June 25, 2025 • 41 mins
Working with your spouse isn’t always easy, but it can be one of your biggest strengths. Here, Dees Britt shares how she and her husband built Redeemed Decks and Outdoor Solutions in Madison, Mississippi, while raising three kids and learning to set boundaries between work and home.
Britt also shares the systems and strategies that helped their business grow faster than expected. From refining the sales process to hiring the right team members and navigating growing pains, she offers practical advice for contractors who want to scale. Her story is full of insight for anyone building a business that’s built to last.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- The 80% rule for delegating
- Valuable tips for managing the pre-construction process
- How high your goals should be if you want to grow
- Dees’ advice others starting their journey
Listen to the episode to learn more.
Resources:
Learn more about Redeemed Decks here.
Own a construction company and want to share your story? Apply to be on an upcoming episode of Builder Stories at https://www.builderstories.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Eric (00:00):
Welcome to the podcast where we take a deep dive into the stories
behind construction business leaders.
We will share how they got started,how they found success, and the
lessons learned along the way.
I'm your host, Eric Fortenberry.
Welcome to Builder Stories.
Welcome back, everybody.
Today I am here with Des Britt.
(00:21):
She is the, are you the owner?
Is that right?
Dees (00:23):
I am the owner.
Eric (00:24):
The owner of.
Redeemed decks and outdoor solutions.
They're located in Madison, Mississippi.
Really excited to haveyou on the show today.
Welcome to Builder Stories.
Dees (00:33):
Thank you.
Happy to be here.
Eric (00:35):
So why don't you give us a little background.
So how'd you get into to, to buildingdecks, get into construction?
What, what brought you down this path?
Dees (00:42):
Sure.
Um, so, uh, this was not whatI thought I would be doing.
Um, if you would've asked mewhen I graduated college, I
had a communication degree.
Um, met my now husband and he wasactually in the teaching coaching world.
We got ready to start a familyand he said, I'll never be home.
(01:04):
I said, okay.
Um, he said, I kind ofthink I wanna shift.
So we actually startedas a landscaping company.
Um, it was something that hehad enough background in to
be able to slide right into.
We did that for about a year, and thensomeone that knows us very well said,
have you ever thought about doing decks?
(01:25):
And we kind of were like, well,not, not exactly, um, but he
said, I'll take on a challenge.
So he did one deck and was hooked, um,because it was not the same day twice.
Um, it was all about.
Allowing some creativity, um, while alsobeing able to, um, do something well that
(01:52):
by and large in our specific area, therewasn't anybody doing what we were doing.
Eric (01:58):
What would, what, what would you say has been like the biggest challenge to, to
Dees (02:02):
starting this?
Sure.
A lot of people say, I don't knowhow you work with your spouse.
Um, yeah.
He has said it best.
The things that he is really good at arethings that I don't enjoy and things I'm
not very good at doing and vice versa.
Um, but I talked to several peoplewho worked with their spouses and
the very first thing that theyall said in some way, shape, form,
(02:26):
or fashion, was set a boundary ofwhen you quit talking about work.
So, um, we try to do that.
Kids have helped us do that.
Um.
And we, we've, we stickto it most of the time.
Eric (02:42):
Yeah.
What, uh, so, so what's kind of beenlike the, I mean, how many, what,
what's the team look like today?
Dees (02:48):
So we have one crew.
We're trying to expand to two.
We've got a project manager,which when we expand, we will
have another project manager.
Um, and then we have a guy thatwe're talking through with sales, and
then my husband and I, so really, Imean less than 10, and we are just
(03:09):
going as fast as we know to go.
Eric (03:12):
And how has that, like over the last couple years, how have you sort of thought
about building out that team and how hasthat sort of affected, you know, you guys'
ability to sort of set those boundaries?
Like, have you been able to sortof see a little bit of, you know,
weight get lifted off your shoulders?
Like you, you know, are you stillgoing home feeling the weight of
the world on, you know, on you?
'cause I, I know as an entrepreneurfeels like, you know, yeah, at the
(03:33):
end of the day everything stopswith us and, you know, it's, it's
hard to turn it off sometimes.
That's,
Dees (03:37):
um, it's gotten better.
Um, I think I. I think the hardestpart for, for my husband was letting
go of realizing that the way hedid the, there are other ways to
do things than how he did them.
So if the new project managercomes in and does things a little
differently, that's not necessarilya bad thing, it's just different.
(04:00):
I
Eric (04:01):
definitely feel like that's one of the hardest things is learning
how to delegate and to trust others.
'cause it's like we know, you know,we, we would do it exactly how,
you know, we've always done it andthat's exactly how it should be done.
And you know, we thinkwe're gonna do it the best.
But it's like, well, you know, thepoint of building a team is to surround
yourself with people who are, you know.
You know, hopefully better thanyou at, at doing their, you know,
their roles and responsibilities.
(04:22):
And so I think, uh, you know, it's,it's very natural sort of resistance
to, to sort of wanna let go, youknow, and kind of give, give the reins
up to other people in those areasthat, you know, you've brought 'em
into to, to, to do and to take on.
And, you know, I think it's a verynatural challenge for, for, for a lot
of people running, running businesses.
Dees (04:39):
Yeah, it is.
It's been, um.
We're trying to go by the, the 80% role.
Like if somebody can do something80% as well as we can get rid of it,
um, give that, delegate that task.
Um, and so we got a new site managerin the role he started in March and um,
he has a very extensive constructionbackground, but of course he is
(05:03):
trying to learn how we do things that.
From a, a composite certificationworld, there are certain things we
have to do differently than justbuilding a traditional wood deck.
Eric (05:16):
Yeah, that's great.
I mean, I've certainly been reallyinteresting just learning about all the
composite boards and stuff over the years.
I'm curious, I mean, are there any, uh,you know, any, any preferred manufacturers
that you work with every time?
Dees (05:27):
So we are certified in Trax.
Timber Tech Bay, uh,Fiberon and Moisture Shield.
Okay.
Um, we, we also, so we don't have a wholelot of second story decks here, um, but we
do have a lot of people that want to closein the bottom of their decks to, you know,
(05:49):
eliminate any, you know, random animals.
And so we have also.
Kind of started shifting or addinginto our portfolio the things like
versetta stone that are applicationsthat our guys can put in that you don't
have to have a mason for, but thatfinish up a project and tidy it up
(06:12):
and make it all a sustainable product.
Eric (06:16):
So what is your, what's your sales process look like?
Dees (06:19):
Majority of our leads are referrals.
Um.
Be it Facebook or an actual referral froma neighbor or something like that, or,
um, and, and so, um, once we take thatreferral in, we put them in job tread.
I am the first point of contact and thelast point of contact for every customer.
(06:40):
Um, we do follow ups to every conversationand then we schedule consultation
visits and we go out and we look.
We examine and we say, you know,this is what is the most, the
biggest bang for your buck.
Um, this is something we wouldsuggest based on things we've seen.
Um, we ask everything from, do youthink you may wanna add a pergola
(07:05):
or a screen room to this space?
Because if so, this is what we would do.
You know, or tell me what your dreamspace is and then let's go from there.
Um, so we'll do a consultation visit.
Come back, quote that project.
And if a customer's ready tomove forward, then we, um, do a
deposit and we start a drawing.
(07:27):
Um, we find that a typically,um, there's one home, one.
If it's a two, two homeownerhouse, one of them needs to see it.
Which would be me and one of them canenvision it, which would be my husband.
Um, and so, uh, we draw everything andwe get it all right before we ever start.
(07:49):
And then they, they will choose theirdecking, their railing, any other
materials they need to choose, and wego out and we build it based on, uh,
timing from them, um, timing regardsto permits, um, so lots of variables.
Weather, um, that kindof come into play there.
Eric (08:10):
No, I, I, I absolutely think it's so awesome that you, you know, you,
you take the time to do the drawing.
You know, I think when, when, like, wejust had a, maybe, I dunno, six months
ago, we, we ended up adding a pool toour backyard and, you know, I think
there were, there were a couple justlike, not even related to the pool.
I mean, it was super helpful tosee the pool and, and kind of the
designs and the drawings of all that.
But like, it was other things like, youknow, the retaining wall that was gonna
(08:34):
go over in the back corner and like howthe gate was gonna swing in and out.
And it was like, it was just.
So helpful to have the drawings, youknow, things, things can obviously
change as you go, but like, I thinkhaving that kind of, that baseline,
making sure everybody's on the same page.
That's, that's so helpful.
Dees (08:48):
Yeah.
And it, it just, it, it allows,I mean, it brings up things that
people don't think about, right?
So I will say, have you thought aboutputting, they'll say, I don't wanna rail
there, but I feel like it needs something.
Um, this last, the projectwe're actually on now.
I said, well, have you thought about abench or changing the color of the border
(09:13):
of the deck to let your mind know, hey,something different is happening here.
Um, so we do try to give as much insightbased on things we've seen before.
