May 5, 2025 • 18 mins
Meet Calvin Denny, the founder of Atlas Mountain Contractors, who took an unconventional path from mental health professional to successful contractor. Calvin's refreshingly candid account of his entrepreneurial journey reveals both the challenges and unexpected simplicities of launching a business in the trades.
"I wish I would have done it sooner," Calvin confesses when reflecting on his first year in business.
Calvin dispels the common myth that owning a business means more freedom and leisure time. "When you run your own business, it's not that you don't have a boss, it's that you have a million bosses," he explains.
Calvin's journey offers practical wisdom and encouragement. His final message? The trades offer tremendous opportunity, AI isn't replacing skilled craftspeople anytime soon. Reach out to Calvin directly at 828-284-1925 to discuss your contracting needs or to get advice on starting your own venture.
ABOUT CALVIN
Calvin still conducts home inspections, but his primary focus is now on growing the contracting business. He is currently specializing in carpentry, metal roofing, and interior remodeling.
His goal from the exposure on this podcast is to encourage others to take the dive into starting a small, low-overhead business.
Thanks for Listening. You may contact me at https://billgilliland.actioncoach.com/
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.
All the best!
Bill
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there and welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs, and I'm superpumped.
Today I've got Calvin Dennyfrom Atlas Mountain Contractors,
so welcome to the show, calvin.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Oh, thank you.
I'm really happy to be here.
Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yeah, so what is Atlas Mountain Contractors?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
So basically we're a small collective of independent
contractors and I have athree-man crew and we really do
a variety of services, but we'rekind of focusing on framing
repairs.
We do a lot of decking, we dofloor joist repairs, things of
that nature, and we also dometal roofing.
So it's a pretty wide scope andwe're a newer business.
(00:44):
We've been in business lessthan a year now and have been
enjoying pretty steady growth,so that's been very exciting.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
So I mean you say you've been doing this about a
year.
What would you do differentlyif you were starting over today?
What have you learned in thatfirst year?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
That's a great question.
I honestly I wish I would have.
Well, I wish I would have doneit sooner.
That's, that's one thing.
Yeah, prior to this I workedabout 10 years in the mental
health field and enjoyed thework but really wasn't making
enough money to get myself whereI wanted to be in life and I
(01:27):
was very intimidated aboutstarting my own business.
But it ended up.
The process was a lot easierthan I thought.
But something I would have donedifferently is probably set
firm boundaries with myself atthe beginning, like no working
on weekends, putting the phoneon, do not disturb at night,
things like that, because whenyou're starting a business and
(01:49):
you're seeing growth it's reallyhard to kind of separate.
You know that work life balance.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, you have to.
You have to say yes toeverything for a while until you
figure out what to say no toright.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Yeah, so those are great, that's great stuff.
So what, what would you say,has been your biggest learning
so far as an, as an owner and anemployer?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Um, I would say it, just meeting people where they
are.
You know, it's just meetingpeople where they are.
(02:42):
You know, no two clients aregoing to be the same.
Some people need a little bitmore you know, hand-holding than
then.
Maybe it would be ideal, butit's uh, projects are very
stressful on people, you knowthey're, they're spending their
money, they, they have certainexpectations that aren't always
met, with timelines and so on.
So, um, yeah, that's veryimportant, just uh, meeting
(03:03):
everybody where they are andalways just trying to provide
excellent customer service,regardless of the situation.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, yeah, that's a good point.
I do want to go back tosomething.
That's a pretty good leap frommental health to contracting.
Tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
So I have a bachelor's degree in psychology
and I'm a qualified mentalhealth professional and I've
worked in a variety of roles inthat field, predominantly in
(03:39):
addiction recovery andwilderness therapy.
And I bought a house about 10years ago and that's kind of how
I cut my teeth on contracting.
I bought a foreclosed home.
They needed everything from theroof to the floors.
I did all of the work myself,kind of trial by fire, did a lot
of things two or three timesand then, you know, I started
(03:59):
feeling burned out from themental health stuff and thought
I'd try out being a homeinspector.
