September 20, 2024 • 25 mins
Ever wondered how to make your home safer and more accessible for the future? This episode introduces Brian Winton, the inspiring owner of True Blue Home Service Ally of Chattanooga, who joins us to share his journey into the home improvement industry. Motivated by a personal family tragedy, Brian has dedicated his business to making homes more accommodating for elderly individuals, ensuring they can live comfortably and safely in their own spaces. From widening doorways to installing grab bars, True Blue offers a comprehensive range of services to meet every client's needs.
Planning for future home modifications is crucial, and Brian provides invaluable insights into the importance of doing so. Listen as we discuss practical solutions such as roll-in showers, sensor-activated lighting, and building ramps instead of steps. Brian emphasizes a proactive approach to home adaptations, sharing real-life examples like assisting a man with Parkinson's disease. He also highlights the importance of consulting with physical therapists to create personalized home modification plans tailored to individual needs, ensuring long-term comfort and accessibility.
Throughout the conversation, Brian's commitment to community support and family bonding shines through. As a veteran and family-owned business owner, he underscores the significance of trust and reliability, especially when providing services in people's homes. Brian opens up about his love for outdoor activities and family time, giving us a peek into his personal life. We wrap up by encouraging our listeners to support local businesses like True Blue Home Service Ally, which provide essential services to the Chattanooga area. Don't miss this heartfelt and informative episode filled with practical advice and community spirit.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Scott Howell.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hello, friends and neighbors.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast brought to you by the
Friends and Neighbors Group ofthe Greater Chattanooga Region.
My name's Scott Howell, as ourannouncer already told you, and
I'm your host for today.
The reason for the GoodNeighbor podcast is because we
desire to bring an awareness tothe residents living in our
(00:35):
communities regarding thelocally owned and operated
businesses in our areas, whetherthey be in our community,
whether it be across town or allthe way across the Chattanooga
region from where you're livingat.
We want you to be aware ofthese businesses.
You know, a lot of times weforget, in this large corporate
world that we're living in, thatlocal businesses are the
(00:57):
backbone of our communities andthey still need our support
today, and that's what the GoodNeighbor podcast is here for.
You know, every business has astory to tell and we want to
help them tell it loud and proudso all you residents out there
can know that they're there andthey're available for you when
you need them.
We've got one of our goodneighbors here today.
(01:20):
His name is Brian Winton andthe business he's with is True
Blue Home Service Ally ofChattanooga.
Brian, welcome to the showtoday.
Glad to have you with us.
Well, thank you for having meGood to be here, Absolutely yeah
, and Brian, you know that's amouthful there.
True Blue Home Service Ally ofChattanooga yes, it is.
(01:40):
And you know we want to learnall there is about it and all
that you do and offer you knowto the residents out there.
But before we dive into thebusiness part, I would like to
give you an opportunity maybe toshare something personal about
yourself or your family.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yeah, thanks.
Thanks again for having me,scott.
Yeah, I'm the owner of TrueBlue here in Chattanooga.
I'm married Three daughters,two granddaughters, one grandson
.
We finally got the grandboy, sothat's pretty exciting.
That's awesome.
We've been here for six yearsnow, okay, and we love every
minute of it.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
What part of the country did y'all come from?
Brian Chattanooga?
Oh, okay, you said you've beenhere six years.
You're talking about thebusiness.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
I'm the business.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
yes, okay okay, so you're an old Chattanooga boy.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I'm a Chattanooga boy , Tyler how's it going?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, you've had a lot of people moving into the
Chattanooga area from all overthe country, so I thought maybe
you came from somewhere else.
But you, you, you know thisarea like the back of your hand,
then, don't you?
Yes, sir, yes, sir, yeah.
So well, brian, let's just divein and I'm going to give you an
opportunity to share with usabout your company, and what
we'd love to know about is, we'dlove to know about you, know
(02:55):
what you do and what you offer,but also your journey that
brought you to being the ownerof True Blue Home Service Ally.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, we're a home improvementcontractor so we do home
renovations, agent-in-placemodifications.
We also offer residential andlight commercial cleanings, so
we do a lot of residential homecleanings and Airbnbs type stuff
.
The home modifications isreally where we're focusing our
(03:27):
most attention on here latelynow because you know, as you
know, we're all getting older,I'm getting there and it's just.
It's just.
You know where, where do you gowhen you can't live in your
house?
You know, and me personally,I'm a home, I'm a a homebody.
I like to be at home.
So we help.
We help elderly and their kidsget their houses ready that they
(03:51):
can stay there indefinitely andenjoy their time that they
raised their children in andmade all their memories.
What got me involved in buyingthis business was my mom
actually fell and broke her hipabout seven years ago and going
through the process of, you know, getting the house ready once
she got out of surgery and gothome and you're having to call
(04:14):
four or five different places toto find anything.
And it just hit me.
You know there needs to be acompany that does one call and
that's what we are.
We're a one call does it alltype deal.
Even if we don't provide thatservice.
We've been in the industry solong I've got partners in every
aspect of housing that I canrefer them.
(04:36):
They're like family to me.
I can refer them to everyclient and take care of every
problem they have to everyclient and and take care of
every problem they have.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So so what you're saying is, if I'm hearing you
correctly, is so if someone is,has maybe become a wheelchair
bound or something, and theyneed to some things lowered to
their, to that level andhandicapped made, handicapped
accessible or whatever the casemight be in those situations.