Um, people will say, I likethe size of my current deck.
Well, we go out there and wemeasure, and it's 13 by 15.
(09:34):
And I go, that is a. Terriblesize for a composite project.
Can we talk about this?
You know?
Yeah.
You're literally cuttingmoney off a board,
Eric (09:43):
so, so how long do you typically spend kind of on that,
that pre-construction phase there?
Dees (09:49):
Pre-construction phase?
We can, depending on the sizeof the project, we can be there
anywhere from a week to three weeks.
Um, a lot of times we have people come in.
They say, oh, I'm stuck betweenthese deck board colors.
So I send them with samples and Itell people, treat it like paint.
(10:14):
Um, you need to set itoutside in the light.
You need to look at it in the morning.
You need to look at it at noon.
You need to look at it in evening.
You know, um, if you're adding, uh, Itell people, you know, if you're gonna
add a covering that adds a whole notherlayer because you're not gonna have
the same whitening effect, you know?
Yeah.
So.
(10:34):
Um, a lot of times people have toset their own deadlines to choose
a deck color, otherwise they'll,they'll spend forever on them.
Eric (10:44):
Yeah.
And are you charging for this design?
Dees (10:47):
Yes.
Okay.
Um, so we charge, um, we do a depositand then we do not draw until we
have deposit and then a design fee.
Um, now the design fee rolls in typically'cause most people are designed.
Process again, is significantly shorter.
Eric (11:06):
When, when you're kind of in the, I guess sort of, you know, that
initial, you know, quoting, estimatingphase where you're, you know, is, is
your goal to get them to, you know,basically approve this initial quote
and then you're gonna go do the design,really flush out the details and come
back with like an actual final, you know.
What the cost would be.
Dees (11:26):
So a lot of times when, when they accept a quote, um, that's when
we bring them in, um, to the showroomand we show the various layers of
their deck that we need to hammer out.
And then once they make those decisions,uh, sometimes, not often, but sometimes we
(11:46):
have to go back and we have to say, okay.
You chose a board that was not inwhat we quoted you because they
get in here and they're like,Ooh, I really like that color.
Um, or like that deck board, or,I really want this, um, this look.
And so we will often, um,or sometimes re-quote based
(12:07):
on the selections they made.
So we had somebody come in hereearlier today and she ended up
going with a railing system that.
She didn't anticipateand we didn't anticipate.
And so we will now go in and re-quote,send it to her, um, and then we'll
draw it based on the, if she says,yes, I'm good with this price.
(12:30):
She had an idea, we were able togive her a pricing point, um, close
to, um, and so then she will, um.
She'll accept that estimate andthen we will, we will design it
based on the conversations and thenotes we have and things like that.
Eric (12:47):
Sure.
And when you, when you do getinto the construction phase, how
long does that typically take?
Dees (12:55):
Most projects, I'm gonna say our average build, we are in and
out in seven to 10 business days.
Um, there are obviously exceptions, but,um, even then, and we've tr we, we share
this with, with clients, even once westart, if something needs to shift or you
(13:16):
don't like the way something's looking.
Again, our goal is to take whatyou had up here and make it happen.
And so if we need to do someadjusting, let us know and we'll tell
you that's not possible, or that'sa whole nother, you know, that's
a change order with a hefty tag.
Yeah.
Uh, we just learned to documenteverything and that was something.
(13:42):
That was something that wehad to learn the hard way.
Something nobody ever saidto us was document, document.
Um, so now we have everythingdocumented, um, which is why I
do a follow up after every phonecall, after every office visit.
Um, a lot of times after if I goout to the site just to see how
(14:02):
things are and take pictures, uh.
Say, Hey, just as a reminder, thisis happening, you know, um, so that
nobody's ever going, I didn't know aboutthat, or, where did that come from?
Or, I don't remember us discussing this.
Um, it also allows the customer timeto see, you know, to regurgitate
(14:25):
the conversation and go, that's notwhat I heard when you said this.
So a lot of times it's preventativeas much as it is covering.
Us.
Sure.
Um, but that has beensuper helpful as well.
Eric (14:37):
Was there a, a situation that occurred maybe, uh, before
that might have, might havegotten you in some hot water?
No.
Dees (14:43):
Um, yeah, and, and you know, these, these, um, distributors can't just
take all this composite material back.
Right.
That costs, there's likea 25% restocking fee.
Yeah.
Well guess who has to pay thatif you back out or change things?
Yeah.
(15:03):
Um, so it has shiftedhow we do our invoicing.
Um, and it's shifted howwe do a lot of things.
We had a, we had a customerthat was ready to go.
Um, we had ordered,paid for his materials.
He had not paid us.
Um, and then he just went off the rails.
(15:27):
Never heard from him.
Still don't know.
We reached out, our supplier reached out.
I have no idea to this day whathas happened with that project.
Don't have a clue.
Um, but we were stuck with materialthat we no longer could use.
And I'm not gonna push a material coloron somebody that doesn't feel right.
(15:49):
If somebody chooses it,great, I've got it in stock.
But then we're holding all thisinventory and that's not what we do.
We're not trying to hold inventory,we're trying to build a project.
Um, and then we had one customer that wedid all the drawings on the front end.
Again, this only happened one time.
We did the drawings on the frontend, gave them the drawings.
(16:09):
They took the drawingsto another contractor.
We were like, yeah, we're not doingdrawings without pavement anymore.
Well, not.
Um, so again, the, wedidn't really have anybody.
Local to pick their brains on that.
Um, we've since found, um, amentor, uh, a husband and wife
couple in Atlanta, Georgia.
(16:31):
Um, and we called themabout a lot of stuff.
They're.
They're about five to seven yearsahead of where we were, of where
we are, um, in size, in volume.
Um, so as we're learning to navigatenew hurdles, we just call now we're
like, okay, how would you handle this?
What do you think?
(16:51):
I. Tell me what you did,
Eric (16:53):
and you, and you said you were the last voice that
a customer speaks with too.
So what's the, I assume that'skinda like the closeout process.
Dees (17:00):
Yeah, it's a closeout process.
Any applicable warranties.
So from the composite world, um,you all, you know, if you're a
certified installer, it is yourresponsibility to file that warranty.
So once their final check arrives,um, and we've done the punch list,
we've done all of that, um, I'll.
(17:21):
Sometimes schedule pictures, uh,depending on the time of year.
Um, and then I write a thank you note.
Um, I submit their warrantyand I follow up and say, Hey,
your warranty's been submitted.
You should receive an email.
Here are links to our Google, here'sour link to all these ratings.
(17:42):
You know, if you could fillthose out, that would be great.
Um, but yeah, I'm kind of thebeginning point and the ending point.
Um, and.
Just, you may pure, like being verytransparent here, the number of
females that tell me they appreciatetalking to a female and in in
(18:02):
a construction world, I. High.
Um, 'cause I've helped to build,I've helped design, I've helped
build, I've put it all in myself.
Um, every layer of what we do, Ihave been onsite and helped with.
Um, and I think that's important too.
Um, it just builds, um, a, a rapportand a trust with a customer, um,
(18:25):
where I can say like, I've seenthis, I know how this happens.
Like, let me walk you through this.
Yeah.
Um, so.
From the beginning when theycall and they say, I need help.
To the end when I call andI say, thank you so much for
letting us be part of this.
Tag us in any new pictures,you know, refer your friends.
Um, I'm, I'm the beginning and theend with the customer and so, um,
(18:50):
that's gonna be a hard thing for meto maybe at some point step away from.
I kind of doubt it, but, um, yeah.
Eric (18:57):
No, that's, that's great.
I mean, you know, I think it really does.
It, it's, it's like you said, it, it,it gives them the confidence when they,
you know, trust you, you know, fromthe very beginning that like, you're
gonna be there with them throughout theentire process all the way to the end.
I mean, I, I, I gotta believe thatreally helps kind of overcome that,
you know, some of that, that fear ofthe unknown and what's gonna happen.
(19:18):
Like, is this, is this gonnaend up working out well?
And it's like, I think youcan be that kind of, that that
consistent voice for them.
Dees (19:24):
Construction in general, and I think you would agree with this
'cause you came from a constructionbackground, is that right?
Yeah, so I think constructionin general gets a bad rep
or, um, like lacking in communicationand, and just not maintaining
(19:45):
a clean job site for a while.
Our main clientele was retiredengineers, male engineers.
So that was a very interesting groupto hear my voice, and they're like,
well, I wanna talk to, you know,the guy that's gonna be building it.
I'm like, and you will.
But right now you're talking to me.
(20:06):
Um, and I, I promise I cananswer your questions, I promise.
Uh.
Then they always, youknow, I'm, I'm sorry.
I should've, I should've let you talk.
You know.
Um, so it's, it's been interesting.
Again, construction's not whatI thought I would be doing.
Um, but it's been a lot of fun beingable to like, transform a space that,
(20:32):
that people once thought could not servethem into this space where they're gonna.
