Latest / Epic Entrepreneurs / How A Northern Arizona Contractor Builds Confidence Through Details with Jamie Williams, Capstone Construction & Remodeling

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How A Northern Arizona Contractor Builds Confidence Through Details with Jamie Williams, Capstone Construction & Remodeling · Epic Entrepreneurs

• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Jamie, how are you doing today?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_03: I'm doing great, Cliff.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_03: How are you doing?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing wonderful.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really excited to have you on.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: So if you don't mind, let's go ahead and jump right into it.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you know, kind of let's get into it.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: Capstone construction and remodeling.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: What are you providing for the community?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_03: So uh we're basically um a local general contractor in northern Arizona.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_03: We specialize in residential remodels, new construction additions, outdoor living spaces, decks, and and basically stuff like that.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_03: Northern Arizona is known for its mountainous views and hills and whatnot.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_03: We love doing the homes that are on the hill sides of mountains and doing the big decks that allow you to have, you know, great parties with a great view.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: And who is Jamie?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, who are you as a person?
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: What do you have going on personally?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Any hobbies or anything like that?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so um I like to ride my motorcycle.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: I've got one of those little mini jeeps.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's kind of like like those those uh those little kid cars, you know, that uh have a little battery on it, except mine's got a little 125cc engine in it, and we'll kind of go play out.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_03: It's kind of like a side-by-side.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um and I like to do woodworking.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_03: I like to kind of renovate older furniture and and uh just kind of create cool looking projects, things like that.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you know, Jamie, homeowners hear contractor horror stories all the time.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what do you think a contractor has to do before the first tool ever comes out to earn a customer's trust?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_03: You you've got to be able to relate to your client.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_03: When we go to the job site, I don't go there and just try to sell them, you know, a new deck or a kitchen remodel.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_03: I'm interviewing my clients.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_03: I want to know why they want a new deck, why they want to expand it, why they want a new kitchen or or an additional bedroom.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_03: Uh what it how's it gonna benefit them?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and how can we make it to where not only is it cost effective, is the construction streamless, but how can we make it so that it lasts for their grandkids, their great grandkids if this home becomes a legacy for them?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: What red flag should a homeowner never ignore?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_03: Honestly, when when a when a contractor walks up and they start talking about all kinds of things and just spitting random gibberish of things that don't even make sense, jump from one subject to the next, it's it's likely they don't know what they're talking about, or or maybe they went to you know a contracting school and haven't had enough time in the field.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_03: You want to you want to watch out for contractors who don't think about the details, you know, because I can give you a kitchen remodel and tell you no it's gonna be$25,000.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_03: But if I didn't remember to think about all of the different outlets and wiring and electrical, there could be another$4,000 in there in unexpected expenses.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_03: So we want to make sure we cover all of the details thoroughly.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Now, how did you get into construction and remodeling and when did capstone become something you wanted to build as a company?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_03: So for me, I've kind of always liked building.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_03: I've liked solving problems.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_03: I did oil field engineering, I did wildland firefighting, I did blackjack card dealing, and I've done a lot of construction in between all of that.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_03: And I noticed construction definitely gives you plenty of opportunities for both building and solving problems.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_03: Over time, I did realize there was an opportunity to build a company in this area that wasn't just good at physical construction, but also treated the business side professionally, such as estimating, scheduling, communication, documentation, accountability, and actually taking care of the customer.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_03: And that's what Capstone's actually grown out of.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_03: We've learned that owning a construction company means we eventually become an expert in a lot of things that we never expected to know about.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_03: We know construction, but now I also know accounting, HR sales, see psychology, weather forecasting, and occasionally marriage counseling.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Not that you'll become a part of it.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_03: Well, you know, when when the wife wants something and the husband doesn't, or vice versa, sometimes you've got to be able to get in between the two and make sure they still get along and they can come to an agreement and and y'all have a consensus that makes sense.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_03: Both parties get what they want and they don't break the bank.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: So what does Capstone specialize in today and what type of project is right in your wheelhouse, would you say?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_03: So we're we're mostly handling residential remodeling additions, again, outdoor living projects and new construction uh throughout a large portion of northern Arizona in Yavapai County.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_03: We're especially interested in projects where we're helping somebody significantly improve their property, whether that would be opening up an area or even remodeling an existing home, adding square footage or even building a large deck or outdoor space.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_03: We recently had the privilege to help a local veteran.