July 9, 2025 • 43 mins
What does it take to grow a construction business from a dream into a sought-after brand known for craftsmanship and care? Tyler Winship found out firsthand when he launched Englewood Custom Carpentry the same day he was fired from another company. Now, nearly a decade later, Winship is running a thriving business with a reputation that stretches across Florida’s Gulf Coast.
In this episode, he shares the systems he used to grow his team, increase profitability, and gain lifelong customers. It’s a story of passion for one’s craft, and the ability to look at mistakes as an opportunity to grow.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- How Winship came to charge for his expertise…not just time and labor
- What marketing strategies helped him expand beyond word of mouth and drive consistent inbound leads
- Which business systems allowed him to shift from barely breaking even to consistent profitability
- How Winship qualifies leads to ensures he only works with the right customers
- The mindset Tyler adopted to grow his team and build a sustainable company
Resources:
Learn more about Englewood Custom Carpentry 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'm here with Tyler Winship.
(00:22):
He is the owner ofInglewood Custom Carpentry.
They're located in Inglewood, Florida.
Welcome to Builder Stories, Tyler.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me on.
Appreciate it.
Yeah, ab absolutely.
So why don't you give us a little bit ofbackground, you know, who you are, how
you got into, uh, into carpentry, whatyour business does, things like that.
Tyler (00:40):
Sure.
Okay.
So, um, I guess, uh, it starts, youknow, back when I was a kid, uh, I was a
skateboarder, so I would build, you know,skateboard ramps and, and stuff like that.
Um.
And, you know, we'd go by constructionsites and dumpster dive and take the
wood out of there and, you know, buildtree forks, all that kind of stuff.
(01:00):
Um, and then as it, you know, as I gotolder, uh, I got better at building and,
um, went on to study, uh, constructionmanagement, tech technology at,
uh, Florida Gulf Coast University.
Um.
Did not get my degree, but, uh, youknow, wound up going into construction,
(01:20):
working for a general contractor.
I was lucky enough to work under a,uh, a true, uh, master carpenter.
You know, there's a lot of people that,uh, call themselves master carpenters
here in this trade, but, um, not a wholelot that are actually master carpenters.
And this guy was, was truly a mastercarpenter, so I was, I was very
fortunate to be able to work with him.
(01:42):
Um.
From there, uh, you know, I had, Ihad noticed that my boss, uh, not
the master carpenter, but the, theactual general, general contractor,
um, was shorting my paychecks.
And, um, so I, I sent him an email andkind of outlined that I had noticed
and, um, he, he asked me to come intoa meeting with him after that email
(02:07):
and we had a discussion and, um.
That led to me being let go.
But, uh, you know, prior to, uh, priorto that, uh, discussion, I had talked
to my wife and to my, uh, to my mom.
And I had told him, I said, look, ifthis guy doesn't fire me, I'm quitting
(02:28):
and I'm starting my own company.
And, um, so, you know, he let me goand I started my company that day.
Uh, I'd already had business cards printedup and all that stuff, ready to go.
And before I even got on the highway,I had my first, uh, two weeks worth
of work scheduled and making triplewhat I was making before and just
(02:50):
started, started like that and neverlooked back and just kept, kept
going, kept learning, progressing.
Um, now we're, uh, my company's about10 years old, almost 10 years old.
Um, we are a team of seven and we're.
We're doing great.
(03:10):
Or so,
Eric (03:11):
um, yeah.
So you said like before you evengot off the highway, you had your
first couple weeks worth of work.
I mean, where, you know, obviously youmust have sort of been, you know, like,
like you said, you're preparing for this,you know, day for this moment mentally,
but like where did those first, youknow, first customers come from for you?
Tyler (03:27):
Um, so I had called, uh, a friend of mine's dad,
who was a real estate broker.
Um, and I just called him andsaid, Hey, I'm on my own now.
I'm starting my own business.
Do you have any work for me?
And he said, yeah, I've gotsome fencing I need put up.
I've got some, uh, interiorremodels to do and stuff like that.
So I just got right to work.
(03:47):
I I went straight to his, uh, one of hisproperties, started putting up a fence
and, you know, just kept going, not there.
And then, you know, he, he, uh.
Was pretty helpful as well.
You know, he, he let other peopleknow, you know, he had some friends
that were investors and stuff likethat, so, um, he kind of got the
word out a little bit as well.
(04:07):
Um, but, uh, but yeah, so I hada, I had a pretty good start.
Um, and then, you know, as I.They can't keep you busy forever.
So I had to kinda learn howto hunt a little bit there.
You know, I remember specifically oneday waking up and having no work to
do and, um, you know, not sure, uh,where my next, you know, job was gonna
(04:31):
come from and searching Craigslistand just trying to figure it out.
And that was, uh, it was a weird day,but I, I. I found work and I just kept,
and I was like, this is how it is now.
Yeah.
Eric (04:42):
So would you say that, uh, you know, was, was that kind of one of
the first sort of most shocking, youknow, moments for you when, when you
realized like, there's there's nowork and I gotta go, gotta go hunt?
Tyler (04:51):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
It was, it was real then, you know, Ihad a family to support, you know, I, I
had a wife and, and one kid at the time.
I have two now.
But, um, you know, just, justrealizing that, you know, this is
something that, you know, especiallyin the beginning is so delicate.
And you have to be, um, you have tobe on it if you're gonna survive.
(05:13):
And, um, you know, thankfully I did.
And you know, things have changednow where, um, I don't really
have to look for work anymore.
It kind of comes to me.
Um, but that, that's again the resultof, you know, many, many years of, of
building a reputation and standing behindmy work and, um, that sort of thing.
Eric (05:32):
Sure.
So e early on, what did kind of, what,what were those, you know, I mean you
said fencing job, but what, like what weresome of your earliest jobs and then sort
of how has that, how has that adapted,you know, kind of changed over time?
Tyler (05:45):
So early on you basically take, um, just about whatever comes to you.
Um, you know, if it's, uh, somebodywants some flooring put in, great.
If somebody wants some trim put in, great.
I'll do it.
You know?
Um, and, uh.
Uh, over time, um, I started to realizethat, you know, the thing that I'm best
(06:08):
at is the fine finish type of work.
Um, so when I started to focus myselfon that and kind of hone my skills
towards that and be, you know, youknow, start developing systems and
processes for how to, uh, do thatmost efficiency, efficiently and, um.
(06:30):
Uh, that's when I reallystarted to get some traction.
Um, sure I was able to start, youknow, turning a profit instead of
just breaking even all the time.
And I remember the first time Ireally made a profit, I kind of felt
a little guilty, you know, because,which, which is odd to say, but,
(06:51):
you know, and I. I was like, wow,I, I must have overcharged them.
But no, the truth is, you know, you'resupposed to be making a profit and
you're supposed to be, um, you know,that's, that's my number one job
now is to, you know, make sure thatI'm running this thing profitably.
Eric (07:07):
So how, how, how long did it take you to, to figure out, you know, what you
should be charging and, and, and how toprice a job so that you did make profit?
Um,
Tyler (07:17):
well it, I would say the first few years I was breaking even,
you know, maybe, uh, year four.
So I started to figure out that, youknow, you need to be doing these things
and, and I was also navigating, you know,the law and trying to figure out what,
um, what I had to comply with insurancewise and what I had to comply with,
(07:38):
you know, workers' comp stuff and, um.
You know, tax filings and all that stuff.
I had no prior, um,business, uh, training.
So I was really just learningall this stuff as I went.
And, and basically every time Iwould get, um, every time I'd get
knocked down by something, I'dlook at it and say, okay, how do I
(08:00):
make sure this never happens again?
Eric (08:03):
Sure.
And I, I imagine early on too, likewhen, when you're both selling the job.
You're doing the work, like, it's probablya little bit hard for you to kind of
figure out, well, you know, my own timeputting into this, I see a lot of people
like, well, it's just my own time.
I don't need to charge as much.
And then, you know, figuring out what doyou charge per hour to go do the work?
And then you realize, well, I'm just wayunder charging, you know, for my own time.
(08:24):
You know, and so I can see how kind ofthe profit gets a little blurry when, when
it's, when it's your own time in there.
Tyler (08:29):
Yeah, actually I was, I was really fortunate.
I had a client, um, whoexplained that to me one day.
He sat me down and hehelped me figure this out.
So this guy was very, very, uh, businesssavvy person, and he had, when we went to
do his remodel, he said, Hey, I've neverhad anybody, um, you know, go for this.
(08:52):
But what do you think about doingan open book type, uh, project?
Um, you know, where, you know, Ibasically show him all my expenses
and, and, and time and, and all that.
And then we go over it at theend and I said, you know what?
Um, let's do it.
You know, I just had agood feeling about the guy.
Um, and so we did it and, uh, at the endhe sat me down and we went through all
(09:17):
the expenses and, um, he actually triedto, tried to trick me a little bit to, um.
To, to get me thinking and,and to get me going, you know?
But, um, we're going through the,the line items and he says, well,
this is a, this is a hundredthousand dollars project, you know?
And, uh, so I said, well, wait a minute.
No, this isn't a hundredthousand dollars project.
(09:39):
That was just what it costs, you know?
And um, so at the end he said, well,what it looks like here is you're
only charging me for your time.
He says, you're not charging mefor your expertise, and that's
where you're losing money.
This is what you need to be doing.
This is what your time is worth.
So we, he kind of gave me a lessonright there at his, uh, kitchen
(10:02):
table and explained to me, you know,one of the key points that I was
missing, I wasn't, um, uh, I, I guessI had never, it never occurred to
me that, you know, this expertise isvaluable and it's worth charging for.
And, um, yeah.
Eric (10:21):
What an awesome client to, uh, take, to take the time to.
So did he end up paying youmore for your expertise?
Yeah, he did.
Tyler (10:27):
He did.
He, he actually ended up strokingme a check for, uh, 13,000
more than I was asking him for.
Huh.
Eric (10:34):
Yeah.