Spend all this time, make allthese memories, like that's
what it's about for us.
Eric (20:43):
So you talked about, you know, you, you again kind of
had some unprecedented growth.
Mm-hmm.
You know, you, you mentioned that you'renow licensed in, in Alabama as well.
Mm-hmm.
You know, it sounds like theremight be some expansion there.
Like what's, what, what's thenext, you know, few years look
like, you know, what is the plan?
How do you wanna see the,the company continue to grow?
Dees (21:00):
So we would love to get to, um.
We plan to hire a secondcrew this calendar year.
Um, we were told that wouldbe the most challenging layer,
and that is proving to be true.
Uh, so we're, we've been trying toadd a second crew since last summer.
Um, and so we're, we'reworking on that part.
(21:22):
Um, we we're license licensed in Alabama.
We would love to eventuallyhave a showroom there.
Um.
There's got to be enough interestthere for that to, to happen.
Um, but we're looking at some, someoutlets for that to become a reality.
(21:42):
Um, our site manager is very muchon board with us, um, broadening
and, and growing and um, we'reeven looking at taking on projects.
That may be a little bit more extensivethan what we would've normally done
because of the connections our sitemanager has, um, and people that he's
(22:02):
worked with that we now can use assubcontractors for different layers
where we didn't have anybody before.
Um, so, um.
We're, we're on track to beat lastyear's, uh, gross, gross, um, income,
and we'd love to do that this year.
Um, we've looked at expanding intoTennessee and Louisiana as well.
(22:26):
Wow.
Um, just from a reciprocity standpoint,um, from having a Mississippi license.
But, um, we'd, we'd also like to do alittle bit more con uh, commercial work.
Um, so there are some thingsthat we're working on.
Within the office to make sure,make that become a reality.
We take, I wanna say probablyfive commercial jobs a year.
(22:50):
Um, and we'd love to, we'd loveto have an entire commercial
division, um, at some point.
So, um, trying to take it all in stride,but focusing on what we do well, um, and,
and just making sure we don't lose that.
Eric (23:07):
Sure.
So is, is the, would you say that, like,having the showroom, is that kind of like
where, you know, you know, you've gota, a, a lot of potential in a market,
it kind of gives you that stronghold.
Is that a tool that like, you know,really helps to, I mean, you say you
don't really bring 'em into the showroomuntil they've already agreed to the quote.
Mm-hmm.
And then is that like, Imean, why not use that?
(23:28):
Earlier in the phase, like mm-hmm.
I hear a lot of like, at least, youknow, a lot of design builders, you
know, the remodelers where, you know,they'll bring 'em into a showroom and
that really helps seal the deal for them.
It kind of gets the prospect to startthinking about, well, you know, do I
want to go with the, the red or the blue?
You know, they're like debating whichone, you know, what tile or what board
or whatever it is, instead of like,do I want to do this at all or not?
(23:49):
It's, it's kind of progressingthem down the, you know, down the,
the, the, the, the process there.
So.
I'm curious, kind of, you know howit sounds like you kind of use it
a little bit later in the phase,
Dees (23:59):
so there's a reason for that.
We started renting this buildingor these two units in March.
Um, so we haven't had ashowroom prior to mail.
Um, we rented space from our supplierand he had an area where people
could come and see samples, but, um.
(24:22):
We, we acquired one unit in March,the second unit we got in April.
And we have immediately started,um, taking down some walls, creating
openings, making it, um, getting thematerials and the supplies in, in order
to create the showroom look that wewant, which is walking on the decking
(24:44):
lines, looking at everything put up.
We want you to walk in and go.
I could, I can see thatin my backyard now.
Like that's, that's exactly what I want.
Build me that, um, builders,we'll bring, bring builders in.
Let them see, um, and talk to them again.
A lot of it here specificallyis educating the public on why
(25:06):
you need a certified installer.
Why not hire Chuck in a truckto handle my composite decking?
Well, let me tell you why.
Um, and so there's.
Again, there's layers to that here.
Um, but we're, we're getting thisshowroom done so that we can have all
these open houses so that people knowthat we're here, um, to then, you
(25:30):
know, hey, you wanna do a renovation?
Some of it's outside.
Go to redeem decks, they're,you know, in Madison, and then
they can send them right over.
Eric (25:39):
Yep.
It's interesting.
You, you also talked about howyour site manager has really opened
up a lot of, you know, doors foryou that you might not have had.
You know, that, that, those opportunitiesbefore, I mean, I think that really goes
to show when you, you know, when you bringon the right people to your team, you
know, there's sometimes more than justthat one specific role, you know, that,
that, that they can, you know, serve.
(26:00):
It's, it.
There's a lot of opportunity that theymight also be able to do, like opening
up all these doors and connections and,and subs and, and things like that, you
know, super interesting that, that, thatyou did that how, how, you know, how have
you sort of gone about finding peoplelike your site manager and like, is that
the plan to, you know, as you build outthis second crew, are you trying to find,
you know, sort of a similar opportunity?
Dees (26:22):
Yeah, so.
Long term we would love forour current site manager to be
over all the project managers.
That would be ideal.
Um, we, the next person we hire interms of like project site management,
I don't necessarily need thatindividual to have the same credentials.
(26:46):
Um, a lot of site management.
Yes.
Some of it is, is knowing.
Knowing how to build the project withquite a bit of it is just running and
gathering items that you know, that, thatall of a sudden we realized we needed
more two bytes or more two by twelves.
(27:08):
And so we need a few more to finish this.
So some of it is a runner component.
Um.
So we would love for our site managerto be over all the crews ultimately,
um, over all the projects managersthat are associated with those crews.
But I'll be honest, we, we have beenvery, very fortunate and, and the
(27:32):
Lord's been really, really good to us.
The guy that is coming to us forsales reached out to us, um, and, and.
I told my husband and I said, I thinkthat says something about the culture
you've created and the brand you've built.
Yeah.
Um, because you built it.
I came alongside you, but likeyou built this baby on your back.
(27:54):
Um, and, and he, you know, this guyknows the pride you take in your work.
Yeah.
And I think, I think for us,the site manager came to us.
We tried to hire him four yearsago and he said, no, I really
like doing my own thing and Okay.
Um, and he called, I think the daywe found out we had to be out of our
(28:15):
old space before we moved into thisbuilding, he called and he said,
oh, I want to come work for you.
And we were like, okay, let's go.
Um, and then this sales guycalled Mm, maybe a month ago.
Hey, I wanna have this, this conversation.
What does this look like?
Can we, you know, would you be willing?
And we're going, okay, let's do it.
(28:38):
You know, so a littlebit of fear, but, um.
A guy that told us one time, uh, whenwe were building our, our business
plan, he said, if it doesn't, ifyour goals don't make your stomach
turn, then they're not big enough.
And I was like, well, that's, here we are.
Both of our stomachs are turning.
(28:58):
So I guess we're doing it right, butwe just had the right people reach out.
And I think now that we've gotpeople in the right spots, it's less
of a. Taking somebody and makingthem fit what we need it to be.
It's can this person add to the value, andif so, where and what does that look like?
(29:19):
Um, and how can we best utilizetheir abilities and their resources
for the growth of the company.
Eric (29:27):
Yeah.
What would you say has been thebiggest challenge for, for you all, you
know, from when your husband kind of.
Early on and he got you ropedin to building out the team
and kind of where you're today.
Like what, anything unexpected?
Dees (29:41):
Um, I guess we, when my husband was still building, so this would've
been before I was working for himfull-time, um, with him, now he
works for me anyway, um, before wewere working together full time.
(30:02):
I was spending every lunch break I had andevery extra I worked eight to three 30.
So I used my lunch break and three30 to five to do his invoices,
his estimates, all of that.
And I remember coming home one nightand he had been at the job site,
but he had all these estimates hehad to get done and he was getting
(30:24):
ready to send out a, an estimate.
I don't know why he had not.
Done like an auto sum onour, on our Excel document.
But the estimate was supposed tobe like 18,000 in some change.
And it said 81.
And I looked at him and I said, I knowmath person, but that is not right.
(30:49):
And he said, what do you mean?
And I said, it's not right.
I don't know what you've done tothe formula, but it's not right.
And he looked at me,he said, I'm so tired.
Like.
He was so tired that thenumbers had flipped on him.
Hmm.
And I remember going, wecan't keep doing this.
Like we are roommates.
I never see you.
(31:09):
Like you get, you know, he,he was playing with the kids.
We would get the kids down.
He was going and working onquotes in the living room.
I said, you can't even enjoyour living room because it's
also where you do your quotes.
Like, we can't keep doing this.
Um, and, and it was not long after that.
I. That we found, the crew that we havenow, that has just been such a blessing.
(31:33):
Uh, but there was a breakingpoint where I was like, you've got
to either find somebody or hiresomebody to do what you're doing.
