The Power Of Clarity After Crisis
The Power Of Clarity After Crisis
How can business owners overcome self-doubt to achieve their highest potential?
I'm motivated by the desire to discover what I'm truly capable of. It's a personal challenge to see my own potential. The only one who says I can't achieve something significant, like reaching a hundred million, is myself—those voices in my head. So, why not push myself? Who else can say I can’t do it? It's only ridiculous to let these doubts stop me.
What mindset shifts are needed to bounce back from personal or financial setbacks?
What really started to drive me was when I got cancer. I had testicular cancer, and it completely rocked my world. Some people go through chemo and just move on, but for me, it was life-changing. I was diagnosed at the end of 2009. I lost everything—I couldn't work, and I was staring at death’s door.
The doctors told me chemo wasn’t going to work. I didn’t want to do radiation either because the cancer was right in my private area, and I didn’t want to make things worse down there. I felt completely lost.
But ultimately, some really good things came out of it. For instance, I met my wife while I was full of cancer—crazy story. But the biggest thing the cancer gave me was a sense of urgency. Facing death made me realize that if I wanted to do something with my life, I had to do it now.
Once I started to get better, I got my act together around January 2013. I was in deep financial trouble—negative a couple hundred thousand dollars—but I went all in. That first year, I did just under a million dollars. The next year, I tripled it to $3 million. From there, I just kept hammering down.
Now, we’re on track to do $75 million this year. It’s been a crazy, fun journey, but I think a lot of people get too comfortable. They don’t realize the urgency of it all. We’re not here very long. You blink, and five, ten, or twenty years have gone by, and you wonder, ‘What did I really accomplish?’
What financial challenges come with rapid business growth?
I definitely ran into some brick walls by being as aggressive as I was. I was doubling the business almost every single year, saying ‘yes’ to bigger and bigger projects and contracts. What I didn’t realize at the time was how much money it actually takes to grow a business. People don’t often quantify how much cash you need to scale.
At the size I was growing, I was out millions of dollars—between payroll, contracts, staff, and everything else that comes with it. There was one year where everything hit at once. Permits got delayed, projects shifted, and suddenly, I had $10 million worth of projects, all starting in the same month.
It hurt—bad. I was robbing Peter to pay Paul. I started delaying payments to vendors so I could cover payroll for my labor force. I was upfront with my vendors, telling them, ‘Hey, I’ll get you a little bit here and a little bit there,’ because I knew if I missed payroll, I’d be screwed. You can’t mess that up.
No matter what, payroll was always number one. I negotiated, worked things out, made payments—whatever I had to do to keep things moving. But there were so many times I had no idea how I was going to make payroll. It would come down to the night before, and I’d finally figure it out.
That went on for a good six months, and during that time, I was completely burned out. Some might say it was dumb to put myself in that position, but it taught me an incredibly valuable lesson: how to manage finances, how to line up jobs properly, and how much money it actually takes to grow a business.
So yeah, it was a mistake, but it was also one of the best lessons I’ve ever learned.
How does vulnerability with clients help build trust and long-term relationships?
From the very beginning, I’ve lived in this vein of authenticity. My wife couldn’t believe how open I was, but that’s just who I am.
For example, I had a client where a $27 million concrete portion was just one piece of his project. You have to understand—this guy deals in hundreds of millions. So, here I am, working on the biggest contract I’ve ever done, and I’m being completely vulnerable with him. Most people would think, ‘Wait, what? You’re being vulnerable?’ But I’m telling you—the guy loves me because of it.
Vulnerability builds trust. When you’re real with someone—when you share what’s going on, what’s on your mind, and how you’re feeling—it creates trust. Instead of walking in pretending like everything’s perfect, puffing your chest up, and playing the part, you’re being honest. People can see through the act anyway. When you’ve dealt with enough people, you can tell who’s full of it and who’s not.
That vulnerability creates relationships. And at the core of it all, I think this applies across any industry: you need integrity. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Make every effort to follow through, even when it’s tough—because it will be.
Sometimes things happen that are out of your control. But if your clients see that you’re giving it everything you’ve got and you’re communicating openly with them, they’ll respect you.
Honor your word. Follow up. Own your mistakes and make the effort to fix them. Be prepared to work your ass off to do what you promised.
Why should business owners hire coaches?
One of my biggest steps was hiring a coach to help me prioritize myself. In my opinion, a business directly reflects its owner, and the way owners represent themselves significantly influences how the business performs.
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