That's incredible.
That never happens, does it?
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Tyler (10:38):
Yeah.
Eric (10:38):
Did, did you ever get, like any formal sales training or, or how
is kind of how frightening evolved
Tyler (10:45):
so well?
Through the contractor fight.
Um, I did go through, uh, theirprogram, battleground program, and
I, I found that pretty helpful.
Um, there were cer you know,I, I kind of would pick and
choose the things that I, I.
Chose to kind of employ, they, theyhave some methods that I was like, eh, I
(11:05):
don't feel comfortable doing it that way.
But, you know, they, they,there's a lot of really great gold
nuggets that they had as well.
So, um, that's about the closest thingto a sales type training that I have.
Um, but, uh, um, I, when I,when I go to sell a job, I'm
(11:25):
not really even thinking about.
Selling the job.
I'm more trying to understand what theywant, how they are envisioning this space,
how they're going to use this space.
Um, and I kind of actlike I'm at a barbecue.
I don't, you know what I mean?
I'm not, um, I'm not super worriedabout whether or not I get the job.
(11:49):
I'm more worried about whetheror not I'm gonna, um, be able to.
Work with this person on a daily basis,and if I'm interested in doing what
they want me to do, you know, sometimesI'll go and I'll look at a job and I'll
realize like, oh, these people want me tocut corners, you know, and if, if that's
something that they want, unfortunatelyI can't work with them because, um,
(12:14):
you know, once I build it, I own it.
So, no, I'm not, I'm, I'ma terrible salesperson.
Absolutely.
But I sell a lot of jobs, so, yeah.
Yeah.
Eric (12:23):
What, what would you say were some of the biggest takeaways
that, that you had going through,you know, Tom Reba's program?
I mean, battle Battleground is veryfocused on, you know, sales and kind of
giving you different, you know, techniquesto help improve your sales, you know?
Yeah.
How did that help you?
So,
Tyler (12:40):
I think one thing that, um, was really helpful was.
In the beginning, you go througha whole thing where you figure out
what your numbers are, you gottafigure out what it costs you per
hour to operate your business.
So it was really nice to have thatstructure, uh, to kind of show me how
to calculate that and figure that out.
And I actually realized,hey, I'm not charging enough.
(13:03):
You know, I'm actually, uh, I should becharging $10 an hour or more than I am.
So, you know, being ableto make that adjustment.
And, uh, we actually go through thisquarterly, we'll do the same, uh.
That same math, youknow, to figure it out.
Say, okay, well where are we now?
Do we need to adjust our hourly rate?
Or, um, are we doing well?
(13:23):
And, and, uh, so, sothat's, that's really great.
Is, uh, you know, knowing yournumbers is super important.
And then as far as the sales traininggoes, there's uh, uh, something that they
introduce called the, the bullshit meter.
And basically that iswhere, you know, you.
Let people know that, you know, you'regonna be charging them to come out
(13:47):
and take a look at their project.
And some people will say,oh, that's ridiculous.
And you know, if they're serious though,if they're serious about buying, um,
they're gonna pay a consultation fee.
And a consultation is a, a, a, you know.
Experience led conversation with aprofessional to make a buying decision.
And if they don't find that value,then maybe I don't need to be
(14:11):
wasting my time going out there.
So that was a super, superhelpful, uh, perspective that I
really didn't think about before.
Mm-hmm.
You know, like when you goand you see a doctor, right?
To get, you know, say a surgery or anelective surgery, whatever, they're
gonna do a consultation and they're gonnacharge you for that time, you know, so.
(14:31):
Just like before we go and westart operating on somebody's home,
we need to have a consultation.
We need to come up with a game plan.
We need to figure out what exactly youwant, what will work, and what won't.
Um, we're pulling measurements.
We're doing a lot of work on behalf of,you know, putting these prices together.
So, um, you know, charging for that timeis, is pretty, uh, pretty important.
(14:55):
Yeah.
And, and.
Weeding out those people and notspending the gas and the time going
out and, and, and providing pricesto people that really aren't serious.
Eric (15:05):
Yeah.
That's a, that's a great way to, uh, tothink about a great analogy there that,
you know, you're, you're paying to gohave that consultation with the doctor,
you know that you're a professional,just, just like any other professional
that's charging for their time.
So do you, you do that now on every job?
Um, I
Tyler (15:20):
don't do it on every job.
Uh, I don't do it for returning clients.
Um, because we've already, you know, builta rapport, they know what we're all about.
They know what they're gonna get.
Um, and, you know, most of our, ourcustomers actually become clients.
So, um, I don't really call somebody aclient until they are coming back and,
(15:42):
um, you know, they're, they're returningcustomer, then they become a client.
Um, but, uh, but yeah, so, so if it, ifit's somebody new and, and, and I can
kind of feel 'em out on the phone as well.
You know how serious theyare about doing the project.
You know, there's certain ways to do that.
Um, and, uh, Tom's, uh, program does,uh, help with that as well, teaching
(16:07):
you kind of methods to figure thatout, um, and make sure that they
mean business before you show up.
So,
Eric (16:15):
so what, what does your full kind of, what, what's the whole sales
process look like for you from, youknow, lead comes in to how are you
qualifying and kind of what is that?
What's that whole thing look like togetting them to become a customer?
Tyler (16:27):
Sure.
So, um, typically, uh, people will go toour website, they'll fill out our form.
Now we have replaced the job treadform with the groundwork form.
I think that's one of your partners there.
Um, but groundwork, uh, is an app thatgives you the ability to have the clients
upload videos, like do a video walkthroughof their project and basically show us.
(16:51):
Exactly what they wantdone before we even arrive.
So we'll take that video and we willstart putting together kind of a
rough ballpark figure with, uh, someof the information they've given us.
And that way when we show up, say wecall 'em up and we, we will have like a
phone conversation about their project.
Say, Hey, tell me more about your project.
(17:13):
You know, how do you envision this space?
You know, um, what's your timeline?
When do you want this done by?
And so once we.
Kind of figure out what they need.
We'll be able to give them a figure, say,okay, your project's gonna cost $60,000.
And you know, they may go, wow,60,000, that was, um, quite a
(17:33):
bit more than I expected to hear.
Uh, and if that's the case, youknow, we say, okay, well, um, based
on the information you're giving us,that's, that's what it's gonna be.
Uh, you know, give or take obviously.
Um.
That's a ballpark.
And if they, if they say, oh,60,000, that sounds great.
(17:56):
You know, let's, let's, uh,do the in-person consultation.
Okay, great.
You know, so we'll, we'll go outthere and we'll meet with them and,
um, you know, 'cause now we knowthey're a serious buyer at this point.
They, they, their budget is realistic.
So once we go out there, you know,we'll have a proposal kind of,
uh, already written up for them.
(18:18):
To, to kind of show 'em where they're at.
And from there, sometimes we'lljust get a check and we'll, we'll
put 'em on the schedule, you know?
Um, so, so it, it cuts out a lotof the back and forth, I guess.
Um, sure.
Eric (18:35):
By, by using that app.
So, so being able to just like,get that video ahead of time
and already like, visualize and,and see what they want done.
I mean, that's, that's justlike saving you so much time.
You're not having to drive out thereto view it for the first time and then
leave, put together the proposal, goback out there, go go in via phone
(18:55):
call later, like you're able to go andhave that money conversation, kind of
go through the details when you're inperson with them for that first time.
And, and earlier you said you know, thatyou're, you know, early on you, you know,
you, you're really having to go hunt forevery project, but, but now you're, you're
no longer having to do that as much.
You, you've got this kind of,this engine that's flowing
and the leads are coming in.
Like what, what would youattribute, you know, that, to,
(19:17):
how have you gotten to that point?
Tyler (19:19):
Um, so in the earlier years, I was a one man band.
And so at that point I wasdoing all the work myself.
I was out in the fieldbuilding relationships.
I was, um, just doing.
Top quality work and, you know, peoplewould recommend me to their friends.
They would, uh, you know, give usgood reviews on Google, uh, you
(19:42):
know, all the, all that stuff.
So I was really laying the groundwork.
I was building my reputation up.
Um, and as I've gotten, I. Moresophisticated with all this, I've,
I've learned how to use Google andSEO and all that stuff and, and kind
of optimize our, our website to, sothat we can rank higher in Google and
(20:04):
reach those people that maybe aren'tin our client's circle of friends.
So we've been able to kind of expandbeyond just the word of mouth, which
is how we started, um, to, you know.
Being in everybody's,uh, in everybody's face.
You know, our, our, uh, ourtrailers are wrapped with our name.
(20:25):
You know, it's, it's huge.
You can read it from a hundred yards away.
I, I told the guy, I said, I wantto be able to read this from space.
So, and, um, and that's, that's anothergood, uh, thing that hap I, I had a, a
guy actually explain to me, um, when Iwas going to get my first trailer wrapped.
(20:46):
He's our, our legal name isGreen Gold Building Solutions.
And he says, he says, you know, youever thought about changing that name?
I said, no.
Why?
He said, well, because it doesn'treally tell anybody about what you do.
I said, I said, huh,that's that's interesting.
And um, he said, basically,you want to keep it simple?
(21:07):
He says, you want to tell 'em whereyou're from, what you do, and you know.
They need to be able to figure that outin about three seconds as you drive by.
So taking his advice, I said, okay,well what we, what we really do best is
that, uh, uh, custom carpentry stuff.
So I said, all right, we're anEnglewood Englewood custom carpentry.
(21:30):
It was that simple.
And, and just getting a DBA and,and changing that for marketing
purposes was such a, um, a great move.
I, I had never thought about changingthe name or, or anything prior to that
conversation, but keeping it simpleand telling people exactly what we
do was, uh, was pretty smart becausewhen I, when I started the business, I
(21:53):
didn't think I was gonna be, you know,falling into like a niche category.
I thought that I was gonna be,you know, building new homes and,
and doing, you know, smart, uh.
The smart homes that are environmentallyfriendly, that kind of thing.
