LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) \u2014 Less than a year after losing her six-figure job, 23-year-old Autumn Mough says she has turned a $2,000 investment into a million-dollar business.<\/p>\n
Mough is the owner of Trapperz, an animal removal business she started after being laid off in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was let go of a $100,000 job in January, along with a lot of my other team, and I started Trapperz with $2,000,\u201d Mough said. \u201cWe are now a million-dollar business, almost a year later, and it\u2019s been great.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mough, the road to entrepreneurship started long before Trapperz.<\/p>\n
She grew up in a low-income household and began working when she was 14. She later left college and built a career in marketing, all while holding onto the goal of eventually owning a business of her own.<\/p>\n
When she lost her job, that goal quickly became a reality.<\/p>\n
Mough said building a company from the ground up has meant learning as she goes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI say that I\u2019m building the ship as I\u2019m steering it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to learn. There\u2019s a lot, of course, like taxes, bookkeeping. There\u2019s a lot to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her love for animals also helped shape the direction of her business. Mough has four cats, two dogs and several reptiles of her own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could never imagine harming an animal in any way,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, once I saw that need, I was like, I gotta build something up. And it has to be quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, the business has handled thousands of animals, according to Mough. Some calls have also given her and her team stories they won’t soon forget.<\/p>\n
One involved a baby vulture that became trapped inside an attic after a contractor left a window open. Mough said one of her inspectors climbed into the attic, safely removed the bird and released it on the spot before closing the window.<\/p>\n
Those unexpected experiences have become part of a business Mough said grew much faster than she ever anticipated.<\/p>\n
Now, she hopes her experience can encourage other young people who have an idea but aren’t sure whether they’re ready to pursue it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to go to college. You don\u2019t need a giant savings,\u201d Mough said. \u201cI started this with $2,000 and, yeah, you just don\u2019t overthink it, really. If you have an idea, go for it. Stop thinking, just go.\u201d<\/p>\n