I’m Toby Surber—a guy who went from knowing nothing about business to building Ad Astra Softwash from scratch. Seven years ago, I was searching YouTube for side hustle ideas when I stumbled onto softwashing. Something about it just made sense. Two weeks later, I was on a plane to Florida to get certified, and within a month, I was knocking on doors in Kansas City with my first pressure washer.

What drives me isn’t just cleaning—it’s solving the puzzle of how to build something lasting. Those early days taught me everything: how to price jobs when you’re just starting out, why customer service matters more than equipment, and when to trust your gut over conventional wisdom. I still remember my first commercial client—an assisted living facility that took three grueling days to complete. Walking away from that job, seeing the transformation we’d created, that’s when I knew this was more than a side gig.

Today, I’m obsessed with the art of entrepreneurship itself—the kind of hands-on business wisdom you only get by doing the work. How to train a team that cares as much as you do. Why meticulous job tracking separates the pros from the amateurs. When to reinvest versus when to play it safe. Ad Astra Softwash became my classroom, and now I want to share those hard-won lessons with others building service businesses.

Sure, we clean properties better than anyone in Kansas City—but what really matters is proving that with enough grit and curiosity, anyone can turn a YouTube idea into a thriving business.