operator, it’s easy to brush off these “quick” tasks. A run here, a pickup there. No big deal, right?

But add up the time, gas, wear and tear, and you start realizing—this stuff doesn’t really show up in the margin calculations. If I had to pay someone else to do a Sunday morning generator return, it would suddenly feel like real money.

The Great Generator Experiment

Funny enough, I actually tried to price myself out of this rental. I saw Home Depot charging $70 and figured, let me quote $110. Surely, the client will notice the markup and go handle it themselves.

Nope. They said yes. And when the dust settled, taxes and fees dragged my cost up to $105. My margin? Basically nonexistent. Or in the words of Jay-Z: “You lost one.”

Lesson learned.

Until next time
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