October 23, 2024 • 33 mins
Ever find clarity and inspiration on a golf course? That’s exactly how our journey with Dennis Roberts began. From his humble beginnings on a Colorado ranch to becoming a pivotal force in construction and engineering, Dennis brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. In this episode, we spend a day with him at his ranch in East Tennessee, where he shares his fascinating career path and how a serendipitous meeting on the green led to our collaboration on the Paradyme Storage project. Along the way, I reflect on my own experiences reconnecting with family in Tennessee, and how those deep personal ties continue to enrich both my life and career.
Building a thriving company culture is more than hiring talent—it’s about fostering innovation and aligning with professionals who share your vision. This episode delves into the strategies we've used to grow, even in challenging markets, and how we’ve drawn inspiration from industry leaders like Goldman Sachs. We explore ambitious projects like Barn Caves and cutting-edge manufacturing ventures, all brimming with excitement well before launch. Learn how industry veterans, including my uncle, have been instrumental in ensuring our designs are innovative, robust, and market-ready.
Looking ahead, we tackle the unpredictable nature of construction and discuss exciting developments like our unique gym concept and potential expansion into the Ozarks. From strategic planning to operational execution, we discuss the importance of oversight and vision as we dream big. Yet, amid all the hustle, we never forget the significance of friendship and community. Regular visits with friends and deep gratitude to our supportive audience keep us grounded. Through open channels on social media and our website, we stay connected and ready to embrace the future. Join us for a conversation packed with insights into business, innovation, and the human connections that fuel our journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everybody, welcome to the Paradigm Shift.
I am Ryan Garland, your host.
I am here with Dennis Roberts.
We're in East Tennessee at ourranch having some cigars Just
got done shooting, kind ofgetting our adrenaline up.
And really the whole point tothis is just to kind of
introduce you to him and, youknow, show you guys who it is
that's overseeing all of ourprojects and kind of understand
a little bit more about hisskill set and also see the
(00:21):
camaraderie and the relationshipthat we built and how important
that is to move forward in anybusiness or any project or
company that's trying to expandand move into, you know, bigger
and better places down the road.
So, dennis, thanks for coming,buddy.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
My pleasure this has been amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, you grew up on a ranch.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And so tell us a little bit about where you're
from and how this kind of feelslike home for you.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, I was raised mostly in Colorado, mostly in
Grand Junction, Colorado.
My family had ranches inRidgeway and Montrose and now
Olathe and spent every summerbasically on the ranch.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Good, I love it.
It and so this feels like home.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, a little bit colder there though right, a lot
colder, a lot colder, but we'vehad some exceptional weather
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah Well, you know what?
I don't really invite that manypeople here and I had to get
you out here, not only because Iknew how you were raised, just
really appreciate everythingyou've done for me.
I really have man especially forparadigm, and obviously we were
introduced by Eric and ourbroker and he's just been a stud
(01:31):
in all the projects that he'srepresenting for us.
And you know, really, uh, youknow, here in East Tennessee a
lot of people don't know this,but I'm very close to my mom now
.
You know my mom left years andyears ago and didn't have a
relationship with her for manyyears.
And so you know, I searched herout about six years ago,
founder, and kind of rekindled arelationship that you know we
(01:52):
didn't, you know I, we didn'thave obviously for 25 years.
Yeah and uh, and now having theability to, um, I would say,
establish a relationship withher, it's all that time that
went by, that I don't feel likeit's a waste anymore, you know,
because I've been able toestablish that relationship and
(02:12):
uh, and then I found, you know,since I'm a real estate nerd, I
was just kind of coming out tospend time with her and I
started looking around and Ijust fell in love with this
place and I just realized whyshe's here and uh, and I just
feel like my heart's here.
So every time I'm here I'm atpeace and you know, I'm able to
kind of re.
You know it's, it's biblicalright.
You kind of have to have a dayof rest, and that's what happens
(02:33):
.
I come out here, I re, re, uh,I'd say restart, rejuvenate and,
you know, kind of recalibratefor all the things that I have
going on on my plate and yeahand that's really the whole
point for us to come out andjust spend some time together.
But I know what that said.
You know, tell me a little bitabout you.
Know your background inconstruction, you know how did
(02:54):
you get to to where you aretoday.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
A little bit about your education and then getting
into Havasu and what you've donein Havasu yeah, I grew up
mostly in a construction familyconcrete and spent years and
years and years basicallyfinishing concrete, busting a
rebar, being the kid in the yardyou know the yard bitch.
And we moved the company fromColorado to Arizona in 85 and
(03:20):
spent from 85 to 89 in Phoenixbasically finishing concrete.
89, got an opportunity to gofor an interview with a
consultant company thatspecializes in the science of
concrete soils, asphalt,construction materials and
geotechnical engineering, reallykind of just fell in love with
(03:43):
that entire industry and didn'trealize it at the time that I
had a real knack for that yeahand they mentored me fabulously.
I got to be with some of thegreatest engineering minds in
construction materialsabsolutely stunning, amazing
(04:03):
people and over the next 25years with that company I gained
an education that I would neverhave gotten otherwise, worked
my way up in that company tomanaging and principal and uh,
manager and principal and endedup in lake havasu, got relocated
here in 96 and the rest is kindof just a mishmash of being in
(04:27):
that industry until my wife gotinto real estate.
Then I followed her into realestate, started dabbling in
construction at that point froma general contracting standpoint
, got my license and then youand I meet on a golf course one
day.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
We didn't even talk business.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
No, we didn't, we talked about our lives.
It was an amazing conversationand I remember going home that
day, going, I just met anamazing guy and, um, you called
me, probably seven, eight monthslater, and you said I'll never
forget the conversation.
You said I've not forgotten youand, uh, would you like to
partner with us on this project,paradigm Storage?
(05:05):
And I was like I think we cantalk about that.
And a couple months later I'myour general contractor and boom
we're here now.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, so that was a stickyplace for me.
I remember vividly kind of whatposition we were stuck in and
you were highly recommended andyou have a great reputation.
Everybody loves you, you're thenice guy, I'm the bad guy.
Now is what's happening andthat's a good thing, right, yeah
.
But you know everyone was justtalking highly about you, your
(05:36):
knowledge base.
Obviously you have a lot ofother projects going on at work
and and I just kind of looked atyour caliber of work and kind
of the way you handle things andI'm like he's perfect fit,
because, at the end of the day,where I judge a lot of people is
, you know, through hardship,you know.
That's why I really appreciated, you know, meeting on the golf
courses, cause we talked reallyabout our hardships.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
That's all we talked about.
Yeah, I was going throughreally two years of kind of hell
that were failing, and wetalked about our children, we
talked about our marriages and,and most importantly, we talked
about our faith and we talkedabout, really, where we wanted
to be as men and in business,where we wanted to be well,
(06:17):
let's kind of.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
that was amazing.
Let's go there for a secondbecause I wasn't planning on it,
to be honest.
But I I think it's reallyimportant that people get to
kind of know, really, the depthof our relationship.
And you know, I everyone seesme as you know, a husband, a
father, but if you really watchme, I'm not as home as much as I
wish I could be.
You know, and I know mostpeople, or most men kind of, you
know, build their businessesand build their careers really
(06:39):
in mind of giving to their lovedones and their kids or what
have you.
But you get caught up into theday to day and you make big
commitments and then you reallykind of can't backpedal right,
because you have a lot of peoplethat are relying on you,
relying on you.
And so for me, when you and Iwere talking, and you were
talking about kind of yourhardships, of what you went
through and some of the regretsthat you had and you know you as
(07:00):
a father and as a husband, Ican relate and it was one of
those things where you were at apoint where you knew you
weren't uh, you knew exactlywhat transpired, where I think a
lot of people just sit back andgo oh, I didn't have the best
you know opportunity, or poor me, or what have you.