That was really my, my original goal.
So beginning with the goal inmind, I named, uh, named my company
(22:14):
Green Gold Building Solutions.
But it kind of evolved into, youknow, we're the best at, uh, custom
woodworking and that's, that's what we do.
So that's, that's justhow, how it happened.
Eric (22:28):
Yeah.
That's, that's awesome.
I mean, and again, it's likeearly on you really, you don't
know what's gonna happen.
You don't know where you're gonna land.
Like, I ended up going intomechanical engineering.
I was like, this is like terrible.
I hated it.
Like I wasn't, you know, reallywanted to do that at all.
And I found my way over to thebusiness school, I was like,
oh, much better fit for me.
You know, and, and then later I'm,you know, going and doing software
engineering, it's like, oh, Ishould've just chosen a different one.
(22:49):
It's like, but like, you don't knowwhat you don't know, and you don't know
where you're gonna be able to exceltill you've gotten some experience.
So I think that's awesome that you're.
You know, you listen to thatadvice and you're able to kind
of make that move to rebrand.
I see a lot of people who, you know,they'll, they'll, they'll kind of struggle
on that decision for a long time andnot ever pull the trigger when it, it
(23:09):
might make total sense and it couldultimately really help better position
them, you know, to get more of the typeof work that they, that they need to do.
So, you know, good on youfor, for, for making the move.
Tyler (23:19):
Oh yeah.
It was just so simple.
When he, when he put itlike that, I said, wow.
It's so simple.
It's stupid.
Eric (23:26):
So are you, uh, are, are you doing any like advertising or
anything like that to also, youknow, attract, attract people?
Tyler (23:33):
So, yeah, I mean, we have all the trailers and the trucks
are all wrapped and everything.
Um, you know, we've got shirtsand uh, stuff like that.
Uh, Google, you know, when people Googleus, we're the top, uh, the top result.
Um, but is
Eric (23:52):
Oh, are you?
We, we sponsor all the.
Are you paying for that Google listing?
Like is it a Google ad or youjust, you've, you've organically
ranked it with, you know, SEOI
Tyler (24:02):
organically ranked it first and then I started paying for the
ads as well as an additional boost.
Um, yeah, so, so I just really did adeep dive into, you know, what, um.
What Google looks at, like how dothey, how do they rank someone?
And so I started looking at allthose things and I was like, oh,
(24:23):
you gotta, you gotta put thesekeywords all over the place.
You gotta be bouncing offdifferent, uh, uh, organizations',
websites, and stuff like that.
So, you know, maybejoining, um, the building.
Uh, industry association in yourarea, you know, that's a great way
to do it, or the Chamber of Commerce.
Um, and those are also greatareas to network as well.
(24:46):
You know, find other professionalsthat are doing kind of the same
thing as you, and, um, being ableto lean on them for advice and
just build relationships over time.
So, um, but yeah, so, so our,our advertising is, um, I, it's.
It is kind of minimal, but, but everybody,everybody here, um, knows who our,
(25:08):
who we are, which is really great.
Um, uh, like we, we, we do a lotof work out on Boca Grande and Palm
Island and Little Gas Burla Island,which are, you know, three of the, um.
Three of the local island areasand, and we're all over the place.
Like people are like, wow, youguys must be busy out here.
(25:30):
We've seen three of your trucks today.
And, you know, so, um, just, justbecoming kind of a household name
in those areas, uh, has, has been,you know, super important for us.
'cause they're really tight,tight-knit communities that are
hard to get into in the first place.
And so being in everybody'sface like that is super.
(25:50):
Um, important to our strategy.
Eric (25:53):
And did, did you figure out all the Google ad stuff yourself or
did you, did you hire a, a partner?
Tyler (25:58):
Oh, oh, yeah.
I, I, uh, figured it out all out,you know, just Googling stuff on
the internet and figuring out,okay, this is what they look at.
And I built myself a websiteand, um, it was pretty good.
But then, uh, last year I had it redone.
It's, it's a bit better now, um,you know, having a professional
do it versus myself, but, uh.
(26:18):
Yeah.
I mean it's, it's, it's something that'sjust kind of evolved over time and
Eric (26:23):
Sure.
Tyler (26:24):
Um, but, and then in addition to that, we also, uh,
like to support the youth sports.
Um, so we're, we, wesponsor the football team.
We sponsor, we the band, wesponsored the cheerleading.
We sponsored the, uh.
Gymnastics stuff.
(26:44):
And so just being, you know, people seeingyour banner while they're taking their
kids to their sports and seeing, youknow, which companies are supporting their
kids, uh, I think is, um, helpful as well.
I, I think that people reallywanna support people that are,
are getting involved in thecommunity and stuff like that.
(27:04):
So, and I have kids too, so I like to seemy own stuff when I'm out there as well.
So it's kind of a vanitything a little bit.
Eric (27:12):
Nice.
Yeah, I mean that's, that'sdefinitely a great move.
I've, I've heard from a lot of peoplethose, you know, kind of support in the
local community really does go a long way.
And I'm sure when they call into you,they, they like to share, Hey, you
know, I saw you out at the, you know,the ball field or wherever it was.
Tyler (27:25):
Yeah,
Eric (27:26):
yeah.
Do you also do, do you run, haveyou done anything with like,
any Facebook or Instagram ads orany other, like, besides Google.
Tyler (27:33):
We have a Facebook page, we have a TikTok, and we have a, an Instagram.
Um, we don't really run ads,we just kind of post stuff.
Every now and then we'll do a littlevideo where we'll walk around the job
site or we will, um, you know, postsome photos of some work being done.
Um.
(27:54):
But, uh, no, we don't do paid ads yet.
Uh, yeah, I've, I've considered it,but at the same time, I, I don't know,
you know, what the impact will be andwhether or not it's gonna be worth it.
Um, so I, I really haven'tgone down that avenue just yet.
Eric (28:11):
And so you've, you've seen, you know, a tremendous benefit to
the videos, you know, from, from yourside, from leads, uploading those.
I mean, like how much effort areyou putting into producing videos
and putting that out on your social?
Tyler (28:25):
Well, we're getting better at it.
Um, I've recently hired, uh, anassistant who is much more tech savvy.
Tech savvy than
Eric (28:33):
me.
Uh, I have you figured out Google ads?
I don't know if I buy that.
You're not tech savvy?
Tyler (28:39):
Uh, I'm, I'm tech savvy to a. There, there's a ceiling there and, and,
uh, uh, she's just much more talentedthan I am when it comes to that stuff.
I mean, sure.
Um, so, so she's taken over the marketingtype stuff and, and she understands
how to do TikTok and, and all that.
So what, what we've seen since she'staken it over is that, uh, we're getting
(29:03):
a lot more engagement from people.
So she, she just understands itto a much deeper level than I do.
So, yeah.
Understands the culture.
Eric (29:14):
And you guys, earlier you had told me you're, you're looking at, you know,
I guess kind of doing work beyond just,you know, just your own local community,
Inglewood, I mean, you actually havekind of expanded out a little bit to
some of the, the surrounding cities too.
Tyler (29:27):
Yeah.
So, um, so our, ourwork began in Englewood.
Um, and now all, we don't really do asmuch work in Inglewood as we used to.
Now it's all in the,uh, the local islands.
You know, we've, we've, uh, kindof found our, our footing in, in,
(29:48):
in the island style, you know, oldFlorida, uh, look and, and just.
You know, doing the highend work that we like to do.
It's just, it's, it's what myemployees are passionate about doing.
It's what I'm passionate about doing.
It's, we like to do the, thefun, uh, pretty stuff, you know.
(30:08):
So, and then of course we werehit with, uh, hurricane Ian.
We were hit with Hurricane Heleneand we were hit with Hurricane
Milton in the past few years.
Um, so, you know, we went fromjust doing the fine finish stuff.
Uh.
Because after, after Ian, it was like,okay, this place is completely destroyed
(30:30):
and we have the, the ability, we have theequipment and we have the knowledge to
go ahead and put all this back together.
So we started adding, we starteddoing the structural stuff as well.
So we, we do the decks and thestairs and um, after Milton, almost
everybody out on the islands losttheir stairs, uh, to their homes.
(30:51):
So we're building a lotof stairs right now.
We're building a lot of decks.
Um, and then of course we're finishingout, um, spaces that were flooded as well.
We just, uh, just redid ahistorical home out on Boca Grande.
That was, uh, severely, uh, youknow, it was flooded about, you
know, maybe two feet throughout thewhole place, but it was historical.
(31:14):
Sure.
So that one was challengingbecause we had to match.
Everything exactly how it was.
I mean, down to the textureof the wood, you know, every,
every little detail mattered.
And, um, that's why that client chose usbecause they knew that we were so detail
centered, um, that we were gonna be ableto, to do this for them, you know, to
(31:37):
the level that it needed to be done.
And, and it really, it really doeslook exactly like it did before.
And, you know.
So it, it was, but, but you know, thatwas the challenge is, is getting really,
really deep into what, you know, uh,sourcing these, these materials and having
things custom made and all that stuff.
(31:58):
I mean, just to, just to make it happenwas, was incredibly challenging, but
Eric (32:03):
sure.
Yeah, I'm, I'm curious, so, you know,you, you said your team is, you've got
about seven people on the team now.
Yep.
How, how has that, you know, how has yourteam grown over the years and, and kind of
what, what do those seven people do today?
Tyler (32:17):
Okay, so, um, over the years, so it started off, you know, just
me for the first maybe four yearsor so, then I got an apprentice.
Um, well, I went througha couple of apprentices.
Um, then I, I got up to, uh, two, I.Two helpers, you know, and then, then
we got up to three, and then, um, Ijust started taking on, you know, people
(32:40):
were starting to realize that we werecapable of doing these, these large jobs.
And so I, we kind of graduatedour, our average job in the
beginning was like $6,000 job.
Now our average job is probably, um, inthe hundreds, a hundred thousand or more.
