September 20, 2025 • 23 mins
Derek Prince takes us behind the scenes of his entrepreneurial journey as founder of Pro Property Services, Asheville's premier exterior contracting company specializing in deck construction, siding, roofing, and log cabin restoration. But this isn't just a story about building physical structures – it's about building multiple successful businesses with intention and purpose.
What makes Derek's approach unique is how he's transferred principles from competitive bodybuilding into business leadership. The discipline, structure, and mental toughness required to excel in fitness have become cornerstones of his business philosophy. "I can't control everything in the business, but I can control my fitness and what I'm putting in my body," Derek explains. This foundation-first mentality has helped him weather the inevitable storms of entrepreneurship without falling into destructive coping patterns.
The conversation reveals crucial turning points in Derek's growth trajectory, particularly when he began rigorously tracking his numbers. Like many contractors, he initially operated on gut feeling rather than data. Learning precisely what each project cost to complete transformed his decision-making and profitability. Derek also shares candid insights about team building, explaining how he seeks self-motivated individuals with interests in personal development outside work. His formula? Find people who complement your weaknesses rather than mirror your strengths.
Most fascinating is how Derek and his wife have expanded beyond contracting into Airbnb management (currently overseeing 85 properties) and launching a laundromat specifically to service their vacation rental business. This ability to spot adjacent opportunities and build complementary services demonstrates the entrepreneurial mindset at its finest.
Whether you're struggling in the early stages of business or looking to scale multiple revenue streams, Derek's practical wisdom offers a blueprint for sustainable growth. Listen now to discover why knowing your numbers, investing in personal development, and building the right team culture might be the most important projects you'll ever undertake.
Derke's information:
Website: https://www.propropertyserviceswnc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/propropertyserviceswnc
Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/
All the best!
Bill
Thanks for listening. Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review, and share this podcast. You can reach me at williamgilliland@actioncoach.com or at https://billgilliland.biz/
All the best!
Bill
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bill Gilliald (00:02):
Hey there, welcome to this week's episode
of Epic Entrepreneurs.
I'm Bill Gilliland, your host.
I am the owner of Action Coach,business Growth Partners and
also one of the founders of theAsheville Business Summit, so
super pumped with you today.
Hey, there's still time to gettickets to the summit.
It's September 23rd.
(00:22):
We've got a couple of weeks togo.
As of this recording, it'llprobably be about a week when
you hear this, so just go aheadand get your tickets.
You can go out to wncsummitcom,but I am super pumped.
Today I have got Derek Princefrom Pro Property Services on
the line.
I'm super pumped to hear hisstory.
I know you're going to want tohear it too.
(00:43):
So, derek, welcome to the show.
Derek (00:46):
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate you having me on.
Bill Gilliald (00:48):
Yeah, yeah.
So, derek, tell us what theheck is Pro Property Services
and what's that all about.
Derek (00:55):
Yeah, so best way to describe Pro Property Services
is that we are Asheville'spremier exterior contractor.
So we do deck siding,everything besides landscaping
so we do roofing.
We do a lot of cabinrestoration as well, so we blast
them down and restain them andlog repair or log replacement.
(01:15):
That's kind of our niche and mywife's side of the business.
She manages about 85 Airbnbsand she has a whole cleaning
team.
We've got a laundromat thatwe're starting up to provide
laundry services for thoseAirbnbs.
Bill Gilliald (01:35):
Wow, okay, so you really got two businesses here.
Yeah, pretty much.
Yeah, yeah, all right.
So let's talk about both ofthem.
We'll have fun with this.
Yeah, yeah, that'll be cool.
Yeah, I All right.
So let's talk about both ofthem.
We'll have fun with this,that'll be.
Yeah, that'll be, that'll becool.
Yeah, I like the.
Yeah, I know it's a, it's a,it's a.
The Airbnb piece is a good, isa good, is a good business.
And I know exterior contracting.
We work with a lot ofcontractors and folks and subs,
(02:00):
that sort of thing, anybodywho's got trucks, vans, crews,
we're, we're kind of that's kindof, that's kind of our thing.
What, um?
So let me ask you a question,though.
I mean you, you've obviouslybeen doing this a while.
If you, if you've, if you'vegot that kind of a portfolio, if
you had to start over inbusiness, what would you do
differently?
Derek (02:20):
Um, I would hire a coach almost immediately.
Nice, nice, yeah, first coupleof years didn't really make a
whole lot of money, didn't evenknow there was coaches for this
type of thing.
Uh, I'm a bodybuilder, acompetitive bodybuilder, so I
had coaches for that.
And, um, you know, didn'treally know if there was
(02:42):
business coaches or anythinglike that.
And uh, so, um, yeah, I wouldgo back and get mentors and
coaches from the get go.
