419 | Avoid Money Mistakes in Construction And Save Client Relationships | Chandler Souther

Jan 3

[00:00:32] Chaz Wolfe: What's up everybody. I'm Chaz Wolf gathering the King's podcast. Coming back to you here today with another King on the stage Chandler Souther, my brother, how we doing?
[00:00:42] Chaz Wolfe: Good evening.
[00:00:43] Chaz Wolfe: I'm doing wonderful. Here we are. We're cranking through some awesome businesses here to talk about yours specifically though. Tell us what you do.
[00:00:50] Chandler Souther: So we're a custom home builder,~ uh,~ in the Fort Collins, Northern Colorado area. ~Um, ~ all of our projects have,~ uh,~ some element of, you know, either a client that's passionate about design. But that sort of allows us to do, you know, some complex projects, lots of details. ~Um, ~you know, we do big stuff, little stuff, everything in between.
[00:01:12] Chandler Souther: We don't have any. Sort of minimums. ~Um, ~there's no ego in it for us. ~Um, ~but we really have a white glove approach to building. ~Um, ~we're not the guys in flannels,~ uh,~ barking at people. ~Um, ~so really focusing on the customer experience.
[00:01:27] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. I love that. I love how you actually, without with actually in the same sentence of saying that you're not niched, that you're absolutely niched, and it's that fact that you love that creative designs focused, architectural, even focused white glove. Like, Hey, I want to make something cool, creative, and unique, it sounds like more than anything, right?
[00:01:48] Chandler Souther: Absolutely. Yeah. ~Um, ~you know, I think we are, we're building prototypes one after another. ~Um. ~And that, you know, creates its challenges, but also,~ uh,~ you know, I'm never bored. We're always figuring out something else to build. So,
[00:02:02] Chaz Wolfe: You know, it's interesting because in the,~ uh,~ remodeling and construction, new homes, like Just that general category of construction. I think a lot of people shy away from the clients that you work with. ~Um, ~and in essence, they're difficult. Let's just be honest. Like they like, it's highly detailed. Like you said, it's something brand new.
[00:02:20] Chaz Wolfe: It's creative. They're, they're asking you to create something out of nothing, but they can see it in their mind so perfectly. And it needs to be, and most companies that I know of just try to go, you know what, that sounds like a difficult client, but you've embraced that. Tell me why.
[00:02:35] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~maybe I'm a necessity. I don't know. Um, uh, yeah, for some reason,~ um,~ you know, a lot of folks talk about. really difficult. That's almost a sub niche of what we do. ~Um, ~so I think, you know, we've created a process for this big hairy monster that sort of makes it achievable for folks,~ um,~ you know, by sequentially going through it a specific way so that, you know, we're controlling as many variables as we can, cause there's.
[00:03:04] Chandler Souther: There's tons out there and if you control what you can control,~ um,~ you know, then when the curve balls get thrown at you, it's not that big of a deal. If you sort of wing it and a lot of guys wing it in the residential construction arena, that's when you hear at a dinner party that we just got done building a house and it was a nightmare and I wanted to get divorced, you know, so we're, we're trying to provide the opposite to our clients.
[00:03:29] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~so.
[00:03:30] Chaz Wolfe: You're building unique, beautiful structures and keeping people married.
[00:03:34] Chandler Souther: Yes, and you know, we're, we're, we're hoping to have it be fun. I mean, I have had. I have had a divorce during a project. ~Um, ~it was one of the more awkward,
[00:03:45] Chaz Wolfe: I
[00:03:45] Chandler Souther: it was, it was an affair. So nothing I did. ~Um,~
[00:03:48] Chaz Wolfe: No detail that, that you missed
[00:03:50] Chandler Souther: yeah, we were at the dining room table talking about where to put toilet paper holders. Then,~ uh,~ the tennis instructor got brought up and things got hectic
[00:03:59] Chandler Souther: and I, I melted and found myself out of there as fast as I could.
[00:04:03] Chaz Wolfe: Whoa. Whoa. You know, the stories of, you know, going into people's homes,~ um,~ again, whether it's for construction purposes, I have a remodeling company or it's, you know, ~um, ~I used to have, I used to live next to a firefighter and the stories that he would tell me, wait, when you go into people's space, It's
[00:04:20] Chandler Souther: Yeah. Yeah. We, we get to know our clients better than. I mean, I could tell story upon story, but,~ um,~ that's, that's one of the more fulfilling sides of it. I mean, I think you really have to have a person, you know, a people personality to be in this business. ~Um, ~But, you know, we get to know clients way, way better than you could ever imagine, you know, in the residential side.
[00:04:44] Chandler Souther: Commercial is a little bit more black and white, finite, making money. Residential is much more emotional. ~Um, ~and, you know, some part of this job is reading people and... Boy, they're in a bad mood. Maybe we don't want to talk about this today. You know, ~um, ~and that's,~ uh,~ that's been a thing that I've focused on with all of our employees is, you know, really,~ um,~ understanding where the client is that day.
[00:05:08] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~you know, one of the, one of the worst clients I had was a day trader. ~Um, ~And it was one day, happy, happy, happy next day, off, got to save money. You know, it was like, what am I walking into? Be one way or the other, please. You know, so, ~um,~
[00:05:22] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. They weren't sure how, I mean, one day they were paying off the house before it was even built. And the next day they didn't know how they were going to pay you.