(33:02):
So it's, it's really changed and, andas we've gotten bigger and, and taken
on more, um, we've had to add people.
And, uh, but, but that's a challengingthing as well is, you know, finding
the right people for the job.
You know, it's, um, we're, we're workingin high-end homes every single day.
(33:25):
So we've gotta make sure that we vetthese people very, very thoroughly.
So everybody has to go throughbackground checks and um, drug testing
and uh, physical, you know, all thesethings need, we have just certain
things that have to be met in orderfor them to even come work for us.
And it's in the construction industry,it's very challenging to find people that
(33:49):
can do, that, can pass all of these, um.
I guess, uh, qualificationsthat we've set for them.
Eric (33:57):
Yeah.
So are all of those guys, are they,they're all in the field kind of?
Tyler (34:02):
Yeah.
So most, most, uh, most of the guysare in the field and then in the
office it's me and my assistant Anna.
Okay.
So, nice.
And I'll jump out into the fieldsometimes also because that's
really what I enjoy doing.
But, uh, you know, uh.
A lot of times I, I just can't,there's too much going on.
Eric (34:22):
Sure.
You're, you're still, you're, you'restill focusing on like, really the
sales side of it and kind of soundslike maybe project management?
Um,
Tyler (34:31):
so I've got, I've got a project manager.
Um, he's, he's very talented.
He actually came to me as an apprentice.
Um, and, you know, he, he quickly was, wasuh, figuring out all the, all the stuff.
I mean, if I'd show him howto do something, I'd show him
one time and he would get it.
He's, he's, he's very, uh,capable, you know, of, of
(34:53):
receiving instruction, all that.
Yeah.
That's great.
Yeah.
We got, I've got, so normally when it goesto like scheduling, so I'll sell a job and
I'll say, okay, I, I have to talk to him.
He's got the authority to schedule it.
So I say, okay, when can we schedule this?
And he works it into the schedulehowever he needs to, and we get it done.
Eric (35:12):
Yeah.
So you're still really managingthe entire back office.
Tyler (35:17):
Are
Eric (35:17):
you and your
Tyler (35:17):
assistant Well, yeah.
Yeah.
So, uh, Anna and my assistant,she does most of the, she does the
marketing, she does the accounting.
Um, she does a lot of the, uh, uh,speaking with the clients, you know, the
back and forth, just coordinating things.
Um, she, she does all that stuff.
(35:37):
And then I mainly willfocus on doing proposals.
Um.
I'll, I'll think about, youknow, what, what needs to be
changed on a, on a policy level.
Um, you know, I'm, I'm solving problems,you know, that, that sort of thing.
Eventually I'm gonna hire somebodyto do some sales stuff as well,
(35:57):
but my main goal is to make myselfthe least important person here.
You know, that, that, that needsto be, um, where I'm going.
Because then that'll give methe opportunity to start another
business and another one.
And, you know, so, so that's, that'sthe goal, is to build something
that, that can, um, sustain itself.
(36:21):
Um, that, that can be a greatplace for, for everybody to work.
And, um, everybody's got their job andit works in the way that it should.
Um, kinda like what you've done.
Eric (36:31):
Do, do you have like a, you know, is there some kind of five year, 10 year,
you know, plan, vision, you know, that,that you wanna see come to fruition here?
Tyler (36:38):
Um, yeah, so I think within the next five years I'd like to be opening
up another branch on the east coast.
I. Um, like over towards Miamiand, um, uh, coral Gables, Boca
Ratton, you know, all that.
So, so they, that area has, you know,there's a high demand for fine wood
(36:59):
working over there as well, so wewant to kind of get into that market.
And then after that,maybe we'll go to another.
Place in Florida.
But you know, right now we're justtrying to lay the groundwork, you
know, get the systems and processesput together so that we, um, can
replicate it and, and be effective.
So, um, and that's, that'sthe main goal right now.
(37:21):
But I think in about fiveyears, that's where we're going.
Um, this year our goal is to.
Begin building a new shop.
So we're gonna be going, we rentedthis place that we're in now.
This is a temporary, we're expectingto be here for a year, maybe a little
longer, but, um, we're hoping to, youknow, get a construction loan, build
(37:42):
our own office, something much largerthat is this, this place is too small.
It's, um, but, uh, so yeah, that's,that's our next, you know, big adventure
is just going after getting the bigger.
The, you know, the, the bigger shop sothat we can operate at an even higher
level and just keep, keep pushing andseeing how big we can make this thing.
(38:05):
That's awesome, man.
Eric (38:06):
Yeah.
So I'm, I'm curious, kind of just as, as,as we wrap up here, like is there any,
you know, any advice or anything that,you know, you would share with others who,
you know, earlier on kind of trying todecide, do they want to take that plunge
like you did, you know, 10 years ago?
Like what, you know, any, anything youwish you, you know, you, you knew back
then that, that you now know that mighthelp someone else in that situation?
Tyler (38:26):
Um, well, I would say, geez, um.
Just do it.
You can't, you can't wait around.
Um, it's, it's gonna be uncomfortable.
It's gonna be very hard.
Um, if it wasn't, you know,everybody would do it.
(38:47):
But if you're serious and you, andyou really have the drive to do it,
and you, you know, you gotta do it.
Yeah.
So that's, that's, yeah.
That was the thing.
I mean, when I went to startmy business, my wife and my
mom both told me, don't do it.
They said, you gotta, yougotta get another job.
It's too risky going into business.
And I said, Nope, I'm doing it.
And so being stubborn is, hasdefinitely been helpful, I guess.
Eric (39:12):
Yeah, no, that's, you know, that, that is great advice and,
and I feel like, you know, again,entrepreneurs that they, they, they
just kind of naturally have that itch.
Like if you find yourself continuing tothink about starting your own and wishing
you're starting your own and wantingto go out on your own, like, you know,
it does, it, it takes a leap of faith.
I. Yeah, it's, it's never easy to, youknow, it's, it's, there's never gonna
be this like, perfect time, you know,where, where, where, you know, you're
(39:33):
gonna be able to just say, okay, well,you know, I, I'm just, I'm gonna do it.
You know, it's, it's something that,you know, you just gotta kind of,
at, at some point you just gottarip the bandaid off and dive in and.
Hope, hope for the best.
But you know, again, when you focuson, you know, building out the right
systems, the right processes, you focuson, you know, winning those early jobs,
kind of getting that traction early on.
No, look, you're gonnamake mistakes, right?
(39:54):
Like things are gonna happen, you know,but like, you just gotta keep learning
from every single mistake and keepgetting better and better and better.
You know, hopefully, you know,hearing some of Tyler's story
here will, will help others.
You know, realize that look, you know,yeah, you, you may be undercharging,
you're, you're not making a profit.
You're breaking even.
Like, the sooner that you can startto understand your numbers and you
understand that you need to be ableto earning a profit to be able to
(40:16):
keep growing the business, you know,that will help you to hopefully kind
of shorten some of that, that earlyperiod where it's, it's a grind.
I mean, it, it is, you know, nonstop justa total grind, not knowing where that
next, that next deal's gonna come from.
And.
You know, I think, Tyler, what, youknow, what, what we've seen here is
this, this is a, you know, a greatsuccess story of how, you know, you
started off just a one man band, asyou said, and, you know, slowly we're
(40:37):
able to keep adding to your team,getting those helpers winning more jobs.
You made the right moves withyour website, you know, focusing
on, you know, getting, you know,your, your, your brand, right?
Organically ranking the company,getting found by others, sponsoring
the local community, getting involved.
Like all of these were the right movesthat you made, and they have put you
in this position where you've got, youknow, a very successful, very great
(40:58):
business that's continuing to get allof those, you know, those, those inbound
leads, uh, the marketing engine is going.
And that's, you know, I think thatthat's, that's what others need to,
to realize is that, you know, you,you just, you gotta start somewhere
and you gotta make the right moves.
Invest in yourself.
Find the right people, you know,whether they're employees, they're
partners, and like that is how you geta business off the ground from nothing.
(41:19):
You know, you've, you've, you've, you'vereally shown that very clearly here,
Tyler, so I, I appreciate you comingon, you know, sharing your story.
I can't wait to see, you know,what that new office looks like.
You know, be awesome to seeyou with, you know, multiple
locations all around Florida.
You know, very, very cool to,to see how you're building this,
you know, very methodically, youknow, really, uh, you're, you're,
you're doing a great job, man.
It's, it's awesome to just kind ofbe a fly on the wall getting to,
(41:39):
getting to see your success, but.
You know, thank you again for,for coming on and for sharing
this with everyone else.
Tyler (41:45):
Yeah.
And I appreciate you andeverything that you've done.
I mean, your organization has been, uh,uh, critical in us being able to handle
all these jobs that we're taking on.
I mean, we, um, just beingable to scale in that way, uh,
utilizing your, your program, uh.
We definitely couldn't havedone it without Job Shred.
(42:05):
And, you know, when I first signedup for Job Shred, I was also signed
up for Buildertrend at the same time.
So I, I started both and I wantedto see which one was better, you
know, so, um, you guys came outon top, uh, for obvious reasons.
Uh, and I love to see how you guys keepadding, you know, these, uh, uh, new
(42:26):
features and, and everything there.
Um, now I.
I think that it's, it's just been,
what am I trying to say here?
Um.
I can't, I can't rememberwhat I was gonna say.
Can you edit that out?
Eric (42:47):
No.
You know, look, it's, it's, uh, it's,it's awesome to hear that we were able to,
you know, kind of come out on top there.
I mean, again, I, I, at the end of theday, like we, we encourage everyone, like
whatever system you choose, you know,it's so important that you get those.
Systems in place, like get yourbusiness set up for success.
Like, you know, you're not gonnabe able to scale just kind of doing
everything manually, you know, pen,paper, excel, like, you gotta put
(43:09):
the right systems in place and like,you know, again, you've, you've
shown what happens when you do that.
