How I Went from Pushing Carts to Owning Businesses

Humble Beginnings in a New Country

I arrived in the United States from Haiti in 2013 with nothing but a suitcase and a heart full of hope. I spoke very little English and had no money or connections. Those early days were tough: I slept on a relative’s couch, ate one meal a day, and wondered if I had made a mistake coming here. But I remembered why I left Haiti – to find opportunity and build a better life. In my culture, we say, "Malere pa dezonè" – poverty is not shameful. In other words, there’s no shame in starting from the bottom as long as you have the willpower to climb up. With that mindset, I set out to find any work that would get me on my feet.

My very first job in America was pushing carts at a local supermarket. It was humble work – collecting shopping carts from the parking lot in the scorching sun and in the pouring rain. I was the new guy who barely understood the language, doing the job nobody else really wanted. Yet I was grateful. That cart pushing job was my foot in the door. Every morning, I reminded myself that every small step, no matter how routine, was part of a bigger journey toward something greater. I believed that if I worked hard even in this simple job, it would open the door to better opportunities down the line.

Pushing Carts – Lessons in Hard Work and Discipline

Day in and day out, I pushed hundreds of carts. It was physically exhausting at times, but it taught me the value of hard work and consistency. I made it a point to be the first to show up for my shift and the last to leave. I would line up every cart perfectly, take on extra tasks like helping customers load groceries, and even scrub down the carts to keep them clean. These might sound like small things, but I treated them seriously. I knew I had to prove myself through my work ethic, especially as an immigrant.

One habit I developed then was discipline. No matter how tired I was, I set my alarm early each day. I learned to show up on time, every time, and to do my work with pride. Over time, I even started challenging myself – could I push more carts in one trip, or organize them faster? I turned it into a personal game to stay motivated. This discipline carried over into my personal life. After work, even when I was dead tired, I spent a little time each evening improving my English by watching TV or reading simple books. It wasn’t much, maybe 20 minutes a night, but doing it every day made a difference. I didn’t realize it then, but I was following a powerful principle: small daily habits lead to big results. In fact, it’s often said that the only difference between successful and unsuccessful people is the habits they follow each day . Pushing carts taught me to build good habits like reliability, punctuality, and constant self-improvement – habits that would later fuel my success.

Another lesson I learned was humility. At first, I’ll admit, I felt embarrassed pushing carts while seeing former classmates on social media with fancy jobs. But I reminded myself of a Haitian proverb my mother taught me: "Piti piti, zwazo fè nich li." In English, “Little by little, the bird builds its nest.” This means that with time and patience, everything is possible. I took that proverb to heart every time I started feeling ashamed of my menial job. It reminded me that this was just the beginning, not the end. If I kept stacking up these little steps, one day I would build my nest too. So I held my head high and pushed those carts with pride, knowing that I was laying the foundation for my future.

From the Parking Lot to Moving Trucks

After some time, my hard work at the supermarket started to pay off. The managers noticed my dedication. In 2015, a co-worker referred me to his cousin’s small moving company. It was a slight step up from cart pushing – instead of grocery carts, I was now moving people’s furniture and boxes, loading and unloading trucks. The work was extremely physical. I’d spend all day lifting sofas, refrigerators, you name it. My arms and back ached, and I’d collapse into bed at night. But I was happy to be earning a bit more and learning new skills.

Working as a mover taught me about teamwork and responsibility. We often worked in crews of two or three, and being the newest guy, I had to learn fast and pull my weight. I applied the same work ethic here: show up early, do the heavy lifting (literally), and pay attention to details (like wrapping furniture carefully). I also learned people skills – we were handling people’s personal belongings, sometimes in stressful situations, as they relocated. I saw how a positive attitude and a friendly word could calm a nervous customer. Little by little, I was not only building muscle but also the character and communication skills I’d need as a future business owner.

During this time, I kept up my daily habits. For example, I started listening to motivational audiobooks during long drives to moving job sites. One book I loved was Atomic Habits by James Clear, which reinforced what I sensed was true: tiny improvements each day compound into huge gains over time. I began to implement what I learned. I set a habit to save a small portion of every paycheck, no matter how little. Some weeks I could only save $20, but I did it consistently. I also made a habit of doing one thing each day to improve myself or my situation – whether it was practicing English, learning a new moving technique, or researching better opportunities. These small daily actions didn’t seem like much in the moment, but over months and years, they built momentum in my life. I was slowly positioning myself for bigger things, even if I didn’t know exactly what those things would be yet.

Investing in Myself: Earning a CDL in 2019

By 2018, I had worked my way up to lead mover on my crew. I was proud of how far I’d come, but I also knew I couldn’t be carrying couches forever – my body was feeling the strain, and I had bigger dreams. I noticed that the moving company paid good money to rent big trucks and hire licensed truck drivers. In fact, some of the highest-earning folks I met were the CDL drivers (those licensed to drive commercial trucks) who transported the goods between cities. I began to think, why not me? Maybe I could become a truck driver. It would be a new skill and a pathway to an even better income.