[00:05:30] Chandler Souther: yeah, I built the house for him and he sold it a few months later and made a huge profit. So I ended up on the, on the good side of the column with him, but yeah,
[00:05:40] Chaz Wolfe: it's interesting that you kind of bring up,~ um,~ you know, like the more maybe posture purpose driven,~ um,~ Ness of your business. It's always, my first question is, is what's the, why, and I think you've given it to us as far as like, you know, you'd be able to work with people. You get to know your clients, talk about why that's important to you individually.
[00:05:56] Chaz Wolfe: Like what's, what's. Been your story of why that's important to you and why not just go be more black and white in the commercial space. You've, you've stayed here. You've, you've, you've actually carved out your own niche around working with highly creative and unique structures. There's a whole lot of emotion that goes into that and there's a bunch of purpose.
[00:06:15] Chaz Wolfe: What, what is that for you personally?
[00:06:17] Chandler Souther: sure. ~Um, ~you know, I think,~ uh,~ I have a passion for design. ~Um, ~You know that not a whole lot of builders have that passion for design. I am, you know, I've designed a few homes that I've built and I quickly realized I was not,~ um,~ good at that as, you know, people that are trained at doing that, but I, I really enjoy the creativity and,~ um,~ you know, the varying types of things that we get to do.
[00:06:42] Chandler Souther: And through that process, I get to, you know, come up with a few little ideas. I might not be the driver of what we're doing, but I have, you know, the ability to To make it a little bit better or, you know, throw an idea out there. ~Um, ~but I think what's kept me in it so long is, you know, really the, the thing that sounds a little bit counterintuitive,~ um,~ you know, we're, we're building fun stuff and, and you have to have the construction side dialed in,~ um,~ that in itself, you know, the building is just getting harder with all the.
[00:07:15] Chandler Souther: You know, detailed specific items, technology, et cetera, et cetera. But,~ um,~ you know, it's the clients,~ um,~ I'm in the fortunate position to meet really dynamic folks,~ um,~ that I would never have the opportunity to meet, you know, ~um, ~and, you know, when we handle our business professionally, you know, they're usually.
[00:07:36] Chandler Souther: successful folks, right? ~Um, ~and they tend to appreciate folks that have their poop in a group. ~Um, ~you know, and, and know how to do their business through that. You know, I've, I've made a lot of great relationships with amazing people that I would never be friends with. And a lot of them turn into, you know, friends long term.
[00:07:58] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~and that's, that's really fun. ~Um, ~beyond that, you know, ~um, ~having employees ~Uh, ~you know, I think that's a huge benefit for anybody that's an employer, you know, ~um, ~providing for them and their families and giving them the opportunity to work with great people as well and giving them the resources that they need.
[00:08:16] Chandler Souther: And, and, you know, we're a small,~ uh,~ you know, in the grand scheme of things, a small company and we have a family vibe and we sit around and chat and. Have fun and tell jokes. ~Um, ~and that really makes,~ uh,~ you know, you, you work so much. At least I do. ~Um, ~may as well do that with people you enjoy.
[00:08:34] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting about the employee perspective because the first sentence that you said there was, it's a really great benefit for employers to have employees. And then you pause and I'm like, Oh man, like I know where you were going. Cause I'm an employee and I, we have the same heart here, but some people hear that and they're like, Oh my gosh.
[00:08:52] Chaz Wolfe: I, I knew, I knew it was a greedy guy, you know, but then you followed it with the absolute heart of what it actually means to be an employer. It has nothing to do with, you know, the benefit, like the actual benefit to us. Yes. There's benefit. That's why we're that. I mean, that's just the practicality of building a home or a business.
[00:09:07] Chaz Wolfe: Like there's leverage points. What you brought out was no, I get to provide for them, for their family, I get to give them opportunity. We get to be a family. All of those things can feel cliche if they're not like landed in the right way. So I just want to appreciate you for landing that in the, just the absolute right way.
[00:09:24] Chaz Wolfe: I hope that your employees get to hear this, but for the guys that are listening right now that have businesses, like that's, that's, that's the juice when it comes to having a team. It's, it's the reality as Kings that we kind of put the leverage or the weight of that on our shoulders. And we're like, Hey, you know what?
[00:09:40] Chaz Wolfe: I got 25 families to feed. Like they're counting on me now. Of course, we're working together on doing this thing, but it's right here and it's kind of heavy, but it's kind of like we like it. You know what I mean?
[00:09:50] Chandler Souther: Absolutely. Yeah. Wouldn't have it any other way.
[00:09:52] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. Yeah. There's, there's,~ uh,~ there's fulfillment in that for us to be able to carry that weight.
[00:09:57] Chaz Wolfe: ~Um, ~you know, even though sometimes it gets a little heavy,
[00:09:59] Chandler Souther: Comes with burden, you know,
[00:10:01] Chaz Wolfe: that's right. That's right. Okay. Well, so let's, let's talk about,~ uh,~ practicality in the business. You've been doing it for a long time. So like, just go back for a little while. Tell me what you did before this business. And then we'll talk about kind of like the early years for a second.
[00:10:12] Chandler Souther: ~um, uh, ~with,~ uh,~ actually a college professor. ~Um, ~he bought a business and brought me in to run it. ~Um, ~did that for a little while. It wasn't quite my passion.
[00:10:22] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~And then,~ uh,~ got into commercial real estate. ~Uh, ~that was very intriguing,~ um,~ was being mentored there,~ uh,~ by a gentleman,~ um,~ that was going on a,~ uh,~ trip for a bicycle race and took a small private plane and unfortunately that plane crashed,~ um,~ So the mentor sort of went away and I was, you know, commercial real estate's a little bit of a big boy, rich club.
[00:10:47] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~and I was, you know, 22 at the time. So, ~uh, ~you know, through that process I had,~ uh,~ you know, sold a few lots to some,~ um,~
[00:10:55] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah.