And, uh, you know, I just, I, I, I hopeeveryone can, can learn from, from,
from your story, your journey here.
'cause you know, it'sobviously a great one.
And, and, and you'redoing great work, man.
So thank you again.
Thank you.
All right.
Have a good one.
You too.
Thanks.
Thanks for joining us for thisepisode of Builder Stories.
(43:30):
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
contact us@builderstories.com.
We'd love to hear from you.
I'm Eric Fortenberry, and remember,every builder has a unique story.
(43:53):
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'm here with Tyler Winship.
(00:22):
He is the owner ofInglewood Custom Carpentry.
They're located in Inglewood, Florida.
Welcome to Builder Stories, Tyler.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me on.
Appreciate it.
Yeah, ab absolutely.
So why don't you give us a little bit ofbackground, you know, who you are, how
you got into, uh, into carpentry, whatyour business does, things like that.
Tyler (00:40):
Sure.
Okay.
So, um, I guess, uh, it starts, youknow, back when I was a kid, uh, I was a
skateboarder, so I would build, you know,skateboard ramps and, and stuff like that.
Um.
And, you know, we'd go by constructionsites and dumpster dive and take the
wood out of there and, you know, buildtree forks, all that kind of stuff.
(01:00):
Um, and then as it, you know, as I gotolder, uh, I got better at building and,
um, went on to study, uh, constructionmanagement, tech technology at,
uh, Florida Gulf Coast University.
Um.
Did not get my degree, but, uh, youknow, wound up going into construction,
(01:20):
working for a general contractor.
I was lucky enough to work under a,uh, a true, uh, master carpenter.
You know, there's a lot of people that,uh, call themselves master carpenters
here in this trade, but, um, not a wholelot that are actually master carpenters.
And this guy was, was truly a mastercarpenter, so I was, I was very
fortunate to be able to work with him.
(01:42):
Um.
From there, uh, you know, I had, Ihad noticed that my boss, uh, not
the master carpenter, but the, theactual general, general contractor,
um, was shorting my paychecks.
And, um, so I, I sent him an email andkind of outlined that I had noticed
and, um, he, he asked me to come intoa meeting with him after that email
(02:07):
and we had a discussion and, um.
That led to me being let go.
But, uh, you know, prior to, uh, priorto that, uh, discussion, I had talked
to my wife and to my, uh, to my mom.
And I had told him, I said, look, ifthis guy doesn't fire me, I'm quitting
(02:28):
and I'm starting my own company.
And, um, so, you know, he let me goand I started my company that day.
Uh, I'd already had business cards printedup and all that stuff, ready to go.
And before I even got on the highway,I had my first, uh, two weeks worth
of work scheduled and making triplewhat I was making before and just
(02:50):
started, started like that and neverlooked back and just kept, kept
going, kept learning, progressing.
Um, now we're, uh, my company's about10 years old, almost 10 years old.
Um, we are a team of seven and we're.
We're doing great.
(03:10):
Or so,
Eric (03:11):
um, yeah.
So you said like before you evengot off the highway, you had your
first couple weeks worth of work.
I mean, where, you know, obviously youmust have sort of been, you know, like,
like you said, you're preparing for this,you know, day for this moment mentally,
but like where did those first, youknow, first customers come from for you?
Tyler (03:27):
Um, so I had called, uh, a friend of mine's dad,
who was a real estate broker.
Um, and I just called him andsaid, Hey, I'm on my own now.
I'm starting my own business.
Do you have any work for me?
And he said, yeah, I've gotsome fencing I need put up.
I've got some, uh, interiorremodels to do and stuff like that.
So I just got right to work.
(03:47):
I I went straight to his, uh, one of hisproperties, started putting up a fence
and, you know, just kept going, not there.
And then, you know, he, he, uh.
Was pretty helpful as well.
You know, he, he let other peopleknow, you know, he had some friends
that were investors and stuff likethat, so, um, he kind of got the
word out a little bit as well.
(04:07):
Um, but, uh, but yeah, so I hada, I had a pretty good start.
Um, and then, you know, as I.They can't keep you busy forever.
So I had to kinda learn howto hunt a little bit there.
You know, I remember specifically oneday waking up and having no work to
do and, um, you know, not sure, uh,where my next, you know, job was gonna
(04:31):
come from and searching Craigslistand just trying to figure it out.
And that was, uh, it was a weird day,but I, I. I found work and I just kept,
and I was like, this is how it is now.
Yeah.
Eric (04:42):
So would you say that, uh, you know, was, was that kind of one of
the first sort of most shocking, youknow, moments for you when, when you
realized like, there's there's nowork and I gotta go, gotta go hunt?
Tyler (04:51):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
It was, it was real then, you know, Ihad a family to support, you know, I, I
had a wife and, and one kid at the time.
I have two now.
But, um, you know, just, justrealizing that, you know, this is
something that, you know, especiallyin the beginning is so delicate.
And you have to be, um, you have tobe on it if you're gonna survive.
(05:13):
And, um, you know, thankfully I did.
And you know, things have changednow where, um, I don't really
have to look for work anymore.
It kind of comes to me.
Um, but that, that's again the resultof, you know, many, many years of, of
building a reputation and standing behindmy work and, um, that sort of thing.
Eric (05:32):
Sure.
So e early on, what did kind of, what,what were those, you know, I mean you
said fencing job, but what, like what weresome of your earliest jobs and then sort
of how has that, how has that adapted,you know, kind of changed over time?
Tyler (05:45):
So early on you basically take, um, just about whatever comes to you.
Um, you know, if it's, uh, somebodywants some flooring put in, great.
If somebody wants some trim put in, great.
I'll do it.
You know?
Um, and, uh.
Uh, over time, um, I started to realizethat, you know, the thing that I'm best
(06:08):
at is the fine finish type of work.
Um, so when I started to focus myselfon that and kind of hone my skills
towards that and be, you know, youknow, start developing systems and
processes for how to, uh, do thatmost efficiency, efficiently and, um.
(06:30):
Uh, that's when I reallystarted to get some traction.
Um, sure I was able to start, youknow, turning a profit instead of
just breaking even all the time.
And I remember the first time Ireally made a profit, I kind of felt
a little guilty, you know, because,which, which is odd to say, but,
(06:51):
you know, and I. I was like, wow,I, I must have overcharged them.
But no, the truth is, you know, you'resupposed to be making a profit and
you're supposed to be, um, you know,that's, that's my number one job
now is to, you know, make sure thatI'm running this thing profitably.
Eric (07:07):
So how, how, how long did it take you to, to figure out, you know, what you
should be charging and, and, and how toprice a job so that you did make profit?
Um,
Tyler (07:17):
well it, I would say the first few years I was breaking even,
you know, maybe, uh, year four.
So I started to figure out that, youknow, you need to be doing these things
and, and I was also navigating, you know,the law and trying to figure out what,
um, what I had to comply with insurancewise and what I had to comply with,
(07:38):
you know, workers' comp stuff and, um.
You know, tax filings and all that stuff.
I had no prior, um,business, uh, training.
So I was really just learningall this stuff as I went.
And, and basically every time Iwould get, um, every time I'd get
knocked down by something, I'dlook at it and say, okay, how do I
(08:00):
make sure this never happens again?
Eric (08:03):
Sure.
And I, I imagine early on too, likewhen, when you're both selling the job.
You're doing the work, like, it's probablya little bit hard for you to kind of
figure out, well, you know, my own timeputting into this, I see a lot of people
like, well, it's just my own time.
I don't need to charge as much.
And then, you know, figuring out what doyou charge per hour to go do the work?
And then you realize, well, I'm just wayunder charging, you know, for my own time.
(08:24):
You know, and so I can see how kind ofthe profit gets a little blurry when, when
it's, when it's your own time in there.
Tyler (08:29):
Yeah, actually I was, I was really fortunate.
I had a client, um, whoexplained that to me one day.
He sat me down and hehelped me figure this out.
So this guy was very, very, uh, businesssavvy person, and he had, when we went to
do his remodel, he said, Hey, I've neverhad anybody, um, you know, go for this.
(08:52):
But what do you think about doingan open book type, uh, project?
Um, you know, where, you know, Ibasically show him all my expenses
and, and, and time and, and all that.
And then we go over it at theend and I said, you know what?
Um, let's do it.
You know, I just had agood feeling about the guy.
Um, and so we did it and, uh, at the endhe sat me down and we went through all
(09:17):
the expenses and, um, he actually triedto, tried to trick me a little bit to, um.
To, to get me thinking and,and to get me going, you know?
But, um, we're going through the,the line items and he says, well,
this is a, this is a hundredthousand dollars project, you know?
And, uh, so I said, well, wait a minute.
No, this isn't a hundredthousand dollars project.
(09:39):
That was just what it costs, you know?
And um, so at the end he said, well,what it looks like here is you're
only charging me for your time.
He says, you're not charging mefor your expertise, and that's
where you're losing money.
This is what you need to be doing.
This is what your time is worth.
So we, he kind of gave me a lessonright there at his, uh, kitchen
(10:02):
table and explained to me, you know,one of the key points that I was
missing, I wasn't, um, uh, I, I guessI had never, it never occurred to
me that, you know, this expertise isvaluable and it's worth charging for.
And, um, yeah.
Eric (10:21):
What an awesome client to, uh, take, to take the time to.
So did he end up paying youmore for your expertise?
Yeah, he did.
Tyler (10:27):
He did.
He, he actually ended up strokingme a check for, uh, 13,000
more than I was asking him for.
Huh.
Eric (10:34):
Yeah.
That's incredible.
That never happens, does it?
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Tyler (10:38):
Yeah.
Eric (10:38):
Did, did you ever get, like any formal sales training or, or how
is kind of how frightening evolved
Tyler (10:45):
so well?
Through the contractor fight.
Um, I did go through, uh, theirprogram, battleground program, and
I, I found that pretty helpful.
Um, there were cer you know,I, I kind of would pick and
choose the things that I, I.