So I got licensed and did thatfor a few years and there were
things that I didn't and don'tlove about that industry but it
did provide me.
I got a lot of excellenteducation through that licensure
(04:20):
process and maintaining thatlicense and continuing my
education, licensure process andmaintaining that license and
continuing my education I thinkis making me a better contractor
.
So that's kind of how the shifthappened.
I just I love working with myhands and I also love being my
own boss and have kind of alwayswanted that, and it just I
(04:42):
needed to have the rightcircumstances, I think, to make
that happen wanted that and itjust I needed to have the right
circumstances, I think, to makethat happen.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, I think a lot of people don't pull the trigger
fast enough.
I mean, yeah, it's prettyinteresting.
So what are some of themisconceptions that you think
people have about running abusiness?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I'd say the number one misconception is people
think oh, I'll run my ownbusiness, that means I'll make
my own schedule, I'll get totake vacations whenever I want,
I'll have more free time.
That just couldn't be fartherfrom the truth.
When you run your own business,it's not that you don't have a
boss, it's that you have amillion bosses.
Everybody that you're workingwith that has expectations,
(05:23):
contractors that maybe you subfor and things of that nature
timelines.
So I can't imagine a situationwhere running your business is
less work than whatever you'redoing prior.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, it's an old saying that people give up a
40-hour a week to work 100 hoursand make half the money.
I love it.
Yeah, yeah, so it's, you know,to get to get started.
Well, you said you've beengrowing.
What do you attribute thegrowth to?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Just it's been word of mouth.
I don't have.
I don't even have a website, Idon't really have an online
presence.
I've been a member of a B&group for years and they have
helped me tremendously to growmy business and they send me a
large percentage of my referrals.
And then at this point nowwe're getting a lot of repeat
(06:14):
customers, so we're growing thatcustomer base and they tell
their friends and that's justkind of how we've grown, grown
and I also.
We're also just blessed to be,you know, in an area with a huge
need for skilled contractors.
There's a lot of growth in thehousing market here and not a
(06:36):
lot of people to do the work, sopart of it is just
circumstantial.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Yeah, we did have a flood, um, so there is some
stuff going on there.
But we give a shout out to BNI.
I mean, we've been members ofBNI groups over the years and
it's been hugely beneficial.
I do think it's pretty easy torefer a contractor in BNI once
(07:01):
they understand they can trustyou.
So, yeah, if you're looking fora referral-based group, bni,
once they, once they understandthey can trust you.
So yeah, if you're, if you're,if you're thinking, if you're
looking for a referral basedgroup, bni is probably a good
thing to check out.
Um, yeah, um.
So you said you got, uh, acouple of three guys working
with you.
What do you, what do you lookfor?
(07:22):
You know, in, in, in teammembers, you know, and team
members.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So the guys that I work with I knew previously and
the business really as funny asit may sound, it kind of started
on accident.
I started working as a handyman, got my insurance and I got a
referral to a job that was waytoo big for me.
So I reached out to a couple ofguys I knew, who I knew were
(07:48):
highly skilled and, you know,were undervalued in their
current work situation, and said, hey, you want to come help do
this big project with me?
They jumped on that with me.
We were kind of vibing, youknow, and working well together
and you know, after that projectwe're like, hey, let's keep
doing this and so got them setup with their their own
insurance and everything, andthey're independent contractors,
(08:10):
that just, we do everythingtogether and I'm looking to add
more team members as well, but Ijust got lucky already knowing
a great crew to jump on with me.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
OK, so you're just so you're.
You're a group of independentcontractors.
They're not actually employees,exactly, yeah, yeah, okay, and
that's how you're doing it, allright, well, let me do a quick
fire round with you.
Epic is an acronym, so let meget your thoughts on the letters
in EPIC, and the E stands foreducation Just real quick.
(08:42):
Maybe a sentence or two abouteach one.