And, and so I think that was when herealized like, they're not, nobody's
gonna do it, just like I'm gonna do it.
They're gonna do itdifferently, but that's okay.
Eric (31:52):
So is this the kind of the, the, the showroom that's also
sort of like the office space?
Now you, you've, you've been ableto separate the, the, the house Yes.
In the living room?
Dees (32:01):
Yes.
Our old office was probably four feetwide by, mm, I'm gonna say 10 feet long.
And so we couldn't be onthe phone at the same time.
We c. I've worked from home before.
He never has.
So he couldn't stay focused.
Yeah.
So like, I mean, you saw like the,the refrigerators in my office
(32:24):
because I can keep working whenpeople come in and out, he cannot.
And so he has his own officespace of my own office space.
Half the time.
He doesn't even know when I'mhere or when I'm not here.
Eric (32:35):
Yeah.
So how, and, and, and how have youall been able to sort of, you know,
draw those boundaries for the, the,the, the personal versus the work, you
know, you know, obviously having thekids kind of creates a natural, well,
we gotta feed 'em and get 'em out thedoor in the morning and we gotta feed
'em and get 'em in bed in the evening.
But like, you know, what else haveyou done to, to make sure that, you
know, you guys can keep, keep yourown personal relationship strong.
Dees (32:58):
So we.
I, we always, and, and my parentsused to say this all the time, we have
a date night every week, and it's adate night in like a three small, uh,
our kids are eight to two and a half.
So finding a sitter that can geteverybody ready during, for bed
(33:20):
during the witching hour, whichat our house is from six to seven.
Okay.
Um, or thereabout.
Um, that's hard that it's a,you're in the thick of it and my
8-year-old is so kind and so helpful.
But if my 6-year-old is in a badmood and my two and a half year
old is in a bad mood, it does notmatter how good my 8-year-old is.
(33:42):
Um, so every Sunday we put thekids down for bed like we normally
would during the week for school.
And then he and I have a date Night Inn.
And we may be eating leftovers,doesn't really matter, but we are
sitting there and we eat togetherand we don't talk about work.
We may watch a show on Netflix,but we're not talking work.
(34:06):
Zero work conversation.
And um, and so we, we'd kinda setthat aside as like sacred time.
And our kids know, like during the summerthey know you go upstairs, you go play.
Daddy and mommy arehaving a date night in.
Um, and we felt it was importantto model that for them, but
(34:27):
also to maintain that for us.
Um, we also try to go to lunch once aweek, um, where again, we don't talk about
work just from a standpoint of, my kidsalways say, well, y'all have been together
all day, but we don't really talk.
We really don't.
Yeah.
Um.
And, and so we just try to make surethat we have time carved out, set
(34:51):
aside every week for just me and him.
Um, and in the mornings we'redefinitely not talking about work.
Like you said, we're shuffling to getkids ready and dressed and out the door.
Um, and we try to make alot of that time about them.
Um, we also both go to the gymsometimes together, sometimes not.
From a mental healthstandpoint as much as anything.
(35:13):
Yeah.
Um, so, um, there are just some, somenon-negotiables that we kind of set in
place from the beginning and we feltlike that was what needed to happen.
Eric (35:22):
That's awesome.
Glad, glad to hear that you all havebeen able to sort of figure that
out and kind of work through it.
I mean, you know, I know a lot, a lotof times that people struggle, right?
And it's like, you know, the, the,the, the, you got all the stresses of
the business and then, you know, yougot the natural stresses of, you know,
being parents and, you know, havingyour own home, you know, life there.
And then it's just like,you know, they just.
You know, combine and explode.
(35:43):
And it's like, you know, a very,very challenging time all around.
And so, you know, it does, ittakes good strong communication,
setting those boundaries, workingthrough it and committing to it.
Mm-hmm.
And I think that's, you know, probablythe biggest challenge of my wife and
I have is, you know, we, we got itblocked out on the calendar, but like,
you know, it's so easy to, to, tokind of, well, you know, now's this,
you know, this day isn't gonna work.
And we just kind of keep pushingit and, you know, it's, uh,
(36:04):
it's, it's something that.
You know, I think it, it can bevery challenging and so I, I, I
can only imagine, you know, workingtogether, it, it, it kind of compounds
the, the challenge there for you.
But, you know, glad, glad to hearthat you all have been able to, to, to
figure out that right balance and youreally have, you know, it sounds like
kind of di divide and conquer, right?
So you're not Yeah.
You know, combating, youknow, o over different things.
Like you both have very discreetroles and you know, that, that lets
(36:26):
you kind of get, get everythingdone during the day that you need.
Yeah.
And still come home and, and beable to have that good, happy life.
Dees (36:32):
That's right.
And he, like, he lovestaking the kids to school.
That is his favorite partof every day because they're
just funny in the mornings.
Like they're, they're funny, nice.
And he loves getting to drop 'emoff so that, that for him is a win.
And then he is in the office early.
You know, I'll get to the office8, 8 15, but he's here by 7 27 30.
(36:57):
Then he gets to hammer, youknow, he hammers out stuff.
Um, in that time when nobody'shere, um, I can work later.
He typically is done mentally,you know, and so he needs to step
away a little earlier than I do.
So, yeah.
Eric (37:12):
That's awesome.
I'm excited to see you all continuingto, to grow and expand the business.
Sounds like you've got,you know, good, good goals.
Hopefully not, you know, making yourstomach turn too much, but, uh, you
know, that, that, that is, that is a veryhealthy, you know, uh, way to think about
it is like, Hey, you know, we, we can'tjust have, you know, super easy goals.
We need things that are gonna push us.
Challenge us.
So, you know, I really appreciateyou coming on kind of sharing your
(37:33):
story, how you've, you know, beenable to build this with your husband.
You know, I, I'm, I'm curious, kinda anylast, like final, you know, advice that,
that you might give to other people who,you know, are, are in that early, early
stage grind, you know, working out oftheir, their, their, their home, trying to
figure out how to make this thing happen.
Like, you know, what, whatadvice would you give to them?
Dees (37:51):
So, as the type A person, I can't even believe I'm saying this,
like, don't be afraid to take a chance.
Um.
This showroom was, was on our plan.
Um, it was not on our plan as fastas it ended up becoming the reality.
Um, me leaving my job was on the plan,but it happened about a year early.
(38:12):
Um, and there were some, my dadgot sick, so there were some
family things that led to that.
Um, but, but the Lord veryclearly opened those doors and
shut the doors he needed to.
And so don't be afraid to take the risk.
Um.
My brother looked at me one day, he said,I mean, what happens if, if you don't?
(38:33):
I said, then we lose money.
And he was like, but you canmake more in a different way.
And I thought, okay, well that's alittle less terrifying, you know?
Um, so don't be afraid to take the risk.
Um, and, and, you know, just.
Try to learn from people in theindustry that have been doing it longer.
(38:55):
Some of the things you're gonna learnfrom them are things you absolutely
want to implement, and some of thethings are gonna be things that you
don't wanna implement and equal.
Those are both equallyimportant and equally valuable.
But don't, don't ever stop learning,um, about honing your craft and
what that needs to look like.
Eric (39:14):
Yeah, I love it.
That's, that's such great advice.
You know, I, I think it's, uh.
Part of being an entrepreneur and,and business owners is, is you
do need to sort of figure out howto become comfortable with risk.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I think it's importantthat people realize that, like, you
know, if, if you want to continueto, to innovate and push the balance
and grow you, you know, you do haveto get outta your comfort zone.
(39:35):
And, you know, look, if, if, if it doesn'twork out, you know, at the end of the
day, like, you know, just learn from it.
And figure out how to adapt andhow to keep pushing forward and
don't keep making the same mistakestwice, but like, you know, getting
comfortable with taking that risk.
You know, that's, that's howyou're gonna continue to grow and
grow faster than you're probably,you know, comfortable with.
But you know what, you just keep going.
You keep adapting.
(39:55):
So I think you're, you'reabsolutely right there.
And, and, and also I couldn't agreemore, like, you know, being able
to network and learn from others.
Such a great way to, to hopefullyshed a little bit of a, you know, time
off, off, off what it takes to kindof figure everything out the hard way.
You know, maybe being able to skip acouple of those, you know, hard knocks
that some other people have taken will,will certainly, uh, you know, not, not,
(40:15):
not, not be, uh, you know, to too badto, to be able to accomplish there.
But, you know, I think just continuingto, to, to grow, keeping your mind, you
know, open to new ideas and being able toadapt is, is how we see a lot of builders
continuing to scale their business.
And, you know, it's, uh, it'sawesome just being able to hear
from, from your perspective.
Perspective and your story.
So I really appreciate you comingon and, and sharing all this Des
(40:36):
means, means a lot that you've takenthe time outta your day to do that.
So thank you.
Dees (40:39):
Well, thank you for having me, Erica.
It's, it's been fun.
Eric (40:43):
Awesome.