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_03: His insurance was going to drop him due to some severe damage on the exterior of his home.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: We ended up doing kind of a charity thing.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_03: We got Home Depot to donate the materials and a couple other companies to help us out with it.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_03: And we were able to renovate the exterior of his home, replace all of his face, should do stuckle patching and whatnot, and and and allow it to where his insurance didn't drop him, he gets to keep his home and stay an active part of our community.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um and that's really what we specialize in.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_03: We we like bringing the the older construction around here back to life, and we like being a part of the community and and and being an active help to those who have already helped out community, such as our veterans.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: You talked about northern Arizona a lot.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anywhere in northern Arizona that you do not serve?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_03: So we primarily stay in Yavapike County.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_03: We're not trying to get way out there to like Seligman, Kingman, Flagstaff, and whatnot.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: There's there's plenty of contractors who go out there.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: We like to stay local.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_03: It allows us to control our quality and be more fair price.
• 6:49
  unknown: Okay.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you know, public recommendations, you know, specifically mention your deck work.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen, kind of did a little bit of you know, search online on your social media and everything.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, what makes a great deck project harder than it looks from the outside?
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, a lot of people don't realize how much really goes into the engineering of a deck, you know, it it looks pretty straightforward.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's got some posts, you got some beams, you got some joists, and then boom, there's this beautiful deck.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: But um, if you don't understand the amount of weight that is going to be up there, and uh, you know, especially where we build with all of the hills that we build on, you gotta you gotta account for the incline and things like that.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we have uh freezing temperatures that go so far into the ground, so our our concrete footers have to be deep enough to combat that.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of things like that.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_03: Beyond that, really, it's the details of making sure that the decking comes together at at the angles properly, your cuts are nice and smooth and clean, and just everything looks tight and professional.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Now, and and that's we're gonna get into kind of the hard-hitting questions, kind of what rip people really want to hear, because we have a we have a pretty large, small entrepreneurial ship, you know, audience that listens to the podcast with us every week.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, what is the biggest challenge the business is facing right now, would you say?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_03: I would have to say growth.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_03: Growing is probably the hardest challenge.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: Learning and developing systems, you know, there's there's a million products and and teachers and mentors out there that can help with that, tons of books you can read, creating, you know, there's a ton of apps for business software and accounting and things like that, but growth is definitely the hardest.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_03: Getting work done is one challenge, building a company scale capable of consistently delivering work that isn't we start over.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_03: Building a company that is capable of consistently delivering that work is an entirely different challenge.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_03: We've noticed as we grow, we've realized pretty quick that we can't personally make every decision.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I I pretty much wore all of the hats in the company for for a good minute.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but I can't answer every question.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_03: I can't solve every problem.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_03: If everything has to go through me, eventually I become the bottleneck.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_03: And so the hardest part of growth was realizing that I needed to find other people who could take little chunks of what I do and start handling it so that I could focus on creating my building systems and developing the people in the company, helping them all create accountability so that we can grow without sacrificing any kind of quality.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now, and kind of following up to that a little bit more, what what do you believe is kind of preventing your business from reaching its next level and its ultimate potential?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: What'd you say?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_03: I would probably say finding quality, quality employees to work with us that are willing to grow and understand it, and then quality subcontractors.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: We have a very high standard in capstone.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_03: We like to say that uh, you know, code is what everybody else builds to, but code is code is the very minimum of what we look at.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_03: We have a standard that we are going to build everything to.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_03: We believe in building foundations for generations.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_03: I have personally been in the Prescott area for almost 40 years.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: I have kids here, and the kids will have kids here, they'll probably have kids here.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_03: It's a very good chance that my great-grandkids will end up on a deck that I built, and I don't want to have to worry about that.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: So finding quality employees who are willing to grow with you and learn your ways and do things the right way without cutting corners is definitely a hard work.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: I want to kind of dig into that a little bit more because I hear this a lot from entrepreneurs out there, business owners, is you know, it's a tough, tough market to find quality people, right?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: You can find people, you can find and insert somebody into a job, but it's tough to find quality people that are going to do a great job day in and day out, day in and day out.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, as a business owner, what what have you seen?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: What have you noticed out there in the job market?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: What have you noticed as far as the issues with finding quality employees?
