He Sold Nothing His First Month. He Still Won Rookie of the Year.

NaiL It · Oct 26, 2026 · 52m

Steve Lane was on a pre-law track at Gonzaga until he spent time working at a law school and realized he had made a mistake. He was too far into the degree to switch, so he bought a College Pro Painters franchise instead — at 19, on the Idaho–Washington border. A month in he had sold nothing and was in last place out of about thirty new owners in his division. He finished the year as Rookie of the Year for the West Coast division and stayed with the company for 13 years.

He has spent the 20 years since on both sides of the table: coaching roughly 25 new owners a year as a general manager at…