Thanks Des.
See you.
Thanks for joining us for thisepisode of Builder Stories.
We hope you enjoyed the conversationand gained valuable insights that can
help you in your journey along the way.
Don't forget to subscribe tothe show and leave us a review.
And as always, if you or someone youknow has a story to share, please
(41:03):
contact us@builderstories.com.
We'd love to hear from you.
I'm Eric Fortenberry, and remember,every builder has a unique story.
Keep building yours.
Welcome to the podcast where we take a deep dive into the stories
behind construction business leaders.
We will share how they got started,how they found success, and the
lessons learned along the way.
I'm your host, Eric Fortenberry.
Welcome to Builder Stories.
Welcome back, everybody.
Today I am here with Des Britt.
(00:21):
She is the, are you the owner?
Is that right?
Dees (00:23):
I am the owner.
Eric (00:24):
The owner of.
Redeemed decks and outdoor solutions.
They're located in Madison, Mississippi.
Really excited to haveyou on the show today.
Welcome to Builder Stories.
Dees (00:33):
Thank you.
Happy to be here.
Eric (00:35):
So why don't you give us a little background.
So how'd you get into to, to buildingdecks, get into construction?
What, what brought you down this path?
Dees (00:42):
Sure.
Um, so, uh, this was not whatI thought I would be doing.
Um, if you would've asked mewhen I graduated college, I
had a communication degree.
Um, met my now husband and he wasactually in the teaching coaching world.
We got ready to start a familyand he said, I'll never be home.
(01:04):
I said, okay.
Um, he said, I kind ofthink I wanna shift.
So we actually startedas a landscaping company.
Um, it was something that hehad enough background in to
be able to slide right into.
We did that for about a year, and thensomeone that knows us very well said,
have you ever thought about doing decks?
(01:25):
And we kind of were like, well,not, not exactly, um, but he
said, I'll take on a challenge.
So he did one deck and was hooked, um,because it was not the same day twice.
Um, it was all about.
Allowing some creativity, um, while alsobeing able to, um, do something well that
(01:52):
by and large in our specific area, therewasn't anybody doing what we were doing.
Eric (01:58):
What would, what, what would you say has been like the biggest challenge to, to
Dees (02:02):
starting this?
Sure.
A lot of people say, I don't knowhow you work with your spouse.
Um, yeah.
He has said it best.
The things that he is really good at arethings that I don't enjoy and things I'm
not very good at doing and vice versa.
Um, but I talked to several peoplewho worked with their spouses and
the very first thing that theyall said in some way, shape, form,
(02:26):
or fashion, was set a boundary ofwhen you quit talking about work.
So, um, we try to do that.
Kids have helped us do that.
Um.
And we, we've, we stickto it most of the time.
Eric (02:42):
Yeah.
What, uh, so, so what's kind of beenlike the, I mean, how many, what,
what's the team look like today?
Dees (02:48):
So we have one crew.
We're trying to expand to two.
We've got a project manager,which when we expand, we will
have another project manager.
Um, and then we have a guy thatwe're talking through with sales, and
then my husband and I, so really, Imean less than 10, and we are just
(03:09):
going as fast as we know to go.
Eric (03:12):
And how has that, like over the last couple years, how have you sort of thought
about building out that team and how hasthat sort of affected, you know, you guys'
ability to sort of set those boundaries?
Like, have you been able to sortof see a little bit of, you know,
weight get lifted off your shoulders?
Like you, you know, are you stillgoing home feeling the weight of
the world on, you know, on you?
'cause I, I know as an entrepreneurfeels like, you know, yeah, at the
(03:33):
end of the day everything stopswith us and, you know, it's, it's
hard to turn it off sometimes.
That's,
Dees (03:37):
um, it's gotten better.
Um, I think I. I think the hardestpart for, for my husband was letting
go of realizing that the way hedid the, there are other ways to
do things than how he did them.
So if the new project managercomes in and does things a little
differently, that's not necessarilya bad thing, it's just different.
(04:00):
I
Eric (04:01):
definitely feel like that's one of the hardest things is learning
how to delegate and to trust others.
'cause it's like we know, you know,we, we would do it exactly how,
you know, we've always done it andthat's exactly how it should be done.
And you know, we thinkwe're gonna do it the best.
But it's like, well, you know, thepoint of building a team is to surround
yourself with people who are, you know.
You know, hopefully better thanyou at, at doing their, you know,
their roles and responsibilities.
(04:22):
And so I think, uh, you know, it's,it's very natural sort of resistance
to, to sort of wanna let go, youknow, and kind of give, give the reins
up to other people in those areasthat, you know, you've brought 'em
into to, to, to do and to take on.
And, you know, I think it's a verynatural challenge for, for, for a lot
of people running, running businesses.
Dees (04:39):
Yeah, it is.
It's been, um.
We're trying to go by the, the 80% role.
Like if somebody can do something80% as well as we can get rid of it,
um, give that, delegate that task.
Um, and so we got a new site managerin the role he started in March and um,
he has a very extensive constructionbackground, but of course he is
(05:03):
trying to learn how we do things that.
From a, a composite certificationworld, there are certain things we
have to do differently than justbuilding a traditional wood deck.
Eric (05:16):
Yeah, that's great.
I mean, I've certainly been reallyinteresting just learning about all the
composite boards and stuff over the years.
I'm curious, I mean, are there any, uh,you know, any, any preferred manufacturers
that you work with every time?
Dees (05:27):
So we are certified in Trax.
Timber Tech Bay, uh,Fiberon and Moisture Shield.
Okay.
Um, we, we also, so we don't have a wholelot of second story decks here, um, but we
do have a lot of people that want to closein the bottom of their decks to, you know,
(05:49):
eliminate any, you know, random animals.
And so we have also.
Kind of started shifting or addinginto our portfolio the things like
versetta stone that are applicationsthat our guys can put in that you don't
have to have a mason for, but thatfinish up a project and tidy it up
(06:12):
and make it all a sustainable product.
Eric (06:16):
So what is your, what's your sales process look like?
Dees (06:19):
Majority of our leads are referrals.
Um.
Be it Facebook or an actual referral froma neighbor or something like that, or,
um, and, and so, um, once we take thatreferral in, we put them in job tread.
I am the first point of contact and thelast point of contact for every customer.
(06:40):
Um, we do follow ups to every conversationand then we schedule consultation
visits and we go out and we look.
We examine and we say, you know,this is what is the most, the
biggest bang for your buck.
Um, this is something we wouldsuggest based on things we've seen.
Um, we ask everything from, do youthink you may wanna add a pergola
(07:05):
or a screen room to this space?
Because if so, this is what we would do.
You know, or tell me what your dreamspace is and then let's go from there.
Um, so we'll do a consultation visit.
Come back, quote that project.
And if a customer's ready tomove forward, then we, um, do a
deposit and we start a drawing.
(07:27):
Um, we find that a typically,um, there's one home, one.
If it's a two, two homeownerhouse, one of them needs to see it.
Which would be me and one of them canenvision it, which would be my husband.
Um, and so, uh, we draw everything andwe get it all right before we ever start.
(07:49):
And then they, they will choose theirdecking, their railing, any other
materials they need to choose, and wego out and we build it based on, uh,
timing from them, um, timing regardsto permits, um, so lots of variables.
Weather, um, that kindof come into play there.
Eric (08:10):
No, I, I, I absolutely think it's so awesome that you, you know, you,
you take the time to do the drawing.
You know, I think when, when, like, wejust had a, maybe, I dunno, six months
ago, we, we ended up adding a pool toour backyard and, you know, I think
there were, there were a couple justlike, not even related to the pool.
I mean, it was super helpful tosee the pool and, and kind of the
designs and the drawings of all that.
But like, it was other things like, youknow, the retaining wall that was gonna
(08:34):
go over in the back corner and like howthe gate was gonna swing in and out.
And it was like, it was just.
So helpful to have the drawings, youknow, things, things can obviously
change as you go, but like, I thinkhaving that kind of, that baseline,
making sure everybody's on the same page.
That's, that's so helpful.
Dees (08:48):
Yeah.
And it, it just, it, it allows,I mean, it brings up things that
people don't think about, right?
So I will say, have you thought aboutputting, they'll say, I don't wanna rail
there, but I feel like it needs something.
Um, this last, the projectwe're actually on now.
I said, well, have you thought about abench or changing the color of the border
(09:13):
of the deck to let your mind know, hey,something different is happening here.
Um, so we do try to give as much insightbased on things we've seen before.
Um, people will say, I likethe size of my current deck.
Well, we go out there and wemeasure, and it's 13 by 15.
(09:34):
And I go, that is a. Terriblesize for a composite project.
Can we talk about this?
You know?
Yeah.
You're literally cuttingmoney off a board,
Eric (09:43):
so, so how long do you typically spend kind of on that,
that pre-construction phase there?
Dees (09:49):
Pre-construction phase?