(07:20):
You were like, no, this is myfault, this is what I did wrong
and this is who I am and this iswhat I, and I think that was.
There's so much respect forthat I think anybody that has
also been through a lot when youcan see someone that's like
just honest with themselves, andthen what really what you're
doing is you're going to attractthose type of people, though by
not having that kind of energythat you're putting out, trying
(07:42):
to show off or say that you'resomething that you're not,
you're naturally going to re.
You're naturally going to bringin the people that are going to
be like you.
Right, um, and that's what Ireally appreciated about you,
and I knew that you'd be a greatleader, especially when I'm
looking at delegating something.
That's really important,because without you at
(08:03):
spearheading, what we're doingreally important, because
without you at spearheading,what we're doing, whoever's in
that slot is that weight, isit's, it's serious.
It's not a small operation byany means.
This is, you know, this ishundreds of millions of dollars
in projects that you'reoverseeing and you have to have,
you have to be a verywell-rounded man.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You need to be able to understand the emotions, you
need to not know how to.
You can't lash out.
You can't make decisions on thefly.
You know because one we werejust talking about this last
night.
We wake up every morningknowing that every decision in
one day can, everything can tankbased on one decision, and
that's a lot of weight to carry.
A lot of people don'tunderstand that, I think.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, and we had a rough morning yesterday, right,
and um, how you handle thosereally tough moments is
everything.
We're surrounded by people whoreally are just watching us and
waiting for us to make a gooddecision, and they're yeah or
fail, and they're looking at usfor good leadership, they're
looking at us for making thosegood decisions.
(09:03):
Um, you don't get a lot ofopportunities to to think for a
long period of time before youto do that, before you just say,
okay, this is the directionwe're going.
Once you do that, you have tobe pretty sure of yourself yeah,
we've, we've done that and Ithink we're succeeding because,
well, in a very short period oftime.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
We've been tested a lot and, to be candid with you,
I feel like it's a little bitmore downhill, um, because a lot
of the infrastructure is inplace, understanding how each
other works now in place.
Those are usually the harderparts.
But now that you've come in andgot rid of all the bad juju
right, uh, you now have very, avery clear path moving forward
(09:44):
on all of our projects.
So I think you've got ithandled on it.
But it I mean you get a phonecall in the morning.
You're like wait, what justhappened?
You know, and then I also.
One thing I like to think that Ido well is I know when to stay
in my lane and when to getinvolved, and that's where I
just let you kind of handle it.
(10:05):
You know I didn't have toalways oversee it or worry or
what have you.
And then that really does.
You know, when it correlates toour clients and our investors,
they see that, okay, it's notjust me that's overseeing all
these projects.
There's other people that havea better skillset, that are in
this department, that are betterthan I am Right, and so that's
really the whole point to havingsomeone at your caliber in that
(10:28):
slot is just to make sure thatdecisions are made but based off
of experience.
This isn't just because you hada feeling Right, this is what
you know it because you have theexperience.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah, yeah, you know, like we were talking about last
night, it takes years and yearsand years to get to a position
where you're very comfortableand confident in yourself.
Then you have to find somebodywho also has that same faith,
who has that trust factor andwho you can trust also, because
every decision I make has animpact on you, every decision
(10:58):
you make has an impact on me aswe go forward, not only day to
day, but as we go forward.
We just have to be able totrust each other completely, and
I think that's where ourrelationship's a little bit
unusual.
Knowing you now for a couple ofyears has developed in me a
trust in not only you as aleader but as a friend that I
(11:22):
don't have to question that.
And where we disagree, wedisagree, and then we move
forward again.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And that's where I think that, right there is.
The secret to really asuccessful business Is when you
have people that you can trulytrust and delegate and not worry
that they're doing somethingbehind your back or trying to
take your clients or what haveyou, and there's so much of that
that goes on and it's so lowlevel and really what it comes
down to it.
(11:47):
It comes from a place ofdesperation.
It comes from place that peoplefear, and desperation because
people have been hurt by othersand so they just operate in a
certain way.
Yeah, but we've been able to,and it took a long time, don't
get me wrong.
It's not like this, and there'sstill people that linger, but
when you find people that reallyhave, you know what it.
(12:08):
If you look at everybody that'sin our company, if you listen to
their story or their testimony,they're tired of being having
to fight like that.
They want people around themthat are just honest and real
and and can communicate well andare professional and have
experience, and so you'll evensee how they handle their
(12:28):
personal life.
They don't have friends thataren't holding themselves to
that caliber either.
Right?
They their family as well.
So I'll use Brianna as anexample.
Brianna's choice of friends areall very similar to her.
They're business oriented.
They're executives in companies.
You know they're.
They earn their keep.
(12:48):
They, you know they're theyearn their keep.
They.
You know those types of things.
But you look at everybody inour company, they're all that
same way, right?
You know it's the people thatare going out and partying and
drinking and you know making baddecisions or just new to the
business or whatever they justthey got to go through the steps
to find out who they are sothat way they can show up
properly for the right peoplethat are actually going to trust
in them.
(13:08):
It's probably the best way toput it.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Well, it's true, and it's not just a lifestyle, I
mean, it's a commitment that youmake to yourself that you're
going to conduct yourself in away that's going to attract
other people that are like you,right, and that help build you
up, help you make you a betterperson.
The people that we surroundourselves with are the people
that we want to be like and thatwe know we'll feed off of and
(13:34):
just we'll have a better companybecause of it.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
And I think you know we've got some really good
people.
We're adding, as you know,we're adding more people, and
that's pretty rare, too, to showgrowth inside a market that
people are really scared, butthere is a lot of positive
feedback.
Like I just posted somethingabout Goldman Sachs having the
best quarter that they've everhad and I think it's like 30%
projected growth faster thanthey expected and it's all these
(14:00):
things.
But when you look at theirinvestment strategy, you
understand why it's the writingson the wall.
In many ways, we're positionedwell.
What I tell everybody is thatthe market went from prior to
the pandemic, very diverse andyou can make money in every
direction.
The pandemic obviously there'sa lot of hardship like office
and so forth, but it really tookin and zoned in on only very,
(14:21):
very specific asset classes thatare going to do well.
And then it allows you to lookat the data, spending habits and
people migrating that direction, and so when, when you have
that much demand, the likelihoodof the investment as well.
But that also kind of navigatesinto the type of people that
you need to hire with insideyour company, because that's
where the world's going and whathave you, or the company's,
growing towards.
(14:41):
And so I just kind of have this.
I kind of have this belief thatreally the Lord's kind of given
us the right intuition andcontinuing to bring the right
people to the table to continueto grow the company in the right
direction.
But we're also getting goodprojects.
I mean, the barn caves, youknow, is I mean I don't think
(15:04):
I've ever and of course I'mbiased, right, but I don't think
I've ever seen a projectbesides maybe some big sports
park or something or like theraider stadium.
You know, that was just soawesome to talk about and see
that has turned into just amovement in itself.
Yeah, you know, and even usgoing into more of the
manufacturing side, which I wantto talk to you about, um seems
(15:26):
to be, you know, a big movement,but again it kind of marries up
between affordability, speed ofdevelopment, less trades the
list goes on once we're able tocome up with the manufacturing
side of it.
But I don't.
I think that project, I thinkthat project is going to be a
game changer.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Well, I mean the entire steel building industry,
the interest, the interest we'vealready received from it, and
the.
I mean we don't have a productyet.
I mean we're going to have aproduct very soon, but we just
have a design and we have thrownthat out there and said, hey
people, what do you think ofthis?
The response on that is insane.