Bill Gilliald (02:54):
Yeah, no, I love that.
Thanks for thanks.
Thanks for saying that.
So what have you?
This is a little bit off script, but I got to talk about
bodybuilding a little bit here,now that we've brought it up.
What's, uh, what are some ofthe similarities, like, what
have you learned frombodybuilding that you've been
able to take over into business?
Derek (03:10):
uh, the discipline, um, the structure you know,
inputting certain foods atcertain times to get different
results, adding certain, youknow physiological changes,
adding cardio, taking cardio outand kind of manipulating that
thing to either maintain muscle,grow muscle or maintain muscle
(03:33):
and lose body fat, to get stageready.
And the mental toughness thatyou get from it, that you get
from business as well get fromit that you get from from
business as well.
Bill Gilliald (03:50):
The yeah, it seems to me that, like, like,
what I heard was that you, youknow you have to adapt to where,
to your specific situation.
So not every you know exterior,build or remodel is going to be
the same.
I mean, they're all different.
You got it, you got to adaptand have a plan depending on
where you are.
For that I love that.
I love that.
I think, you know, I feel likemost of the entrepreneurs and
(04:15):
clients that we've worked with,they almost always have
something outside where they'reworking on themselves in
addition to just working onthemselves in the business.
It's sort of mind, body, spirit.
So I love that.
Derek (04:28):
I feel like that's what's helped me grow so much is
having a strong foundation,because I can't control
everything in the business, butI can't control my fitness and
what I'm putting in my body.
So keeping the foundationstrong keeps everything, because
we are our business 100%.
Bill Gilliald (04:47):
Yeah, you got to have it.
So what have been some of yourbiggest learnings as an owner
and an employer since youstarted?
Derek (04:56):
uh, learning to track, tracking things, knowing exactly
like what it cost me to dosomething and hitting a certain
what it costs from the cost of alead to to the sale to produce
a job, uh, and job costing atthe end of the job, that was
game changer to actually see.
(05:17):
You know like it's like beingsick and not having a diagnosis.
You know exactly what's goingon.
You're kind, just.
I think I did good on that job.
I'm not sure, but actually atthe end of every job you know,
grading it pretty much and thenfiguring out, catching those
mistakes way ahead of timebefore I do two or three jobs at
that and, you know, get get ina bigger hole.
(05:39):
That was, that was.
Probably the biggest thing forme is learning my numbers and
learning what it actually costme to do some projects.
Bill Gilliald (05:49):
Yeah, you got to know your numbers.
Got to know your numbers, sowhat do you think?
Some of the commonmisconceptions are about running
a business.
Derek (06:00):
That's a good question that the owner makes a whole lot
of money.
Yeah, that you don't doanything.
You know, maybe especially whenyou step outside of actually
being in the field, and flowsand the stress and the sleepless
nights that that you go through.
You know, cause the buck stopshere.
You know, and you knowsometimes you don't get paid.
(06:33):
You know, especially in theearly days and everybody else
does, and that happened for acouple of years where all my
employees were making more moneythan I was, which was fine,
take care of them.
But yeah, I would say that isprobably the biggest one that
you own a business.
You've got.
You know all this money comingin, but it tends to go right
(06:54):
back out.
Bill Gilliald (06:55):
Yeah, they don't see it.
Oh well, that was an $80,000job, but they don't see.
I mean it's sort of like theyforgot that they have expenses
at home.
Yeah, yeah, don't see, I meanit's sort of like they forgot
what they have expenses at home.
Yeah, yeah, it's always beeninteresting to me that, you know
they forget like, all right,well, I got a rent or mortgage
payment, I've got a.
You know, I've got electric,I've got water, I've got, you
know, insurance, I've got carpayments.
(07:17):
You know it's like they don'tthink, hey, just because it's a
business, it's the same thing,it's just big numbers, Right,
you know.
So it doesn't end up.
Yeah, it's a bit crazy.
So what do you attribute yourgrowth to?
Derek (07:31):
Being, I would say, you know, somebody who's into
self-improvement and alwayswanting to get better, pretty
competitive, naturally, anyway,so just striving to be the best.
I'm one of those people.
I want everybody to win, but Ialso want to beat you.
Bill Gilliald (07:51):
yes, I love that.
Yeah, you can win, as long as Ibeat you.
As long as I win, then I'mbetter.
Derek (07:59):
Yeah I love that yeah yeah, no, that's funny.
Bill Gilliald (08:03):
Well, I think that helps.
I think a competitive spiritreally helps in business, I mean
because it is a game.
It is.
You know it's a game, you knowwe just keep track with money,
so it's an interesting one.
So how do you balance, like thepersonal and business sides?