You said that's kind of whereyou're concentrating now.
So, obviously you do a lot morethan that, but that's a very
(05:12):
good point of concern there.
The baby boomer generation nowis coming.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
That and widening doors.
You can't get wheelchairs andmost indoors, so that goes along
with our home improvementcontracting.
You know, okay, we can widendoors, we build ramps, uh, we
lower cabinets, uh, grab simplestuff like grab bars, and you
know big things you don't thinkof all these things that need to
(05:40):
be done until it, until ithappens yeah, and then you, then
you look around and you can'teven get in and out of my house.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I can't reach the sink, you know.
Yeah, you can't get in theshower, so many things like that
.
So, yeah, that's, that'sawesome to know.
And when you say that you kindof are a one-stop shop, that
meaning that if, if you don'toffer and I don't know what you
offer, but I'm just going to putit, put this out there so you
don't offer the tile services,uh, but so, but so you know
(06:07):
somebody in that industry thatdoes.
Just making that as an example.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Right Well.
I think we don't.
We don't do roofing.
Uh, you know, we don't do majorplumbing.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
You know almost said plumbing stood tile yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yeah, we do tile, we do a lot of tile.
Almost said how, yeah, yeah, wedo tile, we do a lot of tile.
Oh, you do tile.
Okay, I almost said plumbing.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I thought, well, they probably do plumbing.
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Or electrical.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
You know I had electrical outlets.
You know where you have to runlines out of the box and stuff.
We don't do that.
But I've got a greatelectrician that I've got a
working relationship with that.
You know, I don't even, I don'teven take anything from it.
I give the number to the, tothe client, and just let them
call and get it set up.
Or I'll even call and set it upfor them and not charge them
just to help them out.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Okay, yeah, well, that's great.
You know, when you, when youtalk about all these things,
what are some of the and I'mjust going to let you kind of
pick the category.
Okay, but what are some of themyths and misconceptions that
people have?
When you're coming out to givethem a quote, to help them, to
make suggestions for them, whatdo you hear people talking about
(07:16):
that they have the mistakenimpression of?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
You know, the biggest , I think, is cost.
They think it's going to costway too much money to get their
house to where they need to be.
It's like I explained to you.
You know things like aging inplace you don't have to
generally speak it unless you'vewaited till the last.
You don't have to do alleverything at one time.
You know we can schedule stuff.
You know years out, just get aplan together and that's what
(07:44):
you want.
You want to plan so that youcan start budgeting for stuff.
And you figure, you know goinginto, uh, to assisted living.
You know you're talking five,six, seven thousand dollars a
month.
What you know in in a month youcan do to your house the last
year, another 15, 20 years thatyou can stay in it you can do
the modifications with.
(08:04):
So I think that's the biggest.
I think that's the biggest is isis cost.
They think it's just going tocost way too much money.
But you know we've been aroundand we've done this long enough
and we have found ways to help.
You know our, our biggestmission with, with my company
that I see, is that you know weyes, we provide all these home
(08:25):
services, but we just use thatto help nurture our
relationships with the community.
So you know, yes, we do domodification, but we're also
here to help you to make theright decisions that you know
you may have some.
They may have something in mindthat they want something and
they don't really need that, andit costs.
It would cost a lot of money,you know, and there's other ways
(08:46):
you can go around it that cansave you money.
That'll be just as just as good.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, it sounds like that you kind of not only do the
work, but that you kind of actas a consultant to, or people
that maybe, uh, you know, don'tknow what they're, they're
looking for, don't know what to,maybe the right questions to
ask you kind of help them, guidethem down the path to, to you
(09:13):
know, guide them to the placewhere they need to be.
Uh, and is that?
Is that pretty correct?
You, you kind?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
of offer consulting.
Yeah, yeah, we actually offer afree uh assessment.
We'll come out to the house andwe'll test the house.
We write it all up.
We give to the client.
If you want to use us, fine.
If you want to use somebodyelse, that's fine.
But we can give you some giveadvice on what you need to do to
change in your house.
(09:40):
That's going to be safer andthat's what it's all about.
Is this safety you just want.
You want to take away theobstacles that could cause you
that you might fall.
You know a lot of people thinkit's because you know, maybe,
that they're in a walker orthey're having problems.
But also you know you have totake in consideration
medications.
Medications will make you doyou know, lightheaded or or
(10:02):
different things.
So we want to.
We want to make the house assafe as we can and biggest thing
is declutter and good lightingand technology is awesome right
now and it's only going to getbetter.
But the home automation stuffis awesome.
We can do an Alexa or a GoogleHome in your house with smart
(10:24):
lighting, to where all thelights stay on in the house
until you can actually get inbed and you're safe.
Then you can tell alexa shutthe lights off, and it'll shut
the lights off, or you don'thave to get back out of bed.
Then, when you're ready to getout of the bed in the middle of
the night, like most of us haveto do, you just tell alexa turn
the lights on and the lightscome on for you so you're not
fumbling around anymore.
So it's all.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
It's pretty good yeah , when I was a kid, I used to
sit with my grandpa.
He loved star trek and wewatched all this stuff.
And and then now here startrek's coming to life.
It's a, it's unreal, yeah yeah,oh, yeah, you know I, I didn't
(11:05):
think about that until youbrought it up about the home
automation, you know, making iteasier on a lot of people's
lives.
