Meet Daine Patton

We recently connected with Daine Patton and have shared our conversation below.

Daine, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

For a long time, my confidence and self-esteem were built on shaky ground.

From the outside, I looked like I had things together, a growing business, a family, responsibilities. But internally, I carried a quiet disconnect between who I said I wanted to be and how I was actually living. That gap slowly eroded my confidence. Not because I didn’t believe in my potential but because I wasn’t honoring it.

The turning point didn’t start with confidence. It started with honesty.

I reached a moment where I had to admit that my health, my habits, and my daily choices were no longer aligned with the man I wanted to be as a husband, father, and leader. I didn’t set out to build self-esteem. I set out to lose weight. But what unfolded became something much bigger.

At over 100 pounds heavier than I am today, I felt trapped in my own body. I avoided mirrors. I avoided pictures. I avoided situations that reminded me of how far I’d drifted from my best self. That avoidance became a pattern and over time, avoidance kills confidence.

The shift happened when I stopped looking for motivation and started practicing consistency.

I committed to showing up for myself daily, especially on the days I didn’t feel like it. Early mornings. Hard workouts. Saying no to short-term comfort. Choosing discipline over excuses. There were no viral moments or dramatic breakthroughs, just hundreds of small, unglamorous decisions stacked on top of each other.

And something unexpected happened.

As the weight came off, trust was built. Not confidence in my appearance but confidence in my word. Every time I followed through, I proved to myself that I could do hard things. That I could keep promises. That I could sit with discomfort and not quit.

That’s where my self-esteem was born.

Confidence didn’t come from compliments or external validation. It came from evidence. From knowing deep in my bones that I was becoming someone who didn’t back down when things got uncomfortable.

That transformation spilled into every area of my life. My leadership improved because I led from example. My marriage strengthened because I showed up more present and grounded. My business grew because I operated with clarity, discipline, and self-respect.

The weight loss was just the entry point.

What I really lost was self-doubt. What I gained was identity.

Today, my confidence isn’t loud. It isn’t performative. It’s quiet and steady. It comes from lived experience, knowing that when life gets hard, I don’t fold. I show up. I stay consistent. And I do the work.

That’s how I built my confidence and self-esteem by becoming someone I could trust.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Professionally, I’m the owner of Bats to Rats Wildlife Control, a wildlife control and exclusion company based in Nebraska. We specialize in solving complex wildlife problems, primarily bats and rodents, by focusing on long-term, humane solutions rather than quick fixes.

What makes our work special is that we don’t just remove animals; we educate homeowners and business owners on why the problem is happening and how to prevent it from ever happening again. That emphasis on education, integrity, and doing things the right way, even when it takes longer, has been central to our growth. We’ve built our reputation on transparency, craftsmanship, and trust, and that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.

I started the business as a one-truck operation, doing everything myself. Over time, through a lot of trial, error, and personal growth, it’s evolved into a multi-truck operation with a dedicated team serving clients across the state. That journey mirrors my own development as a leader, learning how to step back from doing everything myself and instead build systems, train people well, and create a company that can thrive beyond just the owner.

What excites me most right now is the intersection of leadership, education, and raising standards within the trades. The wildlife control industry, like many skilled trades is overdue for modernization. Homeowners are asking better questions, younger technicians want purpose and professionalism, and there’s a growing demand for ethical, long-term solutions. Being part of that shift and helping move the industry forward is incredibly meaningful to me.

Beyond the day-to-day business, I also spend a lot of time mentoring other business owners and speaking on topics like leadership, consistency, and building businesses that don’t burn out the people who run them. Much of that work is informed by my own personal transformation, especially the discipline and mindset I developed through my health journey and how those lessons translate directly into business and life.

As for what’s new, we’re currently focused on expanding our operational infrastructure so the business can continue to grow without sacrificing quality. That includes deeper team training, improved systems, and exploring opportunities to expand into additional markets. I’m also developing more educational resources for homeowners and professionals alike, with the goal of making high-quality information more accessible and helping people understand the real value of prevention over reaction.