(16:04):
I mean, we're talking the otherday.
I mean, if everybody was abuyer who just says I want it
right now, we need four or fiveof these projects like right now
, that's, that's a game changerby itself and that's not
including people that are going.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Hey, ryan, where can I buy your floor plans?
Buy or, you know, buy these anddrop them off, whether it's a
lot, somewhere like this in thecountry yeah or if it's a guy
who wants to be you know that'sa builder that does this for a
living and wants to pop these upinto a high, dense, more
primary market.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And the challenge of that is daunting.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
It's huge.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
I mean you bring risk into the equation that you
don't have to normally thinkabout.
How do I send somebody aproduct that doesn't have a
background in erecting thatproduct and then give them some
directions to be able to erectit safely and ultimately end up
with what they want A wholenother level?
It's fascinating that we arealready as far as we are.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Well, to get deeper into it, I mean all the way down
to you know, my uncle is one ofthe owners and presidents of
Standard Pacific.
Left there, went to, you know,irvine Company, western National
built tons of apartments,33,000 doors, I believe Western
National built for him.
And then he went to HollandPartners, built as president for
construction for high rises,and then left there and now has
a construction defect legal, youknow, firm in essence, and so,
(17:23):
you know, bringing him in hegoes.
Ryan, the most important thingis being able to engineer these
buildings and design thesebuildings in a way when you
deliver them you're not going tohave defect issues for
litigation.
So by being able to come intoit, even from that level, I
don't think people quiteunderstand how much really goes
into this.
But that's, I mean it's a lotof energy.
I mean my entire business, youknow, has really kind of shifted
(17:45):
for me into that.
So it's like capital raising,legal compliance, so forth.
But my focus really is buildingthis product and it's we're so
pregnant, you know on on thedesign and what we've spent so
far and you know, going toengineering now and you know we
have a pretty good product butwe are looking at mass
(18:06):
production and all the way downto like, let's talk about
manufacturing and the issues ofmanufacturing as well.
You know we're looking atcertain policies depending on
who you know gets an office.
You know that's going to help,even with taxes for overtime and
bringing back manufacturing andthat.
So there's a a bolt on to thefirm that I, that a lot of
(18:27):
people don't know about.
But not only are we going to beable to bring down our costs.
We're thinking our costs aregoing to come down for the
building almost 50%, accordingto my conversations with Brian.
But the speed let's talk aboutspeed alone.
I mean, look, at the issues thatwe're dealing with the
materials right now, withparadigm storage or boathouse or
all the other projects you know, being able to have
manufacturing literally in ourbackyard and control that, we
(18:49):
literally are able to build awhole lot faster, pump these out
a lot faster and in fact my proforma is extremely conservative
, not considering the speed inwhich we could possibly build
these things.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Exactly.
And then the other side of thatis the quality standard.
I mean we'll be able to controlthat, and when you can control
quality, manufacturing speed anddelivery, you've got the
package.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
And when it comes to like, let's talk about like
engineering.
Who was it I was talking to theother day I think it was
Tiffany.
She was telling me that there'sonly like 7,000 superintendents
right now in the country.
Really, you know, there's notthat many and so there's a need.
Of course, we could talk aboutlabor all day that issue we can
talk about being in Havasu andwe're being kind of so far out
(19:38):
of the outskirts trying to findthe right laborers and trades.
You know, the list kind of goeson, but it does pollinate for
the most part onto every aspectof the construction business,
you know.
But being able to manufactureour own stuff is really going to
allow us to mitigate that allthe way down to the way we
manage our capital, like, forexample, switchgear.
You know, having Nick go outand front load and get a lot of
(20:01):
switchgear up front for a lot ofour buildings that are coming
up, you know, being able to, youknow, have the capital to do
that is also different than alot of other operators because
they're financing the majorityof this stuff and you, if you
don't, if you don't communicatewith your lender early on and
what you need to pay for upfrontdeposits for certain materials,
you're going to be behind oneverything.
(20:23):
And I'm watching it happen.
I manage a hundred milliondollar debt fund Now.
I'm watching these when theseborrowers get crippled by a
material bottlenecks.
Yeah, so I think just from justjust, and there's so many more
details, but it's really thosetype of things that we are
implementing, but you cannotimplement it until you've gone
(20:44):
through it and you've dealt withit Right.
So I think we're on the righttrack.
My opinion.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, just what we went through on a small scale
for materials, right?
Uh, material shortage,switchgear shortage.
What we've just gone through isnothing compared to what we're
getting ready to get into.
So controlling that, makingthat a um, a system that we not
only engineer, control thequality of it and then control
(21:11):
the production speed of it, willchange everything.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I think builders you know you're starting to see you
know a lot of these builders andlarger, like Lennar's, kb,
pulte Homes, a lot of guys.
You'll see some of these guysretiring out as old school
supers and you're kind ofhearing those conversations and
I'm very fortunate to circlearound you know, be around those
types of circles and they'rethey're telling you it's just
getting harder and harder.
(21:34):
It's not easy.
It's not as easy as it was 10,15, 20 years ago.
Everything about the industryit's getting more regulated.
It's you know there's less ummanufacturing there's.
You know, with with the lowinterest rates and the spike in
development, it's been moreproblematic.
Timelines are blown.
List kind of goes on.
And I think you know you reallyclients, developers, subs,
(21:59):
everybody needs to be tied togroups that are very forward
thinking and extremelyinnovative but really knows
enough about the industry tohave a lot of good professionals
with track records that aresitting on the board or advisory
side that really kind of helpmitigate all that stuff.
And that's really what I'mseeing.
So you're seeing firms likemine.
(22:21):
You'll start looking at theirpitch decks or you'll start
looking at their companybrochures online.
What have you?
And you're seeing that they'rebringing in a larger board, a
larger advisory board, to helpwith all of this.
And if, if you, if people arenot watching that with inside
the firms, they're, they'remissing a very important
component of longevity,sustainability, consistency, and
(22:42):
it's those types of things thatI'm trying to teach people how
to navigate, which firms toinvest into, and those are the
things that you're seeing.
So you're going to start seeingme bring on a big CFO right,
you've met him.
You're seeing larger investors,larger architects, a lot larger
players kind of come to theforefront that we are going to
(23:06):
ask for their experience tonavigate.
Help us navigate.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
And that really plays in well with my experience,
because all the years I spentdealing with large architects,
larger engineering firms, evenlarger contractors.
It really starts getting towhere I'm most comfortable.
When you start very smallprojects, you have very little
room.
The space gets really small.
(23:32):
Minor changes cost huge amountsof money.
The bigger the projects, thegreater the presence of the
engineers and the groups thatare involved in it.
They just go smoother, it justgoes better.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
It's so true.
Yeah, I think, ultimately,we're on the right track.
I really wanted people to kindof see you know the dynamic of
mine in your relationship, andthat's really important because
you know, for example, whenyou're talking to a lot of
investors.
There's really a few questionsthat people ask.
One is you know how long hasyour executive team been
together?
How long have you beenestablished?
What's your track record inessence to who are your
(24:08):
department heads?
What's their track record?
What are the relationships anddynamics and what happens if you
die?
Yeah, who takes over?
Yeah, it's a good question.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
It's a big question.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
True, and, and so those are the things that I'm
trying to highlight and teachpeople that these are the things
that are very important.
What happens if I go through adivorce?
What's that mean?
Right, what you know, those arethe things that people aren't
really they don't pay attentionto, unless you have big
attorneys that are going tostart, you know, getting
involved.
These are the educationalpieces that I'm trying to
highlight through this podcastthat people need to really pay
(24:42):
attention to, because it's theculture one we just talked.
We were talking about this todaytoo.
You know, having a good culturewithin the company.