Derek (08:30):
Um so I'm blessed to have , uh, some really good people in
place in my business, to where,you know, I'm not having to put
12 hours in every day.
Um so you know, I've got salesreps, I've got an office manager
, uh, good project managers andstuff like that.
I've been through quite a fewof them to kind of find out, uh,
exactly what I'm looking forand that we're all on the same
page.
(08:50):
So all of my crew are prettyclose to me.
You know, they're all selfmotivated into self-improvement,
into fitness.
A lot of them, uh and thatseems to be our culture is that
we're competitive, we're takingcare of ourselves.
Um, so that helps.
Uh, you know, take care of themfinancially as well.
(09:12):
Um so, you know, I I make sure Iget my training in the morning
before I go to the office.
You know, come on, come intothe office for eight or nine
hours and work on the business,leave by three or four and then
go to the gym again.
You know, go to church, stufflike that, and you know, keeping
the mind, body and spirit inplace.
(09:32):
And uh, yeah, I love readingthe podcast.
You know, uh, just everythingthat I do, I try to afford
momentum.
Nothing that's pull, hold meback.
You know, I love it.
Bill Gilliald (09:50):
I love it Cool.
So you said you had a greatteam.
So obviously you've beenthrough a few team that probably
wasn't.
I mean, they might've been goodat the time, but they, you know
, they've cycled, they've cycledoff or whatever what.
What do you look for in an inemployees these days?
Derek (10:14):
Somebody who's motivated, somebody that shows up on time.
You know that first couplemeetings, you know when I'm
interviewing, are they fiveminutes early, Stuff like that.
I ask about their personal lifea little bit, not too much, but
do they have a good family lifeas far as?
(10:35):
Are they married?
Are they single?
Are they out partying, thattype of stuff?
Those are some red flags for me.
Yeah, good, family Foundationis key for me.
So they're.
You know it can be morereliable, um, and for me, like,
especially on the sales side, uh, like I said, I look for
(10:56):
somebody who takes care ofthemselves.
Uh, it doesn't have to bebodybuilding, it could be
anything outside of.
Uh, it could be karate, itcould be yoga, it could be
anything like that.
But something that they'reworking on themselves outside of
work is kind of a and I juststumbled upon that recently and
that seems to be the formula forme.
Bill Gilliald (11:18):
No, that's a good one.
I mean, it's kind of who youare, so you naturally should be
attracting those kinds of peopleanyway.
It doesn't mean you want clonesbecause that, that won't that
don't work, you know right,right exactly it definitely.
I mean, if you had a hundredpercent so I would say one.
Derek (11:34):
I'm sorry to interrupt.
One more added thing is findingpeople that are better at
things than I am yep not smarterlike not always being the
smartest person in the room.
So, um, some people are betterat talking than me, some people
are better at doing spreadsheetsand computer stuff, um, and
stuff like that.
So I try to find areas that Ilack in and find the people that
(11:59):
are better at that than me.
Bill Gilliald (12:00):
I love that, I love that.
So one of our tag lines is beepic, and it's an acronym.
So I'm going to ask you, I'mgoing to give you the letter, or
the letters, and just get yourquick, like a quick thought,
like a couple of words orsentences about each one, just
to get your thoughts on it.
So I think this one's going tobe easy.
The B stands for bring theenergy.
(12:26):
Like, just like describe it, oryeah, just give me a couple of
words or sentences that come toyour mind when I say bring the
energy be motivated, be positivemindset, be focused.
I love it.
E is for education.
Derek (12:43):
Self-improvement Education, always trying to be
better, I guess.
Bill Gilliald (12:52):
No, I love it.
No, education, self-improvement.
You know Jim Rohn said workharder on yourself than you do
on your job.
Derek (12:58):
You know, if you want to be successful, p planning,
Knowing your numbers,strategizing and have a game
plan.
Bill Gilliald (13:13):
I love that.
I love that.
Derek (13:20):
I stands for inspiration, being a lead as the owner,
leading from the front.
You know you can't ask somebodyto do something that you're not
willing to do, and so yeah,leading from the front.
Bill Gilliald (13:32):
I love that Lead from the front.
Yep Got to be out there.
Derek (13:40):
And the C stands for commitment, yeah, being fully
committed to our principles, ourcommitment to the customer and
to delivering a great productand service.
Bill Gilliald (13:54):
Love it.
So what words of advice wouldyou offer to other business
owners who are looking to grow?
Derek (14:03):
um, I would say take care of you.
It starts with you first, sostart taking care of your health
and spirituality, whatever thatlooks like for you, because
when the storm comes, if youdon't have a strong foundation,
other vices tend to fill thatgap, whether it's alcohol or
(14:27):
anger, that sort of thing.
