Building Legacy: From Family Trade to Luxury Construction with Doug Peterson

0:02Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of the Epic Entrepreneurs podcast where we are all about helping business owners just like you achieve success. So we don't do fancy smancy. We don't do flashing lights. We don't do a lot of things that a lot of podcasts will do. These are just real stories about real people and their entrepreneurial and business experiences. We go into their wins, their challenges, and their learnings. So we hope you enjoy it.

0:36Hi there. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I'm Bill Gilliland, your host. I am the principal at Action Coach Business Growth Partners and also one of the founders of the Asheville Business Summit. So we're welcome. We're glad to have you on the podcast. We're welcoming Doug Peterson from Peterson Builders, and I'm excited to have him as the focus today on our business spotlight. Thanks for being here.

1:10Yeah, thank you, sir. So introduce us to you and Peterson Builders and tell us a little bit about you and your business.

1:23Yeah, absolutely. I'm Peterson Builders TX. We are a third generation construction company. out of horseshoe. My dad and grandpa both built houses, but kind of in a different manner. Started building my dad, grandpa, and my uncle. And they built basically, someone would get a new house in the family. Basically, every two years, everybody moved and then got a new house. And it was a way to, it took it from there. My grandpa started building spec houses, as he had something else to do. And my dad did the same thing. And I went off to do something different and then just kind of found my way back into construction and started building stuff and moved to Texas about 15 years ago.

2:14And just been wanting to build mainly in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. We've got some stuff in Marble Falls. We did one in Wimberley, but it's in the Hill Country.

2:28Nice. Nice. So let me ask you some questions about business. So if you had to start from square one in your business, what would you do differently?

2:42So I probably started a little riskier than I started. I originally started as one at a time in my pocket. And seeing what I've seen in the area now as far as growth, I probably would have better and started two or three at a time and grown because our area is just continuing the demand is there, especially for a quality house. There are some some houses that aren't selling as a different tax bracket. So in our area, it is the retirement community around golf courses. And so a lot of people are moving from California, Colorado, you know, all of us to move here to retire and enjoy, you know, the resort and all amenities it has with a bunch.

3:28It's a higher scale house than what I was doing in Nashville. And that's the house for their retirement home. So it's, you know, 1.5 million to 20. yeah got it so what what you're what you're saying is that hey you may have taken on more faster

3:52absolutely i think risk of the unknown in the new area and knowing what i know now and especially during code uh it would have been okay to take a little bit bigger risk why did you move

4:11uh a woman just like i met a girl met a girl in nashville and she was from texas leave the girl or leave nashville so it was kind of an easy decision yeah no well it's great i mean it's an interesting one to to be have a business in in one city and then i mean you have you obviously knew how to do the business but you got to start over you got to get new subs new everything so yeah it's an interesting move it it is especially in our business with our our subcontinent part of our our trade you know i can have i do design on my own homes uh we do everything based um so everything is based you know one off every single house is unique um understand my vision and understand what i'm trying to do is very important.

5:03So some of the guys over half have been with me since the very beginning. So there was a couple of concrete guys that didn't pan. And most part, I settled in and just started watching. The guys are doing a great job and started trying to get their business. And I did. And I've got the same guy since. So I'm just happy. And it keeps me from chasing new subs. I love it. I love it. So what have been your biggest learnings as a business owner? And I don't know if you're an employer, but as subs are definitely employees. So since you started your business. Yeah. COVID was probably the biggest lesson that I learned out of lead time on stuff.

5:53I've completely changed how I do business now from when I used to ordering tile getting everything like when we're doing plans and I'm about to pull up appliances

6:08I mean even as far as like fire blower room that I keep it's just supplies for later down the road I think better appliances the high end stuff that you can't get at Home Depot is not sitting on the panel-ready fridges and stuff. They don't exist in a warehouse somewhere, and a lot of those are made to also. So we make sure that as soon as we're ordering everything, that the kitchens are designed around, and then we buy those appliances right away as soon as we start. Love it. That's probably the biggest repair than being ahead of the curve on ordering stuff. That way I'm never waiting for materials.

6:51yeah it makes sense because it's a lot of people don't understand but in construction there's there's labor there's materials and then there's the time it takes to actually build the house and if you can squeeze the time down then that's a better deal for everybody yeah i can say two or three months just on having a storeroom with everything ahead of time The cabinets, as soon as we get to the sheetrock stage, we've already planned them, but they come in and remeasure them. The sheetrock, that way they're going into production. So planning ahead with the owners, the owners understand. I mean, it is a custom home and lots of people do make changes.

7:35Being ahead of time, being overprepared with 3D renderings and give the owners as they can that they make less changes. perfect so what are some of the common misconceptions about running a business

7:55oh you have lots of free time and i literally as i was trying to call him we're on vacation with my wife um she is one of the most patient people in the world i'm always on uh i try to I keep it, you know, seven to seven, but everyone knows I'm involved. My guys are calling me, asking questions. There really is no such thing as turn. My dad is helping with the business now, and he's sending me information. That way I can help make decisions from here. But even when we're gone, you know, we just started a half-million-dollar remodel. So we're doing remodel. We're tear-out and demo right now. And it was now or never because next week we start two brand new homes.

8:44So, you know, he understands that my phone's going to ring and she's okay with it. Got it. Got it. So what do you attribute your growth to?

9:01Probably my attention to detail. Even as you walk house, two, three, four million dollars in our area.