It's the dynamics and therelationships that are
established, because when timesget tough, you need people to
pull together, not separate andfight.
That is important, and so, byyou and I, continuing to have.
Look, construction doesn't goeasy.
I've been Telling Joe we needto do a reality TV show and just
(25:04):
follow you around, you know,and do video of just you,
because it's insane what happenson the construction site every
single day and we have a lot ofprojects, so it's not like it's
something smooth every day?
Speaker 2 (25:16):
No, it's not, and you don't know what's going to
happen every day.
I mean, what we had happenyesterday was again just
something you wouldn't expect,but at the same time, it's not
unusual, it's just you don'tknow when it's going to happen.
And of course it's when youleave, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
It's always when you leave You're supposed to come
out here and relax.
Yeah, didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
All the shit hits the fan and you're standing there
going, okay, well, we'resurrounded by some good people
there.
They're handling it yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
It's one of those things you kind of have to take
it on the chin.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
It's life.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
It never gets easier, life only gets harder kind of
thing, but you handle it.
But again it's that down lineof everybody handling their
position.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
You know, yeah, so let's talk about.
You know, if we decide tomigrate to Ozarks, if we go into
barn caves, do you think thatyou can handle it, or do you
think you need to bring on moreuh, let's just call it uh bodies
to oversee well, sure, I meantalking about superintendents
again.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
I mean, that's just the reality of projects, right?
Every project, you have to haveenough bodies on it to make
sure that everything's goingwell on a day-to-day basis.
From a management standpoint,it doesn't take that many bodies
.
You need the superintendent.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
We got a good back office and then you know my
experience from a managementstandpoint a lot of capacity.
So, yes, it's going to take afew more bodies, but it's not
going to take hundreds of people.
Yeah, you know we'll be able tohandle it.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
You know we were just talking about earlier too.
You know, the our firm is ran.
We have a lot more attorney.
So like, for example, we paymore money a year in legal fees
than I do salaries, and it'ssimply because we have, I don't
know, four SEC attorneys.
I have, you know, markham,which is also a tax.
You know a law firm that's, youknow, deals with hedge funds,
(26:58):
pension funds, public companies,what have you.
They're big.
Go to New York, you know we gotMGO, cpa, we got all of these
law firms that are overseeingall of our stuff, which is
really truly the smartest way togo.
But even from day-to-daymanagement, we would typically
be three times the size that weare Completely.
And that's not even consideredthe construction side, that's
(27:22):
just back office on the privateequity side.
So we all have a lot of hats.
But what's nice is throughsystems, and this is that
forward-facing, forward-thinkingthrough systems and practices
and procedures is where we canactually start mitigating how
many people and bodies have toreally come on keeping our
overhead low, having thelongevity, all that stuff
(27:43):
matters.
Keeping our overhead low, havingthe longevity, all that stuff
matters.
So when people are reallymanaging or looking at investing
into firms or projects, all ofthose things really do matter.
Right, how long has that personbeen with you?
Like, for example, obviouslyone of the reasons why people
love the barn caves is because Ihave Paradigm Storage right
next door.
Right, they're like you guysdefinitely know what you're
doing.
You're on the street buildingsomething equivalent.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Right.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
So it?
Building something equivalent,right, yeah, so it.
Yes, the gym barn caves, yeah,it's all right there.
Yeah, and, by the way, let'stalk about the gym.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (28:10):
for that, because that thing is great.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
When can we actually start moving dirt?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
uh, I know we could, I'm still thinking january I
think that's going to be ourbest time waiting for some
overlays, waiting for somefinals, um, from a flood zone
standpoint, but yeah, when I'mgoing to call Jamie.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, I think Jamie, jamie, where are we at?
Yeah, jamie will give us aheads up.
Yeah, give us what we need.
We're right there.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
That'll move much more quickly than I think some
of the other projects will,because, again, it's a tight
project.
It's right there.
We understand the verticalaspect of it really well.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It'll go quick you know, not only that, you know we
got, you know you got.
I mean shoot, dude, we're.
We're in engineering now withthat building and it's really a
box.
Yeah, no, it's nothing specialyeah, it's nothing special.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
From the standpoint of the structure itself, it's
basic in the building thebuilding.
Yeah, the structure is prettybasic.
It's got a lot of moving parts,yeah, and the more technical it
becomes from an electrical andplumbing standpoint, those are
big moving parts.
The rest of it not too bad.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Yeah, it's not bad, not too bad, but it just looks
cool.
It's going to look great Nowit's about operating it right.
Yeah, and that's what we'reexcited about too.
To be honest with you, we havesome really cool.
We have a really cool product.
The demand is high.
We're watching people'sspinning habits.
Healthcare is a big deal, youknow.
Health and wellness continuesto be a big part of it.
(29:32):
If you're looking at the dataRight, you know just a lot of
people need like you and I bothwe're talking about eating right
besides our cigars, yeah, hey,that's our advice.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Whatever, Every once in a while you got to have.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
that's our advice whatever, but you gotta have a
little bit right.
I don't have cigars that often,by the way.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
It's usually when I come out here yeah, but I don't
drink and do any of this veryoften.
But you know if you good ninepercent of time ten percent of
the time you can do something.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Yeah, you know you need a little break, but yeah,
so with the gym, you know, Ithink I think ultimately, people
are just really want to seethat out in that area.
I think it's time the the areahas.
It's a little tired with theexisting projects that are there
as far as gyms.
Um, the biggest gym you have intown is planet fitness, you
know, which is a little dull tobe honest with you.
Um, you know, hey, no, notknocking on any gym, but I think
(30:18):
that that area calls for moreof a private setup.
You know, that big publicmovement gym is just not really
the culture for the area.
It does well.
It's got 12,000 members.
It's generating money.
I mean, I'm looking at thatdata, but I think you're going
to see, when this gym pops up,people are going to want to be
there more.
So, having an area where peoplecan go and kind of lounge out
(30:39):
and pop up their laptops work.
A lot of people travel there,right, so come in for the
weekends, what have you?
They can go.
If it's too hot, they want tobe on the water and then go to
the gym and pop up their laptop.
I do Every time I'm traveling.
I'm going finding an LA fitnessor a lifetime fitness.
I go work out, I stay there, Itake a shower, I take all my
stuff and I kind of get readyfor the day no-transcript, and
(31:33):
I'm at that point in my lifewhere I kind of need to just
feel good and stretch my back,and you know so.
But that's that area, you know,it's retirement community,
people want nice stuff, and so Ithink, ultimately, we're going
to have amazing equipment thatkind of caters to every walks of
life, no matter kind of whereyou are.
You know, and that's really theidea is to build something
that's that's extremely diversebut dynamic and and something
(31:56):
that nobody has ever seen in thecountry, cause you know me, I
always want to go big on thatguy, but at the end of the day,
man, I think we're the righttrack and ultimately, I'd like
to build 10 more of these overthe next five or six years.
I think the run is ultimately35 locations.
That's what we have in ourbuilt-out pro formas, our big
plan, and people ask can you gopublic?
(32:18):
Because really, people look at,when you look at, like Lenar,
kb, public companies, that whatthey did and we're we're really
just implementing, um, the samepractices.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
They did, yeah, they did, but just in today's market
yeah, you know so, and maybethat's a possibility in the
future, but right now,concentrate on what we have for
us and get what we can done andmanufacturing too, and get it
done well yeah, so I think we'reon the right track, man.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
So, by the way, if there's anything else you want
to add to our audience, pleaseshare.
But other than that, man, Ilove that you're here.
We're sitting here with thoserunning river and it's awesome,
just so peaceful out here.
I love it.