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_03: So I don't know if it's a generational thing or, you know, if COVID had something to do with it, because as you know, COVID did open up a lot of opportunities that weren't there for working from home and opened up eyes of people that didn't know the different opportunities there were to work from home and things like that.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I think a lot of people have kind of they got paid during that time and just thought maybe they should get paid differently.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_03: Or like I said, maybe it's a generational thing.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_03: But really what we have noticed is anybody we hire right now over the age of 40 pretty much stays consistent with wanting to show up on time, work all day, grow with you, and and and can take some constructive criticism and and learn how to do things the way we want to do them.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_03: Not to say there isn't people that are in their teens or early 20s and 30s that that aren't the same way.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_03: They're just a lot harder to find.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_03: They're farther and fewer between.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's true.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's true.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what are you know, what do you think is currently your biggest bottleneck for, you know, preventing you from getting, you know, the growth thing solved?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think is kind of preventing that ultimately?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: Right now, it's that we are a younger business.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_03: We're only about three years old.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_03: And again, since I wore most of the hats, the majority of how the business has been run is in my head.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_03: So I have been spending a lot of time, probably over the last month or so, developing these systems within our software and our invoicing and uh estimating software, our accounting software, and several other kinds of kind of creating a systematic way of doing everything to where my new foreman who's been recently promoted can walk into the office.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_03: He can grab a job folder, and that job folder will be all the information that he needs.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: He can then organize the guys, reach out to clients, etc.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_03: Before that, I was literally doing everything from estimates, budgeting, scheduling, sending proposals, responding to emails, talking to all the clients, doing the accounting, the bookkeeping.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and then and then I was also in the field uh pretty often.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_03: Anywhere from six to eight hours a day most times.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: So it was definitely me that has been the biggest bottleneck and and not creating the systems as we were going, just thinking I could run it all in my head.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_03: Um having a business plan and then following that is a huge key to success in this industry.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: So delegating kind of kind of sort of right?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, things out.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you know, kind it's a little bit more.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: How much how many hours are you kind of dedicating to the business right in and out of the business right now a week?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: Right now, I would probably say I'm still putting in a good 65 to 80 hours a week because I am I've got my head dug in deep to creating these systems and and kind of automating some communications and things like that, making it to where some of the scheduling can almost be automated through AI.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_03: I've been in construction in and out again most of my life, but I've also, like I said, done engineering, blackjack dealing, and things like that.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_03: So I do know computers fairly well.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_03: I just I kind of put it on the back end and didn't really think about it because I'm so good at working with my hands.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: Recently I have started realizing how what how much AI really can do.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_03: And so I've been picking, for lack of a better term, AI's brain and and figured out how to connect most of my different software apps that I use, some of our communication apps.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_03: I've got them all almost integrated with each other, where one thing is done in one app, it populates into the other apps without creating duplicates.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_03: And just doing that alone is is already starting to save me a lot of time.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like I've got it to where it can automated do responses to certain emails based on the information.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_03: It can automatically make my schedule for me, things like that.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_03: So that's starting to save me a lot of time.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_03: Before all of this, I was probably working well over a hundred hours a week on this.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, and and and I really appreciate you being kind of transparent about this, but you know, let's get a let's dig into a little bit more.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say?