So taking care of you first andforemost, so you can take care
of others, diving into thenumbers and knowing your numbers
I wish I knew that from theget-go and then investing in
yourself and your businessthat's where that looks like.
I know not everyone can hire acoach right off the bat, but you
(14:51):
know, looking at, there's a lotof free content, online
podcasts and just one thing Idid from the get-go when I was
flat broke, didn't have any jobslined up, my wife was like you
need to get up.
I was kind of depressed, andshe's like you need to get up
and go do something.
So I got up and decided I wasgoing to ride around and pass
(15:13):
business cards out, but I'mgoing to use every little bit of
time to get better.
So I wouldn't even listen tomusic.
I pass business cards out, butI'm going to use every little
bit of time to get better, so Iwouldn't even listen to music.
I mean, let's do a podcast asI'm driving around.
Uh and yeah, just utilize eachtime you know as much time as
you can to to get better and onand off the job yeah, and I love
that.
Bill Gilliald (15:32):
I call it car college.
Yeah, you, just, you, just youknow, don't.
Yeah, music's okay from time totime to get you fired up or
whatever, but you know there's alot of time in vehicles or
walking or whatever it is you'redoing, between things where you
could be learning.
So you know we have a sayingthat only place you know earning
(15:55):
comes before learning is in thedictionary.
So, yeah, so you got.
You got to learn.
Hey, this has been awesome, soI know you've got.
Uh, we've been mostly talkingabout the um, the construction
side of the business.
Um, all of this stuff appliesto the other side of the
business as well, I'm sure.
Um, but?
(16:15):
But talk a little bit aboutthat business and what you've
learned over there.
Derek (16:21):
Yeah, so my wife was a registered nurse during the
COVID era and she got a littleburnt out on the craziness so we
decided to add a cleaningservice because we're already at
the home and I've had a fewpeople ask me anyway, um, so she
started that four years ago, um, and she's done a great job
(16:43):
growing it, um, and what we'velearned over there is a little
bit different.
Uh, as far as cashflow goes,you know, um, and then it's one
thing we've noticed with that isshe doesn't get any of the
praise that we do.
You know, like, once wecomplete a deck and the
(17:03):
customer's happy, get a goodreview.
Well, most of her stuff is alot of negativity because a
guest finds a piece of hair, youknow, and then once they find
that, then they go looking foreverything.
So that's a struggle for hers.
Uh, uh, finding some positivityin it, um, it does do pretty
well as far as you know,consistent income, um, but
(17:28):
getting getting payments hasbeen the struggle from cause we
pay the girls and then waitingon the payment from the
homeowner can be a struggle andwe have an inspection lady goes
in and inspects the cleans afterthe girls are done and then
(17:51):
finding good help.
To be honest with you, that'sbeen the struggle on that side,
but there's room to grow.
We found that the constructionside is a little too expensive
for that clientele with theAirbnbs on our side.
So you would think that wouldlead to us working on those
homes, but they tend to be outof our price range because we're
(18:14):
more higher end on that side,right out of our price range
because we're more higher end onthat side, right.
So so we've took on a couplehandyman, hourly handyman yep to
kind of because there's moneythere and we want to take, take
advantage of it, um, but alsofinding real viable handyman has
been a struggle, um.
And then we just recently hireda we call her an office manager,
(18:38):
so she's going to be answeringthe phone for the construction
side, you know, doing the adminstuff for that, and then with
her side, is getting back to thehomeowners and with the Airbnbs
the scheduling is alwayschanging so fast, even on the
weekends Like ours.
You know it shuts off on Friday, but hers is Saturday and
(19:01):
Sunday and having thatcommunication with the
homeowners answering questions.
So we finally got and my wifehas been doing all the invoicing
and all that stuff for thatside and that's an all-day task
and so we're trying to free herup so we can focus on building
the handyman side.
(19:21):
And also we've just got a1,600-square-foot facility and
we're putting in, I think, 10washer and dryers in there and
that's kind of to go to supplythe linens for those Airbnbs and
we see a huge opportunity, uh,with that.
(19:42):
We just got to get it up, gether freed up so she can focus on
that and yeah, so you've addeda third business, really, which
is the handyman business.
Bill Gilliald (19:50):
So it's a different business than your
other business.
I mean it sounds like it'sconstruction, but it's just not
right.
Yeah, I mean because you might.
I mean you know, I've hadclients who were in the handyman
business.
I mean they sometimes justchange light bulbs.
I mean it's not like it couldbe just about anything.
I mean it could be major, itcould be a remodel job, but it
could also be a.
(20:11):
Yeah, that's an interestingthing.
I love how you guys have justsort of morphed into the
opportunities, like you saw whatwas there and then you've
looked for what's next.
