January 15, 2026 • 25 mins
What happens when a remodeling company is born from service instead of sales? We sit down with Houston’s Marlon Stepp to unpack how a volunteer effort after floods and hurricanes became a design-build firm trusted by homeowners, hospitals, gyms, restaurants, and neighborhood nonprofits. The throughline is simple and rare: show up first, do what you say, and put displaced families at the front of the schedule. That relentless focus on people fueled referrals, opened doors to commercial projects, and shaped a brand that leads with integrity.
We talk about the early days of small repair jobs and how consistent delivery led to bigger tables and better conversations. Marlon breaks down how his team grew by tapping classmates and long-time friends with deep trade experience, building a bench of subcontractors who are as reliable as they are skilled. When disaster strikes, they flex timelines to get families back home, and that compassion turns into future work. On the business side, we map the shift from painful downtime to a steady pipeline through raw social video, a clear website, and reviews that travel further than any pitch deck.
Community impact sits at the center. From outfitting outreach kitchens to installing mini libraries in underserved neighborhoods, Marlon’s crew treats service as part of the job—not a marketing afterthought. We dig into why those stories resonate with media and why PR is a natural next step. Then we look ahead: short-term rentals, flips, and a move toward ground-up development that creates housing, supports local needs, and positions the company as a go-to partner when crises hit.
If you’re a remodeler battling slow seasons, a designer eyeing commercial work, or a property owner who values character as much as craftsmanship, this conversation offers a roadmap. You’ll hear how to document your process without overproducing, how to build trust at scale, and how to turn experience on job sites into smart investments and long-term resilience. Enjoy the story, take the tactics, and if it sparks ideas for your own practice, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help others find the show.
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Jason Lockhart (00:00):
Hello and welcome to Designer Discussions.
We are here with Marlon Stepptoday, and we're going to be uh
talking about his journey in theremodeling industry.
Mirjam Lippuner (00:10):
Welcome to the Designer Discussions Podcast
with Jason, Maria, and Miriam.
Tune in each week where we talkabout marketing PR and business
advice for designprofessionals.
Jason Lockhart (00:25):
Marlon, so uh I've known you for over 20
years.
I'll get into how in a littlebit, but I just want to have our
guests know who you are, whereyou're located, and tell us a
little bit about your company.
Marlon Stepp (00:38):
Yes, wow, 20 years is a long time.
I did not realize that timeflies.
Uh but yeah, so I'm based inHouston.
Um I'm originally fromBattlewoods, Louisiana.
Went to school at SouthernUniversity, graduated in
architecture with a minor inbusiness management and
construction.
Uh, and that's where I startedmy career.
(00:59):
Um after college, I decided togo into engineering,
architecture firms kind of workand understand the traits and
construction a lot better.
Uh, got my experience fromthere.
And currently I am uh runningmy own remodeling company.
Uh we do design, we do buildouts for residential and
commercial.
(01:19):
And uh we've been on our ownfor the past four or five years
now.
So we've been um in the Houstonarea, all around uh outskirts
of like the Missouri City,Southwest, Houston, Katy area,
um for the past, like I said,five years or so.
Jason Lockhart (01:40):
I'm gonna just hand a little history to all
this.
So when Marlon said he went toSunday University, for anybody
listening, they know that'swhere I taught.
So I actually taught Marlon wayback 20 years ago.
And one of the reasons I wantedto have them all because I've
seen his journey and we'veworked together over the last
few years, and I'm very proud ofhim to see where he's come over
(02:01):
this past few years.
I've I've been seeing all thetraveling you've been doing all
across the world.
I'd be like, man, that's that'sboo boo.
Marlon Stepp (02:08):
Well, I owe a lot of that to uh you know my my
career and in in Southern.
So I enjoy it.
Jason Lockhart (02:17):
So tell us a little bit about how did steps
by step begin.
And then you actually have acouple employees that I also
talked to.
So, yeah, they'll talk abouthow that happened and where you
are now.
Marlon Stepp (02:28):
Perfect.
Uh, okay, so it it actuallybegan very, you know, long ago
when I was just doing um charityuh community service.
Um, I was just really justtrying to help out other people
that were uh misplaced or uh hadsome losses or devastations
(02:51):
from like floods and for and andhurricanes and things like
that.
You know, living in the South,we have a lot of those.
Um so it started out just bydoing community service helping
people.
And then after the uh communityservice was done, I would still
get phone calls from likereferrals that were saying, hey,
look, you know, we saw that youdid, you know, work and help
(03:14):
with, you know, this victim andyou got their house back
together.
Can you come and help upgradethings?
And um that kind of started mynetwork of getting a team
together to kind of kind of helpwith this.
And so um it just it juststarted by doing community
service with churches and otheroutreach programs.
And from there, I established anetwork of of a of a team of
(03:37):
solid subcontractors and andguys that work with me full-time
that have, you know, been inthe trade for years.
And we've just created a commonbond and a um common core
values to kind of help us growalong the way.
How long have you had thecompany?
I would say about five years.
Jason Lockhart (03:59):
Okay.
Over that five year timeframe,what have been some of the highs
or lows that you went through?
Marlon Stepp (04:05):
Ah, great question.
So some of the highs, obviouslygetting into uh a lot of the
commercial projects that we'vebeen doing.
So initially when we startedout, it was just like, you know,
some repairs.
It was, it was maybe somedesigns here and there for small
additions to homes.
Um we were we were maybe doingsome paint jobs, maybe some
(04:28):
flooring jobs.
It was super small.