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say if we we took one of your men and one of the guys that's worked with you.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: How many uh two people do you have uh working for you right now and couple employees?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_03: We got we got six all together right now.
• 15:17
  unknown: Six all together.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: Does that include you?
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: That includes you.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: So let's say we we take one of your people, right?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: We take it to the side privately, we say, hey man, this is anonymous, we won't put your name out there.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say they would say is your greatest strength as a business owner right now?
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_03: What do you think they would say?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_03: I care about my employees.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_03: I look at every one of them like their family.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_03: When things are starting to get slow, I'm worried about their family eating.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_03: When when we have weather issues or something and you know it slows us down on hours, again, I'm worried about them making sure their bills are paid.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: I I try to treat everybody, again, like family because I know that I can't do this by myself.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_03: And good, strong employees who are learning our ways, building our ways, keeping our standards, they are the most important cogs in this whole wheel frame.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: So I try to treat them very fairly.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_03: Monday mornings we have meetings where I serve the guys breakfast and coffee and all that stuff, and we kind of go over what happened last week, were there any problems, how can we fix them, what didn't we get done, how can we knock it out, and then you know, plan the coming up week.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_03: I would say they would probably say that, yeah, you know, I I communicate well, I'm fair, and and I just I'm I try to make sure my employees are happy above anything because happy employees are what help us create quality work.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: Now let's go to the other end of that.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like let's say if we pull them to the side and said, you know, asked them what's one leadership or business skill you know he still needs to improve on.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think they would tell us then?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_03: That would probably be my organization and my systems, because sometimes they come in and and I'm looking at the boards and I look like a deer in in headlights, you know.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_03: Just oh shoot, what didn't we get done last week?
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_03: What you know, I'm looking at 16 active projects on the board, and I'm just like, okay, I don't even know where to start right now.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_03: So it that would be probably just a lack of organization and able to focus my thoughts.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_03: ADHD has its way of winning with me sometimes, but I've been I've been working on that as well.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's fair.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I know construction companies can lose money in the gap between a good estimate and a messy job type.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: So how do you keep scope, materials, labor, and customer changes under control once a project starts?
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_03: So that's just documentation.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_03: Documentation, documentation, documentation.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_03: You have to anytime a client wants to talk about a change, create a change, subcontractor has an issue, first thing is it's written, then you need to make sure you take pictures, everybody's signing everything a hundred percent.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_03: It's documentation, pictures, communication, and it it all has to be in black and white.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: Now, where do most of your c customers come from today?
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_03: Referrals, actually.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: I have a Facebook page, we have a website, uh, and then I've got my truck wrapped.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_03: But beyond that, I do not pay for any other type of marketing or advertising.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: We get a lot of referrals from our previous customers.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: And the community loves us enough on Facebook that I get a lot there as well.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_03: We recently won uh best contractor in Yavapai County.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: So most of your customers, I'm guessing, are coming from Prescott.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: Are they coming from Cottonwood or some of the other areas?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_03: Or uh Yeah, so it's pretty much Prescott and the surrounding areas, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Gino, Williamson, etc.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_03: We don't go over to Cottonwood Campbell too often, um, but sometimes they do need some of our specialties over there and they just can't find anybody else.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_03: So we sit here.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha, gotcha.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Jamie, when a qualified lead comes in, you know, let's say somebody gets on the phone with you, they they're checking all the boxes, sounds like it could be a potentially great client.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: How confident are you that it becomes an actual customer that you actually work with?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_03: So until I get to really talk to the customer in person and and start to feel out the job and the client themselves, it's it's always kind of 50-50.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_03: But I would say a lot of times I leave the job site feeling like they're a potential 75 to 80%.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um Yeah, I I I have a I guess I have a way of genuinely listening to the client and trying to feel out their needs and and trying to sell them what they really need versus what they want to to save them money.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and some clients they want what they want, and that's not a problem.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_03: We can do that as well, but I try to keep things realistic.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Jamie, let let's say if I'm, you know, I'm I'm looking at a couple of different companies, right?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm talking with Chris over here at the XYZ company, I'm talking with James over at another company.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: Why do customers choose your company instead of the competition?