At the core of everything I do, whether it’s wildlife control, leadership development, or content creation, is a simple belief: consistency builds trust. With customers, with teams, and with yourself. That philosophy has shaped my brand, my business, and the direction I’m heading professionally.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, three things stand out as the most impactful in my journey. None of them were flashy, and all of them took time to develop but together they changed everything.

1. Consistency over motivation

The most important shift I made was learning to stop waiting until I felt ready or motivated and instead committing to consistent action. This lesson started with my health journey. Showing up day after day especially when I didn’t feel like it taught me that progress doesn’t come from intensity, it comes from repetition.

That mindset carried into business and leadership. The ability to keep going when results are slow, when things feel heavy, or when no one is watching is what ultimately compounds.

Advice:
If you’re early in your journey, lower the bar for perfection and raise the bar for consistency. Pick a few non-negotiable habits and protect them fiercely. Don’t worry about doing everything, worry about doing the right things, repeatedly.

2. Self-awareness and personal accountability

Real growth started when I stopped blaming circumstances and started taking full ownership of my choices. That meant being honest about where I was falling short physically, emotionally, and professionally and accepting responsibility without self-judgment.

Self-awareness gave me clarity. Accountability gave me power.

Once I understood my patterns both good and bad I could make intentional changes instead of reacting to life as it happened to me.

Advice:
Build the habit of reflection. Ask yourself hard questions regularly: What am I avoiding? Where am I making excuses? What would growth require of me right now? Progress speeds up when you stop lying to yourself even in small ways.

3. Learning to lead by example

Whether in my family, my business, or my community, I’ve learned that credibility comes from alignment. People don’t follow words they follow behavior. As I worked on becoming healthier, more disciplined, and more grounded, my leadership naturally improved.

I didn’t have to convince people I was committed. They could see it.

This principle transformed how I lead teams and build trust with customers. When your actions match your values, confidence follows and so does influence.

Advice:
Early on, focus less on being impressive and more on being consistent with your values. Let your habits do the talking. Leadership isn’t about position, it’s about example.

If there’s one thing I’d want people early in their journey to understand, it’s this: growth is quieter than we expect, slower than we want, and far more powerful than it looks in the moment. Stay consistent, stay honest with yourself, and focus on becoming someone you trust. Everything else builds from there.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

One book that played a major role in my development is Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell.

What made this book so impactful for me wasn’t just the business advice, it was the mindset shift. It reframed time as the most valuable asset we have, and it challenged the idea that being busy is the same as being effective. That message landed at the right moment in my life and business.

A few of the most valuable takeaways for me were:

1. Time is the first thing you should protect, not the last.
The book helped me understand that many entrepreneurs wait until they’re burned out before they start delegating. Instead, Dan emphasizes buying back your time early so you can focus on the work that actually moves the business forward. That concept alone changed how I look at growth.

2. Delegate to elevate.
The idea that you don’t need to be the best person in your business at everything was freeing. Learning to hand off tasks, even ones I could do well, created space for me to operate in my strengths: leadership, vision, and decision-making. It reinforced that letting go isn’t weakness it’s responsibility.

3. Build systems that remove you from the bottleneck.
The book drove home the importance of creating repeatable processes, so the business doesn’t rely solely on the owner’s presence. That aligned perfectly with my goal of building a company that can thrive beyond me. Systems don’t just create efficiency they create sustainability.

4. Buy back your life, not just your calendar.
This was the deeper lesson for me. The goal isn’t endless growth at the expense of health or family. It’s building a business that supports the life you want to live. That philosophy strongly mirrors my own journey of prioritizing consistency, health, and presence over hustle for hustle’s sake.

Overall, Buy Back Your Time gave me language and structure for changes I knew I needed to make but hadn’t fully articulated yet. It helped me move from being constantly “in” the business to intentionally working “on” it and that shift has had a lasting impact on both my professional success and personal fulfillment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.batstorats.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dainepatton/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DainePatton1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daine-patton-0366558b/