And for us to be able to uh beat tables where we're we're
talking to you know clients thatare owners of hospitals, owners
of of of gyms, owners ofrestaurants and bars in Houston,
uh, for us to be able to get inin that realm and and have us
(04:49):
be successful, that's a hugehigh for us because, you know,
coming from where we startedfrom, we didn't think that we
would be, you know, helpingbuild and remodel some of the
hottest, you know, nightclubs inHouston, which is which is to
me a super high.
Um some of the lows, obviouslyseeing some of the devastation
(05:10):
from uh fires, from hurricanes,from floods, seeing how it can
impact families, seeing how itcan bring devastation to to
families.
It's not something that we wewe like to see, obviously, but
it's something that we enjoyhelping with.
Um we typically prioritizethose clients over anything.
(05:32):
So if, you know, something thatwe're proud of is that you
know, we may be working with theclient on a kitchener model or
maybe something that they justwant to upgrade.
If a client calls us that hasbeen displaced or, you know,
deficit from a fire or somethinglike that, we typically try to
fit them in as quick as possibleto make sure that they're back
(05:54):
home and comfortable.
So even though we may beworking on another project, we
tend to try to um stretchourselves to make sure that
everybody's accommodated.
Um, and we make sure that thoseare prioritized first.
Um that's something that we'revery proud of.
Jason Lockhart (06:08):
So tell us a little bit about your team,
because I know Nick also taughtNick, he's actually on your
team.
So how did you end upconnecting with some of your
classmates?
Marlon Stepp (06:17):
Nick has been amazing with us.
Um he's he's very versatilewhen it comes to um client
aspects of uh communications andand just auto, also just the
design aspect as well.
So Nick and I, we became prettygood friends in school.
And so we've always just kindof kept in touch.
And so, you know, Nick movedout here to Houston for a little
(06:40):
while from Louisiana.
And once he moved out here, wejust kind of continued to work
together and uh continued tobounce ideas off one another to
figure out like what's a goodavenue for us.
And so Nick was able to helpbring on clients, and Nick was
able to help with uh projectmanagement and even, you know,
get in and get his hands dirtyas well with some of the
(07:02):
construction.
So um it's just been goodhaving, you know, some guys
around from from school becauseyou you have that number one
camaraderie, you have that trustas well.
And so, you know, we also havethat, I guess the same like
upbringing to where we bothunderstand like where we come
from and what it takes to besuccessful.
And so it's just good to havepeople like that around,
(07:24):
especially somebody that you'vebeen knowing, like you said, 20
plus years.
That's that's huge.
And even I I got some friends Igrew up with that that uh that
work with me as well.
Uh one one of my closest umpartners is is is Pat.
And I've been knowing Pat sinceI was probably 10, 15 years
old.
And you know, he's he's fromBaton Rouge as well, went to
(07:46):
school at Southeastern.
And he's one of the you knowmost amazing guys that I've I I
can say that uh works with us onour team.
Very passionate about what wedo.
And uh he's he's he's beenhelping us lead the way.
Jason Lockhart (07:59):
Now, with the job that you did, because you
said you met with gym owners,you met with presidents of
hospitals, how do you get a lotof these jobs now today?
Marlon Stepp (08:08):
Uh I I will say a lot of it comes from uh
referrals, it comes fromnetworking, it comes from
marketing, it just comes frombeing available, it comes from,
you know, quality service.
Um I I will say that, you know,working with you has played a
huge factor in opening up thatnetwork and that um that
(08:29):
database for us to be able tosit at those tables.
And so, you know, you can youcan be in front of people all
day, but until they see, youknow, the quality and they see
that you know somebody elsetrusts you, I think that that
goes a lot, a lot further.
And and and that's the themajor aspect of of why we're
(08:49):
able to grow the way we we havegone in the past few years.
Jason Lockhart (08:53):
Do you just only work in the Houston area or do
you work in other areas ofsports?
Marlon Stepp (08:58):
Very subtle work in other areas, um, but we we do
a lot of design work outside ofthe state.
So um we'll help with thataspect of things, but being on
site is very difficult when youknow the majority of the team is
based in in the Houston area.
But we have traveled,obviously, to Louisiana um to
(09:19):
help out a lot with you know uhprojects out there.
Jason Lockhart (09:23):
Were you wanting to take steps I step in the
next five or ten years?
Marlon Stepp (09:28):
Great question.
And and I can answer thatquickly because I I think about
it almost every day.
Uh next five or ten years, wedefinitely want to be a um a
developmental company.
We want to do ground-up umprojects and we want to be more
involved in the community.
We want to be a go-to outreachcompany where people can rely on
(09:50):
us to help out in troublingtimes.
So uh obviously not as big asFEMA, but I I do want us to to
come up in those rooms when FEMAis discussed.
So those are the avenues thatwe plan on going down in the
next five or ten years.
And hopefully we can sit downat five or ten years and we can
replay this and we can seeexactly where we you know we've
(10:15):
gone and and and accomplishedthose goals at.
Jason Lockhart (10:17):
I like that.
I like that.
Miriam, did you have anyquestions?
Mirjam Lippuner (10:20):
Yes, actually I do.
So because you guys both havealluded to the fact that you
have worked together.
And I was just wondering, sowhen you first started your
business, like what did yourmarketing look like?
And then what what made yourealize that you needed help?
And like what has Jason's teambeen able to do for you?
Marlon Stepp (10:42):
Great question.
So obviously, like the themajor thing that I realized at
first was that we had so muchdowntime.
We have so much free time, wehad so much time in between
projects.
And obviously, it's notsustainable to grow a company
that way.
And so that was our major redflag of saying, like, hey, we
got a project now, but the nextproject doesn't start until
another month or another, youknow, a few weeks or so.