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_03: Transparency.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_03: We're we're open about what we do, how we do it, what it's gonna cost you, and why.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: We're very clear and open on our communication.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes we get accused of being overcommunicative, but we never get any flack for it.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_03: Our clients always know exactly what's going on so that they don't have to question anything.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_03: If we're right on schedule or ahead of schedule, or far behind schedule, or you know, something got damaged, the client knows about it right away.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um that's one of the big things I think makes a lot of clients choose us is we're very communicative and and we will not sacrifice time to get a job done sooner or or or money on materials that would cause a reduction in the quality of work we produce.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about the team that's supporting you today.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_03: So right now, uh my new foreman um is my brother-in-law, actually.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um and him and I have been we've been doing construction on and off together for about twenty-two years.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um his name's Robert.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_03: We did a lot of framing together, we did a lot of roofing together, we've done flooring.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_03: Uh and because of that, you know, in between those times both of us had had gone off and done other things, but since starting the company, he started working for me about a year and a half after I started the company, and he's he's been an integral part of keeping things running.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um he shows up, you know, he he has a good attitude.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_03: He he helps energize the rest of the crew and to make sure they have a good attitude and stay on point.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um and then beyond that we've got another guy who's been been in construction for probably about 25 years.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_03: Uh his name's Billy, and he he does a great job too with what he's done and framing.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_03: We're teaching him a lot about quality and finish work.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_03: And then we've got um one semi-experienced laborer and one one green laborer.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: They're both uh also an integral part of how we do things because they they keep moving, you know, they keep hustling, they try to look ahead of of what their leads are doing and make sure that things are ready for them and just keep the job moving smoothly.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, okay.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now, let's say, and this is kind of hypothetical, but let's say if the business just suddenly doubled overnight, right?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say if uh this podcast went live and all of a sudden you've got double the business.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's the goal.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: But uh let's say if the business doubled overnight, right?
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: What is the very first thing that would break and need to be fixed with today?
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_03: We would probably just make sure we found some people to help us with managing some stuff like in the office, you know that I'm Taken care of to allow me a little bit more time to help the guys in the field with integrating our quality and ensuring things are going.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I think I'd give some of these guys some raises because I would love the opportunity to pay them some more right now.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_03: They've done such great jobs and just kept such great attitudes about everything, you know.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe maybe pay off the cargo trailer.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_03: Other than that, we would try to keep it pretty simple.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we don't want to raise our prices and we don't want to we don't want to grow too fast and get too many guys and buy another truck and then all of a sudden it slows down in two months, and we're like, well crap, now what?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, agree.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so I appreciate that.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: So now we're gonna head into the this throw that round.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, how this works is I'm gonna give you two things, and I want you to choose one of them and then give me the reason why if you had to.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's a nice way to kind of learn about your personality a little bit, kind of get away from kind of the business talk and let's kind of learn about your personal style a little bit.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so beach or mountains?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_02: Mountains.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_03: Mountains all day.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I grew up in right here in Prescott, Arizona.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_03: I started camping by myself as young as 11 years old.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_03: I know a lot about the outdoors, how to survive and live in it.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I'm honestly more comfortable outside than I am inside.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_03: I often tell people the only reason I have a house is because 90% of my stuff isn't waterproof.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: That makes sense.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_03: Beach is beautiful, but yeah, I don't think I could live there.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Sand in your crack and all that stuff.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I'm good.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's everywhere.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's everywhere.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: In every crack.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Cook at home or go out to eat?