You know, I know like justrecently I guess I'm a little
slow to get the home automation,but just recently I bought the
little smart plug they call itand had lights installed on the
back porch.
(11:25):
I've got a screened in porch,had lights installed on the back
porch.
Uh, you gotta.
I've got a screened in porch,had lights installed on the back
porch, and uh, so I thought,okay, well, I mean, I can go out
there and unplug them and plugthem up every time.
But well, I'd be nice.
And I so I was at the hardwarestore, I asked and they had this
little plug.
I plugged in the wall and andit was.
(11:46):
It was amazing.
And now, but it works off theapp on my phone, you know, and
uh, it's pretty cool, you knowyou can use off your phone or
you can.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
You know you can do it voiced where it's alexa or
you know?
Uh, like I said, google home,whichever.
So you don't, you know I'm.
I'm getting to the age that mykids have to show me things, the
new technology.
Sometimes I can't imagine myparents, you know, trying to.
So if it's simpler we can makeit, the better it is, because
(12:15):
they'll use it I guess that'swhy I'm I'm so far behind brian.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
I don't have any kids show me how to do anything.
I tell somebody asked me aboutalex or whatever and I said is
that kind of?
Is that Ken the big brother?
You know, I'm kind of stillleery of all this stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
If you're carrying a cell phone around, it don't
matter what you put in yourmouth, but the Lex and stuff
like that, you know it's veryreasonable and for what you can
do, you know we we did a homemodification one time for a
gentleman.
Uh, we had to put a roll-inshower and redo his bathroom and
they were having a hard timefiguring out with lighting and
(12:56):
everything and what we ended updoing was putting a sensor up in
the bathroom.
So when we put a pocket door infrom his bedroom going into the
bathroom so he could get rollin, as soon as he opened that
door that triggered the lightsand the lights and the fans come
on automatically, so he didn'thave to say anything he didn't
have to do anything.
(13:16):
So even if it's people who whocan't speak well or, you know,
have an issue with speaking,then we can also put sensors in
that'll do the same exact thing,and you can program those to
stay on for however long youwant them to so.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
So the old clap on, clap off products have come a
long way it's come a really goodway you have to be.
You're gonna have to be acertain age before you know what
I'm talking about.
I know exactly what you'regoing into detail on that
because I'll lose way too manypeople.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
We thought that.
We thought that was how it wasyeah, we sure did, oh my
goodness.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
But uh, you know, going back to to that, to
talking about the aging, youknow it, you a person, obviously
we all know this don't have tobe, you know, elderly or older
to become disabled either.
You know, things happen in lifethat are totally unexpected.
I've had, you know, I've hadpeople I knew that found
(14:16):
themselves suddenly at a youngage in a wheelchair, and you
know they still needed thesetype of things done, they needed
modifications.
You know, I have a slightdisability that I've developed
in the last few years and ithasn't affected me yet, but they
tell me that great possibilitydown the road it might, and you
(14:37):
know so you're talking aboutplanning.
These are things I reallyhadn't even thought about myself
, you know.
So I'm really glad you broughtthat up, because all the
listeners out there need to, youknow, we all really need to
consider that.
You know, be prepared for whatmight possibly come.
You know a lot of people arediagnosed with the autoimmune
(14:59):
diseases and things where youknow they may not be facing a
disability now, but possiblylater.
It's a good thing to get a goodplan in place, like you were
talking about play later, it's.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
It's a good thing to get a good plan in place, like
you were talking about.
Well, you know, we just did a adeck for a gentleman who has
parkinson's.
He's very, he's still good now.
You know, he still gets aroundreal well and everything else
but building the deck I told him.
I said you know we might wantto think, rethink the steps.
You know why don't we go aroundbecause as time goes on, you
know uh yes it's going to beharder for him to come up and
(15:32):
down the steps.
So we built a ramp for him andyou think that's the greatest
thing.
But that was just that forwardthinking that you know we could
have just put steps on and thencome back two years later and
said, hey look we, we put a rampin.
Now, let's just go ahead and dothe ramp now yeah, save him
some money.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
but and?
But also you, a lot of times,when we don't, when younger and
maybe we don't have problems wedon't think about what's coming.
You know, my mother neverthought about steps on the house
she was young.
Now she has really bad kneeproblems and steps are hard on
her.
She can use a ramp easily, youknow now, or a lot more easily,
(16:11):
if I put it that way, than steps.
So yeah, it's sometimes justthinking ahead to what might be,
what might possibly happen.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
We can sit down with the clients and, like I said, we
can do a one year, two year,three year, we can go up five
years.
Here's what the steps you cantake and by doing this it saves
you money.
And then you also have a planahead that you know what's
coming.
We work with a lot of physicaltherapists, with clients, and we
(16:45):
actually talk with them as wellto get their input to what
could be done or what needs tobe done or what we're looking
ahead at with whatever might bethere.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
That's smart to do.
Yeah, and you know that's a.
I mean, I'm so glad that youbrought that up because that's
something I think that a lot ofpeople don't think about.
And you talking about providingthat consulting to help people,
not just waiting until you haveto have it.
But, you know, thinking ahead,yeah, that's.
(17:17):
You know, if anybody, if any ofour listeners out there have
been, you know, unfortunate I'msorry if it has happened to you,
it's happened to me, butunfortunate to be told that
you've got a debilitatingproblem that may lead to, you
know, life-changing events inthe future.