(11:05):
And so that's how it waspreviously.
And then, you know, workingwith Jason, we we we've been
able to kind of have projectslined up back to back.
And so that's the that's themajor difference from when it
started versus where we are now.
And, you know, keeping that uhconsistent line of work, it
(11:25):
helps us be able to uh, youknow, obviously one grow, but
also, you know, help as muchpeople as we can.
And I think that to me, that'sthe most important thing.
Um Was I able to answer thatquestion?
Mirjam Lippuner (11:39):
Uh yeah, no, I think that's really cool.
Yeah, like I just I wonder, solike how what what helped you
bring in those leads that madeyou fill that pipeline?
Was it email marketing?
Was it um did you spend moneyon SEO?
Like what what differenttactics did you use to to
(12:02):
obviously be very successful?
And I love that you have grownyour business on the commercial
side or financially overall, butyou're able to carve out the
the snitch to really do a lot ofwork in the community too.
So I think that's reallyamazing.
Marlon Stepp (12:20):
So one of the main things I would say is social
media marketing helped out alot.
Um I think just getting infront of um you know a clientele
that is, you know, constantlyon social media.
They're constantly justscrolling to kind of see who's
doing what, um, how their howtheir engagements are with other
(12:43):
people.
Um I think that's that's been ahuge help.
Also, in my opinion, I thinkthat websites are pretty
impactful as well because youcan easily uh share those.
You can easily go to a websiteand check out somebody's
portfolio, or you can seesomebody's client reviews.
I think that's huge.
(13:04):
And just overall, justproviding good quality.
Um and and once you providegood quality and once you, you
know, you're able to kind ofshow and display your portfolio
on either your website or umsocial media, that begins to get
shared a lot.
And once it gets shared fromsomebody that you trust, then
(13:25):
you're like, okay, if if youknow my my friend or my family
member was able to kind of sharethis with me, they must
obviously have had a greatexperience with them, or either
they see something in that thatcompany that obviously, you
know, would would work for meand what I'm looking for.
So I think those are the themajor aspects of of growing and
and kind of uh being able to uhyou know market yourself in a in
(13:51):
a positive light.
Jason Lockhart (13:52):
One of the things I can add with Marlon,
what I like to talk to a lotabout our clients is he does not
mind being on count.
And he will video the wholeprocess, which oftentimes, you
know, when modelers don't wantto video the process, he will
have that, whether it's it's uhedited or not.
He'll he'll just put it up withit.
Right.
Marlon Stepp (14:12):
Most of the time it's not edited, it's raw
footage.
Yeah.
I gotta get better at that.
And I was laughing with some ofmy buddies of mine.
It's like, you know, we'rewe're not content creators.
We're not uh we're not uhactors and actresses.
You know, we we doconstruction, we do, we do
project management.
(14:33):
And so we're having to ventureinto that realm of you know
content creation because that'swhat that's what you know people
want to see.
That's how you that's how youkind of sell yourself in this
day and age, you know.
We don't have TV shows like youknow, some HCTVs shows that are
on their R right now, buthopefully maybe one day, but as
of right now, uh it's it's it'sthrough social media websites
(14:57):
and and word of mouth.
Jason Lockhart (14:58):
But that's the part where I like to tell a lot
of remodelers is be yourauthentic self.
And that's what you want.
The unedited aspect of it, whatyou're showing, you're showing
your personality, and now you'reresonating with your ideal
client because they see you, andwhen they meet you, they're
like, oh yeah, you're just likethat same person I saw on social
media.
Right.
Marlon Stepp (15:19):
That's important.
I've I've heard some horrorstories about some, you know,
some companies and contractorsand you know, architects that
have just, you know, not beenthemselves and and kind of been
scam artists.
Um and and I'll be honest withyou, whenever I, you know, talk
to clients, I'm always cautiousof like their past, like
(15:40):
traumatic experiences with othercompanies.
So you have to be very cautiousand tread lightly with with
certain people because sometimespeople are traumatized.
And uh so we we come in and tryto make sure that they're
comfortable as much as possible.
Mirjam Lippuner (15:54):
I love it.
Okay, I have one more question.
Um, because I'm a PR person,right?
Okay.
So listening to your story andwhat you do, um, and especially
the community involvement ummakes it that's a real it's a
huge topic in the media, youknow.
It's like journalists lovetalking about nonprofit, like
(16:19):
any um, like whenever there's ahuman experience, you know, it's
like good or bad involved, andyou're you can step in and help.
That's a really great story.
So I think you should umconsider doing some PR.
Marlon Stepp (16:34):
Oh, okay.
Okay, thank you.
Appreciate that.
I will definitely take thatconsideration.
Uh and and and it is a passionof of ours, you know.
Um, you know, we work with thechurch uh called Hope City, and
this past year we were able toum help remodel a like um
outreach slash like kitchenslash community center um this
(17:01):
year.
And it was it was superimpactful.
Right now, they're able to uhhouse food, clothes, and um
other, you know, like just likelittle computers for uh, you
know, the neighborhood, which Ithink was was super helpful.
We didn't do too, too, toomuch, but we got in and we
repainted, we did some flooring,we helped set up some um some
(17:24):
cabinetry and things like that.
But just like the impact thatcomes from it uh is is something
that we we value a lot.
Um so it's something we weenjoy doing.
And you'll you'll find us a lotwith um, you know, different
types of churches, differenttypes of uh outreach programs
(17:48):
that are constantly trying togive food or any type of of help
and services to to thecommunity.
So um and and we post that onour placecoms as well.
Mirjam Lippuner (18:01):
Do you talk about that on your social
channels, like the communityprojects that you do?