[00:10:59] Chandler Souther: in, you know, it, it looked like a, a fun way to easy, fun way to make some money. ~Um, ~and. ~Uh, ~boy, how was I wrong? ~Um, ~but,~ uh,~ you know, from there,~ uh,~ you know, I, I was landscaping during the day, stocking shells at Home Depot during the night,~ uh,~ you know, and that was back in the Wild West financing days and I didn't know anything about anything and decided to spec a house and, and, you know, figure out how to build, build houses and, you know, basically everything that I've.
[00:11:30] Chandler Souther: Learned has been a scar of doing it the wrong way, but now I'm very particular about how we do it. So I don't screw it up. And every screw up has like an address and an example that I truly remember. And those, those stick to the best with you, I think versus somebody telling you how to do something. So,
[00:11:48] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I had a guy on my podcast,~ um,~ maybe a year, a little, maybe a little year ago, over a year, excuse me. And he's in the commercial,~ um, uh, ~construction space, but he gave a similar example where,~ uh,~ he came to my house,~ uh,~ for one of my events and I get to get some, some time with him. And he gave an example of how he, You know, ~uh, ~he remembered a situation where he spoke out a turn, made a mistake and it was just burned into his mind.
[00:12:10] Chaz Wolfe: Right. And so that then has fueled all of the, like, you know, reflection after projects and making sure we get details, everything that you just said. And so my question to you in that is What is it that you can leave the person here because you've got them burned in your memory As far as like you said, that's an address like oops, like you learned that particular lesson I know you're not gonna be able to give us every single lesson, but what's the broader principle that you've been able to take away from burning those mistakes in your mind that you can leave with the listener right now..
[00:12:40] Chaz Wolfe: Yep.
[00:12:54] Chandler Souther: is. You know, if we, if we follow the same process in the same system every time,~ um,~ and something doesn't go to plan, then I sort of have a few, you know, key things to look at.
[00:13:08] Chandler Souther: And that is. Okay, did we add a new variable to that process, right? Did we, did we waiver from that and we need to not do that in the future? And if there isn't a new variable that threw things out of whack, then, you know, I'm looking at people. And was there, you know, someone that didn't perform, or,~ um,~ you know, was it not done in the right way?
[00:13:31] Chandler Souther: And... And if it's not either of those, I mean, those are, those are pretty simple things to, to dig into, you know, then occasionally there's just some stuff that happens that ~Um, ~you know, no fault of anybody's is a shitty situation. It just happened. So, ~um, ~you know, that almost puts you at ease versus putting blame on people.
[00:13:51] Chandler Souther: Um, uh, you know, you have a sort of a systematic approach to look at the way you're pulling things together.
[00:13:59] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. It's a, it's a data approach and I appreciate that. I think for the, for the guy listening right now or the gal who is, you know, like winging it, like you mentioned maybe five or 10 minutes ago and there is no system, right? And so you're talking to the value of once you have a system, then you can go back afterwards and go what variable, whether it was systematic or person related.
[00:14:21] Chaz Wolfe: And I just want to point out for the listener. You're talking systems as if like you build the same house the same way every single time and we already know that not to Be true. In fact, it's not just not true It's like the so far of the opposite you've got every single project is basically it's brand new thing and it's not even just a brand New project.
[00:14:39] Chaz Wolfe: It's a brand new very creative very detailed something out of the box beautiful project And it's like starting the system all over again, but somehow in there you've still created a system. Tell us more
[00:14:51] Chandler Souther: Yeah, there,~ um,~ you know, I think the fundamentals can apply to, to anything. So, um, you know, last year we built,~ uh,~ you know, we built a bridge for a project. Didn't know the first thing about a bridge, right? ~Um, ~same time we, we built a pole vault gym in a house. ~Um, ~likewise there, I know a lot about bridges and a lot about pole vault gyms.
[00:15:12] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~you know, I think one of the things that's been,~ um,~ you know, very beneficial through the years, and I look for it and, and people that we have on our team here is, is a curious mind. ~Um, ~and I think there's a lot of wealth in a curious mind. And, you know, if, if you ask questions and figure out how things work and, and.
[00:15:33] Chandler Souther: You know, and draw from the people that are, are knowledgeable about this, you know, for the pole vault gym, it was, I leaned on the client to be quite honest,~ um,~ for the bridge, I talked to engineers, manufacturers, you know, did research, read some things,~ um,~ but, you know, I'm, I'm of the thinking that if,~ um,~ you know, somebody is doing it, you can do it, it's just figuring out, you know, and, and quite frankly, some of the,~ um,~ some of the success to that is,~ Um,~ you know, what's going to screw me here asking yourself that question, you know, is really important.
[00:16:09] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~and, and thinking about the, the steps and what needs to happen,~ um,~ you know, really is helpful. So,
[00:16:16] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, Chandler has given you guys, I'm talking to the listener now,~ uh,~ just really, really great,~ um,~ tactical information to be able to sit down and look at a situation to be able to make decisions. And so here we have this highly detailed. Highly successful entrepreneur, specifically in the construction space, who just gave us two examples of things that he did for the very first time.
[00:16:36] Chaz Wolfe: After he had already sold the project. So you might look at that as like, Oh, that that's something that a calculated detail oriented systems process person wouldn't do because it seems a little off the cuff or a little out of the, you know, out of the, out of the spectrum. But Chandler did such an amazing job here of connecting the dots of, I don't know how to do this.