So in 2019, I decided to invest in myself and go for a Commercial Driver’s License. This was a bold move for someone like me: I had never driven anything bigger than a small moving van, and the CDL exam (with all its rules and vehicle inspection tests) was intimidating. Plus, the classes and test fees were expensive for my tight budget. But I was determined. I disciplined myself to study a chapter of the CDL manual every single night after work. Some nights I struggled to keep my eyes open after a 12-hour moving job, but I stuck to my routine. On weekends, I politely asked a truck driver I knew to let me sit in his rig and learn the controls. I even taped flashcards of road signs and regulations to my small apartment’s wall so I’d see them every day.

It wasn’t easy – I actually failed my first CDL permit test (the English technical terms tripped me up). But instead of letting it discourage me, I used it as motivation to work harder. I doubled down on my study habits, asked a friend to quiz me on practice tests in the evenings, and visualized myself passing. By late 2019, I passed the written test and the road test on the next try. I got my CDL. That piece of plastic card with my name and “Commercial Driver’s License” felt like a million bucks in my hand. I had given myself a new skill, one that could never be taken away. In that moment, I realized the power of betting on yourself. The discipline and persistence it took to earn my CDL proved that I could achieve difficult goals if I chipped away step by step. It’s like that bird building its nest – one twig at a time. This was a big twig added to my nest.

First Truck – Becoming an Owner in 2020

With a new CDL in hand, I didn’t waste any time. In early 2020, I landed a job as a truck driver for a logistics company. The pay was much better than what I earned as a mover. Suddenly, I was driving 18-wheelers across state lines – an immigrant who once pushed grocery carts now trusted to haul freight on American highways! The learning curve was steep; I navigated icy roads in winter, dealt with tight delivery schedules, and managed life on the road away from family. But I approached this job with the same mindset: work hard, learn all I can, and think ahead. I asked veteran drivers for advice, learned basic truck maintenance, and kept saving money diligently. In the back of my mind, a bigger dream was forming: I wanted to own my own truck.

Owning a truck would mean I could operate as an independent contractor or start a small transport business. It was a scary thought – a semi-truck can cost as much as a house, and maintenance isn’t cheap either. But I had been saving little by little for years now. By late 2020, despite the uncertainty of the pandemic, an opportunity came up. A retiring driver I knew was selling his used truck at a reasonable price. Thanks to my savings (and a small loan I was able to secure by then), I bought my first truck in October 2020. I’ll never forget the day I got the keys. The cab had over 500,000 miles on it, and the paint was peeling in places, but to me it was the most beautiful machine in the world. It symbolized freedom and ownership.

Becoming an owner-operator was both thrilling and terrifying. Overnight, I went from being just a driver to also being a business owner, managing contracts, fuel costs, invoices, and maintenance schedules. There were weeks in 2021 when breakdowns or slow client payments almost wiped me out. But my habits of discipline kept me afloat. I tracked every expense in a spreadsheet daily, woke up at 5 am to plan routes and find new loads, and treated every customer like gold so they’d hire me again. I was now running my own one-truck company. It wasn’t easy money by any means – some months I earned less than I did as a company driver – but I was building something of my own. And the pride I felt was priceless. I carried in my heart the struggles of 2013, the sweat of pushing carts, the aches from moving furniture, and I poured all that I learned grit into making my trucking business work. Slowly but surely, I started seeing a profit. By the end of 2021 I had steady contracts and even began thinking about expanding beyond just myself.

Expanding Horizons: Building Online Businesses (2023)

If you had told “cart-pusher me” back in 2013 that one day I’d be running multiple businesses, I would have laughed in disbelief. Yet by 2023, I found myself doing exactly that. My trucking business had stabilized to the point where I wasn’t on the road 24/7. I hired a part-time driver to help with loads, and I finally had some free time to think about the future. One thing I realized was that while trucking was good income, it was still active income – if the wheels weren’t turning, no money was coming in. Plus, driving trucks is hard on the body, and I knew I couldn’t do it forever. I started exploring the idea of online businesses as a way to create a new income stream that wasn’t tied to me being present physically all the time.

In 2023, I took another leap into the unknown: I began building an online business on the side. Actually, I started several small online ventures, experimenting to see what could work. One of my first projects was an e-commerce store selling safety gear for truckers and movers – a product line close to my own experience. I spent my evenings learning how to build a website, how to do online marketing, and how to handle orders. It felt like I was a beginner all over again (just like when I was studying for the CDL). I also started a YouTube channel documenting my journey as an immigrant entrepreneur, hoping to inspire others and eventually monetize the channel. On top of that, I dabbled in a drop-shipping side hustle with a friend. Was it too much at once? Maybe. I definitely had moments where I felt overwhelmed, juggling my trucking business and these new projects. But I fell back on what has always worked for me: consistent daily effort and a learning mindset.