Marlon Stepp (18:07):
Uh not as much as the shoe, but not as much as
good.
Yeah, I I I definitely want toget more into it.
And we also had a um one one ofthe nice ones that we did this
past year was we worked with uha group called uh Be Impactful,
and they are doing some amazingthings.
So if you guys ever get achance to check them out, follow
(18:28):
them on social media.
Uh they do a lot for thecommunity out here in Houston
and also I think out there inlike North Carolina, South
Carolina, things like that.
But uh I was able to work withthem this past year to create
something called um it's a it'sa mini library.
And basically what it is, it'slike these little house pods,
(18:51):
small little, maybe like a largemailbox pots that are just
placed in different communitiesthat you can go in and uh rent
books, kind of put in books.
It's basically just like a uh away for us to kind of uh bring
literature and education toareas that don't necessarily
(19:12):
have access to to publiclibraries and things like that.
So I was able to work with themthis past year and to to build
these these little libraries,and it's been a huge, huge
impact to the area andcommunity.
Uh I was able to kind ofdocument a little bit of that.
Just just so grateful to beable to be a part of that.
And and our team is is isenjoying working with them as
(19:34):
well.
Mirjam Lippuner (19:34):
You know, it's I'd say this is a huge
opportunity for you, you know,because obviously this is like a
cornerstone of your businessphilosophy, you know.
And it would really and I thinkit'd be very authentic for you
to build that in and make it uma bigger piece of the of the
content that we produce and theway people see you.
(19:56):
Uh because that's I mean, Ithink you you you That's very
attractive for people to knowthat they work with somebody who
has integrity, you know, andcares about the community.
I appreciate that.
Marlon Stepp (20:07):
Thank you.
Yeah.
And I would definitely,definitely, you know, take that
and and and and grow with it.
I appreciate it.
Mirjam Lippuner (20:13):
Love it.
I'm gonna follow you and, youknow, make sure that happens.
Marlon Stepp (20:17):
Big deal, good deal, good deal.
Perfect.
Jason Lockhart (20:19):
So, Marlon, so uh for all of the listeners out
there that may be new in theRamonic space or that may have
had a last a hard year in 2025because we all know there've
been some some downtimes thathappened in 2025.
What advice would you handanybody new or anybody that may
have had a hard time?
What kind of inspiration oradvice can you hand them?
Marlon Stepp (20:43):
I I would definitely say that um having a
solid team and support system ishuge.
You have to have a team thatyou can rely on.
And that goes for in-house andalso for your subcontractors.
You know, being able to beavailable is huge.
(21:04):
Um and that comes with like thereliability aspect of things.
So uh having a team that notonly does break quality, but is
also available and reliable isis the major factor in being
successful.
And I think that's the keything, in my opinion, when it
(21:24):
comes to like the quality ofwork.
So that's that's one aspect ofit.
Uh also, you know, there'sgonna be slow seasons.
Um, you know, you have somepeople that are, you know, just
focused on like getting theirfriends and family in, getting
their Christmases done, youknow, they're they're traveling,
their holidays.
Um, this is the perfect timeto, I guess, like sharpen your
(21:49):
skills.
Or this is the perfect time tokind of catch up on maybe your
admin or your invoices andthings like that.
Um, so uh you have tounderstand, excuse me.
You have to understand thatthere's going to be some
downtime.
It doesn't necessarily mean youquit and throw in the tile.
It just means you have to findother ways to be productive.
That's the gist of it, I wouldsay.
Jason Lockhart (22:10):
So what is steps by step into now outside of the
remote?
What do y'all do?
Marlon Stepp (22:16):
Uh so right now we've started to dive a lot into
um investing real estate.
And so we've been working withum, you know, short-term
rentals, long-term rentals.
We've been doing some flips andthings like that.
Um, we've been partnering upwith some different investors,
(22:37):
uh, working with their projects.
And so we're starting to almostbecome like our own clientele
in an aspect of things.
So we're purchasing propertiesnow, we're purchasing land and
stuff now.
And so that's something that wecouldn't have done without the
previous, the previous process.
(22:59):
So I think that, you know, usbe us growing is just a it's
it's just a different avenue forus to continue to grow.
And I guess what I'm trying tosay.
And so, you know, when you'reinvolved with the remodeling
aspect of things and when you'reinvolved with the design and
architects and construction, youjust naturally fall into that
(23:20):
investment role, in my opinion,sometimes because you're around
so many different investors.
And so uh once they realize,hey, look, you know, maybe we
can kind of bring on, you know,this seem to kind of go with us
down our investment, you know,paths and things like that.
And you you kind of start totake your own paths.
And so that's kind of like whatwe've been kind of focusing on
lately.
And I think it'll just continueto go down a different path of,
(23:42):
you know, the developmentaspect of things.
And so uh, you know, our ourgoal is to one day to fund our
own projects to to to rebuild,develop, and to to create
housing for, you know, obviouslythe multifamily housing and and
maybe families that are areless fortunate.
So uh that's that's where we'regoing right now.
Jason Lockhart (24:03):
Awesome.
Well, we've enjoyed thisconversation.
So if anybody is listeningwants to reach out to you, how
do they get in contact?
Marlon Stepp (24:11):
Uh the best way is reach out to the website.
Uh, we have information on oursite at www.stepsbystep.com.
So that's S-T-E-P-S,B-Y-S-T-E-P-P.com.
And also our social media isjust steps by step underscore L
L C.
All our information is onthere.
You can call me directly.
You can email us.
(24:31):
That's the best way to you knowcontact us.
Jason Lockhart (24:34):
Appreciate it.