[00:16:57] Chaz Wolfe: Specific thing, but since I know principles, the principles of research and knowledge and relationships and gathering it all together so that it can be a successful project, that's what led you to have those things work. You didn't just wing it
[00:17:13] Chandler Souther: sure,
[00:17:13] Chaz Wolfe: at all, even though at the beginning it was like, okay, I have not experienced this yet before.
[00:17:19] Chandler Souther: you know, I think,~ um,~ I think personally having humility and telling folks that you haven't done it. better than, you know, oh yeah, I can do it. You know, Hey, I know I've never built a bridge. I'm confident me and my team can figure out how to build a bridge. ~Um, ~you know, and, and a lot of it's my team. It's, it's not just me, you know, I employ amazing folks that are super intelligent and smart.
[00:17:44] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~and you know, I couldn't do it by myself. ~Um, ~but having, and I, and I think that resonates with folks when you look them in the eye and say, Hey, you know, I. I don't know the answer to that, but I'll look into it and I'll let you know what I found out. You know, ~um, ~I think that, you know, when you, when you share that, I think it builds more confidence than trying to convince them otherwise.
[00:18:06] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, yeah, I think that you're right. And going back to the example that I just gave a few minutes ago of the,~ uh,~ very large commercial construction guy that was on the show as well. In that example, that very example that I mentioned, he said, if I had just said, Hey, Don't know how to do that. Either. Would you share with your me, your expertise, or would you give me a little bit of time to gather some details and come back to you that that would have solved the entire problem.
[00:18:33] Chaz Wolfe: So it's interesting that,~ uh,~ how he ends his story generally about that is the same way that you did just now of,~ uh,~ of really just one of curiosity and humility, if we can wrap up the whole thing. Right.
[00:18:43] Chandler Souther: Absolutely.
[00:18:44] Chandler Souther: All right. Well, let me be curious on you because since you've given me permission now,~ um,~ what was, what was a bad decision that you've made?
[00:18:50] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~you've kind of given us a couple of good ones. I might try to dig on that a little bit, but as far as a bad decision, just something that just didn't work out at all. And you can save us some time and effort and energy, maybe some money. Yeah, like
[00:19:04] Chandler Souther: it's not really a, a decision, but maybe a culmination of. So early in my career,~ um,~ you know, I think I was maybe 26 at the time. ~Um, ~a few years in business, you know, real estate was booming. I didn't know any better. ~Um, ~you know, I, I, I bought seven lots and built a spec that was a show home,~ um,~ had another spec house,~ um,~ on the books and at that time,~ uh,~ it's when the financial crash happened.
[00:19:34] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~and you know, the. My bank went out of business. ~Um, ~when they did that FDIC came in, we had a couple of loans with them. They seized all of our accounts, took all the money and paid down principal on the loan. ~Um, ~you know, and I think that was Probably the overarching thing there is, you know, when you're, when you're new in business, it's, it's a double edged sword because you don't know what you don't know.
[00:19:59] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~and that can, you know, some part of that has to be there or else you frankly wouldn't go into business, you know, ~um, ~you know, if you really know how bad it is, would you, would you do it? ~Um, ~You know, but,~ uh,~ you know, that was a good example of, you know, jumping in a little bit too confident and thinking that, you know, things won't change and, and everything's going to keep going on.
[00:20:23] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~you know, that's a, that's an outlier. That's not an everyday event, but you know, that could be around the corner coming up, you know, and that's made me much more prudent. ~Um, ~moving forward,~ um,~ you know, there's, there's different trains of opinion, but you know, when that, when all that happened, you know, I, I, for the next eight years, I took every project that I could,~ um,~ you know, I, I sold the house on Craigslist by offering to build it at cost, you know, I, I remember being up against it and needing to sell a lot and,~ uh,~ you know, I, the, the gentleman was, Negotiating with me and said, Hey, this other builder said they'll buy my current home.
[00:21:05] Chandler Souther: Well, frankly, I didn't have the money to buy this guy's home, but it gave me, you know, eight months to build his house. And at the end of it, I had about three weeks left and heaven forbid somebody came out and said, Hey, yeah, you know, I, I like this house, but you need to put a basement in it and I put a basement in it and finish the basement for, for free.
[00:21:28] Chandler Souther: For eight years, I did nothing but dig myself out of that hole. ~Um, ~and I think that's probably one of the things that I'm most proud of that no one could take away from me. You know, I, I watched other guys go bankrupt and they're further along now, but I think there's something to be said about, you know, who you are as a person and whether you.
[00:21:48] Chandler Souther: You know, do right by people and meet your commitments. you said earlier, you do what you said that you're going to do, that's a huge value piece that a lot of people, you know, it's lip service,~ uh,~ but when the rubber of its road,~ um,~ you used the word prudent around the future. I want to circle back to that here in a second, but I don't want to move too fast because like you just said, you dug yourself out of a ginormous hole and for eight years that was not a.
[00:23:00] Chaz Wolfe: You know, I'm just going to put my head down and, you know, really overcome this little, this little blip, this little, this little speed bump that's gotten me kind of off kilter kilter here. This was like a major life decision for you to see all the way through to the end. I mean, we talk about,~ uh,~ some of the principles and thinking we're rich often on the show.
[00:23:18] Chaz Wolfe: It's one of my favorite books and persistence is a whole chapter in that book. And everything that you just said to me is like persistence. Like you just did it. Over and over and over until it was different. Tell us about some of those moments in those eight years. I mean, cause I know it was difficult.
[00:23:36] Chaz Wolfe: I know that you had to keep choosing it, but give us some of like the real life moments or maybe even emotions of going, I don't know if I want to do this anymore, but you did it anyway.
