Introducing The Hard Way

What the heck is “The Hard Way”?

To introduce “The Hard Way”: it’s not coasting through life; rather, it’s being intentional with our time and actions, and gritting our teeth to persevere for a great final product. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

The Hard Way

Before The Hard Way

Josh started his adult career by studying Construction Management in college. He spent his summers working for his family’s earth moving business and then joined them full-time after graduation. This career led to working long hours in the summer. Once the South Dakota winter are over, this usually means sunrise to sunset.

I studied Civil Engineering in college. After graduation, my new job as a structural engineer near Minneapolis took me away from my family to pursue this career.

Both of these jobs were taxing in their own respects. Josh worked long hours and didn’t have spare time for much other than eating and sleeping. My career path to become a structural engineer was a challenging field of study in a highly male-dominated field. Tons of math, formulas, equations.

We both had grit though. Josh loved to move dirt and I loved math. Plain and simple. We pursued these challenges and put the metaphorical tools in our toolbelts.

Life Changes During COVID

Along with the majority of the country, my work went completely remote during COVID. Josh was still working his crazy hours with the construction company. We were planning to get married later that spring, but with all the uncertainty of COVID we decided to get married earlier than initially planned.

Not only was all the bouncing around in heavy equipment starting to take a toll on Josh’s back, but we never got to see each other even though we were newlyweds! Later that fall, Josh switched careers from his family’s construction business (an incredibly hard decision for him) and got a remote job as well.

The Start of The Hard Way

Since we were both working remote, we were no longer tied down to our Midwestern roots. We loved traveling together, so we brainstormed how to make that happen.

The Easy Way

Buy a house, spend your life dreaming about using your PTO for dream vacations. If you’re adventurous, maybe buy an RV or camper.

The Hard Way

Buy an empty shell of a vehicle and turn it into a home.

Seems much more rewarding right?

This mindset changed our lives.

man and woman stand in front of a school bus

Since we decided to chase after our dreams, we haven’t looked back. We bought a bus and spent two years converting it into our dream home on wheels. We videotaped and took pictures of as much as possible to share our knowledge with you.