Well, I'm gonna hold you to it.
We're gonna try to have youback on there five years from
now.
I'm looking forward to it.
Marlon Stepp (24:41):
I'm looking forward.
And and hopefully, hopefully welook younger.
They're gonna say wait, whichone is the five to ten year
video?
Jason Lockhart (24:51):
That's our call.
Awesome, awesome.
Well, we enjoyed having youhere, Marlon.
And for all of our audience, wehope to see you here in two
weeks on Designer Discussions.
Marlon Stepp (25:00):
Thank you, appreciate it.
It's been uh great.
Jason Lockhart (25:03):
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Designer
Discussions and all of thehelpful information.
Subscribe to our podcast, leaveus a review, and share it with
your friends.
We look forward to having youback next week for more
information on the podcast andthe marketing studio.
Visit designer discussions.comand follow us on social media.
Hello and welcome to Designer Discussions.
We are here with Marlon Stepptoday, and we're going to be uh
talking about his journey in theremodeling industry.
Mirjam Lippuner (00:10):
Welcome to the Designer Discussions Podcast
with Jason, Maria, and Miriam.
Tune in each week where we talkabout marketing PR and business
advice for designprofessionals.
Jason Lockhart (00:25):
Marlon, so uh I've known you for over 20
years.
I'll get into how in a littlebit, but I just want to have our
guests know who you are, whereyou're located, and tell us a
little bit about your company.
Marlon Stepp (00:38):
Yes, wow, 20 years is a long time.
I did not realize that timeflies.
Uh but yeah, so I'm based inHouston.
Um I'm originally fromBattlewoods, Louisiana.
Went to school at SouthernUniversity, graduated in
architecture with a minor inbusiness management and
construction.
Uh, and that's where I startedmy career.
(00:59):
Um after college, I decided togo into engineering,
architecture firms kind of workand understand the traits and
construction a lot better.
Uh, got my experience fromthere.
And currently I am uh runningmy own remodeling company.
Uh we do design, we do buildouts for residential and
commercial.
(01:19):
And uh we've been on our ownfor the past four or five years
now.
So we've been um in the Houstonarea, all around uh outskirts
of like the Missouri City,Southwest, Houston, Katy area,
um for the past, like I said,five years or so.
Jason Lockhart (01:40):
I'm gonna just hand a little history to all
this.
So when Marlon said he went toSunday University, for anybody
listening, they know that'swhere I taught.
So I actually taught Marlon wayback 20 years ago.
And one of the reasons I wantedto have them all because I've
seen his journey and we'veworked together over the last
few years, and I'm very proud ofhim to see where he's come over
(02:01):
this past few years.
I've I've been seeing all thetraveling you've been doing all
across the world.
I'd be like, man, that's that'sboo boo.
Marlon Stepp (02:08):
Well, I owe a lot of that to uh you know my my
career and in in Southern.
So I enjoy it.
Jason Lockhart (02:17):
So tell us a little bit about how did steps
by step begin.
And then you actually have acouple employees that I also
talked to.
So, yeah, they'll talk abouthow that happened and where you
are now.
Marlon Stepp (02:28):
Perfect.
Uh, okay, so it it actuallybegan very, you know, long ago
when I was just doing um charityuh community service.
Um, I was just really justtrying to help out other people
that were uh misplaced or uh hadsome losses or devastations
(02:51):
from like floods and for and andhurricanes and things like
that.
You know, living in the South,we have a lot of those.
Um so it started out just bydoing community service helping
people.
And then after the uh communityservice was done, I would still
get phone calls from likereferrals that were saying, hey,
look, you know, we saw that youdid, you know, work and help
(03:14):
with, you know, this victim andyou got their house back
together.
Can you come and help upgradethings?
And um that kind of started mynetwork of getting a team
together to kind of kind of helpwith this.
And so um it just it juststarted by doing community
service with churches and otheroutreach programs.
And from there, I established anetwork of of a of a team of
(03:37):
solid subcontractors and andguys that work with me full-time
that have, you know, been inthe trade for years.
And we've just created a commonbond and a um common core
values to kind of help us growalong the way.
How long have you had thecompany?
I would say about five years.
Jason Lockhart (03:59):
Okay.
Over that five year timeframe,what have been some of the highs
or lows that you went through?
Marlon Stepp (04:05):
Ah, great question.
So some of the highs, obviouslygetting into uh a lot of the
commercial projects that we'vebeen doing.
So initially when we startedout, it was just like, you know,
some repairs.
It was, it was maybe somedesigns here and there for small
additions to homes.
Um we were we were maybe doingsome paint jobs, maybe some
(04:28):
flooring jobs.
It was super small.
And for us to be able to uh beat tables where we're we're
talking to you know clients thatare owners of hospitals, owners
of of of gyms, owners ofrestaurants and bars in Houston,
uh, for us to be able to get inin that realm and and have us
(04:49):
be successful, that's a hugehigh for us because, you know,
coming from where we startedfrom, we didn't think that we
would be, you know, helpingbuild and remodel some of the
hottest, you know, nightclubs inHouston, which is which is to
me a super high.
Um some of the lows, obviouslyseeing some of the devastation
(05:10):
from uh fires, from hurricanes,from floods, seeing how it can
impact families, seeing how itcan bring devastation to to
families.
It's not something that we wewe like to see, obviously, but
it's something that we enjoyhelping with.
Um we typically prioritizethose clients over anything.
(05:32):
So if, you know, something thatwe're proud of is that you
know, we may be working with theclient on a kitchener model or
maybe something that they justwant to upgrade.