[00:23:44] Chandler Souther: Yeah. ~Um, ~certainly challenging times. ~Um, ~you know, I was, I was doing it all. I was out in the field coming home, you know, doing the accounting and,~ um,~ you know, doing sales when I could,~ um,~ you know, it was, it was certainly a challenge. ~Um, ~and there were some tough moments there. Like, you know, I was, I was newly married at the time and it didn't go on a vacation for eight years, you know?
[00:24:07] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~but it, it sort of was what it was, but I think. Yeah, more than anything, when you go through something like that, it makes you appreciate when you work yourself out of it so much more and having gone through it, I think,~ um,~ you know, makes you a, a stronger human being, you know, adversity is never fun for anybody, but I do think it has,~ um,~ a ton of value just.
[00:24:30] Chandler Souther: Knowing if you find yourself in a, you know, in another difficult situation, it's this, you know, comparison mindset of, well, you know, my idea of bad is way different than other people's idea of bad, you know, and I almost feel bad for folks that haven't had to go through something. You know, they, they get in the fender bender and it's, sky's falling.
[00:24:52] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~you know, and, and I look for that in the folks that we work with. I, you know, I don't want the, the merry childhood. I like people that have that grit and have had to overcome some things. Cause that's, I think what builds a lot of character.
[00:25:06] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. For the, for the owner that's listening right now, like you're saying that maybe hasn't had that opportunity yet to really press in for eight years or however long. I mean, I could use my example. ~Uh, ~my first business was a franchise. I had seven locations. Three states, 65 employees, didn't paint myself a dime for seven years.
[00:25:25] Chaz Wolfe: Just grinding away, grinding away. Same situation. Young, young marriage, even the young children. What would you say to the person that hasn't experienced that? Why should they? Why should they earn that badge, if you will? Because it's not about the hustle culture and like, Ooh, look at me, I like outgrinded you.
[00:25:44] Chaz Wolfe: It's something that they can hold on to. Why is it important for them?
[00:25:49] Chandler Souther: Sure. I think,~ uh,~ Um, you know, it sort of goes back to that example that I had before, but,~ um,~ you know, I think once you go through something that's, you know, challenging to that extent, it builds confidence,~ um,~ you know, the next hurdle that comes up is, is nothing because, you know, you can get over it. ~Um, ~I just think it's, it's so valuable to have, you know, some adversity and that's, that's like a.
[00:26:14] Chandler Souther: A tough thing in today's day and age with like, you know, your kids, right? Like everybody wants to give a better life to their kids. Well, you know, how do you create that adversity if it's not there? Right. ~Um, ~and, and make them tough. Even though that's just quite frankly, not there. Right. ~Um, ~and I do think it's important and you know, ~uh, ~for you, for employees, for children, and sometimes creating that adversity is a good thing as well.
[00:26:43] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. What if they're in the midst of it right now and, and they're hearing you say that, okay, like I, I can hold onto it later, but I get really sucks right now. Like they're listening right now. Maybe I'll miss it. It's like a last hope. Like I'm listening to this one podcast with this guy named Chandler.
[00:26:58] Chandler Souther: Sure.
[00:26:58] Chaz Wolfe: What, why, why would they press in? Like what, what is like, why not just give up, quit and go work for somebody? Yeah.
[00:27:07] Chandler Souther: that will stick with you and haunt you more than anything. ~Um, ~you know, in your life, I think,~ uh,~ you know, the, the regrets of what you didn't do are the things that you'll think about, you know, long down the road when you're on your deathbed. ~Um, ~you know, what did I not do? It's never, what did I do that people are thinking about?
[00:27:24] Chandler Souther: And I think,~ uh,~ I think that's just such a make or break,~ uh,~ decision that. You know, could haunt you for years and years and years if you don't step up and challenge yourself and prove that you can do it.
[00:27:36] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I think that the mindset that you just kind of laid out is perfect for entrepreneurs because we're very much in the prove it to myself. Sometimes we have to prove it to others, but really it's like, we're playing a game against ourselves every single day. Like, how can I be better today than I was yesterday?
[00:27:52] Chaz Wolfe: And I think that that rings true for the entrepreneur, even for the maybe. And more immature ones that are still trying to prove it to other people. They're still in that mix themselves. And so I'm hearing you say, prove it to yourself that you are capable, that you can do it, that you didn't set out on the wrong motion to begin with. I want to go back to this word, prudent. ~Uh, ~it's an interesting word. It doesn't get used very often. I love this word. I'm in love with this word actually, because it has like, you can use it kind of in, in lots of different dynamics. It's very dynamic, but you used it towards the future specifically. Tell us why you use that word and what you believe is coming in the future, or maybe some actions that you're doing right now because of this prudency.
[00:28:28] Chaz Wolfe: Interesting.
[00:28:28] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~ for the most part, I don't have a. You know, there's, there's no magic, globe telling me, you know, what's coming around the corner, but who knows, it could happen tomorrow. I think since that pitfall, know, I, I've taken , the marathon approach,
[00:28:42] Chandler Souther: doing it slow and steady and, you know, could be a lot further along if, if I was, you know, ~um, ~going on the sprint approach. ~Um, ~but I think, you know, taking that, taking that long game approach and doing right by people and when a bad situation comes up, you know, ~um, ~treating it like cancer, solving it, fixing the problem and moving on, even if it's no fault of yours.
[00:29:08] Chandler Souther: I think that long game. what hedges you against bad things coming in the future. ~Um, ~you know, the markets will do what they're going to do. You can save money. Everybody can do that. But I think having that reputation and people knowing that you are, you know, um, uh, a good, good person,~ um,~ stand by your virtues.