If you've been told that, youknow it might be good for you to
consider contact Brian and, youknow, take advantage of the
(17:41):
consulting services and considerwhat the future may look like
and what to do about it.
And because but you know, brian, that's I'm really glad you
brought that part of yourservice up.
That's that's awesome, itreally is.
You know, uh, and and you knowif, uh, I, I always like to ask
this question before, uh, we,you know, we ever get off a
(18:01):
podcast, so it seemed like it'sa good segue right now to ask it
If there was one thing that youwish our listeners knew about
the heart of Brian Winton andTrue Blue Home Service Ally of
Chattanooga.
But they probably wouldn't knowunless you shared it with them
(18:22):
and you'd like to share it withthem loud and proud here on the
Good Neighbor podcast today.
What would that be?
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Well, the biggest thing is we're here to help
people, we're here to nurture.
You know, I'm a christian and,and and jesus tells us, you know
that we're to help people,we're to be the hands and feet,
and that's what we try to doevery day.
I mean, you know, of coursewe're business, of course we
have to make money, but it's notjust about the money, it's
(18:50):
about actually helping ourcommunity.
This is my community.
I was born and raised here andI've been here my whole life,
other than when I was in the AirForce.
But you know, this is my home,this is where my family lives.
This is where my grandkids wereraised.
I want the community to begreat for them growing up.
So that's really where ourheart is.
You know, my daughters work themaids housekeeping side.
(19:14):
So we're family-owned,veteran-owned, and this is our
community and we love it andwe're going to stay here and
help our community.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
That's amazing.
Those are good words becauseyou know it really.
It don't matter who you dobusiness with.
You want somebody who caresabout what they do, and
especially if they're cominginto your home and you know you
care about what you do.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
That's the thing about our employees.
You know we do everything wecan to help our employees and
help them grow as well, but youknow, know they're background
checked, they're, you know,bonded.
We do it all because I'mputting somebody in my mom's
house, you know.
So I want to make sure, whoeverI'm putting in somebody's house
, they're my employees and and Iknow that they're not, you know
(20:04):
, a problem absolutely, yeahmean totally, understand that
Totally.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
And uh, well, well, brian, just just real quickly,
you, you had mentioned thatyou're married and you got kids
and grandkids and uh, I've gotfriends of mine that said, if
they knew how fun the grandkidswere going to be, they'd had
them first.
I guess that's really possible.
It was a good thought.
But what do y'all like to dofor fun?
(20:31):
When do y'all get together?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
You know, being being a dad of three daughters, I'm a
big outdoorsman.
I hunt and fish.
That's what I love to do, andyou know the girls did too, till
you know the boys come in, tillthe boys came in around, so
then they quit doing it with me.
So now I've got my grandson,who's two years old, so his
first.
The day he was born I actuallytook him a fishing rod to the
(20:54):
hospital, so he's got his firstfishing rod already.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
So yeah, be careful, they call that grooming, okay.
I guess that's a right kind ofgrooming, though I love hanging
out with my wife.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
You know we're empty nesting.
Now Our youngest daughter is inher junior year now in college.
She plays volleyball at BryanCollege.
So you know we're kind of emptynesting.
So you know me and my wife arereally kind of digging it.
You know, just me and hergetting to hang out?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Did y'all do like that one family that they told
about just the day that thatlast child moved out?
They knocked the wall of theirbedroom out that very day Like
you can't come back now, Sorry,the bedroom is gone.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
She still comes home in the summers and on holidays.
But yeah, it's nice.
I mean it's just fun beingmarried to your best friend and
getting to spend that time.
You know, now it's not abouteverybody else, now it's kind of
about us.
Now we love it.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
That's awesome.
That's great.
Well, brian, before we get offthe podcast here, I'd like for
you to take a moment and justtell everybody how to contact
you, whether online or offline,or maybe somebody would like to
you know.
Look at some pictures of yourjobs or something.
If you've got anything posted,tell us where to go find it at.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, our website is TrueBlueAllycom slash
Chattanooga.
We're located in Hickson,tennessee.
We're at 6503 Hickson,tennessee.
We actually have a showroomhere so you can actually come
here and look at the grab bars,the, the showers, the, just
(22:36):
about everything, the cabinetry,all that.
So it's a good place to startif you want to look at uh
products let me stop you rightthere, brian.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I know you didn't mean to, but you didn't tell us
what street you're on 6503.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Oh, Hickson Pike.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Hickson Pike.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Okay All right, you said Hickson Tennessee, so I
just want to make sure, allright, go ahead and finish.
6503 Hickson Pike, hickson,tennessee.
Phone number is 423-541-2703.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Okay, and for all them, social media butterflies.
Are y'all on social mediaanywhere out there?
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yes, facebook, instagram.
The daughters do all that Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Tell them to call me when we're done.
I need somebody to look at minetoo, oh, my goodness.
Well, thank you so much, brian,for being with us today.
It's been our pleasure to haveyou on, and share your story.
It's our pleasure, sir, to haveyou today.
And to all the good neighborsof the greater Chattanooga
(23:37):
region, you know, I know afterhearing Brian explain about you
know True Blue Home Service Allyand what they do, their
consulting services and how theycan kind of get you prepared
for the future I know that hehopes that you'll give him a
call.
And they said also they havethe house cleaning services for
homes, businesses, airbnbs,things like that.
(23:59):
So I know he hopes that you'llgive him a call, give him a
chance to earn your business,let him do the consulting for
you, see what they can offer youand keep them in mind when you
need them.
