After 17 years working as a carpenter and general contractor I still don’t have it figured out. So I decided to start a platform where I could teach and learn from other contractors and homeowners about the business and psychology of remodeling. After all, If I’m still confused about all of this, then maybe you are too.
In 2001, after 8 years in the minor leagues I was released for the 3rd and final time by a professional baseball club. I left New Haven and started my new trade as a carpenter. I began working for a brother of a friend in Los Angeles, just down the road from where I grew up in Glendale, working commercial concrete. I jumped right in digging ditches, building forms and learning to adjust to a normal 40 hour a week job. Soon after my first child was born, we moved to the Boston area to live near my wife’s family and from that day forward I began working for myself.
I was green as a carpenter but what I lacked in experience I made up for in confidence, hard work and a willingness to learn. I was super hungry to understand how houses were built or how to build a cabinet and all the other thousands of new things that I would have to learn if I wanted to be successful.
My little business launched by a mailing of a few hundred tri fold flyers with the help of a seasoned contractor that I had recently met. Luckily, a few of them hit and I was on my way building decks, finishing basements, and building cabinets. During that time I also tried my hand at random things such as; running a cabinet shop, making concrete counter tops and polished concrete floors but my niche was finish carpentry. I split my time working as a sub and contracting with homeowners. After about 10 years I finally got my supervisors license and expanded my scope of work to include remodeling where permits were required. The last 7 years I have focused on high end kitchen and bath remodeling and have evolved into a design build contractor.
Throughout my journey I have always been intrigued with the contracting business as a whole and especially the relationships.
- The contractor and the client
- The contractor and the subs
- The contractor and the business
Most guys I rub shoulders with don’t go very deep into psychology so we don’t talk about it very much, but, I have always wanted to understand the business better and I still have many unanswered questions.
Why do home owners choose one contractor over the next? Why do contractors suck at business? How can your painter tell you he’ll be there tomorrow then not show up without as much as a text or phone call?
Maybe these are the types of questions you have to been asking too? If so, you came to the right place.