[00:29:31] Chandler Souther: I think that has more value,~ um,~ and will. You know, provide work for you if, if you, you know, truly live by that.
[00:29:42] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I, if we could just bottle that up and put a package around it and, and give it to people, we wouldn't even, I mean, I don't even know if we'd be able to sell it actually,~ uh,~ because it's just not sexy at all. But if we could force drink that to people,
[00:29:56] Chandler Souther: Sure.
[00:29:56] Chaz Wolfe: I think that they would just be so much better off.
[00:29:58] Chaz Wolfe: And it makes me think of,~ um,~ just. Decision making really, because that's in essence, what we've been talking about really is how do we make decisions and, and the further zoomed out that you get, you said marathon, zoom it out to 30, 000 feet, talk about 10 year or 20 year horizons. You can, whatever the language is that you want to use, it's all the same.
[00:30:18] Chaz Wolfe: As opposed to being here and today, or in this specific moment or situation, I'm zooming out to this week, this month, this quarter, this decade, right? And how do I make decisions today that aren't necessarily like, Oh, back and forth about today, as opposed to, okay, I'm in, I'm in a marathon here. And I got 26 miles to run.
[00:30:37] Chaz Wolfe: I can't take off sprinting today. And halfway through, I'm not going to not get my water or get my little snack. Like there's, there's, there's a strategy through the race, right?
[00:30:48] Chandler Souther: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. The funny part of that is I'd never. ~Um, ~random marathon. ~Um, ~I got one bad, I got one Jacob. I'm about to get another one. So, ~um, ~a little bit of a,~ um,~ hypocrite there, but,~ um,~ yeah, you know, I think,~ uh,~ taking that long, long game approach and making decisions based on, you know, right and wrong and your core values can sort of guide all things and make decision making a little bit more.
[00:31:15] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah.
[00:31:16] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~you know, easier, you know, there's always details and back and forth and wow, that really wasn't my fault. But, you know, if you fundamentally, Hey. The other person doesn't feel that way and I'm going to fix it and move on. You know, that makes things pretty, pretty easy. And, you know, taking full ownership on things is so overlooked.
[00:31:36] Chandler Souther: You know, ~uh, ~I tell every client that we build for, you know, there's probably something that's going to get screwed up on your project and, and if somebody else. Doesn't tell you that they're probably lying to you, you know, but the difference with us is I'm going to tell you about it when it happens and I'm going to fix it.
[00:31:51] Chandler Souther: And I want all the people that work with us to have that same culture, right. Versus,~ um,~ Ooh, we better hide this before somebody finds out. Right. I mean, I want to tell them about it before they find out about it. ~Um. ~But, you know, if, if you take that approach, there's, there's too many variables to just sort of manage.
[00:32:09] Chandler Souther: And when something does get screwed up, as long as you fix it, I think most people are, are probably, you know, more appreciative of that than, than even having it not happen.
[00:32:19] Chaz Wolfe: Exactly. Well, I think even just having them blindsided by, Oh my gosh, something that went wrong, but if they're anticipating that something will go wrong, then it's not something that's gone wrong. We were actually anticipating this.
[00:32:30] Chandler Souther: sure.
[00:32:30] Chaz Wolfe: ~Um, ~this is really interesting language because,~ um,~ this is something that I've implemented into our remodeling company.
[00:32:36] Chaz Wolfe: And, and it's this almost the exact language that you just did. So I'm gonna give this to the listener because both you and I do this, and we have not talked about this before. So this is super interesting that we both align up on this and it is. We explain ahead of time, proper expectations or an agreement is what we call it.
[00:32:49] Chaz Wolfe: We come into an agreement. And what that means is that here's how it's going to go. Here's the roadmap. We're going to show you. And along the way, guess what? This or this or this, like all these bumps or potential mistakes or whatever, that's just construction. Like, let's just be honest. I can't be perfect where it's, it's, it's handmade.
[00:33:06] Chaz Wolfe: This is not, it didn't come out of a machine. And so setting that expectation,~ uh,~ obviously gives us the benefit of the doubt to be able to fix it, but then guess what? You got to actually do it, you know?
[00:33:15] Chandler Souther: Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Expectations is so much of our day to day and what we do. I mean, there's tons of examples that you can use, but you know, it's if if you Talk about the outcome of any part or piece of a home and give the pluses and minuses ahead of time. It's going to serve you well,~ um,~ versus, you know, they, they want soft hardwood floors in their house and it's cheaper and you don't tell them, you know, that nuance and the dog goes in and scratches it.
[00:33:47] Chandler Souther: You know, that's, that's a. I just paid for this great hardwood floor and it scratched. What the hell Chandler versus, well, I knew it was soft, but I saved eight grand and I don't care about some scratches and we're all good. Right. ~Um, ~you know, getting out in front of those and talking about sort of the outcomes and expectations is huge across, you know, everything within home building.
[00:34:10] Chandler Souther: But I also think it's,~ um,~ You know, I, I find myself being that like old guy, right? Where you're buying a car doing something and it's like, Hey, you know, why didn't we talk about this beforehand that this could be a possibility that it came up or, you know, um, you said you'd have my car fixed by end of day.
[00:34:28] Chandler Souther: You didn't say that there was a chance it could be a week out. Right. ~Um, ~I think it can help with many people's business, especially when there's a customer element.
[00:34:38] Chaz Wolfe: Oh, my gosh. Yeah,
[00:34:40] Chandler Souther: at the end of the day, we're, we're a customer service business. We, we build technical things, but we're in customer service.