What are your thoughts oneducation?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Well, education is very important and it doesn't
have to be traditional educationin the sense of like going to a
university.
You know, if you want to be aplumber, go work with a plumber
and get paid to learn, you knowif you want to set tile, do the
same thing.
Go work with a tile guy.
I think in the trades,experience is about as important
(09:11):
as anything.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, look, I'm encouraging so many people that
if you're good with your handsand that's what you want to do
and you want to work with yourhands, you should go get a trade
.
You should go learn.
That's so many young people I'mlike go into the trades, it's a
great business.
You should go learn.
That's what so many youngpeople I'm like go into the
trades, it's a great business.
You're going to make more moneythan most people.
You're going to do well in lifeand it's never going to go away
(09:36):
.
Ai is not going to replacetrades.
It's just not going to.
It's just not happening.
All right, what about P forplanning?
What's your thoughts onplanning?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Well, it's super important to know what job is
coming up next and you know asthings.
If something doesn't finish ontime, have a plan for how you're
going to address that.
Stay on top of communicationwith all of your clients and
planning.
I'm sure there are ways tostreamline scheduling and
(10:10):
planning.
That's something that I'm stilllearning.
I spend too much time, to behonest, just trying to get my
ducks in a row, so that'ssomething that I'm always trying
to improve on.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Right, so the I is inspiration.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So talk to us about inspiration.
Well, I've certainly beeninspired by members of my family
and also just people that I'veworked with, who work with their
hands and just people who, whensomething breaks, they know how
to fix it, and people who dotheir own mechanical work and
(10:51):
grow their own gardens.
I'm really inspired byindependence and I think that's
something that drives me in mybusiness and that I try to
encourage everyone.
If you think you might be ableto do it yourself, give it a try
.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, I remember, right after we got married, my
wife we were living in anapartment she said you need to
call somebody to come fix thisthing.
And I'm like why?
She said what do you mean I canfix it?
You know it's not.
I mean it wasn't someelectrical outlet or something,
it was pretty simple, you know.
And yeah, she's like.
And then she figured out well,okay, bill can fix anything.
(11:26):
Now she doesn't call somebody,she just says fix it.
So it's all right.
So that's the way it works outin our family anyway.
So what C stands for commitment, obviously, to be in business,
you've got to commit.
So what are your thoughts aboutcommitment?
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Well, like you said, being in business means you have
to commit.
So I think if you're going totake something like this on, you
have to, at least initially, bewilling to.
You know, put the business inthe forefront of your life and
really be able to focus on itsgrowth.
And you know, having more timefor vacations and hobbies and
(12:06):
things like that are kind of areearned through sustained hard
work, and you're not necessarilygoing to have that initially.
And at the same time, you haveto maintain your commitments to
your family, you know, and learnto balance your work and your
life.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah, yeah, that's well said.
What do you wish somebody hadtold you before you went in
business that you know now.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I wish somebody would have explained just how the
process works how to get an LLC,how to get insurance, how to
generate leads.
It's all you know every step ofthe way I've learned.
You know I learn as I go, butit's really, at the end of the
day, it's not all thatcomplicated to start a low
(13:00):
overhead business where youdon't actually have employees.
You have your own tools andyour own work vehicle and things
like that.
I wish I could have just seenit mapped out, because it
probably would have encouragedme to take the jump sooner.
I thought I needed so much moneyto start up and it really
wasn't the case for me.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, no, I mean it's not.
I mean you get a federal ID,you get an LLC and you get a
checking account and put somemoney in it and you're in
business.
I mean it's not really thathard if you want to start a
business.
I mean there's a lot more to itto grow a business.
(13:42):
But to get started with asingle member LLC is pretty
straightforward.
What would you say to otherbusiness people or other people
who are potentially thinkingabout jumping into business?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
jumping into business .
I would say, if you have askilled trade and maybe you're
undervalued at the current place, that you work or you're
thinking about jumping out onyour own, I would say, do it.