Every day, I made sure to do at least one thing for my online businesses, no matter how small – whether it was writing a new product description, posting a YouTube video, or responding to customer emails. I treated it like planting seeds each day and watering them with effort. Some seeds failed to sprout (my first drop-shipping idea flopped), but others started to grow. By late 2023, my e-commerce store was getting regular sales, and my YouTube channel hit its first 1,000 subscribers. These were tiny wins, but incredibly exciting for me. More importantly, I found that the same principles that got me from carts to trucking applied here too: hard work, patience, and discipline. The internet may be a very different arena, but success still came down to showing up every day and improving bit by bit.

Around this time, I read about a study that found immigrants in the U.S. are 80% more likely to start businesses than native-born Americans. That statistic amazed me, but it also made sense. Many of us immigrants come here hungry, ready to do whatever it takes. Starting from the bottom gives you a kind of fearless mindset—after all, we’ve been without safety nets before, so we aren’t afraid to take risks on a business idea. Learning about that study encouraged me to push forward. I realized I was part of a bigger trend of immigrant entrepreneurship, and it made me proud and even more determined to succeed and give back.

By 2025, I can humbly say I am now the owner of multiple businesses. I have my trucking operation, which I’ve scaled to five trucks. I have my growing online store, and a modest but steadily monetizing YouTube/podcast where I discuss trucking, business, and personal growth. None of these are giant companies – I’m not a millionaire or on the cover of Forbes. I’m just a regular guy building my “nest” one twig at a time. But to go from where I started in 2013 to where I am now in a little over a decade, I consider that a blessing and a victory. It’s proof to me that the American dream is alive and that with the right mindset and work ethic, anything is possible.

Mindset and Habits That Made the Difference

Looking back, I realize that my journey wasn’t defined by extraordinary talent or luck. It was defined by mindset and habits. Here are some of the small daily habits and attitudes that carried me from pushing carts to running businesses:

Staying Positive and Patient: I always tried to find a silver lining. Each job or challenge was preparing me for something greater. Keeping a hopeful attitude gave me the energy to persist. I learned to be patient and trust the process – “little by little,” progress truly adds up.

Discipline in Daily Routine: Success for me came from the things I did every single day. Whether it was showing up on time, studying at night, or saving a few dollars each week, I stuck to my routine. Consistency beats intensity. Even now, I start my day early, make my bed, do a quick workout, and write down my top goals for the day. These simple routines set a productive tone.

Continuous Learning: I became a student of success. I picked up English by practicing daily. I asked mentors for guidance in trucking. I read books and blogs on business. I watched countless YouTube videos to teach myself new skills. Adopting a learner’s mindset was crucial – it taught me that I could figure out anything with time.

Hard Work and Willingness to Sacrifice: There’s no substitute for hard work. I often worked 12+hour days, took overtime, and worked weekends when needed. I sacrificed leisure, going out, or buying fancy things for years. It was difficult, but I knew I was trading short-term comfort for long-term success. Hard work became a habit itself – one I’m grateful for because it built my resilience.

Setting Goals and Dreaming Big: Even when I was pushing carts, I had a vision of a better future. I kept my dream of owning a business alive in my heart and on paper. I wrote down goals – like “get CDL by 2019” or “buy truck by next year” – and then mapped out the small steps to get there. Having clear goals gave me direction on days when I felt lost. And dreaming big kept me motivated; I didn’t know how I’d achieve it all, but I knew why I wanted to – to create a better life for myself and my family.

Through all these stages, one thing remained constant: I tried never to give up. There were many times I felt like quitting – when I failed that exam, when I had back pain from lifting, or when a business idea fell through. But I’d remind myself where I started and how far I had come. I’d think of my family back in Haiti, of the proverb that kept me going, and of the fact that if I quit, I’d be right back to zero. So I persisted.

You Can Rise Too

I’m writing this story not to boast, but to inspire. I am a living example that you can start with nothing – literally pushing carts in a parking lot – and end up as an owner of businesses. I’m still on my journey, still learning and growing every day. I stay humble, because I know new challenges will come (after all, “dèyè mòn gen mòn” – behind mountains are more mountains). But I truly believe if I could come to a new country with no money, no connections, and only a basic education, and then achieve some success through honest work and determination, then you can achieve your dreams too.

No matter where you’re starting from today – whether you’re washing dishes, driving for Uber, or unemployed and feeling lost – your story is not over. Where you are now does not dictate where you can be in a few years. Focus on your mindset and your daily habits. Believe in yourself, even when the world seems to count you out. Embrace the humble beginnings and learn from them. Set big goals, but more importantly, take small actions every day towards those goals. Over time, you’ll be amazed at the transformation. As I often say to my friends, “If a Haitian kid who once didn’t have $5 to his name can become a business owner in America, why not you?”

Keep going, keep growing, and remember that little by little, the bird builds its nest. With hard work, discipline, and faith in the process, you can rise from the bottom and create the life you dream of. Never give up on yourself. Your future successful self is cheering you on – I know, because not long ago mine was too, and today I’m living the results of those small daily wins. Stay inspired and go build your nest twig by twig – you’ve got this.