[00:34:48] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I can tell you just from listening, you know, and talking with you here today, Chandler, that a big reason why you're winning, especially in the sector that you are is because you yourself are probably your avatar. You know, you are. You have a high expectation on life. You have, you're extremely detailed.
[00:35:04] Chaz Wolfe: You have all these, you know, just, this is the way that you think. And so it actually lines up really, really well with, with who you serve. But what it also does, cause you and I are very similar in this way is that in every situation that I'm in where it's just a broken process, I'm just like, it just is like a glaring red, man.
[00:35:22] Chaz Wolfe: I'm like, Oh my gosh, this is, there's like two steps here that would solve all of this. And I wouldn't be standing here wasting my time because you said my car was only going to take two hours and here I am four hours later. Like this, this, this is not how this works. Like, let me help you. You know,
[00:35:35] Chaz Wolfe: that's what I want to
[00:35:35] Chandler Souther: I'm, I'm, I'm such a dork. I, you know, I went and I,~ um,~ I went to a business and he had the most refined process. And I like went out of my way to find the owner. And I was like, dude, your process is so smooth. I am so, cause you don't find it day to day. And when you do find it, it's like, Oh, that took like five minutes.
[00:35:55] Chandler Souther: And that was easy. That's wonderful. Kudos, you know? So,
[00:35:59] Chaz Wolfe: had some really, I've had some podcasts. Hosts, like they had their own show on this show and they go through our process and every single one of them, plus several others. I mean, out of the 450 episodes, probably a good. 200 literally not even exaggerating have said dude
[00:36:22] Chandler Souther: yeah,
[00:36:22] Chaz Wolfe: This whole thing like the calls the reminders the thing that you sent me in the mail I mean, oh my goodness, like this was incredible.
[00:36:29] Chaz Wolfe: ~Uh, ~I other show hosts are like dude i'm stealing i'm like good here You want the you may tell you the company I bought the thing, you know, like come on man Like let's let's make systems better like Like who cares about the political blah that's happening and just, let's just make businesses and systems better so that people can get the things that they need to get because just so much easier, you know,
[00:36:47] Chandler Souther: I mean, Amazon's highly successful for a reason. They make things easy, right? They have an amazing system.
[00:36:53] Chaz Wolfe: All right. Let me talk about family for a second. You, you kind of, you, you touched on it a second ago and I want to bring it back because as an entrepreneur,~ um,~ you know, this is. This is a big deal for most entrepreneurs, but what I have found is that entrepreneurs who are obsessive in nature, you've already described how you've gone all in on your business and you freaking committed to.
[00:37:13] Chaz Wolfe: Pulling yourself out of that and becoming successful, but we, we struggle sometimes and how to also be obsessive with our marriage or our kids or our health or, you know, all the other things. And so my question to you is how have you been able to do those things? Maybe not perfectly, but how have you been able to kind of be obsessed in all areas of life?
[00:37:30] Chaz Wolfe: ~Um, ~and not just your business.
[00:37:32] Chandler Souther: I think,~ uh,~ number one, I have a amazing partner that, you know, is my other half to that. I think if I didn't have that, it would be so much more,~ um,~ you know, challenging and, and, you know, she's been with me through the. The thick and thin, you know, I think that's a huge part, but,~ um,~ you know, I, I, I do work a lot, right.
[00:37:53] Chandler Souther: And,~ um,~ quite frankly, I do enjoy it. ~Um, ~but sort of the commitment that I've made. Is, you know, and the thing that right or wrong helps me work, work mentally through it is,~ um,~ you know, when I am home, it's 100%. I'm, you know, I could be home all the time and have,~ uh,~ you know, ~um, Uh, ~half of their approach or distracted approach.
[00:38:16] Chandler Souther: But when I'm home, it is quality time and I'm making the most of it. And the weekends were, you know, my wife will have the in laws pick up our kids on the weekends. And I'm like, dude, you're stealing my time, right? My wife needs a break. Granted, I was like, this is the time that I get to spend with them.
[00:38:33] Chandler Souther: Don't take them away from us. You know? ~Um, ~so I think, you know, having that quality time,~ um,~ You know, and then, you know, in essence, I'm, I'm time poor, right? ~Um, ~so the things I focus on are experiences with kids and things that they'll, you know, ~uh, ~I'm not buying them shiny toys. We're going and doing fun stuff, right?
[00:38:53] Chandler Souther: I'll save the money on the toys and spend it on the experience. Cause I think that's, the toy is going to get thrown away, you know, a year, but the. That experience will stick with them forever. And I think, you know, the type of things that you do, like adversity,~ um,~ show them, you can go do these things.
[00:39:12] Chandler Souther: I think those things have added that value of memory plus teaching them things. So,
[00:39:19] Chaz Wolfe: teaching moments. Those are huge. Yeah. We had,~ um,~ our first family mastermind, it was a cruise to Bermuda this past summer. We're going to do Cancun next summer. But,~ um,~ you know, the
[00:39:29] Chandler Souther: except for the crude part.
[00:39:31] Chaz Wolfe: except for, yeah, well, we're going to land this next time. So maybe you'll join us. But I did have several others that were like, dude, I'll go with you next time.
[00:39:37] Chaz Wolfe: You know? Um, but the, the, the cool part of, you know, the kids hanging together and then the, you know, the, yeah. Entrepreneur and the spouse working through some marriage stuff. Cause we bring in some marriage experts and pretty intentional about family and marriage and, you know, the kids, family vacation, but it gets to do with other cool people.
[00:39:55] Chaz Wolfe: But in that there's, there's the opportunity for the kids to see the parents, like being intentional and working on
[00:40:05] Chandler Souther: That's super cool.