It's hugely challenging in somany ways, but it's not that
(14:17):
hard to get started hugelychallenging in so many ways, but
it's not that hard to getstarted.
So I would say, take the leap.
I would love to connect withpeople and help them get started
.
I would really like to see moresmall businesses like my own
popping up and I'd like to seeyou know more of my peers
enjoying success in thisindustry.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, cool, that's exciting.
So any advice to businessowners looking to grow?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Well, something that I'm trying to teach myself right
now is that there does come apoint where you just can't do it
all yourself.
That's something I reallystruggle with is like I want to
have my hands on everything, Iwant to make all the decisions,
and that's not sustainable.
In order to grow, you have tolet go of a little bit of that
control and trust the peoplethat you work with, put people
(15:12):
in you know leadership positionswho will do a good job, and
just trust that you know thatyou don't have to do everything.
You don't have to do it all.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
A hundred percent.
A hundred percent.
Yeah, if you want to grow, atsome point you're going to run
into yourself.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yeah, you're, you're absolutely.
That's what I tell everybody.
You want to know what thebiggest problem in your business
is?
It's you.
The biggest problem in mybusiness is me.
The biggest problem in yourbusiness is it's you, and the
biggest problem in my businessis me.
The biggest problem in yourbusiness is you.
It's just whoever's at the top.
That's what's holding it back.
That's all there is to it.
So, yeah, anything else you'dlike to say about your business
(15:52):
or about business in general.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Just, I guess I just want to express my gratitude to
uh the, the people that we haveworked with in the community and
the folks that have trusted uswith their projects, and and
again I want to encourage otherpeople in the community who have
thought about starting abusiness.
Give it a shot and if you havequestions about it, you can
(16:19):
contact me directly.
I would love to sit down withpeople and just talk to them
about how they could start areally small business that can
pay the bills and that they'llget a lot of fulfillment out of.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah.
So that brings me to my lastquestion, which is basically how
does somebody get in touch withyou?
What's the best way for someoneto reach out?
Which?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
is basically how does somebody get in touch with you?
What's the best way for someoneto reach out?
Just give me a call.
My personal cell phone is828-284-1925.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
All right, and we'll get that in the show notes for
everybody.
So give him a call.
He can help you with yourcontracting.
Decks, roofs, all kinds ofcarpentry.
Get out there.
It'd be great, calvin, it'sbeen great having you.
Thanks for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Well, thank you so much for having me.
I've really been enjoyinglistening to your podcast.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
And until next time, all the best.
Bye.
Hey there and welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs, and I'm superpumped.
Today I've got Calvin Dennyfrom Atlas Mountain Contractors,
so welcome to the show, calvin.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Oh, thank you.
I'm really happy to be here.
Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yeah, so what is Atlas Mountain Contractors?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
So basically we're a small collective of independent
contractors and I have athree-man crew and we really do
a variety of services, but we'rekind of focusing on framing
repairs.
We do a lot of decking, we dofloor joist repairs, things of
that nature, and we also dometal roofing.
So it's a pretty wide scope andwe're a newer business.
(00:44):
We've been in business lessthan a year now and have been
enjoying pretty steady growth,so that's been very exciting.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
So I mean you say you've been doing this about a
year.
What would you do differentlyif you were starting over today?
What have you learned in thatfirst year?
Speaker 2 (01:04):
That's a great question.
I honestly I wish I would have.
Well, I wish I would have doneit sooner.
That's, that's one thing.
Yeah, prior to this I workedabout 10 years in the mental
health field and enjoyed thework but really wasn't making
enough money to get myself whereI wanted to be in life and I
(01:27):
was very intimidated aboutstarting my own business.
But it ended up.
The process was a lot easierthan I thought.
But something I would have donedifferently is probably set
firm boundaries with myself atthe beginning, like no working
on weekends, putting the phoneon, do not disturb at night,
things like that, because whenyou're starting a business and
(01:49):
you're seeing growth it's reallyhard to kind of separate.