Right, yeah, and I love that, Ilove that.
That's great.
So, lastly, what's the best wayfor somebody to get in touch
with you?
Derek (20:31):
You can go to our website ProPropertyServicesWNCcom.
Pro Property Services wnccom.
Our phone number is828-202-1328 is our phone number
.
Bill Gilliald (20:45):
I love it Well, fantastic.
Listen, thanks for being onhere.
There's a lot of good wisdomhere.
There's a lot of goodexperience here.
Appreciate what you're doing inthe community and all the
things that you're doing, and itsounds like you guys are
serving a big need on both sidesof the well, all three sides of
(21:06):
the business.
At this point it's going to beyeah, but it's fun.
I love the entrepreneurialdrive.
Congrats on your success so farand certainly wish you
continued success.
Derek (21:16):
Thank you.
I appreciate you.
Thanks for having me, yeah.
Bill Gilliald (21:18):
Hey, and until next time all the best, thank
you.
Hey there, welcome to this week's episode
of Epic Entrepreneurs.
I'm Bill Gilliland, your host.
I am the owner of Action Coach,business Growth Partners and
also one of the founders of theAsheville Business Summit, so
super pumped with you today.
Hey, there's still time to gettickets to the summit.
It's September 23rd.
(00:22):
We've got a couple of weeks togo.
As of this recording, it'llprobably be about a week when
you hear this, so just go aheadand get your tickets.
You can go out to wncsummitcom,but I am super pumped.
Today I have got Derek Princefrom Pro Property Services on
the line.
I'm super pumped to hear hisstory.
I know you're going to want tohear it too.
(00:43):
So, derek, welcome to the show.
Derek (00:46):
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate you having me on.
Bill Gilliald (00:48):
Yeah, yeah.
So, derek, tell us what theheck is Pro Property Services
and what's that all about.
Derek (00:55):
Yeah, so best way to describe Pro Property Services
is that we are Asheville'spremier exterior contractor.
So we do deck siding,everything besides landscaping
so we do roofing.
We do a lot of cabinrestoration as well, so we blast
them down and restain them andlog repair or log replacement.
(01:15):
That's kind of our niche and mywife's side of the business.
She manages about 85 Airbnbsand she has a whole cleaning
team.
We've got a laundromat thatwe're starting up to provide
laundry services for thoseAirbnbs.
Bill Gilliald (01:35):
Wow, okay, so you really got two businesses here.
Yeah, pretty much.
Yeah, yeah, all right.
So let's talk about both ofthem.
We'll have fun with this.
Yeah, yeah, that'll be cool.
Yeah, I All right.
So let's talk about both ofthem.
We'll have fun with this,that'll be.
Yeah, that'll be, that'll becool.
Yeah, I like the.
Yeah, I know it's a, it's a,it's a.
The Airbnb piece is a good, isa good, is a good business.
And I know exterior contracting.
We work with a lot ofcontractors and folks and subs,
(02:00):
that sort of thing, anybodywho's got trucks, vans, crews,
we're, we're kind of that's kindof, that's kind of our thing.
What, um?
So let me ask you a question,though.
I mean you, you've obviouslybeen doing this a while.
If you, if you've, if you'vegot that kind of a portfolio, if
you had to start over inbusiness, what would you do
differently?
Derek (02:20):
Um, I would hire a coach almost immediately.
Nice, nice, yeah, first coupleof years didn't really make a
whole lot of money, didn't evenknow there was coaches for this
type of thing.
Uh, I'm a bodybuilder, acompetitive bodybuilder, so I
had coaches for that.
And, um, you know, didn'treally know if there was
(02:42):
business coaches or anythinglike that.
And uh, so, um, yeah, I wouldgo back and get mentors and
coaches from the get go.
Bill Gilliald (02:54):
Yeah, no, I love that.
Thanks for thanks.
Thanks for saying that.
So what have you?
This is a little bit off script, but I got to talk about
bodybuilding a little bit here,now that we've brought it up.
What's, uh, what are some ofthe similarities, like, what
have you learned frombodybuilding that you've been
able to take over into business?
Derek (03:10):
uh, the discipline, um, the structure you know,
inputting certain foods atcertain times to get different
results, adding certain, youknow physiological changes,
adding cardio, taking cardio outand kind of manipulating that
thing to either maintain muscle,grow muscle or maintain muscle
(03:33):
and lose body fat, to get stageready.
And the mental toughness thatyou get from it, that you get
from business as well get fromit that you get from from
business as well.
Bill Gilliald (03:50):
The yeah, it seems to me that, like, like,
what I heard was that you, youknow you have to adapt to where,
to your specific situation.
So not every you know exterior,build or remodel is going to be
the same.
