My Story

My name is Pete Sveen, or DIY Pete—a YouTuber and content creator with DIY projects and plans. In addition to DIYPete.com, I run ThinkEntrepreneurship.com, dabble in real estate, and have sold off a handful of other businesses. I began my entrepreneurial journey with a snow cone stand in the park at just nine years old, and have been dreaming up new business ideas ever since. Starting in 2007, I’ve shared my passion here—and my successes and failures—to help inspire others to start and grow their own business: to Think Entrepreneurship.

For college, I went to Nebraska, Lincoln (go Huskers!) and found my way to the entrepreneurship program. I connected with a bunch of great people there, like my favorite professor Terry Sebora, successful entrepreneurs and mentors like Allen Dayton, and Young Professionals Groups. I was so excited about entrepreneurship that I started a car detailing business that led me to Allen Dayton—I detailed all three of his Ferraris!

After graduating with a degree in Management-Entrepreneurship and a minor in Economics, I moved to the mountains of Montana. I grew up on the very flat plains of South Dakota and often visited family in Montana where we always did so many fun things like skiing, hiking, rafting, etc.

I set up shop doing screen-printing on shirts, hats, towels, you name it. Screen-printing is very labor-intensive and eventually I got burnt out—and pivoted to outsourcing the actual printing. I kept most of my clients and could focus on the sales and marketing (and eventually sold the business), while the actual printing came from a company over in Oregon.

In 2011, I discovered SmartPassiveIncome by Pat Flynn. Pat’s blog and podcast taught me how to monetize a website, and I soon started an ecommerce store and blog called Signs of 

the Mountains. I made vinyl decals with a vinyl plotter machine in my spare room, stuck them to aluminum blanks, and shipped them all over the country. My blogging content and SEO practices drove traffic to the site, and I eventually supplied an entire ski resort with all their trail signs before selling the labor-intensive business.

Pat had me hooked on the idea of making money online: through ads and affiliate marketing, selling plans and courses, and influencer sponsorships. By recommending products that I already use and truly love, I am able to make money through affiliate relationships. If you buy a product by clicking through a link from my site, I make a small amount of money—which adds up and allows me to create more helpful articles and recommend more useful products. And that’s where I’m at today: The businesses continue to grow and I love running DIYPete.com and ThinkEntrepreneurship.com.

Well, that’s a quick version of my story and how I got to where I am today. Think Entrepreneurship has been and continues to be a place where I share what I’ve learned to help others along the way. Join the community and let's get inspired!

Cheers from Montana—