10/05/2026
10 years ago today…
I was running around like a crazy person making sure everything was ready.
Insurance = check.
License = check.
Software = check.
Chemicals = check.
Equipment = check.
Called the handful of customers we had to confirm their appointments = check.
Office set up for my wife (and our newborn son) = check.
Nerves = check, check, CHECK.
Here we go…
We’re starting a business.
I really had no idea what the next 10 years would look like. I just knew we had to get up the next morning, take care of our customers, work hard, and figure it out as we went.
Fast forward to today — exactly 10 years later.
Team meeting = check.
Meeting with our manager about interviews = check.
Job offer to a new technician = check.
Paychecks for the team = check.
Follow-ups on proposals from last week = check.
New proposals sent = check.
LED lighting upgrade contractor = check.
Truck purchase evaluation = check.
Schedule updates = check.
And somewhere in the middle of today, it hit me…
This is what we were building 10 years ago.
Back then, we were trying to get everything together just to take care of a handful of customers.
Today, we’re building a team, creating jobs, buying trucks, improving our facility, pursuing new opportunities, serving customers all across North Alabama, and planning for what comes next.
There have been some incredible highs over these 10 years — and there have been some really hard seasons too. We’ve made mistakes. We’ve learned. We’ve changed. We’ve grown. And there were certainly days when owning a business wasn’t nearly as exciting as it sounded 10 years ago.
But God has been faithful through every bit of it.
I’m thankful for every customer who took a chance on us, every employee who has helped build this company, every person who has referred us, encouraged us, prayed for us, and supported our family along the way.
And I’m especially thankful for my wife, who was sitting in that first little office with our newborn son while we took this leap together.
Ten years ago, the checklist was about starting a business.
Today, the checklist is about leading one.
What a journey.
Happy 10th Anniversary, Defense Pest Solutions.
We’re grateful for the first 10 years.
Now it’s time to build the next 10.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…” — Colossians 3:23