And I'd like to thank all youlisteners out there today for
taking the time out of your busyday and spending it with us
here at the Good NeighborPodcast.
Always remember to support thelocally owned and operated
(24:22):
businesses in the greaterChattanooga area and, as I
always like to say, fromCleveland to Dalton, from Jasper
and Trenton all the way out toBenton, it's a beautiful place,
this Chattanooga area.
So let's do all we can tosupport all our local businesses
.
And at that my name is ScottHowell with the Friends and
Neighbors Group.
Everyone, go out and make thisa remarkable day.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPClevelandcom.
That's GNPClevelandcom, or call423-380-1984.
Thank you.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Scott Howell.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hello, friends and neighbors.
Welcome to the Good NeighborPodcast brought to you by the
Friends and Neighbors Group ofthe Greater Chattanooga Region.
My name's Scott Howell, as ourannouncer already told you, and
I'm your host for today.
The reason for the GoodNeighbor podcast is because we
desire to bring an awareness tothe residents living in our
(00:35):
communities regarding thelocally owned and operated
businesses in our areas, whetherthey be in our community,
whether it be across town or allthe way across the Chattanooga
region from where you're livingat.
We want you to be aware ofthese businesses.
You know, a lot of times weforget, in this large corporate
world that we're living in, thatlocal businesses are the
(00:57):
backbone of our communities andthey still need our support
today, and that's what the GoodNeighbor podcast is here for.
You know, every business has astory to tell and we want to
help them tell it loud and proudso all you residents out there
can know that they're there andthey're available for you when
you need them.
We've got one of our goodneighbors here today.
(01:20):
His name is Brian Winton andthe business he's with is True
Blue Home Service Ally ofChattanooga.
Brian, welcome to the showtoday.
Glad to have you with us.
Well, thank you for having meGood to be here, Absolutely yeah
, and Brian, you know that's amouthful there.
True Blue Home Service Ally ofChattanooga yes, it is.
(01:40):
And you know we want to learnall there is about it and all
that you do and offer you knowto the residents out there.
But before we dive into thebusiness part, I would like to
give you an opportunity maybe toshare something personal about
yourself or your family.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yeah, thanks.
Thanks again for having me,scott.
Yeah, I'm the owner of TrueBlue here in Chattanooga.
I'm married Three daughters,two granddaughters, one grandson
.
We finally got the grandboy, sothat's pretty exciting.
That's awesome.
We've been here for six yearsnow, okay, and we love every
minute of it.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
What part of the country did y'all come from?
Brian Chattanooga?
Oh, okay, you said you've beenhere six years.
You're talking about thebusiness.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
I'm the business.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
yes, okay okay, so you're an old Chattanooga boy.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I'm a Chattanooga boy , Tyler how's it going?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, you've had a lot of people moving into the
Chattanooga area from all overthe country, so I thought maybe
you came from somewhere else.
But you, you, you know thisarea like the back of your hand,
then, don't you?
Yes, sir, yes, sir, yeah.
So well, brian, let's just divein and I'm going to give you an
opportunity to share with usabout your company, and what
we'd love to know about is, we'dlove to know about you, know
(02:55):
what you do and what you offer,but also your journey that
brought you to being the ownerof True Blue Home Service Ally.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, we're a home improvementcontractor so we do home
renovations, agent-in-placemodifications.
We also offer residential andlight commercial cleanings, so
we do a lot of residential homecleanings and Airbnbs type stuff
.
The home modifications isreally where we're focusing our
(03:27):
most attention on here latelynow because you know, as you
know, we're all getting older,I'm getting there and it's just.
It's just.
You know where, where do you gowhen you can't live in your
house?
You know, and me personally,I'm a home, I'm a a homebody.
I like to be at home.
So we help.
We help elderly and their kidsget their houses ready that they
(03:51):
can stay there indefinitely andenjoy their time that they
raised their children in andmade all their memories.
What got me involved in buyingthis business was my mom
actually fell and broke her hipabout seven years ago and going
through the process of, you know, getting the house ready once
she got out of surgery and gothome and you're having to call
(04:14):
four or five different places toto find anything.
And it just hit me.
You know there needs to be acompany that does one call and
that's what we are.
We're a one call does it alltype deal.
Even if we don't provide thatservice.
We've been in the industry solong I've got partners in every
aspect of housing that I canrefer them.
(04:36):
They're like family to me.
I can refer them to everyclient and take care of every
problem they have to everyclient and and take care of
every problem they have.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So so what you're saying is, if I'm hearing you
correctly, is so if someone is,has maybe become a wheelchair
bound or something, and theyneed to some things lowered to
their, to that level andhandicapped made, handicapped
accessible or whatever the casemight be in those situations.
You said that's kind of whereyou're concentrating now.
So, obviously you do a lot morethan that, but that's a very
(05:12):
good point of concern there.
The baby boomer generation nowis coming.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
That and widening doors.
You can't get wheelchairs andmost indoors, so that goes along
with our home improvementcontracting.
You know, okay, we can widendoors, we build ramps, uh, we
lower cabinets, uh, grab simplestuff like grab bars, and you
know big things you don't thinkof all these things that need to
(05:40):
be done until it, until ithappens yeah, and then you, then
you look around and you can'teven get in and out of my house.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I can't reach the sink, you know.
Yeah, you can't get in theshower, so many things like that
.
So, yeah, that's, that'sawesome to know.