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_03: Cook at home.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_03: I uh I've got a big 36-inch griddle.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_03: I love to to cook just about anything and everything I can on there.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_03: My wife is the absolutely amazing cook.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_03: I've I've never met a white girl from the Mexican.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: I probably gained 50 pounds in the first year with them.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: Dream house or dream low dream vacation?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_03: Vacations are always short and they're great for memories.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_03: But the dream house for us would be mostly property.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_03: Mostly acreage, so that uh the animals could run, the nephews and nieces could could have swing sets and trampolines, the grandkids could have grass to play on.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um we like to use family gatherings, barbecues, things like that.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_03: So dream house.
• 25:09
  unknown: Okay.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: Have dinner with your younger self or your future self.
• 25:16
  unknown: Ooh.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's a good one.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_03: That is.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_03: I would have to say my younger self, because as I grow older, I definitely pay more attention and I learn more and and the wisdom is coming naturally.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_03: But I'd like to have dinner with my younger self and just let me know that everything's gonna be okay, and if I stop looking at problems for what they aren't and for what they are, life will go a lot smoother.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: New build or remodel?
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_03: Remodel.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_03: Again, there's a lot of older construction in this area, a lot of it from the early 1900s.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_03: We love digging into those homes and bringing them back to life and trying to keep the history of the home itself.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_03: Just revamping some of these homes that we have revamped while keeping the original skeletal framework and even some of the original windows because the glass was good, they could be reglazed, the doors could be refinished because they're made out of solid oak, things like that.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_03: I get a much, much better feeling of satisfaction when we revamp an older home than when we build a new one.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: Relive one great day from your past or see one day from your future?
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I like surprises, so let's live a day from the past.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: My marriage day would be a good one.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: Be respected or liked?
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_02: Respected.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_03: Being liked is easy, but being respected means being a good person, treating people right, and and and having them also understand that uh you deserve the same.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_02: Be remembered for what you accomplished or how you treated people.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_03: How I treated people.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_03: I think uh just about anybody could accomplish anything that they put their minds to, but not everybody can treat everybody around them good, you know.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_03: Everybody should be treated like the president, even the janitors, not even your you know, your waitresses, not just not just people that you look up to or or people that have more money than you.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_03: We should all be treated equal because we all bring something to the table.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Early bird or night owl?
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_03: Both.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, my whole life it's been that way.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_03: I uh I'm often up till midnight or one o'clock in the morning, and I'm up at five o'clock or so.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_03: We had hour outage last night and my my alarm reset.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_03: I woke up this morning and I looked outside and it was really bright, and I looked at my clock and it said four forty-five, and I was like, or no, it said six forty-five.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_03: I said, that's that's not right.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's way too bright outside.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_03: I got up and I looked at my phone that said 445.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_03: That's more like it.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I'm a bit of a sleep doesn't really fit into my schedule.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm that same way too, and especially this time of year when it when it gets dark late, you know.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's a little tough sometimes to wind down because it's like, man, it just got dark a little while ago.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: I still gotta wind down.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, noisy Idaho for a little bit, and uh during the summer it didn't get dark till 10 30, 11 o'clock at night.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's brutal.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: Really having a hard hard time winding down.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'm sure probably in the winter time it was the complete opposite.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: Probably got dark at 3 30, 4 o'clock, right?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_03: Four o'clock, it's already dark.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: You're like, we haven't even had dinner and I'm ready for bed.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's already pitch black outside.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Have your dream career or your dream personal life?
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_03: I would have to say my dream personal life.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_03: The more I've focused on my career, the more I miss my personal life.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_03: I miss the moments with my wife, my kids, my animals, you know, even myself, just going and sitting by the river and trying to organize your thoughts.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_03: Uh definitely dream personal life.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Live somewhere you absolutely love, but no nobody, or somewhere you don't love surrounded by everyone you care about.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_03: I'd rather have the people around me that I care about, honestly, because just having them around you can can can make the the space that you're in better.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_03: My wife and I always say it's not about the decimation, it's about the journey.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_03: And if we was gonna get lost anywhere with anyone, we would be willing to get lost anywhere with each other.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: And the last one is more leads or better margins?