It was hard for me to get youto want to do this, because you
were so relaxed, yeah, and thenit took 30 minutes for joe to
put it together it takes.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
That's why my cigar takes a minute for me to calm
down.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Yeah, for sure it does it takes every time I come
out here.
It takes me at least two daysto finally go.
Okay, now it's time to relax.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Next time I come for longer Two days, go back to work
.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Yeah exactly Two days is your weekend.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
I can't sit around for very long, no for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, thanks for having me, buddy, and you're
always welcome, and I'm going toplan on having you out here at
least once every month or everyother month.
I'd love it.
Yeah, we got to do it, so let'sdo it All right.
Well, thank you guys.
I appreciate the audience thatcontinues to watch and support
us.
If you guys have any questions,you know how to reach out to us
social media YouTube, instagram, website.
What have you?
And we're on to the next.
Thanks guys.
Hey everybody, welcome to the Paradigm Shift.
I am Ryan Garland, your host.
I am here with Dennis Roberts.
We're in East Tennessee at ourranch having some cigars Just
got done shooting, kind ofgetting our adrenaline up.
And really the whole point tothis is just to kind of
introduce you to him and, youknow, show you guys who it is
that's overseeing all of ourprojects and kind of understand
a little bit more about hisskill set and also see the
(00:21):
camaraderie and the relationshipthat we built and how important
that is to move forward in anybusiness or any project or
company that's trying to expandand move into, you know, bigger
and better places down the road.
So, dennis, thanks for coming,buddy.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
My pleasure this has been amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Well, you grew up on a ranch.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And so tell us a little bit about where you're
from and how this kind of feelslike home for you.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, I was raised mostly in Colorado, mostly in
Grand Junction, Colorado.
My family had ranches inRidgeway and Montrose and now
Olathe and spent every summerbasically on the ranch.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Good, I love it.
It and so this feels like home.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, a little bit colder there though right, a lot
colder, a lot colder, but we'vehad some exceptional weather
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah Well, you know what?
I don't really invite that manypeople here and I had to get
you out here, not only because Iknew how you were raised, just
really appreciate everythingyou've done for me.
I really have man especially forparadigm, and obviously we were
introduced by Eric and ourbroker and he's just been a stud
(01:31):
in all the projects that he'srepresenting for us.
And you know, really, uh, youknow, here in East Tennessee a
lot of people don't know this,but I'm very close to my mom now
.
You know my mom left years andyears ago and didn't have a
relationship with her for manyyears.
And so you know, I searched herout about six years ago,
founder, and kind of rekindled arelationship that you know we
(01:52):
didn't, you know I, we didn'thave obviously for 25 years.
Yeah and uh, and now having theability to, um, I would say,
establish a relationship withher, it's all that time that
went by, that I don't feel likeit's a waste anymore, you know,
because I've been able toestablish that relationship and
(02:12):
uh, and then I found, you know,since I'm a real estate nerd, I
was just kind of coming out tospend time with her and I
started looking around and Ijust fell in love with this
place and I just realized whyshe's here and uh, and I just
feel like my heart's here.
So every time I'm here I'm atpeace and you know, I'm able to
kind of re.
You know it's, it's biblicalright.
You kind of have to have a dayof rest, and that's what happens
(02:33):
.
I come out here, I re, re, uh,I'd say restart, rejuvenate and,
you know, kind of recalibratefor all the things that I have
going on on my plate and yeahand that's really the whole
point for us to come out andjust spend some time together.
But I know what that said.
You know, tell me a little bitabout you.
Know your background inconstruction, you know how did
(02:54):
you get to to where you aretoday.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
A little bit about your education and then getting
into Havasu and what you've donein Havasu yeah, I grew up
mostly in a construction familyconcrete and spent years and
years and years basicallyfinishing concrete, busting a
rebar, being the kid in the yardyou know the yard bitch.
And we moved the company fromColorado to Arizona in 85 and
(03:20):
spent from 85 to 89 in Phoenixbasically finishing concrete.
89, got an opportunity to gofor an interview with a
consultant company thatspecializes in the science of
concrete soils, asphalt,construction materials and
geotechnical engineering, reallykind of just fell in love with
(03:43):
that entire industry and didn'trealize it at the time that I
had a real knack for that yeahand they mentored me fabulously.
I got to be with some of thegreatest engineering minds in
construction materialsabsolutely stunning, amazing
(04:03):
people and over the next 25years with that company I gained
an education that I would neverhave gotten otherwise, worked
my way up in that company tomanaging and principal and uh,
manager and principal and endedup in lake havasu, got relocated
here in 96 and the rest is kindof just a mishmash of being in
(04:27):
that industry until my wife gotinto real estate.
Then I followed her into realestate, started dabbling in
construction at that point froma general contracting standpoint
, got my license and then youand I meet on a golf course one
day.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
We didn't even talk business.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
No, we didn't, we talked about our lives.
It was an amazing conversationand I remember going home that
day, going, I just met anamazing guy and, um, you called
me, probably seven, eight monthslater, and you said I'll never
forget the conversation.
You said I've not forgotten youand, uh, would you like to
partner with us on this project,paradigm Storage?
(05:05):
And I was like I think we cantalk about that.
And a couple months later I'myour general contractor and boom
we're here now.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, so that was a stickyplace for me.
I remember vividly kind of whatposition we were stuck in and
you were highly recommended andyou have a great reputation.
Everybody loves you, you're thenice guy, I'm the bad guy.
Now is what's happening andthat's a good thing, right, yeah
.
But you know everyone was justtalking highly about you, your
(05:36):
knowledge base.
Obviously you have a lot ofother projects going on at work
and and I just kind of looked atyour caliber of work and kind
of the way you handle things andI'm like he's perfect fit,
because, at the end of the day,where I judge a lot of people is
, you know, through hardship,you know.
That's why I really appreciated, you know, meeting on the golf
courses, cause we talked reallyabout our hardships.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
That's all we talked about.
Yeah, I was going throughreally two years of kind of hell
that were failing, and wetalked about our children, we
talked about our marriages and,and most importantly, we talked
about our faith and we talkedabout, really, where we wanted
to be as men and in business,where we wanted to be well,
(06:17):
let's kind of.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
that was amazing.
Let's go there for a secondbecause I wasn't planning on it,
to be honest.
But I I think it's reallyimportant that people get to
kind of know, really, the depthof our relationship.
And you know, I everyone seesme as you know, a husband, a
father, but if you really watchme, I'm not as home as much as I
wish I could be.
You know, and I know mostpeople, or most men kind of, you
know, build their businessesand build their careers really
(06:39):
in mind of giving to their lovedones and their kids or what
have you.
But you get caught up into theday to day and you make big
commitments and then you reallykind of can't backpedal right,
because you have a lot of peoplethat are relying on you,
relying on you.
And so for me, when you and Iwere talking, and you were
talking about kind of yourhardships, of what you went
through and some of the regretsthat you had and you know you as
(07:00):
a father and as a husband, Ican relate and it was one of
those things where you were at apoint where you knew you
weren't uh, you knew exactlywhat transpired, where I think a
lot of people just sit back andgo oh, I didn't have the best
you know opportunity, or poor me, or what have you.
(07:20):
You were like, no, this is myfault, this is what I did wrong
and this is who I am and this iswhat I, and I think that was.
There's so much respect forthat I think anybody that has
also been through a lot when youcan see someone that's like
just honest with themselves, andthen what really what you're
doing is you're going to attractthose type of people, though by
not having that kind of energythat you're putting out, trying
(07:42):
to show off or say that you'resomething that you're not,
you're naturally going to re.
You're naturally going to bringin the people that are going to
be like you.
Right, um, and that's what Ireally appreciated about you,
and I knew that you'd be a greatleader, especially when I'm
looking at delegating something.