And when you say that you kindof are a one-stop shop, that
meaning that if, if you don'toffer and I don't know what you
offer, but I'm just going to putit, put this out there so you
don't offer the tile services,uh, but so, but so you know
(06:07):
somebody in that industry thatdoes.
Just making that as an example.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Right Well.
I think we don't.
We don't do roofing.
Uh, you know, we don't do majorplumbing.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
You know almost said plumbing stood tile yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Yeah, we do tile, we do a lot of tile.
Almost said how, yeah, yeah, wedo tile, we do a lot of tile.
Oh, you do tile.
Okay, I almost said plumbing.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
I thought, well, they probably do plumbing.
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Or electrical.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
You know I had electrical outlets.
You know where you have to runlines out of the box and stuff.
We don't do that.
But I've got a greatelectrician that I've got a
working relationship with that.
You know, I don't even, I don'teven take anything from it.
I give the number to the, tothe client, and just let them
call and get it set up.
Or I'll even call and set it upfor them and not charge them
just to help them out.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Okay, yeah, well, that's great.
You know, when you, when youtalk about all these things,
what are some of the and I'mjust going to let you kind of
pick the category.
Okay, but what are some of themyths and misconceptions that
people have?
When you're coming out to givethem a quote, to help them, to
make suggestions for them, whatdo you hear people talking about
(07:16):
that they have the mistakenimpression of?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
You know, the biggest , I think, is cost.
They think it's going to costway too much money to get their
house to where they need to be.
It's like I explained to you.
You know things like aging inplace you don't have to
generally speak it unless you'vewaited till the last.
You don't have to do alleverything at one time.
You know we can schedule stuff.
You know years out, just get aplan together and that's what
(07:44):
you want.
You want to plan so that youcan start budgeting for stuff.
And you figure, you know goinginto, uh, to assisted living.
You know you're talking five,six, seven thousand dollars a
month.
What you know in in a month youcan do to your house the last
year, another 15, 20 years thatyou can stay in it you can do
the modifications with.
(08:04):
So I think that's the biggest.
I think that's the biggest is isis cost.
They think it's just going tocost way too much money.
But you know we've been aroundand we've done this long enough
and we have found ways to help.
You know our, our biggestmission with, with my company
that I see, is that you know weyes, we provide all these home
(08:25):
services, but we just use thatto help nurture our
relationships with the community.
So you know, yes, we do domodification, but we're also
here to help you to make theright decisions that you know
you may have some.
They may have something in mindthat they want something and
they don't really need that, andit costs.
It would cost a lot of money,you know, and there's other ways
(08:46):
you can go around it that cansave you money.
That'll be just as just as good.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, it sounds like that you kind of not only do the
work, but that you kind of actas a consultant to, or people
that maybe, uh, you know, don'tknow what they're, they're
looking for, don't know what to,maybe the right questions to
ask you kind of help them, guidethem down the path to, to you
(09:13):
know, guide them to the placewhere they need to be.
Uh, and is that?
Is that pretty correct?
You, you kind?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
of offer consulting.
Yeah, yeah, we actually offer afree uh assessment.
We'll come out to the house andwe'll test the house.
We write it all up.
We give to the client.
If you want to use us, fine.
If you want to use somebodyelse, that's fine.
But we can give you some giveadvice on what you need to do to
change in your house.
(09:40):
That's going to be safer andthat's what it's all about.
Is this safety you just want.
You want to take away theobstacles that could cause you
that you might fall.
You know a lot of people thinkit's because you know, maybe,
that they're in a walker orthey're having problems.
But also you know you have totake in consideration
medications.
Medications will make you doyou know, lightheaded or or
(10:02):
different things.
So we want to.
We want to make the house assafe as we can and biggest thing
is declutter and good lightingand technology is awesome right
now and it's only going to getbetter.
But the home automation stuffis awesome.
We can do an Alexa or a GoogleHome in your house with smart
(10:24):
lighting, to where all thelights stay on in the house
until you can actually get inbed and you're safe.
Then you can tell alexa shutthe lights off, and it'll shut
the lights off, or you don'thave to get back out of bed.
Then, when you're ready to getout of the bed in the middle of
the night, like most of us haveto do, you just tell alexa turn
the lights on and the lightscome on for you so you're not
fumbling around anymore.
So it's all.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
It's pretty good yeah , when I was a kid, I used to
sit with my grandpa.
He loved star trek and wewatched all this stuff.
And and then now here startrek's coming to life.
It's a, it's unreal, yeah yeah,oh, yeah, you know I, I didn't
(11:05):
think about that until youbrought it up about the home
automation, you know, making iteasier on a lot of people's
lives.
You know, I know like justrecently I guess I'm a little
slow to get the home automation,but just recently I bought the
little smart plug they call itand had lights installed on the
back porch.
(11:25):
I've got a screened in porch,had lights installed on the back
porch.
Uh, you gotta.
I've got a screened in porch,had lights installed on the back
porch, and uh, so I thought,okay, well, I mean, I can go out
there and unplug them and plugthem up every time.
But well, I'd be nice.
And I so I was at the hardwarestore, I asked and they had this
little plug.
I plugged in the wall and andit was.
(11:46):
It was amazing.
And now, but it works off theapp on my phone, you know, and
uh, it's pretty cool, you knowyou can use off your phone or
you can.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
You know you can do it voiced where it's alexa or
you know?
