31 Days to Become a Better Man: Level Up in All Areas of Your Life! (Book)

Jesse Tarr

Jesse Tarr Profile Photo

CEO

I graduated from Florida International University (FIU) in 2012 with a Bachelors of Business Administration in International Business. Simultaneously I was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and successfully completed Officer Candidates School (OCS) during my enlistment.

After graduation I moved back to the DC Metropolitan area from Miami and started working for GEICO as a claims adjuster on a fast track to management as part of their Supervisor Leadership Program (SLP). In an effort to accelerate my earning potential and consolidate college debt I was faced with a challenge because I needed to maximize my top line but I knew I did not want to go back to undergraduate study or pursue any form of graduate school. I narrowed it down to sales and more specifically bartending, it was a product which had a natural demand and the earning potential was great considering no additional formal education is required. Also, I could keep my day job and do this work at night. The hurdle then came once I completed bartending school, actually getting hired and behind a bar with good revenue. After being rejected at several local bars and clubs I quickly figured out I needed to start at the bottom of the industry to get an "in" so I started working security at various nightclubs in DC. Security was often brutal with fights, damaged uniforms, and a fixed pay having risk outweigh the reward. However after close to a year in the security business I was able to gain employment from a bar as a floor back and my duties were to clean up the dance floor, pick up cups, and throw away trash. After an additional three months and always volunteering for extra shifts I was able to get behind the bar as a barback. Then months later a bartender. Finally I was behind the bar where time didn't dictate my earnings, sales did. Unfortunately this bar wasn't popular or exclusive enough to make any real money but I got a break as was recruited to work at a bar on U St NW, one of DC's busiest scenes in nightlife. Here is where I saw the true power of sales. I made in one night what I would make at GEICO during a 52 hour work week.

I ended up getting fired from GEICO, it was the longest I've ever kept a job and stumbled across an opportunity to facilitate a building permit for a gas pipeline in Baltimore County, MD. I discovered this new industry, well new to me at least, of permit expediting. The work was great, it encompassed sales, and was something I could scale. Yet again a challenge, of how to gain more clients. About a year later City Permit was born and since its inception I've been able to grow the company from just serving DC to residential and commercial clients across the nation.

June 3, 2025

From Bullying to Business: Jesse Tarr’s Inspiring Transformation

In this powerful interview, Jesse Tyler shares his journey from a bullied teen escaping to the Marine Corps, to becoming a successful permit expediting entrepreneur navigating brutal personal and professional storms — includi...
Guest: Jesse Tarr