The Day I Got Fired — and Started My Own Elevator Company

 I didn’t expect to be fired. Ever.
In fact, I thought I was finally where I was supposed to be.

I’d worked my entire life to earn that seat.

I started in the field as a teen — doing service, repairs, installs, adjustments. Learned every inch of the trade. Worked my way up through supervision and management, and eventually became the President of a local elevator company.

It wasn’t easy by any means. The company was in the red when I stepped in, and I spent the next eight months working day and night to turn it around. We finally hit profitability and things were looking up.

But the very next month, I was fired.

They brought in their son to run the business.

No warning. No thank you for all your hard work (even though that’d be pretty awkward to hear while being fired). They just said they were going in a different direction.

It was a punch in the gut honestly and came completely out of the blue.

The Hardest Conversation I’ve Ever Had

I came home to my wife, who had just left her job of 20+ years to support our son and give me the space to focus on work. She’d left her stability so I could chase mine.

And now I had to walk through the door and say, “Well, honey… guess what. You know how you just left your job? Well, your sister and I just got fired.”

I rehearsed this conversation in my head over and over on the drive home. I knew I couldn’t go in without a plan.

So, the following sentence that came out of my mouth during that conversation was, “How do you feel about starting an elevator company?”

Understandably, she was shocked. But she didn’t flinch. She just said, “Let’s do it.”

That was all I needed to hear.

Starting From Nothing (Literally)

I’d fought to keep the job at first, so the owner let me hang onto the company truck and stay on payroll for a few weeks while they “figured things out.”

I had no intention of sticking around, but that time gave me a window to get my plan in motion.

I started knocking on bank doors, one after another.
Got turned down by 12 of them. 12 stone-cold no’s.

Finally, the 13th said yes.

I had good credit, so I opened 10 credit cards with $10,000+ limits and used them to cover startup expenses. Not exactly textbook business financing, but we were already risk-takers at this point, so why not?

And just like that — it was me, my wife, and her sister, starting Madden Elevator Company.

We had no investors and not a clue where this thing would go. We held onto our grit, trust, and the belief that we could build something better than any other elevator company out there.

Redirection Over Rejection

Getting fired hurt — there’s no question about it.
But looking back, it was also the pivotal moment I didn’t know I needed at the time.

If that door hadn’t slammed shut, I might still be working for someone else and helping them chase their vision instead of building my own.

It taught me that rejection can mean redirection if you let it.
And that sometimes, the only way to realize your potential is to be forced to bet on yourself.

I could’ve been angry and resentful. I could have let someone else’s decision for my future define it for me. But I didn’t.

I got right back up after I got knocked down and started asking myself, “What’s next? What’s the plan? Where do we go from here?”

I can’t confidently say I would’ve started my own elevator company if that experience didn’t happen the way it did.

The Takeaway

If you’re staring down a setback right now like losing a job, a client, or a sense of control — take a breath. That moment might be tough in the moment, but there is always a possibility for something greater.

The best things I’ve ever built started when someone else thought I couldn’t do it.

Always bet on yourself. Where there is a will, there is a way, my friend!

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