We can, depending on the sizeof the project, we can be there
anywhere from a week to three weeks.
Um, a lot of times we have people come in.
They say, oh, I'm stuck betweenthese deck board colors.
So I send them with samples and Itell people, treat it like paint.
(10:14):
Um, you need to set itoutside in the light.
You need to look at it in the morning.
You need to look at it at noon.
You need to look at it in evening.
You know, um, if you're adding, uh, Itell people, you know, if you're gonna
add a covering that adds a whole notherlayer because you're not gonna have
the same whitening effect, you know?
Yeah.
So.
(10:34):
Um, a lot of times people have toset their own deadlines to choose
a deck color, otherwise they'll,they'll spend forever on them.
Eric (10:44):
Yeah.
And are you charging for this design?
Dees (10:47):
Yes.
Okay.
Um, so we charge, um, we do a depositand then we do not draw until we
have deposit and then a design fee.
Um, now the design fee rolls in typically'cause most people are designed.
Process again, is significantly shorter.
Eric (11:06):
When, when you're kind of in the, I guess sort of, you know, that
initial, you know, quoting, estimatingphase where you're, you know, is, is
your goal to get them to, you know,basically approve this initial quote
and then you're gonna go do the design,really flush out the details and come
back with like an actual final, you know.
What the cost would be.
Dees (11:26):
So a lot of times when, when they accept a quote, um, that's when
we bring them in, um, to the showroomand we show the various layers of
their deck that we need to hammer out.
And then once they make those decisions,uh, sometimes, not often, but sometimes we
(11:46):
have to go back and we have to say, okay.
You chose a board that was not inwhat we quoted you because they
get in here and they're like,Ooh, I really like that color.
Um, or like that deck board, or,I really want this, um, this look.
And so we will often, um,or sometimes re-quote based
(12:07):
on the selections they made.
So we had somebody come in hereearlier today and she ended up
going with a railing system that.
She didn't anticipateand we didn't anticipate.
And so we will now go in and re-quote,send it to her, um, and then we'll
draw it based on the, if she says,yes, I'm good with this price.
(12:30):
She had an idea, we were able togive her a pricing point, um, close
to, um, and so then she will, um.
She'll accept that estimate andthen we will, we will design it
based on the conversations and thenotes we have and things like that.
Eric (12:47):
Sure.
And when you, when you do getinto the construction phase, how
long does that typically take?
Dees (12:55):
Most projects, I'm gonna say our average build, we are in and
out in seven to 10 business days.
Um, there are obviously exceptions, but,um, even then, and we've tr we, we share
this with, with clients, even once westart, if something needs to shift or you
(13:16):
don't like the way something's looking.
Again, our goal is to take whatyou had up here and make it happen.
And so if we need to do someadjusting, let us know and we'll tell
you that's not possible, or that'sa whole nother, you know, that's
a change order with a hefty tag.
Yeah.
Uh, we just learned to documenteverything and that was something.
(13:42):
That was something that wehad to learn the hard way.
Something nobody ever saidto us was document, document.
Um, so now we have everythingdocumented, um, which is why I
do a follow up after every phonecall, after every office visit.
Um, a lot of times after if I goout to the site just to see how
(14:02):
things are and take pictures, uh.
Say, Hey, just as a reminder, thisis happening, you know, um, so that
nobody's ever going, I didn't know aboutthat, or, where did that come from?
Or, I don't remember us discussing this.
Um, it also allows the customer timeto see, you know, to regurgitate
(14:25):
the conversation and go, that's notwhat I heard when you said this.
So a lot of times it's preventativeas much as it is covering.
Us.
Sure.
Um, but that has beensuper helpful as well.
Eric (14:37):
Was there a, a situation that occurred maybe, uh, before
that might have, might havegotten you in some hot water?
No.
Dees (14:43):
Um, yeah, and, and you know, these, these, um, distributors can't just
take all this composite material back.
Right.
That costs, there's likea 25% restocking fee.
Yeah.
Well guess who has to pay thatif you back out or change things?
Yeah.
(15:03):
Um, so it has shiftedhow we do our invoicing.
Um, and it's shifted howwe do a lot of things.
We had a, we had a customerthat was ready to go.
Um, we had ordered,paid for his materials.
He had not paid us.
Um, and then he just went off the rails.
(15:27):
Never heard from him.
Still don't know.
We reached out, our supplier reached out.
I have no idea to this day whathas happened with that project.
Don't have a clue.
Um, but we were stuck with materialthat we no longer could use.
And I'm not gonna push a material coloron somebody that doesn't feel right.
(15:49):
If somebody chooses it,great, I've got it in stock.
But then we're holding all thisinventory and that's not what we do.
We're not trying to hold inventory,we're trying to build a project.
Um, and then we had one customer that wedid all the drawings on the front end.
Again, this only happened one time.
We did the drawings on the frontend, gave them the drawings.
(16:09):
They took the drawingsto another contractor.
We were like, yeah, we're not doingdrawings without pavement anymore.
Well, not.
Um, so again, the, wedidn't really have anybody.
Local to pick their brains on that.
Um, we've since found, um, amentor, uh, a husband and wife
couple in Atlanta, Georgia.
(16:31):
Um, and we called themabout a lot of stuff.
They're.
They're about five to seven yearsahead of where we were, of where
we are, um, in size, in volume.
Um, so as we're learning to navigatenew hurdles, we just call now we're
like, okay, how would you handle this?
What do you think?
(16:51):
I. Tell me what you did,
Eric (16:53):
and you, and you said you were the last voice that
a customer speaks with too.
So what's the, I assume that'skinda like the closeout process.
Dees (17:00):
Yeah, it's a closeout process.
Any applicable warranties.
So from the composite world, um,you all, you know, if you're a
certified installer, it is yourresponsibility to file that warranty.
So once their final check arrives,um, and we've done the punch list,
we've done all of that, um, I'll.
(17:21):
Sometimes schedule pictures, uh,depending on the time of year.
Um, and then I write a thank you note.
Um, I submit their warrantyand I follow up and say, Hey,
your warranty's been submitted.
You should receive an email.
Here are links to our Google, here'sour link to all these ratings.
(17:42):
You know, if you could fillthose out, that would be great.
Um, but yeah, I'm kind of thebeginning point and the ending point.
Um, and.
Just, you may pure, like being verytransparent here, the number of
females that tell me they appreciatetalking to a female and in in
(18:02):
a construction world, I. High.
Um, 'cause I've helped to build,I've helped design, I've helped
build, I've put it all in myself.
Um, every layer of what we do, Ihave been onsite and helped with.
Um, and I think that's important too.
Um, it just builds, um, a, a rapportand a trust with a customer, um,
(18:25):
where I can say like, I've seenthis, I know how this happens.
Like, let me walk you through this.
Yeah.
Um, so.
From the beginning when theycall and they say, I need help.
To the end when I call andI say, thank you so much for
letting us be part of this.
Tag us in any new pictures,you know, refer your friends.
Um, I'm, I'm the beginning and theend with the customer and so, um,
(18:50):
that's gonna be a hard thing for meto maybe at some point step away from.
I kind of doubt it, but, um, yeah.
Eric (18:57):
No, that's, that's great.
I mean, you know, I think it really does.
It, it's, it's like you said, it, it,it gives them the confidence when they,
you know, trust you, you know, fromthe very beginning that like, you're
gonna be there with them throughout theentire process all the way to the end.
I mean, I, I, I gotta believe thatreally helps kind of overcome that,
you know, some of that, that fear ofthe unknown and what's gonna happen.
(19:18):
Like, is this, is this gonnaend up working out well?
And it's like, I think youcan be that kind of, that that
consistent voice for them.
Dees (19:24):
Construction in general, and I think you would agree with this
'cause you came from a constructionbackground, is that right?
Yeah, so I think constructionin general gets a bad rep
or, um, like lacking in communicationand, and just not maintaining
(19:45):
a clean job site for a while.
Our main clientele was retiredengineers, male engineers.
So that was a very interesting groupto hear my voice, and they're like,
well, I wanna talk to, you know,the guy that's gonna be building it.
I'm like, and you will.
But right now you're talking to me.
(20:06):
Um, and I, I promise I cananswer your questions, I promise.
Uh.
Then they always, youknow, I'm, I'm sorry.
I should've, I should've let you talk.
You know.
Um, so it's, it's been interesting.
Again, construction's not whatI thought I would be doing.
Um, but it's been a lot of fun beingable to like, transform a space that,
(20:32):
that people once thought could not servethem into this space where they're gonna.
Spend all this time, make allthese memories, like that's
what it's about for us.
Eric (20:43):
So you talked about, you know, you, you again kind of
had some unprecedented growth.
Mm-hmm.
You know, you, you mentioned that you'renow licensed in, in Alabama as well.
Mm-hmm.
You know, it sounds like theremight be some expansion there.
Like what's, what, what's thenext, you know, few years look
like, you know, what is the plan?