I mean, they're all different.
You got it, you got to adaptand have a plan depending on
where you are.
For that I love that.
I love that.
I think, you know, I feel likemost of the entrepreneurs and
(04:15):
clients that we've worked with,they almost always have
something outside where they'reworking on themselves in
addition to just working onthemselves in the business.
It's sort of mind, body, spirit.
So I love that.
Derek (04:28):
I feel like that's what's helped me grow so much is
having a strong foundation,because I can't control
everything in the business, butI can't control my fitness and
what I'm putting in my body.
So keeping the foundationstrong keeps everything, because
we are our business 100%.
Bill Gilliald (04:47):
Yeah, you got to have it.
So what have been some of yourbiggest learnings as an owner
and an employer since youstarted?
Derek (04:56):
uh, learning to track, tracking things, knowing exactly
like what it cost me to dosomething and hitting a certain
what it costs from the cost of alead to to the sale to produce
a job, uh, and job costing atthe end of the job, that was
game changer to actually see.
(05:17):
You know like it's like beingsick and not having a diagnosis.
You know exactly what's goingon.
You're kind, just.
I think I did good on that job.
I'm not sure, but actually atthe end of every job you know,
grading it pretty much and thenfiguring out, catching those
mistakes way ahead of timebefore I do two or three jobs at
that and, you know, get get ina bigger hole.
(05:39):
That was, that was.
Probably the biggest thing forme is learning my numbers and
learning what it actually costme to do some projects.
Bill Gilliald (05:49):
Yeah, you got to know your numbers.
Got to know your numbers, sowhat do you think?
Some of the commonmisconceptions are about running
a business.
Derek (06:00):
That's a good question that the owner makes a whole lot
of money.
Yeah, that you don't doanything.
You know, maybe especially whenyou step outside of actually
being in the field, and flowsand the stress and the sleepless
nights that that you go through.
You know, cause the buck stopshere.
You know, and you knowsometimes you don't get paid.
(06:33):
You know, especially in theearly days and everybody else
does, and that happened for acouple of years where all my
employees were making more moneythan I was, which was fine,
take care of them.
But yeah, I would say that isprobably the biggest one that
you own a business.
You've got.
You know all this money comingin, but it tends to go right
(06:54):
back out.
Bill Gilliald (06:55):
Yeah, they don't see it.
Oh well, that was an $80,000job, but they don't see.
I mean it's sort of like theyforgot that they have expenses
at home.
Yeah, yeah, don't see, I meanit's sort of like they forgot
what they have expenses at home.
Yeah, yeah, it's always beeninteresting to me that, you know
they forget like, all right,well, I got a rent or mortgage
payment, I've got a.
You know, I've got electric,I've got water, I've got, you
know, insurance, I've got carpayments.
(07:17):
You know it's like they don'tthink, hey, just because it's a
business, it's the same thing,it's just big numbers, Right,
you know.
So it doesn't end up.
Yeah, it's a bit crazy.
So what do you attribute yourgrowth to?
Derek (07:31):
Being, I would say, you know, somebody who's into
self-improvement and alwayswanting to get better, pretty
competitive, naturally, anyway,so just striving to be the best.
I'm one of those people.
I want everybody to win, but Ialso want to beat you.
Bill Gilliald (07:51):
yes, I love that.
Yeah, you can win, as long as Ibeat you.
As long as I win, then I'mbetter.
Derek (07:59):
Yeah I love that yeah yeah, no, that's funny.
Bill Gilliald (08:03):
Well, I think that helps.
I think a competitive spiritreally helps in business, I mean
because it is a game.
It is.
You know it's a game, you knowwe just keep track with money,
so it's an interesting one.
So how do you balance, like thepersonal and business sides?
Derek (08:30):
Um so I'm blessed to have , uh, some really good people in
place in my business, to where,you know, I'm not having to put
12 hours in every day.
Um so you know, I've got salesreps, I've got an office manager
, uh, good project managers andstuff like that.
I've been through quite a fewof them to kind of find out, uh,
exactly what I'm looking forand that we're all on the same
page.
(08:50):
So all of my crew are prettyclose to me.
You know, they're all selfmotivated into self-improvement,
into fitness.
A lot of them, uh and thatseems to be our culture is that
we're competitive, we're takingcare of ourselves.
Um, so that helps.
Uh, you know, take care of themfinancially as well.
(09:12):
Um so, you know, I I make sure Iget my training in the morning
before I go to the office.
You know, come on, come intothe office for eight or nine
hours and work on the business,leave by three or four and then
go to the gym again.
You know, go to church, stufflike that, and you know, keeping
the mind, body and spirit inplace.
(09:32):
And uh, yeah, I love readingthe podcast.