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: Better margins.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_03: Again, we'd like to control our quality and and uh a little bit less work on the table so we can focus more personally, creates that quality, that if that increases our margins, then I would be much more happy with that.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: All right, perfect.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you getting through that this or that.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: So a couple last things, you know.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: Jimmy, if you could fix one thing about the construction industry overnight, let's say, you know, customer expectations permitting, uh, labor, material pricing, or something else, what would you change?
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_03: The workforce, you know.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_03: I think when I was a kid growing up, there was a lot of stigma around construction that it was like for uneducated people or or, you know, it was for the the lower income people.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that stigma alone has has played a role in the workforce for construction.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, you got people my age and older who are amazing at what we do, we take pride in it, we're not afraid to show up early, we're not afraid to work late.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_03: These other generations, it's it's the exact opposite.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_03: The ones that are coming up in it, it seems like they have seen that there is monetary value in it, and there's a lot of pride in it, you know.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_03: It's just the workforce.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_03: If if we could have a stronger, more dedicated, more prideful workforce.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: Like if as many people wanted to get into construction and do it with quality work and do it with pride as there are people who want to be, you know, movie stars and rock stars and and athletes, this country would be built so incredibly well.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: And and it's even and if it's even more so differently now.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, you talk about movie stars and stuff like that.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: Now it's everybody wants to be a uh a YouTuber or a streamer.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody wants to do that.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yep, yep.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, half the contractors I know all have Instagrams and YouTube channels, and they're like, no, we actually get more clients that way.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, yeah, are you trying to hit a million followers too and get paid that way?
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't, I don't, I'm not knocking it because, you know, we're all out here trying to make money however we can, as many ways as we can.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, yep, it's true.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what's next for capstone construction and remodeling?
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: What should people be excited about coming up in the near future for your company?
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_03: Well, we're growing, and so we are actively looking for more residential projects, such as maybe even some track track palm developments to kind of help out with just extra income in between our larger remodels and newer constructions.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_03: We're looking to build our network of higher quality subcontractors and trade partners.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_03: We're looking for relationships with people who care about craftsmanship, communication, and actually doing what they say they're gonna do.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_03: So, really what's next for us is is kind of tightening the ship, even though we already run a tight ship, we uh tight ship loose plans, you know.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_03: We uh we're we're looking to build quality relationships and just kind of grow at a steady rate enough where we can ensure all of us can still get paid, we can maintain quality and and and keep our promise as a company and our standards.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: And what's the best way for listeners to connect with you or a learn more about what you all do?
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_03: So one of the easiest ways would be to go to capstone constructionaz.com.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_03: Right there you can find all of our information, email, phone numbers, things like that.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_03: People can always get a hold of me at 928-925-2042, or they can hit us up at Capstone Construction Remodeling on Facebook.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect, perfect.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: Any any plans for any other social media or is it out of?