You know that work life balance.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, you have to.
You have to say yes toeverything for a while until you
figure out what to say no toright.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Yeah, so those are great, that's great stuff.
So what, what would you say,has been your biggest learning
so far as an, as an owner and anemployer?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Um, I would say it, just meeting people where they
are.
You know, it's just meetingpeople where they are.
(02:42):
You know, no two clients aregoing to be the same.
Some people need a little bitmore you know, hand-holding than
then.
Maybe it would be ideal, butit's uh, projects are very
stressful on people, you knowthey're, they're spending their
money, they, they have certainexpectations that aren't always
met, with timelines and so on.
So, um, yeah, that's veryimportant, just uh, meeting
(03:03):
everybody where they are andalways just trying to provide
excellent customer service,regardless of the situation.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, yeah, that's a good point.
I do want to go back tosomething.
That's a pretty good leap frommental health to contracting.
Tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
So I have a bachelor's degree in psychology
and I'm a qualified mentalhealth professional and I've
worked in a variety of roles inthat field, predominantly in
(03:39):
addiction recovery andwilderness therapy.
And I bought a house about 10years ago and that's kind of how
I cut my teeth on contracting.
I bought a foreclosed home.
They needed everything from theroof to the floors.
I did all of the work myself,kind of trial by fire, did a lot
of things two or three timesand then, you know, I started
(03:59):
feeling burned out from themental health stuff and thought
I'd try out being a homeinspector.
So I got licensed and did thatfor a few years and there were
things that I didn't and don'tlove about that industry but it
did provide me.
I got a lot of excellenteducation through that licensure
(04:20):
process and maintaining thatlicense and continuing my
education, licensure process andmaintaining that license and
continuing my education I thinkis making me a better contractor
.
So that's kind of how the shifthappened.
I just I love working with myhands and I also love being my
own boss and have kind of alwayswanted that, and it just I
(04:42):
needed to have the rightcircumstances, I think, to make
that happen wanted that and itjust I needed to have the right
circumstances, I think, to makethat happen.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, I think a lot of people don't pull the trigger
fast enough.
I mean, yeah, it's prettyinteresting.
So what are some of themisconceptions that you think
people have about running abusiness?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
I'd say the number one misconception is people
think oh, I'll run my ownbusiness, that means I'll make
my own schedule, I'll get totake vacations whenever I want,
I'll have more free time.
That just couldn't be fartherfrom the truth.
When you run your own business,it's not that you don't have a
boss, it's that you have amillion bosses.
Everybody that you're workingwith that has expectations,
(05:23):
contractors that maybe you subfor and things of that nature
timelines.
So I can't imagine a situationwhere running your business is
less work than whatever you'redoing prior.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, it's an old saying that people give up a
40-hour a week to work 100 hoursand make half the money.
I love it.
Yeah, yeah, so it's, you know,to get to get started.
Well, you said you've beengrowing.
What do you attribute thegrowth to?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Just it's been word of mouth.
I don't have.
I don't even have a website, Idon't really have an online
presence.
I've been a member of a B&group for years and they have
helped me tremendously to growmy business and they send me a
large percentage of my referrals.
And then at this point nowwe're getting a lot of repeat
(06:14):
customers, so we're growing thatcustomer base and they tell
their friends and that's justkind of how we've grown, grown
and I also.
We're also just blessed to be,you know, in an area with a huge
need for skilled contractors.
There's a lot of growth in thehousing market here and not a
(06:36):
lot of people to do the work, sopart of it is just
circumstantial.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Yeah, we did have a flood, um, so there is some
stuff going on there.
But we give a shout out to BNI.
I mean, we've been members ofBNI groups over the years and
it's been hugely beneficial.
I do think it's pretty easy torefer a contractor in BNI once
(07:01):
they understand they can trustyou.
So, yeah, if you're looking fora referral-based group, bni,
once they, once they understandthey can trust you.