Chose to kind of employ, they, theyhave some methods that I was like, eh, I
(11:05):
don't feel comfortable doing it that way.
But, you know, they, they,there's a lot of really great gold
nuggets that they had as well.
So, um, that's about the closest thingto a sales type training that I have.
Um, but, uh, um, I, when I,when I go to sell a job, I'm
(11:25):
not really even thinking about.
Selling the job.
I'm more trying to understand what theywant, how they are envisioning this space,
how they're going to use this space.
Um, and I kind of actlike I'm at a barbecue.
I don't, you know what I mean?
I'm not, um, I'm not super worriedabout whether or not I get the job.
(11:49):
I'm more worried about whetheror not I'm gonna, um, be able to.
Work with this person on a daily basis,and if I'm interested in doing what
they want me to do, you know, sometimesI'll go and I'll look at a job and I'll
realize like, oh, these people want me tocut corners, you know, and if, if that's
something that they want, unfortunatelyI can't work with them because, um,
(12:14):
you know, once I build it, I own it.
So, no, I'm not, I'm, I'ma terrible salesperson.
Absolutely.
But I sell a lot of jobs, so, yeah.
Yeah.
Eric (12:23):
What, what would you say were some of the biggest takeaways
that, that you had going through,you know, Tom Reba's program?
I mean, battle Battleground is veryfocused on, you know, sales and kind of
giving you different, you know, techniquesto help improve your sales, you know?
Yeah.
How did that help you?
So,
Tyler (12:40):
I think one thing that, um, was really helpful was.
In the beginning, you go througha whole thing where you figure out
what your numbers are, you gottafigure out what it costs you per
hour to operate your business.
So it was really nice to have thatstructure, uh, to kind of show me how
to calculate that and figure that out.
And I actually realized,hey, I'm not charging enough.
(13:03):
You know, I'm actually, uh, I should becharging $10 an hour or more than I am.
So, you know, being ableto make that adjustment.
And, uh, we actually go through thisquarterly, we'll do the same, uh.
That same math, youknow, to figure it out.
Say, okay, well where are we now?
Do we need to adjust our hourly rate?
Or, um, are we doing well?
(13:23):
And, and, uh, so, sothat's, that's really great.
Is, uh, you know, knowing yournumbers is super important.
And then as far as the sales traininggoes, there's uh, uh, something that they
introduce called the, the bullshit meter.
And basically that iswhere, you know, you.
Let people know that, you know, you'regonna be charging them to come out
(13:47):
and take a look at their project.
And some people will say,oh, that's ridiculous.
And you know, if they're serious though,if they're serious about buying, um,
they're gonna pay a consultation fee.
And a consultation is a, a, a, you know.
Experience led conversation with aprofessional to make a buying decision.
And if they don't find that value,then maybe I don't need to be
(14:11):
wasting my time going out there.
So that was a super, superhelpful, uh, perspective that I
really didn't think about before.
Mm-hmm.
You know, like when you goand you see a doctor, right?
To get, you know, say a surgery or anelective surgery, whatever, they're
gonna do a consultation and they're gonnacharge you for that time, you know, so.
(14:31):
Just like before we go and westart operating on somebody's home,
we need to have a consultation.
We need to come up with a game plan.
We need to figure out what exactly youwant, what will work, and what won't.
Um, we're pulling measurements.
We're doing a lot of work on behalf of,you know, putting these prices together.
So, um, you know, charging for that timeis, is pretty, uh, pretty important.
(14:55):
Yeah.
And, and.
Weeding out those people and notspending the gas and the time going
out and, and, and providing pricesto people that really aren't serious.
Eric (15:05):
Yeah.
That's a, that's a great way to, uh, tothink about a great analogy there that,
you know, you're, you're paying to gohave that consultation with the doctor,
you know that you're a professional,just, just like any other professional
that's charging for their time.
So do you, you do that now on every job?
Um, I
Tyler (15:20):
don't do it on every job.
Uh, I don't do it for returning clients.
Um, because we've already, you know, builta rapport, they know what we're all about.
They know what they're gonna get.
Um, and, you know, most of our, ourcustomers actually become clients.
So, um, I don't really call somebody aclient until they are coming back and,
(15:42):
um, you know, they're, they're returningcustomer, then they become a client.
Um, but, uh, but yeah, so, so if it, ifit's somebody new and, and, and I can
kind of feel 'em out on the phone as well.
You know how serious theyare about doing the project.
You know, there's certain ways to do that.
Um, and, uh, Tom's, uh, program does,uh, help with that as well, teaching
(16:07):
you kind of methods to figure thatout, um, and make sure that they
mean business before you show up.
So,
Eric (16:15):
so what, what does your full kind of, what, what's the whole sales
process look like for you from, youknow, lead comes in to how are you
qualifying and kind of what is that?
What's that whole thing look like togetting them to become a customer?
Tyler (16:27):
Sure.
So, um, typically, uh, people will go toour website, they'll fill out our form.
Now we have replaced the job treadform with the groundwork form.
I think that's one of your partners there.
Um, but groundwork, uh, is an app thatgives you the ability to have the clients
upload videos, like do a video walkthroughof their project and basically show us.
(16:51):
Exactly what they wantdone before we even arrive.
So we'll take that video and we willstart putting together kind of a
rough ballpark figure with, uh, someof the information they've given us.
And that way when we show up, say wecall 'em up and we, we will have like a
phone conversation about their project.
Say, Hey, tell me more about your project.
(17:13):
You know, how do you envision this space?
You know, um, what's your timeline?
When do you want this done by?
And so once we.
Kind of figure out what they need.
We'll be able to give them a figure, say,okay, your project's gonna cost $60,000.
And you know, they may go, wow,60,000, that was, um, quite a
(17:33):
bit more than I expected to hear.
Uh, and if that's the case, youknow, we say, okay, well, um, based
on the information you're giving us,that's, that's what it's gonna be.
Uh, you know, give or take obviously.
Um.
That's a ballpark.
And if they, if they say, oh,60,000, that sounds great.
(17:56):
You know, let's, let's, uh,do the in-person consultation.
Okay, great.
You know, so we'll, we'll go outthere and we'll meet with them and,
um, you know, 'cause now we knowthey're a serious buyer at this point.
They, they, their budget is realistic.
So once we go out there, you know,we'll have a proposal kind of,
uh, already written up for them.
(18:18):
To, to kind of show 'em where they're at.
And from there, sometimes we'lljust get a check and we'll, we'll
put 'em on the schedule, you know?
Um, so, so it, it cuts out a lotof the back and forth, I guess.
Um, sure.
Eric (18:35):
By, by using that app.
So, so being able to just like,get that video ahead of time
and already like, visualize and,and see what they want done.
I mean, that's, that's justlike saving you so much time.
You're not having to drive out thereto view it for the first time and then
leave, put together the proposal, goback out there, go go in via phone
(18:55):
call later, like you're able to go andhave that money conversation, kind of
go through the details when you're inperson with them for that first time.
And, and earlier you said you know, thatyou're, you know, early on you, you know,
you, you're really having to go hunt forevery project, but, but now you're, you're
no longer having to do that as much.
You, you've got this kind of,this engine that's flowing
and the leads are coming in.
Like what, what would youattribute, you know, that, to,
(19:17):
how have you gotten to that point?
Tyler (19:19):
Um, so in the earlier years, I was a one man band.
And so at that point I wasdoing all the work myself.
I was out in the fieldbuilding relationships.
I was, um, just doing.
Top quality work and, you know, peoplewould recommend me to their friends.
They would, uh, you know, give usgood reviews on Google, uh, you
(19:42):
know, all the, all that stuff.
So I was really laying the groundwork.
I was building my reputation up.
Um, and as I've gotten, I. Moresophisticated with all this, I've,
I've learned how to use Google andSEO and all that stuff and, and kind
of optimize our, our website to, sothat we can rank higher in Google and
(20:04):
reach those people that maybe aren'tin our client's circle of friends.
So we've been able to kind of expandbeyond just the word of mouth, which
is how we started, um, to, you know.
Being in everybody's,uh, in everybody's face.
You know, our, our, uh, ourtrailers are wrapped with our name.
(20:25):
You know, it's, it's huge.
You can read it from a hundred yards away.
I, I told the guy, I said, I wantto be able to read this from space.
So, and, um, and that's, that's anothergood, uh, thing that hap I, I had a, a
guy actually explain to me, um, when Iwas going to get my first trailer wrapped.
(20:46):
He's our, our legal name isGreen Gold Building Solutions.
And he says, he says, you know, youever thought about changing that name?
I said, no.
Why?
He said, well, because it doesn'treally tell anybody about what you do.
I said, I said, huh,that's that's interesting.
And um, he said, basically,you want to keep it simple?
(21:07):
He says, you want to tell 'em whereyou're from, what you do, and you know.
They need to be able to figure that outin about three seconds as you drive by.
So taking his advice, I said, okay,well what we, what we really do best is
that, uh, uh, custom carpentry stuff.
So I said, all right, we're anEnglewood Englewood custom carpentry.
(21:30):
It was that simple.
And, and just getting a DBA and,and changing that for marketing
purposes was such a, um, a great move.
I, I had never thought about changingthe name or, or anything prior to that
conversation, but keeping it simpleand telling people exactly what we
do was, uh, was pretty smart becausewhen I, when I started the business, I
(21:53):
didn't think I was gonna be, you know,falling into like a niche category.
I thought that I was gonna be,you know, building new homes and,
and doing, you know, smart, uh.
The smart homes that are environmentallyfriendly, that kind of thing.
That was really my, my original goal.
So beginning with the goal inmind, I named, uh, named my company
(22:14):
Green Gold Building Solutions.
But it kind of evolved into, youknow, we're the best at, uh, custom
woodworking and that's, that's what we do.
So that's, that's justhow, how it happened.
Eric (22:28):
Yeah.
That's, that's awesome.
I mean, and again, it's likeearly on you really, you don't
know what's gonna happen.
You don't know where you're gonna land.