You know, uh, just everythingthat I do, I try to afford
momentum.
Nothing that's pull, hold meback.
You know, I love it.
Bill Gilliald (09:50):
I love it Cool.
So you said you had a greatteam.
So obviously you've beenthrough a few team that probably
wasn't.
I mean, they might've been goodat the time, but they, you know
, they've cycled, they've cycledoff or whatever what.
What do you look for in an inemployees these days?
Derek (10:14):
Somebody who's motivated, somebody that shows up on time.
You know that first couplemeetings, you know when I'm
interviewing, are they fiveminutes early, Stuff like that.
I ask about their personal lifea little bit, not too much, but
do they have a good family lifeas far as?
(10:35):
Are they married?
Are they single?
Are they out partying, thattype of stuff?
Those are some red flags for me.
Yeah, good, family Foundationis key for me.
So they're.
You know it can be morereliable, um, and for me, like,
especially on the sales side, uh, like I said, I look for
(10:56):
somebody who takes care ofthemselves.
Uh, it doesn't have to bebodybuilding, it could be
anything outside of.
Uh, it could be karate, itcould be yoga, it could be
anything like that.
But something that they'reworking on themselves outside of
work is kind of a and I juststumbled upon that recently and
that seems to be the formula forme.
Bill Gilliald (11:18):
No, that's a good one.
I mean, it's kind of who youare, so you naturally should be
attracting those kinds of peopleanyway.
It doesn't mean you want clonesbecause that, that won't that
don't work, you know right,right exactly it definitely.
I mean, if you had a hundredpercent so I would say one.
Derek (11:34):
I'm sorry to interrupt.
One more added thing is findingpeople that are better at
things than I am yep not smarterlike not always being the
smartest person in the room.
So, um, some people are betterat talking than me, some people
are better at doing spreadsheetsand computer stuff, um, and
stuff like that.
So I try to find areas that Ilack in and find the people that
(11:59):
are better at that than me.
Bill Gilliald (12:00):
I love that, I love that.
So one of our tag lines is beepic, and it's an acronym.
So I'm going to ask you, I'mgoing to give you the letter, or
the letters, and just get yourquick, like a quick thought,
like a couple of words orsentences about each one, just
to get your thoughts on it.
So I think this one's going tobe easy.
The B stands for bring theenergy.
(12:26):
Like, just like describe it, oryeah, just give me a couple of
words or sentences that come toyour mind when I say bring the
energy be motivated, be positivemindset, be focused.
I love it.
E is for education.
Derek (12:43):
Self-improvement Education, always trying to be
better, I guess.
Bill Gilliald (12:52):
No, I love it.
No, education, self-improvement.
You know Jim Rohn said workharder on yourself than you do
on your job.
Derek (12:58):
You know, if you want to be successful, p planning,
Knowing your numbers,strategizing and have a game
plan.
Bill Gilliald (13:13):
I love that.
I love that.
Derek (13:20):
I stands for inspiration, being a lead as the owner,
leading from the front.
You know you can't ask somebodyto do something that you're not
willing to do, and so yeah,leading from the front.
Bill Gilliald (13:32):
I love that Lead from the front.
Yep Got to be out there.
Derek (13:40):
And the C stands for commitment, yeah, being fully
committed to our principles, ourcommitment to the customer and
to delivering a great productand service.
Bill Gilliald (13:54):
Love it.
So what words of advice wouldyou offer to other business
owners who are looking to grow?
Derek (14:03):
um, I would say take care of you.
It starts with you first, sostart taking care of your health
and spirituality, whatever thatlooks like for you, because
when the storm comes, if youdon't have a strong foundation,
other vices tend to fill thatgap, whether it's alcohol or
(14:27):
anger, that sort of thing.
So taking care of you first andforemost, so you can take care
of others, diving into thenumbers and knowing your numbers
I wish I knew that from theget-go and then investing in
yourself and your businessthat's where that looks like.
I know not everyone can hire acoach right off the bat, but you
(14:51):
know, looking at, there's a lotof free content, online
podcasts and just one thing Idid from the get-go when I was
flat broke, didn't have any jobslined up, my wife was like you
need to get up.
I was kind of depressed, andshe's like you need to get up
and go do something.
So I got up and decided I wasgoing to ride around and pass
(15:13):
business cards out, but I'mgoing to use every little bit of
time to get better.
So I wouldn't even listen tomusic.
I pass business cards out, butI'm going to use every little
bit of time to get better, so Iwouldn't even listen to music.
I mean, let's do a podcast asI'm driving around.
Uh and yeah, just utilize eachtime you know as much time as
you can to to get better and onand off the job yeah, and I love
that.
Bill Gilliald (15:32):
I call it car college.