If a client calls us that hasbeen displaced or, you know,
deficit from a fire or somethinglike that, we typically try to
fit them in as quick as possibleto make sure that they're back
(05:54):
home and comfortable.
So even though we may beworking on another project, we
tend to try to um stretchourselves to make sure that
everybody's accommodated.
Um, and we make sure that thoseare prioritized first.
Um that's something that we'revery proud of.
Jason Lockhart (06:08):
So tell us a little bit about your team,
because I know Nick also taughtNick, he's actually on your
team.
So how did you end upconnecting with some of your
classmates?
Marlon Stepp (06:17):
Nick has been amazing with us.
Um he's he's very versatilewhen it comes to um client
aspects of uh communications andand just auto, also just the
design aspect as well.
So Nick and I, we became prettygood friends in school.
And so we've always just kindof kept in touch.
And so, you know, Nick movedout here to Houston for a little
(06:40):
while from Louisiana.
And once he moved out here, wejust kind of continued to work
together and uh continued tobounce ideas off one another to
figure out like what's a goodavenue for us.
And so Nick was able to helpbring on clients, and Nick was
able to help with uh projectmanagement and even, you know,
get in and get his hands dirtyas well with some of the
(07:02):
construction.
So um it's just been goodhaving, you know, some guys
around from from school becauseyou you have that number one
camaraderie, you have that trustas well.
And so, you know, we also havethat, I guess the same like
upbringing to where we bothunderstand like where we come
from and what it takes to besuccessful.
And so it's just good to havepeople like that around,
(07:24):
especially somebody that you'vebeen knowing, like you said, 20
plus years.
That's that's huge.
And even I I got some friends Igrew up with that that uh that
work with me as well.
Uh one one of my closest umpartners is is is Pat.
And I've been knowing Pat sinceI was probably 10, 15 years
old.
And you know, he's he's fromBaton Rouge as well, went to
(07:46):
school at Southeastern.
And he's one of the you knowmost amazing guys that I've I I
can say that uh works with us onour team.
Very passionate about what wedo.
And uh he's he's he's beenhelping us lead the way.
Jason Lockhart (07:59):
Now, with the job that you did, because you
said you met with gym owners,you met with presidents of
hospitals, how do you get a lotof these jobs now today?
Marlon Stepp (08:08):
Uh I I will say a lot of it comes from uh
referrals, it comes fromnetworking, it comes from
marketing, it just comes frombeing available, it comes from,
you know, quality service.
Um I I will say that, you know,working with you has played a
huge factor in opening up thatnetwork and that um that
(08:29):
database for us to be able tosit at those tables.
And so, you know, you can youcan be in front of people all
day, but until they see, youknow, the quality and they see
that you know somebody elsetrusts you, I think that that
goes a lot, a lot further.
And and and that's the themajor aspect of of why we're
(08:49):
able to grow the way we we havegone in the past few years.
Jason Lockhart (08:53):
Do you just only work in the Houston area or do
you work in other areas ofsports?
Marlon Stepp (08:58):
Very subtle work in other areas, um, but we we do
a lot of design work outside ofthe state.
So um we'll help with thataspect of things, but being on
site is very difficult when youknow the majority of the team is
based in in the Houston area.
But we have traveled,obviously, to Louisiana um to
(09:19):
help out a lot with you know uhprojects out there.
Jason Lockhart (09:23):
Were you wanting to take steps I step in the
next five or ten years?
Marlon Stepp (09:28):
Great question.
And and I can answer thatquickly because I I think about
it almost every day.
Uh next five or ten years, wedefinitely want to be a um a
developmental company.
We want to do ground-up umprojects and we want to be more
involved in the community.
We want to be a go-to outreachcompany where people can rely on
(09:50):
us to help out in troublingtimes.
So uh obviously not as big asFEMA, but I I do want us to to
come up in those rooms when FEMAis discussed.
So those are the avenues thatwe plan on going down in the
next five or ten years.
And hopefully we can sit downat five or ten years and we can
replay this and we can seeexactly where we you know we've
(10:15):
gone and and and accomplishedthose goals at.
Jason Lockhart (10:17):
I like that.
I like that.
Miriam, did you have anyquestions?
Mirjam Lippuner (10:20):
Yes, actually I do.
So because you guys both havealluded to the fact that you
have worked together.
And I was just wondering, sowhen you first started your
business, like what did yourmarketing look like?
And then what what made yourealize that you needed help?
And like what has Jason's teambeen able to do for you?
Marlon Stepp (10:42):
Great question.
So obviously, like the themajor thing that I realized at
first was that we had so muchdowntime.
We have so much free time, wehad so much time in between
projects.
And obviously, it's notsustainable to grow a company
that way.
And so that was our major redflag of saying, like, hey, we
got a project now, but the nextproject doesn't start until
another month or another, youknow, a few weeks or so.
(11:05):
And so that's how it waspreviously.
And then, you know, workingwith Jason, we we we've been
able to kind of have projectslined up back to back.
And so that's the that's themajor difference from when it
started versus where we are now.
And, you know, keeping that uhconsistent line of work, it
(11:25):
helps us be able to uh, youknow, obviously one grow, but
also, you know, help as muchpeople as we can.
And I think that to me, that'sthe most important thing.
Um Was I able to answer thatquestion?
Mirjam Lippuner (11:39):
Uh yeah, no, I think that's really cool.
Yeah, like I just I wonder, solike how what what helped you
bring in those leads that madeyou fill that pipeline?
Was it email marketing?
Was it um did you spend moneyon SEO?
Like what what differenttactics did you use to to
(12:02):
obviously be very successful?