Like, I ended up going intomechanical engineering.
I was like, this is like terrible.
I hated it.
Like I wasn't, you know, reallywanted to do that at all.
And I found my way over to thebusiness school, I was like,
oh, much better fit for me.
You know, and, and then later I'm,you know, going and doing software
engineering, it's like, oh, Ishould've just chosen a different one.
(22:49):
It's like, but like, you don't knowwhat you don't know, and you don't know
where you're gonna be able to exceltill you've gotten some experience.
So I think that's awesome that you're.
You know, you listen to thatadvice and you're able to kind
of make that move to rebrand.
I see a lot of people who, you know,they'll, they'll, they'll kind of struggle
on that decision for a long time andnot ever pull the trigger when it, it
(23:09):
might make total sense and it couldultimately really help better position
them, you know, to get more of the typeof work that they, that they need to do.
So, you know, good on youfor, for, for making the move.
Tyler (23:19):
Oh yeah.
It was just so simple.
When he, when he put itlike that, I said, wow.
It's so simple.
It's stupid.
Eric (23:26):
So are you, uh, are, are you doing any like advertising or
anything like that to also, youknow, attract, attract people?
Tyler (23:33):
So, yeah, I mean, we have all the trailers and the trucks
are all wrapped and everything.
Um, you know, we've got shirtsand uh, stuff like that.
Uh, Google, you know, when people Googleus, we're the top, uh, the top result.
Um, but is
Eric (23:52):
Oh, are you?
We, we sponsor all the.
Are you paying for that Google listing?
Like is it a Google ad or youjust, you've, you've organically
ranked it with, you know, SEOI
Tyler (24:02):
organically ranked it first and then I started paying for the
ads as well as an additional boost.
Um, yeah, so, so I just really did adeep dive into, you know, what, um.
What Google looks at, like how dothey, how do they rank someone?
And so I started looking at allthose things and I was like, oh,
(24:23):
you gotta, you gotta put thesekeywords all over the place.
You gotta be bouncing offdifferent, uh, uh, organizations',
websites, and stuff like that.
So, you know, maybejoining, um, the building.
Uh, industry association in yourarea, you know, that's a great way
to do it, or the Chamber of Commerce.
Um, and those are also greatareas to network as well.
(24:46):
You know, find other professionalsthat are doing kind of the same
thing as you, and, um, being ableto lean on them for advice and
just build relationships over time.
So, um, but yeah, so, so our,our advertising is, um, I, it's.
It is kind of minimal, but, but everybody,everybody here, um, knows who our,
(25:08):
who we are, which is really great.
Um, uh, like we, we, we do a lotof work out on Boca Grande and Palm
Island and Little Gas Burla Island,which are, you know, three of the, um.
Three of the local island areasand, and we're all over the place.
Like people are like, wow, youguys must be busy out here.
(25:30):
We've seen three of your trucks today.
And, you know, so, um, just, justbecoming kind of a household name
in those areas, uh, has, has been,you know, super important for us.
'cause they're really tight,tight-knit communities that are
hard to get into in the first place.
And so being in everybody'sface like that is super.
(25:50):
Um, important to our strategy.
Eric (25:53):
And did, did you figure out all the Google ad stuff yourself or
did you, did you hire a, a partner?
Tyler (25:58):
Oh, oh, yeah.
I, I, uh, figured it out all out,you know, just Googling stuff on
the internet and figuring out,okay, this is what they look at.
And I built myself a websiteand, um, it was pretty good.
But then, uh, last year I had it redone.
It's, it's a bit better now, um,you know, having a professional
do it versus myself, but, uh.
(26:18):
Yeah.
I mean it's, it's, it's something that'sjust kind of evolved over time and
Eric (26:23):
Sure.
Tyler (26:24):
Um, but, and then in addition to that, we also, uh,
like to support the youth sports.
Um, so we're, we, wesponsor the football team.
We sponsor, we the band, wesponsored the cheerleading.
We sponsored the, uh.
Gymnastics stuff.
(26:44):
And so just being, you know, people seeingyour banner while they're taking their
kids to their sports and seeing, youknow, which companies are supporting their
kids, uh, I think is, um, helpful as well.
I, I think that people reallywanna support people that are,
are getting involved in thecommunity and stuff like that.
(27:04):
So, and I have kids too, so I like to seemy own stuff when I'm out there as well.
So it's kind of a vanitything a little bit.
Eric (27:12):
Nice.
Yeah, I mean that's, that'sdefinitely a great move.
I've, I've heard from a lot of peoplethose, you know, kind of support in the
local community really does go a long way.
And I'm sure when they call into you,they, they like to share, Hey, you
know, I saw you out at the, you know,the ball field or wherever it was.
Tyler (27:25):
Yeah,
Eric (27:26):
yeah.
Do you also do, do you run, haveyou done anything with like,
any Facebook or Instagram ads orany other, like, besides Google.
Tyler (27:33):
We have a Facebook page, we have a TikTok, and we have a, an Instagram.
Um, we don't really run ads,we just kind of post stuff.
Every now and then we'll do a littlevideo where we'll walk around the job
site or we will, um, you know, postsome photos of some work being done.
Um.
(27:54):
But, uh, no, we don't do paid ads yet.
Uh, yeah, I've, I've considered it,but at the same time, I, I don't know,
you know, what the impact will be andwhether or not it's gonna be worth it.
Um, so I, I really haven'tgone down that avenue just yet.
Eric (28:11):
And so you've, you've seen, you know, a tremendous benefit to
the videos, you know, from, from yourside, from leads, uploading those.
I mean, like how much effort areyou putting into producing videos
and putting that out on your social?
Tyler (28:25):
Well, we're getting better at it.
Um, I've recently hired, uh, anassistant who is much more tech savvy.
Tech savvy than
Eric (28:33):
me.
Uh, I have you figured out Google ads?
I don't know if I buy that.
You're not tech savvy?
Tyler (28:39):
Uh, I'm, I'm tech savvy to a. There, there's a ceiling there and, and,
uh, uh, she's just much more talentedthan I am when it comes to that stuff.
I mean, sure.
Um, so, so she's taken over the marketingtype stuff and, and she understands
how to do TikTok and, and all that.
So what, what we've seen since she'staken it over is that, uh, we're getting
(29:03):
a lot more engagement from people.
So she, she just understands itto a much deeper level than I do.
So, yeah.
Understands the culture.
Eric (29:14):
And you guys, earlier you had told me you're, you're looking at, you know,
I guess kind of doing work beyond just,you know, just your own local community,
Inglewood, I mean, you actually havekind of expanded out a little bit to
some of the, the surrounding cities too.
Tyler (29:27):
Yeah.
So, um, so our, ourwork began in Englewood.
Um, and now all, we don't really do asmuch work in Inglewood as we used to.
Now it's all in the,uh, the local islands.
You know, we've, we've, uh, kindof found our, our footing in, in,
(29:48):
in the island style, you know, oldFlorida, uh, look and, and just.
You know, doing the highend work that we like to do.
It's just, it's, it's what myemployees are passionate about doing.
It's what I'm passionate about doing.
It's, we like to do the, thefun, uh, pretty stuff, you know.
(30:08):
So, and then of course we werehit with, uh, hurricane Ian.
We were hit with Hurricane Heleneand we were hit with Hurricane
Milton in the past few years.
Um, so, you know, we went fromjust doing the fine finish stuff.
Uh.
Because after, after Ian, it was like,okay, this place is completely destroyed
(30:30):
and we have the, the ability, we have theequipment and we have the knowledge to
go ahead and put all this back together.
So we started adding, we starteddoing the structural stuff as well.
So we, we do the decks and thestairs and um, after Milton, almost
everybody out on the islands losttheir stairs, uh, to their homes.
(30:51):
So we're building a lotof stairs right now.
We're building a lot of decks.
Um, and then of course we're finishingout, um, spaces that were flooded as well.
We just, uh, just redid ahistorical home out on Boca Grande.
That was, uh, severely, uh, youknow, it was flooded about, you
know, maybe two feet throughout thewhole place, but it was historical.
(31:14):
Sure.
So that one was challengingbecause we had to match.
Everything exactly how it was.
I mean, down to the textureof the wood, you know, every,
every little detail mattered.
And, um, that's why that client chose usbecause they knew that we were so detail
centered, um, that we were gonna be ableto, to do this for them, you know, to
(31:37):
the level that it needed to be done.
And, and it really, it really doeslook exactly like it did before.
And, you know.
So it, it was, but, but you know, thatwas the challenge is, is getting really,
really deep into what, you know, uh,sourcing these, these materials and having
things custom made and all that stuff.
(31:58):
I mean, just to, just to make it happenwas, was incredibly challenging, but
Eric (32:03):
sure.
Yeah, I'm, I'm curious, so, you know,you, you said your team is, you've got
about seven people on the team now.
Yep.
How, how has that, you know, how has yourteam grown over the years and, and kind of
what, what do those seven people do today?
Tyler (32:17):
Okay, so, um, over the years, so it started off, you know, just
me for the first maybe four yearsor so, then I got an apprentice.
Um, well, I went througha couple of apprentices.
Um, then I, I got up to, uh, two, I.Two helpers, you know, and then, then
we got up to three, and then, um, Ijust started taking on, you know, people
(32:40):
were starting to realize that we werecapable of doing these, these large jobs.
And so I, we kind of graduatedour, our average job in the
beginning was like $6,000 job.
Now our average job is probably, um, inthe hundreds, a hundred thousand or more.
(33:02):
So it's, it's really changed and, andas we've gotten bigger and, and taken
on more, um, we've had to add people.
And, uh, but, but that's a challengingthing as well is, you know, finding
the right people for the job.
You know, it's, um, we're, we're workingin high-end homes every single day.
(33:25):
So we've gotta make sure that we vetthese people very, very thoroughly.
So everybody has to go throughbackground checks and um, drug testing
and uh, physical, you know, all thesethings need, we have just certain
things that have to be met in orderfor them to even come work for us.