That's really important,because without you at
(08:03):
spearheading, what we're doingreally important, because
without you at spearheading,what we're doing, whoever's in
that slot is that weight, isit's, it's serious.
It's not a small operation byany means.
This is, you know, this ishundreds of millions of dollars
in projects that you'reoverseeing and you have to have,
you have to be a verywell-rounded man.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
You need to be able to understand the emotions, you
need to not know how to.
You can't lash out.
You can't make decisions on thefly.
You know because one we werejust talking about this last
night.
We wake up every morningknowing that every decision in
one day can, everything can tankbased on one decision, and
that's a lot of weight to carry.
A lot of people don'tunderstand that, I think.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, and we had a rough morning yesterday, right,
and um, how you handle thosereally tough moments is
everything.
We're surrounded by people whoreally are just watching us and
waiting for us to make a gooddecision, and they're yeah or
fail, and they're looking at usfor good leadership, they're
looking at us for making thosegood decisions.
(09:03):
Um, you don't get a lot ofopportunities to to think for a
long period of time before youto do that, before you just say,
okay, this is the directionwe're going.
Once you do that, you have tobe pretty sure of yourself yeah,
we've, we've done that and Ithink we're succeeding because,
well, in a very short period oftime.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
We've been tested a lot and, to be candid with you,
I feel like it's a little bitmore downhill, um, because a lot
of the infrastructure is inplace, understanding how each
other works now in place.
Those are usually the harderparts.
But now that you've come in andgot rid of all the bad juju
right, uh, you now have very, avery clear path moving forward
(09:44):
on all of our projects.
So I think you've got ithandled on it.
But it I mean you get a phonecall in the morning.
You're like wait, what justhappened?
You know, and then I also.
One thing I like to think that Ido well is I know when to stay
in my lane and when to getinvolved, and that's where I
just let you kind of handle it.
(10:05):
You know I didn't have toalways oversee it or worry or
what have you.
And then that really does.
You know, when it correlates toour clients and our investors,
they see that, okay, it's notjust me that's overseeing all
these projects.
There's other people that havea better skillset, that are in
this department, that are betterthan I am Right, and so that's
really the whole point to havingsomeone at your caliber in that
(10:28):
slot is just to make sure thatdecisions are made but based off
of experience.
This isn't just because you hada feeling Right, this is what
you know it because you have theexperience.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Yeah, yeah, you know, like we were talking about last
night, it takes years and yearsand years to get to a position
where you're very comfortableand confident in yourself.
Then you have to find somebodywho also has that same faith,
who has that trust factor andwho you can trust also, because
every decision I make has animpact on you, every decision
(10:58):
you make has an impact on me aswe go forward, not only day to
day, but as we go forward.
We just have to be able totrust each other completely, and
I think that's where ourrelationship's a little bit
unusual.
Knowing you now for a couple ofyears has developed in me a
trust in not only you as aleader but as a friend that I
(11:22):
don't have to question that.
And where we disagree, wedisagree, and then we move
forward again.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And that's where I think that, right there is.
The secret to really asuccessful business Is when you
have people that you can trulytrust and delegate and not worry
that they're doing somethingbehind your back or trying to
take your clients or what haveyou, and there's so much of that
that goes on and it's so lowlevel and really what it comes
down to it.
(11:47):
It comes from a place ofdesperation.
It comes from place that peoplefear, and desperation because
people have been hurt by othersand so they just operate in a
certain way.
Yeah, but we've been able to,and it took a long time, don't
get me wrong.
It's not like this, and there'sstill people that linger, but
when you find people that reallyhave, you know what it.
(12:08):
If you look at everybody that'sin our company, if you listen to
their story or their testimony,they're tired of being having
to fight like that.
They want people around themthat are just honest and real
and and can communicate well andare professional and have
experience, and so you'll evensee how they handle their
(12:28):
personal life.
They don't have friends thataren't holding themselves to
that caliber either.
Right?
They their family as well.
So I'll use Brianna as anexample.
Brianna's choice of friends areall very similar to her.
They're business oriented.
They're executives in companies.
You know they're.
They earn their keep.
(12:48):
They, you know they're theyearn their keep.
They.
You know those types of things.
But you look at everybody inour company, they're all that
same way, right?
You know it's the people thatare going out and partying and
drinking and you know making baddecisions or just new to the
business or whatever they justthey got to go through the steps
to find out who they are sothat way they can show up
properly for the right peoplethat are actually going to trust
in them.
(13:08):
It's probably the best way toput it.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Well, it's true, and it's not just a lifestyle, I
mean, it's a commitment that youmake to yourself that you're
going to conduct yourself in away that's going to attract
other people that are like you,right, and that help build you
up, help you make you a betterperson.
The people that we surroundourselves with are the people
that we want to be like and thatwe know we'll feed off of and
(13:34):
just we'll have a better companybecause of it.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
And I think you know we've got some really good
people.
We're adding, as you know,we're adding more people, and
that's pretty rare, too, to showgrowth inside a market that
people are really scared, butthere is a lot of positive
feedback.
Like I just posted somethingabout Goldman Sachs having the
best quarter that they've everhad and I think it's like 30%
projected growth faster thanthey expected and it's all these
(14:00):
things.
But when you look at theirinvestment strategy, you
understand why it's the writingson the wall.
In many ways, we're positionedwell.
What I tell everybody is thatthe market went from prior to
the pandemic, very diverse andyou can make money in every
direction.
The pandemic obviously there'sa lot of hardship like office
and so forth, but it really tookin and zoned in on only very,
(14:21):
very specific asset classes thatare going to do well.
And then it allows you to lookat the data, spending habits and
people migrating that direction, and so when, when you have
that much demand, the likelihoodof the investment as well.
But that also kind of navigatesinto the type of people that
you need to hire with insideyour company, because that's
where the world's going and whathave you, or the company's,
growing towards.
(14:41):
And so I just kind of have this.
I kind of have this belief thatreally the Lord's kind of given
us the right intuition andcontinuing to bring the right
people to the table to continueto grow the company in the right
direction.
But we're also getting goodprojects.
I mean, the barn caves, youknow, is I mean I don't think
(15:04):
I've ever and of course I'mbiased, right, but I don't think
I've ever seen a projectbesides maybe some big sports
park or something or like theraider stadium.
You know, that was just soawesome to talk about and see
that has turned into just amovement in itself.
Yeah, you know, and even usgoing into more of the
manufacturing side, which I wantto talk to you about, um seems
(15:26):
to be, you know, a big movement,but again it kind of marries up
between affordability, speed ofdevelopment, less trades the
list goes on once we're able tocome up with the manufacturing
side of it.
But I don't.
I think that project, I thinkthat project is going to be a
game changer.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Well, I mean the entire steel building industry,
the interest, the interest we'vealready received from it, and
the.
I mean we don't have a productyet.
I mean we're going to have aproduct very soon, but we just
have a design and we have thrownthat out there and said, hey
people, what do you think ofthis?
The response on that is insane.
(16:04):
I mean, we're talking the otherday.
I mean, if everybody was abuyer who just says I want it
right now, we need four or fiveof these projects like right now
, that's, that's a game changerby itself and that's not
including people that are going.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Hey, ryan, where can I buy your floor plans?
Buy or, you know, buy these anddrop them off, whether it's a
lot, somewhere like this in thecountry yeah or if it's a guy
who wants to be you know that'sa builder that does this for a
living and wants to pop these upinto a high, dense, more
primary market.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And the challenge of that is daunting.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
It's huge.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
I mean you bring risk into the equation that you
don't have to normally thinkabout.
How do I send somebody aproduct that doesn't have a
background in erecting thatproduct and then give them some
directions to be able to erectit safely and ultimately end up
with what they want A wholenother level?