And I love that you have grownyour business on the commercial
side or financially overall, butyou're able to carve out the
the snitch to really do a lot ofwork in the community too.
So I think that's reallyamazing.
Marlon Stepp (12:20):
So one of the main things I would say is social
media marketing helped out alot.
Um I think just getting infront of um you know a clientele
that is, you know, constantlyon social media.
They're constantly justscrolling to kind of see who's
doing what, um, how their howtheir engagements are with other
(12:43):
people.
Um I think that's that's been ahuge help.
Also, in my opinion, I thinkthat websites are pretty
impactful as well because youcan easily uh share those.
You can easily go to a websiteand check out somebody's
portfolio, or you can seesomebody's client reviews.
I think that's huge.
(13:04):
And just overall, justproviding good quality.
Um and and once you providegood quality and once you, you
know, you're able to kind ofshow and display your portfolio
on either your website or umsocial media, that begins to get
shared a lot.
And once it gets shared fromsomebody that you trust, then
(13:25):
you're like, okay, if if youknow my my friend or my family
member was able to kind of sharethis with me, they must
obviously have had a greatexperience with them, or either
they see something in that thatcompany that obviously, you
know, would would work for meand what I'm looking for.
So I think those are the themajor aspects of of growing and
and kind of uh being able to uhyou know market yourself in a in
(13:51):
a positive light.
Jason Lockhart (13:52):
One of the things I can add with Marlon,
what I like to talk to a lotabout our clients is he does not
mind being on count.
And he will video the wholeprocess, which oftentimes, you
know, when modelers don't wantto video the process, he will
have that, whether it's it's uhedited or not.
He'll he'll just put it up withit.
Right.
Marlon Stepp (14:12):
Most of the time it's not edited, it's raw
footage.
Yeah.
I gotta get better at that.
And I was laughing with some ofmy buddies of mine.
It's like, you know, we'rewe're not content creators.
We're not uh we're not uhactors and actresses.
You know, we we doconstruction, we do, we do
project management.
(14:33):
And so we're having to ventureinto that realm of you know
content creation because that'swhat that's what you know people
want to see.
That's how you that's how youkind of sell yourself in this
day and age, you know.
We don't have TV shows like youknow, some HCTVs shows that are
on their R right now, buthopefully maybe one day, but as
of right now, uh it's it's it'sthrough social media websites
(14:57):
and and word of mouth.
Jason Lockhart (14:58):
But that's the part where I like to tell a lot
of remodelers is be yourauthentic self.
And that's what you want.
The unedited aspect of it, whatyou're showing, you're showing
your personality, and now you'reresonating with your ideal
client because they see you, andwhen they meet you, they're
like, oh yeah, you're just likethat same person I saw on social
media.
Right.
Marlon Stepp (15:19):
That's important.
I've I've heard some horrorstories about some, you know,
some companies and contractorsand you know, architects that
have just, you know, not beenthemselves and and kind of been
scam artists.
Um and and I'll be honest withyou, whenever I, you know, talk
to clients, I'm always cautiousof like their past, like
(15:40):
traumatic experiences with othercompanies.
So you have to be very cautiousand tread lightly with with
certain people because sometimespeople are traumatized.
And uh so we we come in and tryto make sure that they're
comfortable as much as possible.
Mirjam Lippuner (15:54):
I love it.
Okay, I have one more question.
Um, because I'm a PR person,right?
Okay.
So listening to your story andwhat you do, um, and especially
the community involvement ummakes it that's a real it's a
huge topic in the media, youknow.
It's like journalists lovetalking about nonprofit, like
(16:19):
any um, like whenever there's ahuman experience, you know, it's
like good or bad involved, andyou're you can step in and help.
That's a really great story.
So I think you should umconsider doing some PR.
Marlon Stepp (16:34):
Oh, okay.
Okay, thank you.
Appreciate that.
I will definitely take thatconsideration.
Uh and and and it is a passionof of ours, you know.
Um, you know, we work with thechurch uh called Hope City, and
this past year we were able toum help remodel a like um
outreach slash like kitchenslash community center um this
(17:01):
year.
And it was it was superimpactful.
Right now, they're able to uhhouse food, clothes, and um
other, you know, like just likelittle computers for uh, you
know, the neighborhood, which Ithink was was super helpful.
We didn't do too, too, toomuch, but we got in and we
repainted, we did some flooring,we helped set up some um some
(17:24):
cabinetry and things like that.
But just like the impact thatcomes from it uh is is something
that we we value a lot.
Um so it's something we weenjoy doing.
And you'll you'll find us a lotwith um, you know, different
types of churches, differenttypes of uh outreach programs
(17:48):
that are constantly trying togive food or any type of of help
and services to to thecommunity.
So um and and we post that onour placecoms as well.
Mirjam Lippuner (18:01):
Do you talk about that on your social
channels, like the communityprojects that you do?
Marlon Stepp (18:07):
Uh not as much as the shoe, but not as much as
good.
Yeah, I I I definitely want toget more into it.
And we also had a um one one ofthe nice ones that we did this
past year was we worked with uha group called uh Be Impactful,
and they are doing some amazingthings.
So if you guys ever get achance to check them out, follow
(18:28):
them on social media.
Uh they do a lot for thecommunity out here in Houston
and also I think out there inlike North Carolina, South
Carolina, things like that.
But uh I was able to work withthem this past year to create
something called um it's a it'sa mini library.
And basically what it is, it'slike these little house pods,
(18:51):
small little, maybe like a largemailbox pots that are just
placed in different communitiesthat you can go in and uh rent
books, kind of put in books.
It's basically just like a uh away for us to kind of uh bring
literature and education toareas that don't necessarily
(19:12):
have access to to publiclibraries and things like that.