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_03: So I've started messing around a little bit with Instagram.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_03: Finding the time to do it is a little bit harder, and then creating the content is is another thing.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_03: Not things that are naturally skilled at in my wheelhouse.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_03: So if anything, it's kind of something I'd like to try to get one of my kids on it.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I I've got a 22-year-old and a 19-year-old, and you know, some some younger kids, and I think that they would be a little bit better at it if they were interested in it.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I do want to do more social media because I've definitely seen a benefit from it.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_03: It's just finding the time and and the skill to do it.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: No, it seems like it seems like these days you almost need to hire a social media rep just to handle that in general.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_03: See some of these bigger companies do that.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, the amount of posting and everything you're supposed to do, and how quality of the content can come out.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's some of the ads that they create are they seem like they're million-dollar ads.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_03: And it probably took them ten minutes with AI.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: No, yeah.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: Most of the time they get the scripts, they write the script form with AI, right, write the script form, all they gotta do is follow it and just record it.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's funny, it's crazy the world we're in right now.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: It says, you know, AI's kind of running everything, but it it is very helpful.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it is.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: So can't do it.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: When used the right way, absolutely.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, I've spent last week or so figuring out how to get AI to integrate most of my apps so that they communicate with each other.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: I can now ask ChatGPT for a summary of my emails and my transcripts, voicemails, and things like that.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_03: And they can summarize them, prioritize them, write draft responses in my emails, put things in my schedule.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_03: I've got it where it's doing all of that for me.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_03: Things that would have taken me three hours, I can now knock out in five to ten minutes.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_03: So, yeah, AI is amazing.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_03: It just needs to be used properly.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_03: Most people I see are using it to see what they look like with tattoos all over their face.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like, yeah, that's that's we're different people.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_01: All right, perfect.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then the the very last question that I want you to kind of be as candid as you can on the answer to this next question.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, let's say if uh, you know, like I told you earlier, we got kind of a pretty good small entrepreneur, you know, audience that listens to the podcast.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, let's say a smaller entrepreneur is listening to the podcast episode today, Jamie.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: And let's say they're just having a tough time with 2026, right?
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: They just have to lay off two of their two of their texts, right?
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: They just don't have enough work for them.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's a slow period.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: They had to lay them off, unfortunately.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: Both of them had kids, family, and it's unfortunate what you have to do, what you have to do to save some money, and they're just feeling stuck or overwhelmed by 2026.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: What's the piece of advice you'd give to that small entrepreneur today?
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_03: Never give up.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_03: Never back down.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_03: We are where we are because we were stubborn enough to not quit before.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_03: We are where we are because we're the few people that have a mindset to do these kinds of things.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_03: We're what creates these countries and builds these cities.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_03: Don't give up now because the world eats people like us.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_03: It does get tough, but when it gets tough, it's when we learn our best lessons, and when we learn our best lessons, it's when we grow to the next stage and become better people.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, I appreciate that.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Jamie, if there was one thing you could change about your business, let's say in the next 90 days and 90 days around when we're talking right now would probably put us right right after Halloween.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: So let's say if if you could change one thing about your business by Halloween, what would it be and why?
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_03: Having systems fully integrated and understood by everybody in the company so that we can work, you know, a basic eight or ten hour day instead of a 16-hour day, and everybody enjoy more time with our families and our friends and enjoy our weekends.
• 37:13
  unknown: Okay.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_03: Just creating the systems that would allow us smoother operations, and that's again, that's one of my biggest focuses.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_03: That that's what I would love to see change in the next 90 days.
• 37:24
  unknown: Okay.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you know, obviously there's a big difference between what you want to be changed in the next 90 days and what will actually happen in the next 90 days.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: So if we spoke again on Halloween, what do you actually think will be different with the company at that point?
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_03: I think if I don't have those systems in place, I will be very close to it.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, it'll be a lot more organized and structured.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_03: Possibly even have some more growth.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_03: We we got a lot of large clients that we're talking to right now and estimates that we're working on projects that we're working with.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_03: I I think that there's definitely going to be some growth, and no matter what, my my biggest goal is we are going to be more structured.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_03: We're going to have more standards, we're going to make this more streamlined and easy for everybody involved.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_03: Whether I'm where I want to be in 90 days or not, I will be much closer to it no matter what.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: All right, Jamie.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you again for joining us and sharing your real behind-the-scenes story of capstone construction and remodeling.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: To everyone listening, be sure to connect with our guests using the information showed today in the description.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_01: We'll include all of the social media, and follow Epic Entrepreneurs for more conversations with people building businesses and communities every day.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: Jamie, any last words for the listening audience before we go ahead and sign off?
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_03: I heard you say uh thanks for joining us with Capstone, but then you cut off for a minute.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_02: Hello?
• 38:49
  unknown: Uh