It's fascinating that we arealready as far as we are.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Well, to get deeper into it, I mean all the way down
to you know, my uncle is one ofthe owners and presidents of
Standard Pacific.
Left there, went to, you know,irvine Company, western National
built tons of apartments,33,000 doors, I believe Western
National built for him.
And then he went to HollandPartners, built as president for
construction for high rises,and then left there and now has
a construction defect legal, youknow, firm in essence, and so,
(17:23):
you know, bringing him in hegoes.
Ryan, the most important thingis being able to engineer these
buildings and design thesebuildings in a way when you
deliver them you're not going tohave defect issues for
litigation.
So by being able to come intoit, even from that level, I
don't think people quiteunderstand how much really goes
into this.
But that's, I mean it's a lotof energy.
I mean my entire business, youknow, has really kind of shifted
(17:45):
for me into that.
So it's like capital raising,legal compliance, so forth.
But my focus really is buildingthis product and it's we're so
pregnant, you know on on thedesign and what we've spent so
far and you know, going toengineering now and you know we
have a pretty good product butwe are looking at mass
(18:06):
production and all the way downto like, let's talk about
manufacturing and the issues ofmanufacturing as well.
You know we're looking atcertain policies depending on
who you know gets an office.
You know that's going to help,even with taxes for overtime and
bringing back manufacturing andthat.
So there's a a bolt on to thefirm that I, that a lot of
(18:27):
people don't know about.
But not only are we going to beable to bring down our costs.
We're thinking our costs aregoing to come down for the
building almost 50%, accordingto my conversations with Brian.
But the speed let's talk aboutspeed alone.
I mean, look, at the issues thatwe're dealing with the
materials right now, withparadigm storage or boathouse or
all the other projects you know, being able to have
manufacturing literally in ourbackyard and control that, we
(18:49):
literally are able to build awhole lot faster, pump these out
a lot faster and in fact my proforma is extremely conservative
, not considering the speed inwhich we could possibly build
these things.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Exactly.
And then the other side of thatis the quality standard.
I mean we'll be able to controlthat, and when you can control
quality, manufacturing speed anddelivery, you've got the
package.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
And when it comes to like, let's talk about like
engineering.
Who was it I was talking to theother day I think it was
Tiffany.
She was telling me that there'sonly like 7,000 superintendents
right now in the country.
Really, you know, there's notthat many and so there's a need.
Of course, we could talk aboutlabor all day that issue we can
talk about being in Havasu andwe're being kind of so far out
(19:38):
of the outskirts trying to findthe right laborers and trades.
You know, the list kind of goeson, but it does pollinate for
the most part onto every aspectof the construction business,
you know.
But being able to manufactureour own stuff is really going to
allow us to mitigate that allthe way down to the way we
manage our capital, like, forexample, switchgear.
You know, having Nick go outand front load and get a lot of
(20:01):
switchgear up front for a lot ofour buildings that are coming
up, you know, being able to, youknow, have the capital to do
that is also different than alot of other operators because
they're financing the majorityof this stuff and you, if you
don't, if you don't communicatewith your lender early on and
what you need to pay for upfrontdeposits for certain materials,
you're going to be behind oneverything.
(20:23):
And I'm watching it happen.
I manage a hundred milliondollar debt fund Now.
I'm watching these when theseborrowers get crippled by a
material bottlenecks.
Yeah, so I think just from justjust, and there's so many more
details, but it's really thosetype of things that we are
implementing, but you cannotimplement it until you've gone
(20:44):
through it and you've dealt withit Right.
So I think we're on the righttrack.
My opinion.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, just what we went through on a small scale
for materials, right?
Uh, material shortage,switchgear shortage.
What we've just gone through isnothing compared to what we're
getting ready to get into.
So controlling that, makingthat a um, a system that we not
only engineer, control thequality of it and then control
(21:11):
the production speed of it, willchange everything.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
I think builders you know you're starting to see you
know a lot of these builders andlarger, like Lennar's, kb,
pulte Homes, a lot of guys.
You'll see some of these guysretiring out as old school
supers and you're kind ofhearing those conversations and
I'm very fortunate to circlearound you know, be around those
types of circles and they'rethey're telling you it's just
getting harder and harder.
(21:34):
It's not easy.
It's not as easy as it was 10,15, 20 years ago.
Everything about the industryit's getting more regulated.
It's you know there's less ummanufacturing there's.
You know, with with the lowinterest rates and the spike in
development, it's been moreproblematic.
Timelines are blown.
List kind of goes on.
And I think you know you reallyclients, developers, subs,
(21:59):
everybody needs to be tied togroups that are very forward
thinking and extremelyinnovative but really knows
enough about the industry tohave a lot of good professionals
with track records that aresitting on the board or advisory
side that really kind of helpmitigate all that stuff.
And that's really what I'mseeing.
So you're seeing firms likemine.
(22:21):
You'll start looking at theirpitch decks or you'll start
looking at their companybrochures online.
What have you?
And you're seeing that they'rebringing in a larger board, a
larger advisory board, to helpwith all of this.
And if, if you, if people arenot watching that with inside
the firms, they're, they'remissing a very important
component of longevity,sustainability, consistency, and
(22:42):
it's those types of things thatI'm trying to teach people how
to navigate, which firms toinvest into, and those are the
things that you're seeing.
So you're going to start seeingme bring on a big CFO right,
you've met him.
You're seeing larger investors,larger architects, a lot larger
players kind of come to theforefront that we are going to
(23:06):
ask for their experience tonavigate.
Help us navigate.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
And that really plays in well with my experience,
because all the years I spentdealing with large architects,
larger engineering firms, evenlarger contractors.
It really starts getting towhere I'm most comfortable.
When you start very smallprojects, you have very little
room.
The space gets really small.
(23:32):
Minor changes cost huge amountsof money.
The bigger the projects, thegreater the presence of the
engineers and the groups thatare involved in it.
They just go smoother, it justgoes better.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
It's so true.
Yeah, I think, ultimately,we're on the right track.
I really wanted people to kindof see you know the dynamic of
mine in your relationship, andthat's really important because
you know, for example, whenyou're talking to a lot of
investors.
There's really a few questionsthat people ask.
One is you know how long hasyour executive team been
together?
How long have you beenestablished?
What's your track record inessence to who are your
(24:08):
department heads?
What's their track record?
What are the relationships anddynamics and what happens if you
die?
Yeah, who takes over?
Yeah, it's a good question.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
It's a big question.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
True, and, and so those are the things that I'm
trying to highlight and teachpeople that these are the things
that are very important.
What happens if I go through adivorce?
What's that mean?
Right, what you know, those arethe things that people aren't
really they don't pay attentionto, unless you have big
attorneys that are going tostart, you know, getting
involved.
These are the educationalpieces that I'm trying to
highlight through this podcastthat people need to really pay
(24:42):
attention to, because it's theculture one we just talked.
We were talking about this todaytoo.
You know, having a good culturewithin the company.
It's the dynamics and therelationships that are
established, because when timesget tough, you need people to
pull together, not separate andfight.
That is important, and so, byyou and I, continuing to have.
Look, construction doesn't goeasy.
I've been Telling Joe we needto do a reality TV show and just
(25:04):
follow you around, you know,and do video of just you,
because it's insane what happenson the construction site every
single day and we have a lot ofprojects, so it's not like it's
something smooth every day?
Speaker 2 (25:16):
No, it's not, and you don't know what's going to
happen every day.
I mean, what we had happenyesterday was again just
something you wouldn't expect,but at the same time, it's not
unusual, it's just you don'tknow when it's going to happen.
And of course it's when youleave, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
It's always when you leave You're supposed to come
out here and relax.
