Chasing Dollars, Costly Lessons, and Bouncing Back
Chasing Dollars, Costly Lessons, and Bouncing Back
What is the key to achieving success?
It's not really about motivation or a goal; it's about showing up every day and giving it everything I've got. I don't know any other way.
The journey to get to this point has been incredible. Now, with a bit of recognition and a stronger brand, I feel like I'm finally in a position to make a real impact, and I'm ready to take my shots.
My dad and his dad were both in construction, running their own businesses. From them, I learned the grind—waking up every day, putting on your boots, and going to work. But for me, it wasn’t just about following their path. I wanted to do it my way, on a larger scale.
How can business owners prepare for an economic downturn?
Be humble because challenges can come unexpectedly, and you won't always know when or how they'll hit. My advice is to lean up. We were positioned for explosive growth in 2023, but I’m already seeing signs of an economic downturn. Inflation is affecting commodity prices—wood, steel, copper, concrete—all of which I deal with as a general contractor. Everything comes with a fuel surcharge too.
As a result, projects we bid on last summer are getting delayed, pushed back, or canceled. Luckily, I have enough backlog to meet my 2022 numbers right away. However, I’m not seeing the growth I expected going into 2023, so I need to be careful. I've identified some great potential hires, but I’m pausing on those investments. I don't want to be in a position where I have to let them go in two to three months.
For business owners who haven’t been through economic cycles before, tighten up your operations. Hold off on heavy investments in equipment or large purchases. Conserve cash and be ready to weather the storm.
How can business owners adjust their company’s structure to support their strategic goals better?
Alignment is key. I’ve structured and built my company without a large self-performance team. We have a few guys on staff who do some hands-on work, like carpentry, but they’re mainly there to make life easier for my superintendents. My role as a leader is to provide the resources and tools for my team to succeed. At the same time, I never lose sight of the fact that we’re not a carpentry or drywall firm—we’re a general contractor.
Early on, I made the mistake of trying to do too much. We expanded to 19 staff members, but I realized that wasn’t the company I set out to build. I had to throttle back, rebuild, and refocus. Now, every decision I make is about alignment with the strategic vision of the company.
A key metric I focus on is margin. We’ve structured the company to stay lean and compete with bigger firms, and as a result, we’re able to earn greater margins on the projects we pursue. Higher margins give us flexibility when mistakes or miscalculations happen, allowing us to cover losses and maintain profitability.
What are common mistakes beginner entrepreneurs make?
I've made dozens of bad decisions and will probably make more. Here are three big ones.
First, we started out undercapitalized. I did everything by the book—I had a proper business plan, proforma, and budget. I knew exactly how much capital I needed, but I launched with less than 50% of that amount. This immediately put us in trouble. When you're undercapitalized, you can't invest in people or systems, and you end up in survival mode, making everything harder.
Second, I lacked discipline in sticking to our business plan. We had identified the market segments we wanted to target, but I ended up chasing every job that came our way, driven by the dollar. This was a painful and expensive lesson—some jobs lost us tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s hard not to beat myself up over it, but I also recognize that these costly mistakes helped get me to where I am today.
Finally, I didn't understand how to be a proper boss or what truly motivated people. I thought money alone was enough, but I learned that not everyone is driven by the same incentives. I didn’t focus enough on the right kind of people and their needs. Now, I put more care into hiring and supporting my team, which has made a huge difference.
How can continuous learning help entrepreneurs refocus and sharpen their skills?
I applied to the Goldman Sachs small business program, albeit reluctantly. I had a business undergrad, an MBA, and nearly 20 years of experience working for top builders and developers. I had managed hundred-million-dollar projects. But when I started my company, I was struggling. Then, I got a call from a woman in charge of community relations for a major developer involved in a multi-billion-dollar project in Baltimore. She encouraged me to apply for the program.
At the time, the last thing I thought I needed was more classroom time. But I was wrong. The program gave me the headspace to think strategically again. It helped me assess where I went off track and how I could refocus. Before, I was stuck in survival mode, putting out fires every day, and not thinking long-term. The program allowed me to step back, identify our sustainable competitive advantages, and focus on the market segments where we excelled. It also showed me what to cut—things that weren't profitable.
Another key takeaway was the shift in perspective. At the beginning of the program, if you had surveyed the 30 entrepreneurs in the room, we'd all have said our biggest issues were cash flow and access to capital, with staffing issues coming in third. By the end, we all realized it was about people—good people. If you have a strong team, your other problems shrink. But if you have weak team members, those problems multiply and become unpredictable. Investing in good people gives you the freedom to work on your business instead of just in it.
Why should entrepreneurs join a supportive peer group?
There's no real substitute for it, honestly. It’s lonely at the top. In your day-to-day work, you don’t have a peer group you can truly talk to. We all have to juggle multiple roles—being good fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons—alongside running a business. Being able to talk to people who understand the unique stress and burden that comes with being a business owner is invaluable. There's no replacement for that.
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