How do you wanna see the,the company continue to grow?
Dees (21:00):
So we would love to get to, um.
We plan to hire a secondcrew this calendar year.
Um, we were told that wouldbe the most challenging layer,
and that is proving to be true.
Uh, so we're, we've been trying toadd a second crew since last summer.
Um, and so we're, we'reworking on that part.
(21:22):
Um, we we're license licensed in Alabama.
We would love to eventuallyhave a showroom there.
Um.
There's got to be enough interestthere for that to, to happen.
Um, but we're looking at some, someoutlets for that to become a reality.
(21:42):
Um, our site manager is very muchon board with us, um, broadening
and, and growing and um, we'reeven looking at taking on projects.
That may be a little bit more extensivethan what we would've normally done
because of the connections our sitemanager has, um, and people that he's
(22:02):
worked with that we now can use assubcontractors for different layers
where we didn't have anybody before.
Um, so, um.
We're, we're on track to beat lastyear's, uh, gross, gross, um, income,
and we'd love to do that this year.
Um, we've looked at expanding intoTennessee and Louisiana as well.
(22:26):
Wow.
Um, just from a reciprocity standpoint,um, from having a Mississippi license.
But, um, we'd, we'd also like to do alittle bit more con uh, commercial work.
Um, so there are some thingsthat we're working on.
Within the office to make sure,make that become a reality.
We take, I wanna say probablyfive commercial jobs a year.
(22:50):
Um, and we'd love to, we'd loveto have an entire commercial
division, um, at some point.
So, um, trying to take it all in stride,but focusing on what we do well, um, and,
and just making sure we don't lose that.
Eric (23:07):
Sure.
So is, is the, would you say that, like,having the showroom, is that kind of like
where, you know, you know, you've gota, a, a lot of potential in a market,
it kind of gives you that stronghold.
Is that a tool that like, you know,really helps to, I mean, you say you
don't really bring 'em into the showroomuntil they've already agreed to the quote.
Mm-hmm.
And then is that like, Imean, why not use that?
(23:28):
Earlier in the phase, like mm-hmm.
I hear a lot of like, at least, youknow, a lot of design builders, you
know, the remodelers where, you know,they'll bring 'em into a showroom and
that really helps seal the deal for them.
It kind of gets the prospect to startthinking about, well, you know, do I
want to go with the, the red or the blue?
You know, they're like debating whichone, you know, what tile or what board
or whatever it is, instead of like,do I want to do this at all or not?
(23:49):
It's, it's kind of progressingthem down the, you know, down the,
the, the, the, the process there.
So.
I'm curious, kind of, you know howit sounds like you kind of use it
a little bit later in the phase,
Dees (23:59):
so there's a reason for that.
We started renting this buildingor these two units in March.
Um, so we haven't had ashowroom prior to mail.
Um, we rented space from our supplierand he had an area where people
could come and see samples, but, um.
(24:22):
We, we acquired one unit in March,the second unit we got in April.
And we have immediately started,um, taking down some walls, creating
openings, making it, um, getting thematerials and the supplies in, in order
to create the showroom look that wewant, which is walking on the decking
(24:44):
lines, looking at everything put up.
We want you to walk in and go.
I could, I can see thatin my backyard now.
Like that's, that's exactly what I want.
Build me that, um, builders,we'll bring, bring builders in.
Let them see, um, and talk to them again.
A lot of it here specificallyis educating the public on why
(25:06):
you need a certified installer.
Why not hire Chuck in a truckto handle my composite decking?
Well, let me tell you why.
Um, and so there's.
Again, there's layers to that here.
Um, but we're, we're getting thisshowroom done so that we can have all
these open houses so that people knowthat we're here, um, to then, you
(25:30):
know, hey, you wanna do a renovation?
Some of it's outside.
Go to redeem decks, they're,you know, in Madison, and then
they can send them right over.
Eric (25:39):
Yep.
It's interesting.
You, you also talked about howyour site manager has really opened
up a lot of, you know, doors foryou that you might not have had.
You know, that, that, those opportunitiesbefore, I mean, I think that really goes
to show when you, you know, when you bringon the right people to your team, you
know, there's sometimes more than justthat one specific role, you know, that,
that, that they can, you know, serve.
(26:00):
It's, it.
There's a lot of opportunity that theymight also be able to do, like opening
up all these doors and connections and,and subs and, and things like that, you
know, super interesting that, that, thatyou did that how, how, you know, how have
you sort of gone about finding peoplelike your site manager and like, is that
the plan to, you know, as you build outthis second crew, are you trying to find,
you know, sort of a similar opportunity?
Dees (26:22):
Yeah, so.
Long term we would love forour current site manager to be
over all the project managers.
That would be ideal.
Um, we, the next person we hire interms of like project site management,
I don't necessarily need thatindividual to have the same credentials.
(26:46):
Um, a lot of site management.
Yes.
Some of it is, is knowing.
Knowing how to build the project withquite a bit of it is just running and
gathering items that you know, that, thatall of a sudden we realized we needed
more two bytes or more two by twelves.
(27:08):
And so we need a few more to finish this.
So some of it is a runner component.
Um.
So we would love for our site managerto be over all the crews ultimately,
um, over all the projects managersthat are associated with those crews.
But I'll be honest, we, we have beenvery, very fortunate and, and the
(27:32):
Lord's been really, really good to us.
The guy that is coming to us forsales reached out to us, um, and, and.
I told my husband and I said, I thinkthat says something about the culture
you've created and the brand you've built.
Yeah.
Um, because you built it.
I came alongside you, but likeyou built this baby on your back.
(27:54):
Um, and, and he, you know, this guyknows the pride you take in your work.
Yeah.
And I think, I think for us,the site manager came to us.
We tried to hire him four yearsago and he said, no, I really
like doing my own thing and Okay.
Um, and he called, I think the daywe found out we had to be out of our
(28:15):
old space before we moved into thisbuilding, he called and he said,
oh, I want to come work for you.
And we were like, okay, let's go.
Um, and then this sales guycalled Mm, maybe a month ago.
Hey, I wanna have this, this conversation.
What does this look like?
Can we, you know, would you be willing?
And we're going, okay, let's do it.
(28:38):
You know, so a littlebit of fear, but, um.
A guy that told us one time, uh, whenwe were building our, our business
plan, he said, if it doesn't, ifyour goals don't make your stomach
turn, then they're not big enough.
And I was like, well, that's, here we are.
Both of our stomachs are turning.
(28:58):
So I guess we're doing it right, butwe just had the right people reach out.
And I think now that we've gotpeople in the right spots, it's less
of a. Taking somebody and makingthem fit what we need it to be.
It's can this person add to the value, andif so, where and what does that look like?
(29:19):
Um, and how can we best utilizetheir abilities and their resources
for the growth of the company.
Eric (29:27):
Yeah.
What would you say has been thebiggest challenge for, for you all, you
know, from when your husband kind of.
Early on and he got you ropedin to building out the team
and kind of where you're today.
Like what, anything unexpected?
Dees (29:41):
Um, I guess we, when my husband was still building, so this would've
been before I was working for himfull-time, um, with him, now he
works for me anyway, um, before wewere working together full time.
(30:02):
I was spending every lunch break I had andevery extra I worked eight to three 30.
So I used my lunch break and three30 to five to do his invoices,
his estimates, all of that.
And I remember coming home one nightand he had been at the job site,
but he had all these estimates hehad to get done and he was getting
(30:24):
ready to send out a, an estimate.
I don't know why he had not.
Done like an auto sum onour, on our Excel document.
But the estimate was supposed tobe like 18,000 in some change.
And it said 81.
And I looked at him and I said, I knowmath person, but that is not right.
(30:49):
And he said, what do you mean?
And I said, it's not right.
I don't know what you've done tothe formula, but it's not right.
And he looked at me,he said, I'm so tired.
Like.
He was so tired that thenumbers had flipped on him.
Hmm.
And I remember going, wecan't keep doing this.
Like we are roommates.
I never see you.
(31:09):
Like you get, you know, he,he was playing with the kids.
We would get the kids down.
He was going and working onquotes in the living room.
I said, you can't even enjoyour living room because it's
also where you do your quotes.
Like, we can't keep doing this.
Um, and, and it was not long after that.
I. That we found, the crew that we havenow, that has just been such a blessing.
(31:33):
Uh, but there was a breakingpoint where I was like, you've got
to either find somebody or hiresomebody to do what you're doing.
And, and so I think that was when herealized like, they're not, nobody's
gonna do it, just like I'm gonna do it.
They're gonna do itdifferently, but that's okay.
Eric (31:52):
So is this the kind of the, the, the showroom that's also
sort of like the office space?
Now you, you've, you've been ableto separate the, the, the house Yes.
In the living room?
Dees (32:01):
Yes.
Our old office was probably four feetwide by, mm, I'm gonna say 10 feet long.
