“My wife’s first answer to my idea to start a hot sauce company was “No.”

So I’m like, “Okay, let me explain.”

I walked her through why and how I thought this business was going to work and that took some time because I had no experience operating a business.

I can have a tendency, I think, to jump into something and figure it out as I go along. Even so, I had a real desire to do this.

It was a very calculated risk but Courtney could feel that I was really into the idea. I wanted to show her that it wasn’t as big of a risk as she may have initially perceived."

"Lack of time was her initial hesitancy. I have work five days a week, and then school, plus schoolwork, and I need to make sure that I am finding time to keep the marriage a priority as well.

My goal starting out was to sell 100 bottles, so I told Courtney that once we hit 100 bottles, we're done. Clearly I didn’t stay true to my promise, but she’s still here — keeping me in balance every step of the way."

"Courtney’s been a guide for reining me in when I might be putting too much on my own plate. It's been awesome. Although, I think I'd be lying if I said I’ve never slipped.

We started Bee Hoss with $1000 and so far we haven’t had to put any more of our own money into the business account. So we've been able to see it growing, not by any extravagant measures… but to me it's a complete win.”