So yeah, if you're, if you're,if you're thinking, if you're
looking for a referral basedgroup, bni is probably a good
thing to check out.
Um, yeah, um.
So you said you got, uh, acouple of three guys working
with you.
What do you, what do you lookfor?
(07:22):
You know, in, in, in teammembers, you know, and team
members.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So the guys that I work with I knew previously and
the business really as funny asit may sound, it kind of started
on accident.
I started working as a handyman, got my insurance and I got a
referral to a job that was waytoo big for me.
So I reached out to a couple ofguys I knew, who I knew were
(07:48):
highly skilled and, you know,were undervalued in their
current work situation, and said, hey, you want to come help do
this big project with me?
They jumped on that with me.
We were kind of vibing, youknow, and working well together
and you know, after that projectwe're like, hey, let's keep
doing this and so got them setup with their their own
insurance and everything, andthey're independent contractors,
(08:10):
that just, we do everythingtogether and I'm looking to add
more team members as well, but Ijust got lucky already knowing
a great crew to jump on with me.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
OK, so you're just so you're.
You're a group of independentcontractors.
They're not actually employees,exactly, yeah, yeah, okay, and
that's how you're doing it, allright, well, let me do a quick
fire round with you.
Epic is an acronym, so let meget your thoughts on the letters
in EPIC, and the E stands foreducation Just real quick.
(08:42):
Maybe a sentence or two abouteach one.
What are your thoughts oneducation?
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Well, education is very important and it doesn't
have to be traditional educationin the sense of like going to a
university.
You know, if you want to be aplumber, go work with a plumber
and get paid to learn, you knowif you want to set tile, do the
same thing.
Go work with a tile guy.
I think in the trades,experience is about as important
(09:11):
as anything.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, look, I'm encouraging so many people that
if you're good with your handsand that's what you want to do
and you want to work with yourhands, you should go get a trade
.
You should go learn.
That's so many young people I'mlike go into the trades, it's a
great business.
You should go learn.
That's what so many youngpeople I'm like go into the
trades, it's a great business.
You're going to make more moneythan most people.
You're going to do well in lifeand it's never going to go away
(09:36):
.
Ai is not going to replacetrades.
It's just not going to.
It's just not happening.
All right, what about P forplanning?
What's your thoughts onplanning?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Well, it's super important to know what job is
coming up next and you know asthings.
If something doesn't finish ontime, have a plan for how you're
going to address that.
Stay on top of communicationwith all of your clients and
planning.
I'm sure there are ways tostreamline scheduling and
(10:10):
planning.
That's something that I'm stilllearning.
I spend too much time, to behonest, just trying to get my
ducks in a row, so that'ssomething that I'm always trying
to improve on.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Right, so the I is inspiration.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So talk to us about inspiration.
Well, I've certainly beeninspired by members of my family
and also just people that I'veworked with, who work with their
hands and just people who, whensomething breaks, they know how
to fix it, and people who dotheir own mechanical work and
(10:51):
grow their own gardens.
I'm really inspired byindependence and I think that's
something that drives me in mybusiness and that I try to
encourage everyone.
If you think you might be ableto do it yourself, give it a try
.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, I remember, right after we got married, my
wife we were living in anapartment she said you need to
call somebody to come fix thisthing.
And I'm like why?
She said what do you mean I canfix it?
You know it's not.
I mean it wasn't someelectrical outlet or something,
it was pretty simple, you know.
And yeah, she's like.
And then she figured out well,okay, bill can fix anything.
(11:26):
Now she doesn't call somebody,she just says fix it.
So it's all right.
So that's the way it works outin our family anyway.
So what C stands for commitment, obviously, to be in business,
you've got to commit.
So what are your thoughts aboutcommitment?
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Well, like you said, being in business means you have
to commit.
So I think if you're going totake something like this on, you
have to, at least initially, bewilling to.
You know, put the business inthe forefront of your life and
really be able to focus on itsgrowth.