And so we couldn't be onthe phone at the same time.
We c. I've worked from home before.
He never has.
So he couldn't stay focused.
Yeah.
So like, I mean, you saw like the,the refrigerators in my office
(32:24):
because I can keep working whenpeople come in and out, he cannot.
And so he has his own officespace of my own office space.
Half the time.
He doesn't even know when I'mhere or when I'm not here.
Eric (32:35):
Yeah.
So how, and, and, and how have youall been able to sort of, you know,
draw those boundaries for the, the,the, the personal versus the work, you
know, you know, obviously having thekids kind of creates a natural, well,
we gotta feed 'em and get 'em out thedoor in the morning and we gotta feed
'em and get 'em in bed in the evening.
But like, you know, what else haveyou done to, to make sure that, you
know, you guys can keep, keep yourown personal relationship strong.
Dees (32:58):
So we.
I, we always, and, and my parentsused to say this all the time, we have
a date night every week, and it's adate night in like a three small, uh,
our kids are eight to two and a half.
So finding a sitter that can geteverybody ready during, for bed
(33:20):
during the witching hour, whichat our house is from six to seven.
Okay.
Um, or thereabout.
Um, that's hard that it's a,you're in the thick of it and my
8-year-old is so kind and so helpful.
But if my 6-year-old is in a badmood and my two and a half year
old is in a bad mood, it does notmatter how good my 8-year-old is.
(33:42):
Um, so every Sunday we put thekids down for bed like we normally
would during the week for school.
And then he and I have a date Night Inn.
And we may be eating leftovers,doesn't really matter, but we are
sitting there and we eat togetherand we don't talk about work.
We may watch a show on Netflix,but we're not talking work.
(34:06):
Zero work conversation.
And um, and so we, we'd kinda setthat aside as like sacred time.
And our kids know, like during the summerthey know you go upstairs, you go play.
Daddy and mommy arehaving a date night in.
Um, and we felt it was importantto model that for them, but
(34:27):
also to maintain that for us.
Um, we also try to go to lunch once aweek, um, where again, we don't talk about
work just from a standpoint of, my kidsalways say, well, y'all have been together
all day, but we don't really talk.
We really don't.
Yeah.
Um.
And, and so we just try to make surethat we have time carved out, set
(34:51):
aside every week for just me and him.
Um, and in the mornings we'redefinitely not talking about work.
Like you said, we're shuffling to getkids ready and dressed and out the door.
Um, and we try to make alot of that time about them.
Um, we also both go to the gymsometimes together, sometimes not.
From a mental healthstandpoint as much as anything.
(35:13):
Yeah.
Um, so, um, there are just some, somenon-negotiables that we kind of set in
place from the beginning and we feltlike that was what needed to happen.
Eric (35:22):
That's awesome.
Glad, glad to hear that you all havebeen able to sort of figure that
out and kind of work through it.
I mean, you know, I know a lot, a lotof times that people struggle, right?
And it's like, you know, the, the,the, the, you got all the stresses of
the business and then, you know, yougot the natural stresses of, you know,
being parents and, you know, havingyour own home, you know, life there.
And then it's just like,you know, they just.
You know, combine and explode.
(35:43):
And it's like, you know, a very,very challenging time all around.
And so, you know, it does, ittakes good strong communication,
setting those boundaries, workingthrough it and committing to it.
Mm-hmm.
And I think that's, you know, probablythe biggest challenge of my wife and
I have is, you know, we, we got itblocked out on the calendar, but like,
you know, it's so easy to, to, tokind of, well, you know, now's this,
you know, this day isn't gonna work.
And we just kind of keep pushingit and, you know, it's, uh,
(36:04):
it's, it's something that.
You know, I think it, it can bevery challenging and so I, I, I
can only imagine, you know, workingtogether, it, it, it kind of compounds
the, the challenge there for you.
But, you know, glad, glad to hearthat you all have been able to, to, to
figure out that right balance and youreally have, you know, it sounds like
kind of di divide and conquer, right?
So you're not Yeah.
You know, combating, youknow, o over different things.
Like you both have very discreetroles and you know, that, that lets
(36:26):
you kind of get, get everythingdone during the day that you need.
Yeah.
And still come home and, and beable to have that good, happy life.
Dees (36:32):
That's right.
And he, like, he lovestaking the kids to school.
That is his favorite partof every day because they're
just funny in the mornings.
Like they're, they're funny, nice.
And he loves getting to drop 'emoff so that, that for him is a win.
And then he is in the office early.
You know, I'll get to the office8, 8 15, but he's here by 7 27 30.
(36:57):
Then he gets to hammer, youknow, he hammers out stuff.
Um, in that time when nobody'shere, um, I can work later.
He typically is done mentally,you know, and so he needs to step
away a little earlier than I do.
So, yeah.
Eric (37:12):
That's awesome.
I'm excited to see you all continuingto, to grow and expand the business.
Sounds like you've got,you know, good, good goals.
Hopefully not, you know, making yourstomach turn too much, but, uh, you
know, that, that, that is, that is a veryhealthy, you know, uh, way to think about
it is like, Hey, you know, we, we can'tjust have, you know, super easy goals.
We need things that are gonna push us.
Challenge us.
So, you know, I really appreciateyou coming on kind of sharing your
(37:33):
story, how you've, you know, beenable to build this with your husband.
You know, I, I'm, I'm curious, kinda anylast, like final, you know, advice that,
that you might give to other people who,you know, are, are in that early, early
stage grind, you know, working out oftheir, their, their, their home, trying to
figure out how to make this thing happen.
Like, you know, what, whatadvice would you give to them?
Dees (37:51):
So, as the type A person, I can't even believe I'm saying this,
like, don't be afraid to take a chance.
Um.
This showroom was, was on our plan.
Um, it was not on our plan as fastas it ended up becoming the reality.
Um, me leaving my job was on the plan,but it happened about a year early.
(38:12):
Um, and there were some, my dadgot sick, so there were some
family things that led to that.
Um, but, but the Lord veryclearly opened those doors and
shut the doors he needed to.
And so don't be afraid to take the risk.
Um.
My brother looked at me one day, he said,I mean, what happens if, if you don't?
(38:33):
I said, then we lose money.
And he was like, but you canmake more in a different way.
And I thought, okay, well that's alittle less terrifying, you know?
Um, so don't be afraid to take the risk.
Um, and, and, you know, just.
Try to learn from people in theindustry that have been doing it longer.
(38:55):
Some of the things you're gonna learnfrom them are things you absolutely
want to implement, and some of thethings are gonna be things that you
don't wanna implement and equal.
Those are both equallyimportant and equally valuable.
But don't, don't ever stop learning,um, about honing your craft and
what that needs to look like.
Eric (39:14):
Yeah, I love it.
That's, that's such great advice.
You know, I, I think it's, uh.
Part of being an entrepreneur and,and business owners is, is you
do need to sort of figure out howto become comfortable with risk.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I think it's importantthat people realize that, like, you
know, if, if you want to continueto, to innovate and push the balance
and grow you, you know, you do haveto get outta your comfort zone.
(39:35):
And, you know, look, if, if, if it doesn'twork out, you know, at the end of the
day, like, you know, just learn from it.
And figure out how to adapt andhow to keep pushing forward and
don't keep making the same mistakestwice, but like, you know, getting
comfortable with taking that risk.
You know, that's, that's howyou're gonna continue to grow and
grow faster than you're probably,you know, comfortable with.
But you know what, you just keep going.
You keep adapting.
(39:55):
So I think you're, you'reabsolutely right there.
And, and, and also I couldn't agreemore, like, you know, being able
to network and learn from others.
Such a great way to, to hopefullyshed a little bit of a, you know, time
off, off, off what it takes to kindof figure everything out the hard way.
You know, maybe being able to skip acouple of those, you know, hard knocks
that some other people have taken will,will certainly, uh, you know, not, not,
(40:15):
not, not be, uh, you know, to too badto, to be able to accomplish there.
But, you know, I think just continuingto, to, to grow, keeping your mind, you
know, open to new ideas and being able toadapt is, is how we see a lot of builders
continuing to scale their business.
And, you know, it's, uh, it'sawesome just being able to hear
from, from your perspective.
Perspective and your story.
So I really appreciate you comingon and, and sharing all this Des
(40:36):
means, means a lot that you've takenthe time outta your day to do that.
So thank you.
Dees (40:39):
Well, thank you for having me, Erica.
It's, it's been fun.
Eric (40:43):
Awesome.
Thanks Des.
See you.
Thanks for joining us for thisepisode of Builder Stories.
We hope you enjoyed the conversationand gained valuable insights that can
help you in your journey along the way.
Don't forget to subscribe tothe show and leave us a review.
And as always, if you or someone youknow has a story to share, please
(41:03):
contact us@builderstories.com.
We'd love to hear from you.
I'm Eric Fortenberry, and remember,every builder has a unique story.
Keep building yours.
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