Yeah, you, just, you, just youknow, don't.
Yeah, music's okay from time totime to get you fired up or
whatever, but you know there's alot of time in vehicles or
walking or whatever it is you'redoing, between things where you
could be learning.
So you know we have a sayingthat only place you know earning
(15:55):
comes before learning is in thedictionary.
So, yeah, so you got.
You got to learn.
Hey, this has been awesome, soI know you've got.
Uh, we've been mostly talkingabout the um, the construction
side of the business.
Um, all of this stuff appliesto the other side of the
business as well, I'm sure.
Um, but?
(16:15):
But talk a little bit aboutthat business and what you've
learned over there.
Derek (16:21):
Yeah, so my wife was a registered nurse during the
COVID era and she got a littleburnt out on the craziness so we
decided to add a cleaningservice because we're already at
the home and I've had a fewpeople ask me anyway, um, so she
started that four years ago, um, and she's done a great job
(16:43):
growing it, um, and what we'velearned over there is a little
bit different.
Uh, as far as cashflow goes,you know, um, and then it's one
thing we've noticed with that isshe doesn't get any of the
praise that we do.
You know, like, once wecomplete a deck and the
(17:03):
customer's happy, get a goodreview.
Well, most of her stuff is alot of negativity because a
guest finds a piece of hair, youknow, and then once they find
that, then they go looking foreverything.
So that's a struggle for hers.
Uh, uh, finding some positivityin it, um, it does do pretty
well as far as you know,consistent income, um, but
(17:28):
getting getting payments hasbeen the struggle from cause we
pay the girls and then waitingon the payment from the
homeowner can be a struggle andwe have an inspection lady goes
in and inspects the cleans afterthe girls are done and then
(17:51):
finding good help.
To be honest with you, that'sbeen the struggle on that side,
but there's room to grow.
We found that the constructionside is a little too expensive
for that clientele with theAirbnbs on our side.
So you would think that wouldlead to us working on those
homes, but they tend to be outof our price range because we're
(18:14):
more higher end on that side,right out of our price range
because we're more higher end onthat side, right.
So so we've took on a couplehandyman, hourly handyman yep to
kind of because there's moneythere and we want to take, take
advantage of it, um, but alsofinding real viable handyman has
been a struggle, um.
And then we just recently hireda we call her an office manager,
(18:38):
so she's going to be answeringthe phone for the construction
side, you know, doing the adminstuff for that, and then with
her side, is getting back to thehomeowners and with the Airbnbs
the scheduling is alwayschanging so fast, even on the
weekends Like ours.
You know it shuts off on Friday, but hers is Saturday and
(19:01):
Sunday and having thatcommunication with the
homeowners answering questions.
So we finally got and my wifehas been doing all the invoicing
and all that stuff for thatside and that's an all-day task
and so we're trying to free herup so we can focus on building
the handyman side.
(19:21):
And also we've just got a1,600-square-foot facility and
we're putting in, I think, 10washer and dryers in there and
that's kind of to go to supplythe linens for those Airbnbs and
we see a huge opportunity, uh,with that.
(19:42):
We just got to get it up, gether freed up so she can focus on
that and yeah, so you've addeda third business, really, which
is the handyman business.
Bill Gilliald (19:50):
So it's a different business than your
other business.
I mean it sounds like it'sconstruction, but it's just not
right.
Yeah, I mean because you might.
I mean you know, I've hadclients who were in the handyman
business.
I mean they sometimes justchange light bulbs.
I mean it's not like it couldbe just about anything.
I mean it could be major, itcould be a remodel job, but it
could also be a.
(20:11):
Yeah, that's an interestingthing.
I love how you guys have justsort of morphed into the
opportunities, like you saw whatwas there and then you've
looked for what's next.
Right, yeah, and I love that, Ilove that.
That's great.
So, lastly, what's the best wayfor somebody to get in touch
with you?
Derek (20:31):
You can go to our website ProPropertyServicesWNCcom.
Pro Property Services wnccom.
Our phone number is828-202-1328 is our phone number
.
Bill Gilliald (20:45):
I love it Well, fantastic.
Listen, thanks for being onhere.
There's a lot of good wisdomhere.
There's a lot of goodexperience here.
Appreciate what you're doing inthe community and all the
things that you're doing, and itsounds like you guys are
serving a big need on both sidesof the well, all three sides of
(21:06):
the business.
At this point it's going to beyeah, but it's fun.
I love the entrepreneurialdrive.
Congrats on your success so farand certainly wish you
continued success.
Derek (21:16):
Thank you.
I appreciate you.
Thanks for having me, yeah.
Bill Gilliald (21:18):
Hey, and until next time all the best, thank
you.
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