Uh, like I said, google home,whichever.
So you don't, you know I'm.
I'm getting to the age that mykids have to show me things, the
new technology.
Sometimes I can't imagine myparents, you know, trying to.
So if it's simpler we can makeit, the better it is, because
(12:15):
they'll use it I guess that'swhy I'm I'm so far behind brian.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
I don't have any kids show me how to do anything.
I tell somebody asked me aboutalex or whatever and I said is
that kind of?
Is that Ken the big brother?
You know, I'm kind of stillleery of all this stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
If you're carrying a cell phone around, it don't
matter what you put in yourmouth, but the Lex and stuff
like that, you know it's veryreasonable and for what you can
do, you know we we did a homemodification one time for a
gentleman.
Uh, we had to put a roll-inshower and redo his bathroom and
they were having a hard timefiguring out with lighting and
(12:56):
everything and what we ended updoing was putting a sensor up in
the bathroom.
So when we put a pocket door infrom his bedroom going into the
bathroom so he could get rollin, as soon as he opened that
door that triggered the lightsand the lights and the fans come
on automatically, so he didn'thave to say anything he didn't
have to do anything.
(13:16):
So even if it's people who whocan't speak well or, you know,
have an issue with speaking,then we can also put sensors in
that'll do the same exact thing,and you can program those to
stay on for however long youwant them to so.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
So the old clap on, clap off products have come a
long way it's come a really goodway you have to be.
You're gonna have to be acertain age before you know what
I'm talking about.
I know exactly what you'regoing into detail on that
because I'll lose way too manypeople.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
We thought that.
We thought that was how it wasyeah, we sure did, oh my
goodness.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
But uh, you know, going back to to that, to
talking about the aging, youknow it, you a person, obviously
we all know this don't have tobe, you know, elderly or older
to become disabled either.
You know, things happen in lifethat are totally unexpected.
I've had, you know, I've hadpeople I knew that found
(14:16):
themselves suddenly at a youngage in a wheelchair, and you
know they still needed thesetype of things done, they needed
modifications.
You know, I have a slightdisability that I've developed
in the last few years and ithasn't affected me yet, but they
tell me that great possibilitydown the road it might, and you
(14:37):
know so you're talking aboutplanning.
These are things I reallyhadn't even thought about myself
, you know.
So I'm really glad you broughtthat up, because all the
listeners out there need to, youknow, we all really need to
consider that.
You know, be prepared for whatmight possibly come.
You know a lot of people arediagnosed with the autoimmune
(14:59):
diseases and things where youknow they may not be facing a
disability now, but possiblylater.
It's a good thing to get a goodplan in place, like you were
talking about play later, it's.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
It's a good thing to get a good plan in place, like
you were talking about.
Well, you know, we just did a adeck for a gentleman who has
parkinson's.
He's very, he's still good now.
You know, he still gets aroundreal well and everything else
but building the deck I told him.
I said you know we might wantto think, rethink the steps.
You know why don't we go aroundbecause as time goes on, you
know uh yes it's going to beharder for him to come up and
(15:32):
down the steps.
So we built a ramp for him andyou think that's the greatest
thing.
But that was just that forwardthinking that you know we could
have just put steps on and thencome back two years later and
said, hey look we, we put a rampin.
Now, let's just go ahead and dothe ramp now yeah, save him
some money.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
but and?
But also you, a lot of times,when we don't, when younger and
maybe we don't have problems wedon't think about what's coming.
You know, my mother neverthought about steps on the house
she was young.
Now she has really bad kneeproblems and steps are hard on
her.
She can use a ramp easily, youknow now, or a lot more easily,
(16:11):
if I put it that way, than steps.
So yeah, it's sometimes justthinking ahead to what might be,
what might possibly happen.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
We can sit down with the clients and, like I said, we
can do a one year, two year,three year, we can go up five
years.
Here's what the steps you cantake and by doing this it saves
you money.
And then you also have a planahead that you know what's
coming.
We work with a lot of physicaltherapists, with clients, and we
(16:45):
actually talk with them as wellto get their input to what
could be done or what needs tobe done or what we're looking
ahead at with whatever might bethere.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
That's smart to do.
Yeah, and you know that's a.
I mean, I'm so glad that youbrought that up because that's
something I think that a lot ofpeople don't think about.
And you talking about providingthat consulting to help people,
not just waiting until you haveto have it.
But, you know, thinking ahead,yeah, that's.
(17:17):
You know, if anybody, if any ofour listeners out there have
been, you know, unfortunate I'msorry if it has happened to you,
it's happened to me, butunfortunate to be told that
you've got a debilitatingproblem that may lead to, you
know, life-changing events inthe future.
If you've been told that, youknow it might be good for you to
consider contact Brian and, youknow, take advantage of the
(17:41):
consulting services and considerwhat the future may look like
and what to do about it.
And because but you know, brian, that's I'm really glad you
brought that part of yourservice up.
That's that's awesome, itreally is.
You know, uh, and and you knowif, uh, I, I always like to ask
this question before, uh, we,you know, we ever get off a
(18:01):
podcast, so it seemed like it'sa good segue right now to ask it
If there was one thing that youwish our listeners knew about
the heart of Brian Winton andTrue Blue Home Service Ally of
Chattanooga.
But they probably wouldn't knowunless you shared it with them
(18:22):
and you'd like to share it withthem loud and proud here on the
Good Neighbor podcast today.