So I was able to work with themthis past year and to to build
these these little libraries,and it's been a huge, huge
impact to the area andcommunity.
Uh I was able to kind ofdocument a little bit of that.
Just just so grateful to beable to be a part of that.
And and our team is is isenjoying working with them as
(19:34):
well.
Mirjam Lippuner (19:34):
You know, it's I'd say this is a huge
opportunity for you, you know,because obviously this is like a
cornerstone of your businessphilosophy, you know.
And it would really and I thinkit'd be very authentic for you
to build that in and make it uma bigger piece of the of the
content that we produce and theway people see you.
(19:56):
Uh because that's I mean, Ithink you you you That's very
attractive for people to knowthat they work with somebody who
has integrity, you know, andcares about the community.
I appreciate that.
Marlon Stepp (20:07):
Thank you.
Yeah.
And I would definitely,definitely, you know, take that
and and and and grow with it.
I appreciate it.
Mirjam Lippuner (20:13):
Love it.
I'm gonna follow you and, youknow, make sure that happens.
Marlon Stepp (20:17):
Big deal, good deal, good deal.
Perfect.
Jason Lockhart (20:19):
So, Marlon, so uh for all of the listeners out
there that may be new in theRamonic space or that may have
had a last a hard year in 2025because we all know there've
been some some downtimes thathappened in 2025.
What advice would you handanybody new or anybody that may
have had a hard time?
What kind of inspiration oradvice can you hand them?
Marlon Stepp (20:43):
I I would definitely say that um having a
solid team and support system ishuge.
You have to have a team thatyou can rely on.
And that goes for in-house andalso for your subcontractors.
You know, being able to beavailable is huge.
(21:04):
Um and that comes with like thereliability aspect of things.
So uh having a team that notonly does break quality, but is
also available and reliable isis the major factor in being
successful.
And I think that's the keything, in my opinion, when it
(21:24):
comes to like the quality ofwork.
So that's that's one aspect ofit.
Uh also, you know, there'sgonna be slow seasons.
Um, you know, you have somepeople that are, you know, just
focused on like getting theirfriends and family in, getting
their Christmases done, youknow, they're they're traveling,
their holidays.
Um, this is the perfect timeto, I guess, like sharpen your
(21:49):
skills.
Or this is the perfect time tokind of catch up on maybe your
admin or your invoices andthings like that.
Um, so uh you have tounderstand, excuse me.
You have to understand thatthere's going to be some
downtime.
It doesn't necessarily mean youquit and throw in the tile.
It just means you have to findother ways to be productive.
That's the gist of it, I wouldsay.
Jason Lockhart (22:10):
So what is steps by step into now outside of the
remote?
What do y'all do?
Marlon Stepp (22:16):
Uh so right now we've started to dive a lot into
um investing real estate.
And so we've been working withum, you know, short-term
rentals, long-term rentals.
We've been doing some flips andthings like that.
Um, we've been partnering upwith some different investors,
(22:37):
uh, working with their projects.
And so we're starting to almostbecome like our own clientele
in an aspect of things.
So we're purchasing propertiesnow, we're purchasing land and
stuff now.
And so that's something that wecouldn't have done without the
previous, the previous process.
(22:59):
So I think that, you know, usbe us growing is just a it's
it's just a different avenue forus to continue to grow.
And I guess what I'm trying tosay.
And so, you know, when you'reinvolved with the remodeling
aspect of things and when you'reinvolved with the design and
architects and construction, youjust naturally fall into that
(23:20):
investment role, in my opinion,sometimes because you're around
so many different investors.
And so uh once they realize,hey, look, you know, maybe we
can kind of bring on, you know,this seem to kind of go with us
down our investment, you know,paths and things like that.
And you you kind of start totake your own paths.
And so that's kind of like whatwe've been kind of focusing on
lately.
And I think it'll just continueto go down a different path of,
(23:42):
you know, the developmentaspect of things.
And so uh, you know, our ourgoal is to one day to fund our
own projects to to to rebuild,develop, and to to create
housing for, you know, obviouslythe multifamily housing and and
maybe families that are areless fortunate.
So uh that's that's where we'regoing right now.
Jason Lockhart (24:03):
Awesome.
Well, we've enjoyed thisconversation.
So if anybody is listeningwants to reach out to you, how
do they get in contact?
Marlon Stepp (24:11):
Uh the best way is reach out to the website.
Uh, we have information on oursite at www.stepsbystep.com.
So that's S-T-E-P-S,B-Y-S-T-E-P-P.com.
And also our social media isjust steps by step underscore L
L C.
All our information is onthere.
You can call me directly.
You can email us.
(24:31):
That's the best way to you knowcontact us.
Jason Lockhart (24:34):
Appreciate it.
Well, I'm gonna hold you to it.
We're gonna try to have youback on there five years from
now.
I'm looking forward to it.
Marlon Stepp (24:41):
I'm looking forward.
And and hopefully, hopefully welook younger.
They're gonna say wait, whichone is the five to ten year
video?
Jason Lockhart (24:51):
That's our call.
Awesome, awesome.
Well, we enjoyed having youhere, Marlon.
And for all of our audience, wehope to see you here in two
weeks on Designer Discussions.
Marlon Stepp (25:00):
Thank you, appreciate it.
It's been uh great.
Jason Lockhart (25:03):
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Designer
Discussions and all of thehelpful information.
Subscribe to our podcast, leaveus a review, and share it with
your friends.
We look forward to having youback next week for more
information on the podcast andthe marketing studio.
Visit designer discussions.comand follow us on social media.
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