And you know, having more timefor vacations and hobbies and
(12:06):
things like that are kind of areearned through sustained hard
work, and you're not necessarilygoing to have that initially.
And at the same time, you haveto maintain your commitments to
your family, you know, and learnto balance your work and your
life.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah, yeah, that's well said.
What do you wish somebody hadtold you before you went in
business that you know now.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I wish somebody would have explained just how the
process works how to get an LLC,how to get insurance, how to
generate leads.
It's all you know every step ofthe way I've learned.
You know I learn as I go, butit's really, at the end of the
day, it's not all thatcomplicated to start a low
(13:00):
overhead business where youdon't actually have employees.
You have your own tools andyour own work vehicle and things
like that.
I wish I could have just seenit mapped out, because it
probably would have encouragedme to take the jump sooner.
I thought I needed so much moneyto start up and it really
wasn't the case for me.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Yeah, no, I mean it's not.
I mean you get a federal ID,you get an LLC and you get a
checking account and put somemoney in it and you're in
business.
I mean it's not really thathard if you want to start a
business.
I mean there's a lot more to itto grow a business.
(13:42):
But to get started with asingle member LLC is pretty
straightforward.
What would you say to otherbusiness people or other people
who are potentially thinkingabout jumping into business?
Speaker 2 (13:57):
jumping into business .
I would say, if you have askilled trade and maybe you're
undervalued at the current place, that you work or you're
thinking about jumping out onyour own, I would say, do it.
It's hugely challenging in somany ways, but it's not that
(14:17):
hard to get started hugelychallenging in so many ways, but
it's not that hard to getstarted.
So I would say, take the leap.
I would love to connect withpeople and help them get started
.
I would really like to see moresmall businesses like my own
popping up and I'd like to seeyou know more of my peers
enjoying success in thisindustry.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Yeah, cool, that's exciting.
So any advice to businessowners looking to grow?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Well, something that I'm trying to teach myself right
now is that there does come apoint where you just can't do it
all yourself.
That's something I reallystruggle with is like I want to
have my hands on everything, Iwant to make all the decisions,
and that's not sustainable.
In order to grow, you have tolet go of a little bit of that
control and trust the peoplethat you work with, put people
(15:12):
in you know leadership positionswho will do a good job, and
just trust that you know thatyou don't have to do everything.
You don't have to do it all.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
A hundred percent.
A hundred percent.
Yeah, if you want to grow, atsome point you're going to run
into yourself.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yeah, you're, you're absolutely.
That's what I tell everybody.
You want to know what thebiggest problem in your business
is?
It's you.
The biggest problem in mybusiness is me.
The biggest problem in yourbusiness is it's you, and the
biggest problem in my businessis me.
The biggest problem in yourbusiness is you.
It's just whoever's at the top.
That's what's holding it back.
That's all there is to it.
So, yeah, anything else you'dlike to say about your business
(15:52):
or about business in general.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Just, I guess I just want to express my gratitude to
uh the, the people that we haveworked with in the community and
the folks that have trusted uswith their projects, and and
again I want to encourage otherpeople in the community who have
thought about starting abusiness.
Give it a shot and if you havequestions about it, you can
(16:19):
contact me directly.
I would love to sit down withpeople and just talk to them
about how they could start areally small business that can
pay the bills and that they'llget a lot of fulfillment out of.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah.
So that brings me to my lastquestion, which is basically how
does somebody get in touch withyou?
What's the best way for someoneto reach out?
Which?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
is basically how does somebody get in touch with you?
What's the best way for someoneto reach out?
Just give me a call.
My personal cell phone is828-284-1925.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
All right, and we'll get that in the show notes for
everybody.
So give him a call.
He can help you with yourcontracting.
Decks, roofs, all kinds ofcarpentry.
Get out there.
It'd be great, calvin, it'sbeen great having you.
Thanks for being on the show.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Well, thank you so much for having me.
I've really been enjoyinglistening to your podcast.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
And until next time, all the best.
Bye.
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