And it's in the construction industry,it's very challenging to find people that
(33:49):
can do, that, can pass all of these, um.
I guess, uh, qualificationsthat we've set for them.
Eric (33:57):
Yeah.
So are all of those guys, are they,they're all in the field kind of?
Tyler (34:02):
Yeah.
So most, most, uh, most of the guysare in the field and then in the
office it's me and my assistant Anna.
Okay.
So, nice.
And I'll jump out into the fieldsometimes also because that's
really what I enjoy doing.
But, uh, you know, uh.
A lot of times I, I just can't,there's too much going on.
Eric (34:22):
Sure.
You're, you're still, you're, you'restill focusing on like, really the
sales side of it and kind of soundslike maybe project management?
Um,
Tyler (34:31):
so I've got, I've got a project manager.
Um, he's, he's very talented.
He actually came to me as an apprentice.
Um, and, you know, he, he quickly was, wasuh, figuring out all the, all the stuff.
I mean, if I'd show him howto do something, I'd show him
one time and he would get it.
He's, he's, he's very, uh,capable, you know, of, of
(34:53):
receiving instruction, all that.
Yeah.
That's great.
Yeah.
We got, I've got, so normally when it goesto like scheduling, so I'll sell a job and
I'll say, okay, I, I have to talk to him.
He's got the authority to schedule it.
So I say, okay, when can we schedule this?
And he works it into the schedulehowever he needs to, and we get it done.
Eric (35:12):
Yeah.
So you're still really managingthe entire back office.
Tyler (35:17):
Are
Eric (35:17):
you and your
Tyler (35:17):
assistant Well, yeah.
Yeah.
So, uh, Anna and my assistant,she does most of the, she does the
marketing, she does the accounting.
Um, she does a lot of the, uh, uh,speaking with the clients, you know, the
back and forth, just coordinating things.
Um, she, she does all that stuff.
(35:37):
And then I mainly willfocus on doing proposals.
Um.
I'll, I'll think about, youknow, what, what needs to be
changed on a, on a policy level.
Um, you know, I'm, I'm solving problems,you know, that, that sort of thing.
Eventually I'm gonna hire somebodyto do some sales stuff as well,
(35:57):
but my main goal is to make myselfthe least important person here.
You know, that, that, that needsto be, um, where I'm going.
Because then that'll give methe opportunity to start another
business and another one.
And, you know, so, so that's, that'sthe goal, is to build something
that, that can, um, sustain itself.
(36:21):
Um, that, that can be a greatplace for, for everybody to work.
And, um, everybody's got their job andit works in the way that it should.
Um, kinda like what you've done.
Eric (36:31):
Do, do you have like a, you know, is there some kind of five year, 10 year,
you know, plan, vision, you know, that,that you wanna see come to fruition here?
Tyler (36:38):
Um, yeah, so I think within the next five years I'd like to be opening
up another branch on the east coast.
I. Um, like over towards Miamiand, um, uh, coral Gables, Boca
Ratton, you know, all that.
So, so they, that area has, you know,there's a high demand for fine wood
(36:59):
working over there as well, so wewant to kind of get into that market.
And then after that,maybe we'll go to another.
Place in Florida.
But you know, right now we're justtrying to lay the groundwork, you
know, get the systems and processesput together so that we, um, can
replicate it and, and be effective.
So, um, and that's, that'sthe main goal right now.
(37:21):
But I think in about fiveyears, that's where we're going.
Um, this year our goal is to.
Begin building a new shop.
So we're gonna be going, we rentedthis place that we're in now.
This is a temporary, we're expectingto be here for a year, maybe a little
longer, but, um, we're hoping to, youknow, get a construction loan, build
(37:42):
our own office, something much largerthat is this, this place is too small.
It's, um, but, uh, so yeah, that's,that's our next, you know, big adventure
is just going after getting the bigger.
The, you know, the, the bigger shop sothat we can operate at an even higher
level and just keep, keep pushing andseeing how big we can make this thing.
(38:05):
That's awesome, man.
Eric (38:06):
Yeah.
So I'm, I'm curious, kind of just as, as,as we wrap up here, like is there any,
you know, any advice or anything that,you know, you would share with others who,
you know, earlier on kind of trying todecide, do they want to take that plunge
like you did, you know, 10 years ago?
Like what, you know, any, anything youwish you, you know, you, you knew back
then that, that you now know that mighthelp someone else in that situation?
Tyler (38:26):
Um, well, I would say, geez, um.
Just do it.
You can't, you can't wait around.
Um, it's, it's gonna be uncomfortable.
It's gonna be very hard.
Um, if it wasn't, you know,everybody would do it.
(38:47):
But if you're serious and you, andyou really have the drive to do it,
and you, you know, you gotta do it.
Yeah.
So that's, that's, yeah.
That was the thing.
I mean, when I went to startmy business, my wife and my
mom both told me, don't do it.
They said, you gotta, yougotta get another job.
It's too risky going into business.
And I said, Nope, I'm doing it.
And so being stubborn is, hasdefinitely been helpful, I guess.
Eric (39:12):
Yeah, no, that's, you know, that, that is great advice and,
and I feel like, you know, again,entrepreneurs that they, they, they
just kind of naturally have that itch.
Like if you find yourself continuing tothink about starting your own and wishing
you're starting your own and wantingto go out on your own, like, you know,
it does, it, it takes a leap of faith.
I. Yeah, it's, it's never easy to, youknow, it's, it's, there's never gonna
be this like, perfect time, you know,where, where, where, you know, you're
(39:33):
gonna be able to just say, okay, well,you know, I, I'm just, I'm gonna do it.
You know, it's, it's something that,you know, you just gotta kind of,
at, at some point you just gottarip the bandaid off and dive in and.
Hope, hope for the best.
But you know, again, when you focuson, you know, building out the right
systems, the right processes, you focuson, you know, winning those early jobs,
kind of getting that traction early on.
No, look, you're gonnamake mistakes, right?
(39:54):
Like things are gonna happen, you know,but like, you just gotta keep learning
from every single mistake and keepgetting better and better and better.
You know, hopefully, you know,hearing some of Tyler's story
here will, will help others.
You know, realize that look, you know,yeah, you, you may be undercharging,
you're, you're not making a profit.
You're breaking even.
Like, the sooner that you can startto understand your numbers and you
understand that you need to be ableto earning a profit to be able to
(40:16):
keep growing the business, you know,that will help you to hopefully kind
of shorten some of that, that earlyperiod where it's, it's a grind.
I mean, it, it is, you know, nonstop justa total grind, not knowing where that
next, that next deal's gonna come from.
And.
You know, I think, Tyler, what, youknow, what, what we've seen here is
this, this is a, you know, a greatsuccess story of how, you know, you
started off just a one man band, asyou said, and, you know, slowly we're
(40:37):
able to keep adding to your team,getting those helpers winning more jobs.
You made the right moves withyour website, you know, focusing
on, you know, getting, you know,your, your, your brand, right?
Organically ranking the company,getting found by others, sponsoring
the local community, getting involved.
Like all of these were the right movesthat you made, and they have put you
in this position where you've got, youknow, a very successful, very great
(40:58):
business that's continuing to get allof those, you know, those, those inbound
leads, uh, the marketing engine is going.
And that's, you know, I think thatthat's, that's what others need to,
to realize is that, you know, you,you just, you gotta start somewhere
and you gotta make the right moves.
Invest in yourself.
Find the right people, you know,whether they're employees, they're
partners, and like that is how you geta business off the ground from nothing.
(41:19):
You know, you've, you've, you've, you'vereally shown that very clearly here,
Tyler, so I, I appreciate you comingon, you know, sharing your story.
I can't wait to see, you know,what that new office looks like.
You know, be awesome to seeyou with, you know, multiple
locations all around Florida.
You know, very, very cool to,to see how you're building this,
you know, very methodically, youknow, really, uh, you're, you're,
you're doing a great job, man.
It's, it's awesome to just kind ofbe a fly on the wall getting to,
(41:39):
getting to see your success, but.
You know, thank you again for,for coming on and for sharing
this with everyone else.
Tyler (41:45):
Yeah.
And I appreciate you andeverything that you've done.
I mean, your organization has been, uh,uh, critical in us being able to handle
all these jobs that we're taking on.
I mean, we, um, just beingable to scale in that way, uh,
utilizing your, your program, uh.
We definitely couldn't havedone it without Job Shred.
(42:05):
And, you know, when I first signedup for Job Shred, I was also signed
up for Buildertrend at the same time.
So I, I started both and I wantedto see which one was better, you
know, so, um, you guys came outon top, uh, for obvious reasons.
Uh, and I love to see how you guys keepadding, you know, these, uh, uh, new
(42:26):
features and, and everything there.
Um, now I.
I think that it's, it's just been,
what am I trying to say here?
Um.
I can't, I can't rememberwhat I was gonna say.
Can you edit that out?
Eric (42:47):
No.
You know, look, it's, it's, uh, it's,it's awesome to hear that we were able to,
you know, kind of come out on top there.
I mean, again, I, I, at the end of theday, like we, we encourage everyone, like
whatever system you choose, you know,it's so important that you get those.
Systems in place, like get yourbusiness set up for success.
Like, you know, you're not gonnabe able to scale just kind of doing
everything manually, you know, pen,paper, excel, like, you gotta put
(43:09):
the right systems in place and like,you know, again, you've, you've
shown what happens when you do that.
And, uh, you know, I just, I, I, I hopeeveryone can, can learn from, from,
from your story, your journey here.
'cause you know, it'sobviously a great one.
And, and, and you'redoing great work, man.
So thank you again.
Thank you.
All right.
Have a good one.
You too.
Thanks.
Thanks for joining us for thisepisode of Builder Stories.
(43:30):
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
contact us@builderstories.com.
We'd love to hear from you.
I'm Eric Fortenberry, and remember,every builder has a unique story.
(43:53):
Keep building yours.
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