Yeah, didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
All the shit hits the fan and you're standing there
going, okay, well, we'resurrounded by some good people
there.
They're handling it yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
It's one of those things you kind of have to take
it on the chin.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
It's life.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
It never gets easier, life only gets harder kind of
thing, but you handle it.
But again it's that down lineof everybody handling their
position.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
You know, yeah, so let's talk about.
You know, if we decide tomigrate to Ozarks, if we go into
barn caves, do you think thatyou can handle it, or do you
think you need to bring on moreuh, let's just call it uh bodies
to oversee well, sure, I meantalking about superintendents
again.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
I mean, that's just the reality of projects, right?
Every project, you have to haveenough bodies on it to make
sure that everything's goingwell on a day-to-day basis.
From a management standpoint,it doesn't take that many bodies
.
You need the superintendent.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
We got a good back office and then you know my
experience from a managementstandpoint a lot of capacity.
So, yes, it's going to take afew more bodies, but it's not
going to take hundreds of people.
Yeah, you know we'll be able tohandle it.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
You know we were just talking about earlier too.
You know, the our firm is ran.
We have a lot more attorney.
So like, for example, we paymore money a year in legal fees
than I do salaries, and it'ssimply because we have, I don't
know, four SEC attorneys.
I have, you know, markham,which is also a tax.
You know a law firm that's, youknow, deals with hedge funds,
(26:58):
pension funds, public companies,what have you.
They're big.
Go to New York, you know we gotMGO, cpa, we got all of these
law firms that are overseeingall of our stuff, which is
really truly the smartest way togo.
But even from day-to-daymanagement, we would typically
be three times the size that weare Completely.
And that's not even consideredthe construction side, that's
(27:22):
just back office on the privateequity side.
So we all have a lot of hats.
But what's nice is throughsystems, and this is that
forward-facing, forward-thinkingthrough systems and practices
and procedures is where we canactually start mitigating how
many people and bodies have toreally come on keeping our
overhead low, having thelongevity, all that stuff
(27:43):
matters.
Keeping our overhead low, havingthe longevity, all that stuff
matters.
So when people are reallymanaging or looking at investing
into firms or projects, all ofthose things really do matter.
Right, how long has that personbeen with you?
Like, for example, obviouslyone of the reasons why people
love the barn caves is because Ihave Paradigm Storage right
next door.
Right, they're like you guysdefinitely know what you're
doing.
You're on the street buildingsomething equivalent.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Right.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
So it?
Building something equivalent,right, yeah, so it.
Yes, the gym barn caves, yeah,it's all right there.
Yeah, and, by the way, let'stalk about the gym.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (28:10):
for that, because that thing is great.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
When can we actually start moving dirt?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
uh, I know we could, I'm still thinking january I
think that's going to be ourbest time waiting for some
overlays, waiting for somefinals, um, from a flood zone
standpoint, but yeah, when I'mgoing to call Jamie.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, I think Jamie, jamie, where are we at?
Yeah, jamie will give us aheads up.
Yeah, give us what we need.
We're right there.
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
That'll move much more quickly than I think some
of the other projects will,because, again, it's a tight
project.
It's right there.
We understand the verticalaspect of it really well.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It'll go quick you know, not only that, you know we
got, you know you got.
I mean shoot, dude, we're.
We're in engineering now withthat building and it's really a
box.
Yeah, no, it's nothing specialyeah, it's nothing special.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
From the standpoint of the structure itself, it's
basic in the building thebuilding.
Yeah, the structure is prettybasic.
It's got a lot of moving parts,yeah, and the more technical it
becomes from an electrical andplumbing standpoint, those are
big moving parts.
The rest of it not too bad.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Yeah, it's not bad, not too bad, but it just looks
cool.
It's going to look great Nowit's about operating it right.
Yeah, and that's what we'reexcited about too.
To be honest with you, we havesome really cool.
We have a really cool product.
The demand is high.
We're watching people'sspinning habits.
Healthcare is a big deal, youknow.
Health and wellness continuesto be a big part of it.
(29:32):
If you're looking at the dataRight, you know just a lot of
people need like you and I bothwe're talking about eating right
besides our cigars, yeah, hey,that's our advice.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Whatever, Every once in a while you got to have.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
that's our advice whatever, but you gotta have a
little bit right.
I don't have cigars that often,by the way.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
It's usually when I come out here yeah, but I don't
drink and do any of this veryoften.
But you know if you good ninepercent of time ten percent of
the time you can do something.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Yeah, you know you need a little break, but yeah,
so with the gym, you know, Ithink I think ultimately, people
are just really want to seethat out in that area.
I think it's time the the areahas.
It's a little tired with theexisting projects that are there
as far as gyms.
Um, the biggest gym you have intown is planet fitness, you
know, which is a little dull tobe honest with you.
Um, you know, hey, no, notknocking on any gym, but I think
(30:18):
that that area calls for moreof a private setup.
You know, that big publicmovement gym is just not really
the culture for the area.
It does well.
It's got 12,000 members.
It's generating money.
I mean, I'm looking at thatdata, but I think you're going
to see, when this gym pops up,people are going to want to be
there more.
So, having an area where peoplecan go and kind of lounge out
(30:39):
and pop up their laptops work.
A lot of people travel there,right, so come in for the
weekends, what have you?
They can go.
If it's too hot, they want tobe on the water and then go to
the gym and pop up their laptop.
I do Every time I'm traveling.
I'm going finding an LA fitnessor a lifetime fitness.
I go work out, I stay there, Itake a shower, I take all my
stuff and I kind of get readyfor the day no-transcript, and
(31:33):
I'm at that point in my lifewhere I kind of need to just
feel good and stretch my back,and you know so.
But that's that area, you know,it's retirement community,
people want nice stuff, and so Ithink, ultimately, we're going
to have amazing equipment thatkind of caters to every walks of
life, no matter kind of whereyou are.
You know, and that's really theidea is to build something
that's that's extremely diversebut dynamic and and something
(31:56):
that nobody has ever seen in thecountry, cause you know me, I
always want to go big on thatguy, but at the end of the day,
man, I think we're the righttrack and ultimately, I'd like
to build 10 more of these overthe next five or six years.
I think the run is ultimately35 locations.
That's what we have in ourbuilt-out pro formas, our big
plan, and people ask can you gopublic?
(32:18):
Because really, people look at,when you look at, like Lenar,
kb, public companies, that whatthey did and we're we're really
just implementing, um, the samepractices.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
They did, yeah, they did, but just in today's market
yeah, you know so, and maybethat's a possibility in the
future, but right now,concentrate on what we have for
us and get what we can done andmanufacturing too, and get it
done well yeah, so I think we'reon the right track, man.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
So, by the way, if there's anything else you want
to add to our audience, pleaseshare.
But other than that, man, Ilove that you're here.
We're sitting here with thoserunning river and it's awesome,
just so peaceful out here.
I love it.
It was hard for me to get youto want to do this, because you
were so relaxed, yeah, and thenit took 30 minutes for joe to
put it together it takes.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
That's why my cigar takes a minute for me to calm
down.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Yeah, for sure it does it takes every time I come
out here.
It takes me at least two daysto finally go.
Okay, now it's time to relax.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Next time I come for longer Two days, go back to work
.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Yeah exactly Two days is your weekend.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
I can't sit around for very long, no for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, thanks for having me, buddy, and you're
always welcome, and I'm going toplan on having you out here at
least once every month or everyother month.
I'd love it.
Yeah, we got to do it, so let'sdo it All right.
Well, thank you guys.
I appreciate the audience thatcontinues to watch and support
us.
If you guys have any questions,you know how to reach out to us
social media YouTube, instagram, website.
What have you?
And we're on to the next.
Thanks guys.
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