What would that be?
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Well, the biggest thing is we're here to help
people, we're here to nurture.
You know, I'm a christian and,and and jesus tells us, you know
that we're to help people,we're to be the hands and feet,
and that's what we try to doevery day.
I mean, you know, of coursewe're business, of course we
have to make money, but it's notjust about the money, it's
(18:50):
about actually helping ourcommunity.
This is my community.
I was born and raised here andI've been here my whole life,
other than when I was in the AirForce.
But you know, this is my home,this is where my family lives.
This is where my grandkids wereraised.
I want the community to begreat for them growing up.
So that's really where ourheart is.
You know, my daughters work themaids housekeeping side.
(19:14):
So we're family-owned,veteran-owned, and this is our
community and we love it andwe're going to stay here and
help our community.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
That's amazing.
Those are good words becauseyou know it really.
It don't matter who you dobusiness with.
You want somebody who caresabout what they do, and
especially if they're cominginto your home and you know you
care about what you do.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
That's the thing about our employees.
You know we do everything wecan to help our employees and
help them grow as well, but youknow, know they're background
checked, they're, you know,bonded.
We do it all because I'mputting somebody in my mom's
house, you know.
So I want to make sure, whoeverI'm putting in somebody's house
, they're my employees and and Iknow that they're not, you know
(20:04):
, a problem absolutely, yeahmean totally, understand that
Totally.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
And uh, well, well, brian, just just real quickly,
you, you had mentioned thatyou're married and you got kids
and grandkids and uh, I've gotfriends of mine that said, if
they knew how fun the grandkidswere going to be, they'd had
them first.
I guess that's really possible.
It was a good thought.
But what do y'all like to dofor fun?
(20:31):
When do y'all get together?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
You know, being being a dad of three daughters, I'm a
big outdoorsman.
I hunt and fish.
That's what I love to do, andyou know the girls did too, till
you know the boys come in, tillthe boys came in around, so
then they quit doing it with me.
So now I've got my grandson,who's two years old, so his
first.
The day he was born I actuallytook him a fishing rod to the
(20:54):
hospital, so he's got his firstfishing rod already.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
So yeah, be careful, they call that grooming, okay.
I guess that's a right kind ofgrooming, though I love hanging
out with my wife.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
You know we're empty nesting.
Now Our youngest daughter is inher junior year now in college.
She plays volleyball at BryanCollege.
So you know we're kind of emptynesting.
So you know me and my wife arereally kind of digging it.
You know, just me and hergetting to hang out?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Did y'all do like that one family that they told
about just the day that thatlast child moved out?
They knocked the wall of theirbedroom out that very day Like
you can't come back now, Sorry,the bedroom is gone.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
She still comes home in the summers and on holidays.
But yeah, it's nice.
I mean it's just fun beingmarried to your best friend and
getting to spend that time.
You know, now it's not abouteverybody else, now it's kind of
about us.
Now we love it.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
That's awesome.
That's great.
Well, brian, before we get offthe podcast here, I'd like for
you to take a moment and justtell everybody how to contact
you, whether online or offline,or maybe somebody would like to
you know.
Look at some pictures of yourjobs or something.
If you've got anything posted,tell us where to go find it at.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, our website is TrueBlueAllycom slash
Chattanooga.
We're located in Hickson,tennessee.
We're at 6503 Hickson,tennessee.
We actually have a showroomhere so you can actually come
here and look at the grab bars,the, the showers, the, just
(22:36):
about everything, the cabinetry,all that.
So it's a good place to startif you want to look at uh
products let me stop you rightthere, brian.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I know you didn't mean to, but you didn't tell us
what street you're on 6503.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Oh, Hickson Pike.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Hickson Pike.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Okay All right, you said Hickson Tennessee, so I
just want to make sure, allright, go ahead and finish.
6503 Hickson Pike, hickson,tennessee.
Phone number is 423-541-2703.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Okay, and for all them, social media butterflies.
Are y'all on social mediaanywhere out there?
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yes, facebook, instagram.
The daughters do all that Okay.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Tell them to call me when we're done.
I need somebody to look at minetoo, oh, my goodness.
Well, thank you so much, brian,for being with us today.
It's been our pleasure to haveyou on, and share your story.
It's our pleasure, sir, to haveyou today.
And to all the good neighborsof the greater Chattanooga
(23:37):
region, you know, I know afterhearing Brian explain about you
know True Blue Home Service Allyand what they do, their
consulting services and how theycan kind of get you prepared
for the future I know that hehopes that you'll give him a
call.
And they said also they havethe house cleaning services for
homes, businesses, airbnbs,things like that.
(23:59):
So I know he hopes that you'llgive him a call, give him a
chance to earn your business,let him do the consulting for
you, see what they can offer youand keep them in mind when you
need them.
And I'd like to thank all youlisteners out there today for
taking the time out of your busyday and spending it with us
here at the Good NeighborPodcast.
Always remember to support thelocally owned and operated
(24:22):
businesses in the greaterChattanooga area and, as I
always like to say, fromCleveland to Dalton, from Jasper
and Trenton all the way out toBenton, it's a beautiful place,
this Chattanooga area.
So let's do all we can tosupport all our local businesses
.
And at that my name is ScottHowell with the Friends and
Neighbors Group.
Everyone, go out and make thisa remarkable day.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPClevelandcom.
That's GNPClevelandcom, or call423-380-1984.
Thank you.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.