[1] After graduation, he entered the University of Michigan, but a back injury interrupted his studies in his junior year.

[1][3] After completing college, he began working for his father, first as treasurer for the National Pin Company and then, in 1900, at a position at D.M.

Ferry & Co.[4] He was also president of Standard Accident Insurance Company,[4] vice-president of the Standard Insurance Company, and president of the Michigan Fire & Marine Insurance Co.[1] In addition to these offices, he was a director of the First National Savings Bank of Detroit, the Wayne County Savings Bank, the Security Trust Company of Detroit, and Michigan Savings Bank.

[1] He was one of the founders of the Provident Loan and Savings Society in 1906, along with Tracy W. McGregor, J. L. Hudson, and James Ingles,[5] and was a trustee of Grace Hospital.

He was later ordered to active duty at Fort Sam Houston and then to the Motor Convoy Service in Chicago.