[00:40:06] Chaz Wolfe: and the, the output of that,~ um,~ sometimes you don't realize the value of that even years later, like you're saying,
[00:40:14] Chandler Souther: absolutely. They won't know until they get to marriage age,
[00:40:17] Chaz Wolfe: Exactly. Yeah. Like
[00:40:18] Chandler Souther: going to be
[00:40:19] Chaz Wolfe: daughter's getting married, she's going to be thinking about the work that we put in, you know?
[00:40:24] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. Super.
[00:40:26] Chandler Souther: hopefully some guy out there will be willing to do it. You know, that's the tough thing is not everybody's you, not everybody's me, but it'll make your, your daughter picky and find a good one. Right.
[00:40:37] Chaz Wolfe: That's right. That's right. Well, I appreciate your perspective on that. I think it's super valuable for the listener,~ um,~ that it's possible. And I'm hearing you say that, you know, just as detailed as you are at work or obsessive, that's how you are in all the other areas as well. And I think that's how, what we call it, the exceptional life winning in all areas is, is the exceptional life.
[00:40:54] Chaz Wolfe: And you've given us the roadmap on that. So I just appreciate that. I've got one last question. I want to know if you had the opportunity, kind of real back time, you see the younger Chandler standing there, you tap him on the shoulder and you whisper in his ear. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:41:08] Chandler Souther: Um, you know, work wise, I would, I would probably tell him to learn from others more. ~Um, ~you know, I did everything myself like a stubborn idiot. ~Um, ~And,~ uh,~ I'd be so much further along if I found a great mentor and worked for him for some period of time. ~Um, ~you know, inherently, I learned from others, right?
[00:41:28] Chandler Souther: I just did it a little bit harder than going to, you know, someone that could fast track that. ~Um, ~I think that's... hugely beneficial. It's something that, you know, I, I moving forward, I leverage with having, you know, ~um, ~in business groups and, and, you know, in some builder groups that, you know, you can learn so much from others.
[00:41:49] Chandler Souther: You know, ~um, ~I think not everything needs to be. You know, you're, you came up with, I think, you know, borrowing tricks from others is so important and in today's world with, you know, podcasts and so much content out there, you know, whenever I have free time mowing, doing whatever, you know, those podcasts and soaking up what other people are doing.
[00:42:15] Chandler Souther: You know, it can be different industries, right? You can apply some, so many of these things to what you're doing. I think that's a huge thing is just soaking those things up. So
[00:42:25] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, it's good stuff, man. I appreciate your perspective on that. I have to say, I agree. And I hope that the listener has taken it,~ uh,~ into, into,~ um,~ you know, a practical way that they can, they can put that in their daily, whether it's this podcast or others or mentors groups. I think you gave several examples there of just being able to be coachable.
[00:42:43] Chaz Wolfe: And,~ uh,~ I think I would agree with you that if I had to change one major thing, it would have been just to listen to somebody else just a little bit sooner, even though when I look back, I'm like, I feel like I did it pretty early. Years worth of just trying to figure it out on my own. You know, like, thank goodness we are where we are, but how much faster could it have been?
[00:43:01] Chaz Wolfe: So there's always that grateful, but not done spirit. So I appreciate that Chandler.
[00:43:04] Chaz Wolfe: How can the listener find you? Number one, if,~ uh,~ first, I don't know if we heard exactly where you're located. So give us exactly where you're located that way. If they're looking for a home builder. They can,~ uh,~ they can reach out to you.
[00:43:13] Chaz Wolfe: Cause obviously you're going to build them in. Oh yeah. Fort Collins. Sorry, my bad.
[00:43:16] Chaz Wolfe: ~Uh, ~but if they're in the Northern Colorado area and if they're looking to build an incredibly unique and creative and beautiful home, maybe they want to reach out to you or maybe they're just an entrepreneur. They want to pick your brain.
[00:43:24] Chaz Wolfe: How can they find you?
[00:43:25] Chandler Souther: ~Um, ~our website, hammersmithstructures. com,~ um,~ super easy. ~Uh, ~we've got,~ uh,~ you know, a form on there to reach out and connect with us. ~Uh, ~you know, also on all the social media,~ um,~ handles that's super easy as well. So yeah.
[00:43:38] Chaz Wolfe: Perfect. We'll put it all in the show notes as well. Chandler, you've been,~ uh,~ just an incredible,~ uh,~ well of insight and knowledge here today. Thank you for being here. Blessings to your family, all the clients that you're getting to do super cool projects here this year and next. Thanks for being here.
[00:43:51] Chandler Souther: Thanks for having me.

Join our podcast host, Chaz Wolfe, for an eye opening discussion with Chandler Souther, a renowned custom home builder from Fort Collins, Northern Colorado. This episode offers a deep dive into Chandler's professional shift from managing a commercial rental venture to founding his successful construction business. Chandler discusses his fervent enthusiasm for design and how his dedication to prioritizing customers has been pivotal in his business. Throughout the podcast, Chaz Wolfe and Chandler Souther explore various aspects of entrepreneurship, such as strategic decision-making, the essence of perseverance, cultivating long-lasting client relations, and the advantages of being curious and adaptable, and humble. Chandler also shares his perspectives on merging business with personal life, reflecting on how past experiences have shaped his understanding of the value of patience and learning from others, leading to a more sustainable path to success.

Chandler Souther:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandler-souther-2b77706

hammersmithstructures.com

https://www.facebook.com/HammersmithStructures /

https://www.instagram.com/hammersmithstructures/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hammersmith-structures/

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