9:12Last, you know, after the flooring's in and you'll see other guys and it's the five million dollar house and they'll have a corner round molding between their baseboards and the floor. And essentially what that is to me is like they did a mess. So they had to use another piece of trim to hide it. Board of operation oriented. I'm not scared to blue tape the entire house four or five times until it's just perfect. That's it. It's just ADD overboard. Yeah. Well, if you're building high-end houses, then attention to detail is super important. So well done there. So how do you – I mean, maybe you don't, but how do you balance personal and business?

10:02um my wife's involved in the business with a partner she goes to work with me some days um i try to um during even during the business day you know like i'll go home for lunch because we when we live in the neighborhood you know i can pop in the house and and see her in between. Sometimes she'll go on job stops with me when we're going checking on things. She'll ride with me Saturdays. So a lot of Saturdays she'll go with me to the job site. Someone will go catch brunch somewhere and hang out. Sundays is the day that I'm not available. If somebody calls on Sunday. So that's the one thing that my dad and grandpa taught me is work six days a week It's not doing anything.

10:51So, you know, in our area, they're not allowed to work on Sundays anyway, or they're not supposed to because they're out on job sites. But if there's a customer calling me on a Sunday, they're going to wait until Monday to get a response. Yeah, I like that. I like that. It's a good plan, right? Six days on, one day off for sure. So what qualities do you look for in an employee or a sub?

11:22Punctuality is tidiness. I can't stand the subs that leave a mess everywhere. So my job site and I just want people to walk in and be able to see the house at pretty much any time. So cleanness, attention to detail, and self-driven. There are a lot of guys that need constant supervision. Some guys that work can teach them how to read plans and understand it. That way they can help themselves without needing it. So self-motivated, clean guys. I like it. Product? Yeah. Punctual, tidy, detail-oriented, and self-driven. That's pretty good. So what words of advice would you offer other business owners who are looking to grow?

12:21Step out there and do a little more than you think you can. Hire your family. You can come and put, you know, that way if you're working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, at least it's always being gone. So even though we work a lot, you know, I'm still getting to spend time with my wife, dad, pretty much every day, which is great. You know, take the people that you already love and put the time with them. I love that. You know, most people would say don't work with your family. But I love that you say, hey, hire your family. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. My son is the next one we're going to bring on board.

13:04He's 20. he's like ready to run something yet. So, and, and he has a good paying job now, so it'll be hard to step in, but he's, he's the next person we're going to bring in and, and that'll be awesome. Well, yeah, I think it's, I think it's great. I mean, that'll be fourth generation then.

13:26My dad didn't force me to do building actually encouraged me not to, because it is a high stress I can do the same thing. If he wants to come in the family business I'm really in grade. So he could do HVAC, electrical plumbing, something like that and he could have his side of our company where we hire him to do plumbing and he could branch out and make his own. If I actually do retire he would have the potential to come in and step up and be I think that a lot of young people are going to college, and we really need just tight fitters. I mean, everything. Those are dying trades that we don't have enough people.

14:13Yeah, we absolutely need trades. I tell any kid that if you're good with your hands and you're not suited for an office job, and a lot of people are kinesthetic. In other words, they learn best by doing. And those kind of people, they can make a really good living in construction, in the trades, in home services, something along that where they get to be out and they can make things happen. So we're on the same page on that one.

14:44You can start at a HVAC company right now in my area. No skill, show up 23 bucks an hour. Oh, yeah. They'll teach you the trade and make it decent. Then you can go from there to starting your own company. It seems like a lot of the guys work for someone else and do what they're told. That's the exact opposite of me. I want to go and learn more and do more. Yeah, the only place that earn comes before learn is in the dictionary, right? exactly yeah you got to learn what else would you like to tell people about you or your business or any advice you'd have for any other people in business we'd love to hear it

15:37uh i guess don't be scared to start on your own protect yourself get an envelope do something that way if if something does happen you're protected make sure you understand your insurance policy though if you do have a claim you know you're you're not out so one of my lessons I've learned is through Galloway insurance and just making sure that I had the proper insurance guy fall through one of framers uh fought through a house about five years ago he was missed a step and you You know, he was a subcontractor. He did have his own injury, thinking that, you know, this is it for me because he was hurt pretty bad.

16:21And my thing worked out and it was really good to know at that moment that I was covered. So just make sure business, make sure you don't just, you know, two guys in a truck, you know, pay your dues, pay your time, and have insurance because it's the difference between going out of business or start, don't just do it. Do it right. Yeah, that's great. I love that. Don't just do it. Do it right. Because otherwise, yeah, you're setting yourself up for a, I call it an oops in business. It could be more than that. It could be something more critical. Yeah. People work 10 or 15 years and build up their money, and then all of a sudden they have a claim or something happens, and that's starting over.

17:09that's 10 or 15 years of your life gone versus, you know, yeah, I pay a year in insurance, but I'm covered. Yeah, I believe in overinsurance. Yeah. I believe in having too much insurance.

17:31It's worth it, whatever it is, not to have the peace of mind. So lastly, what's the best way for someone to get in touch with you?

17:42uh sure so our website is petersonbuilder and my email is info at petersonbuilderstx.com got it to be starting a business and need a mentor or just want to ask some questions feel free to drop me an email perfect i love it i love it well thanks for this uh fantastic we appreciate you being part of the Epic Entrepreneurs community and all you're doing out there in the workplace. And we certainly wish you continued success.

18:21Thank you, sir. Thanks for having us on. I can't wait to see. Hey, until next time, all the best.

18:32Hey, thanks for listening to the Epic Entrepreneurs podcast. podcasts, here's three things that you can do. Number one, remember to subscribe to the podcast. It takes very little effort on your part. It's going to help you and your fellow entrepreneurs. Plus, you guys know how it works. The more subscribers we get, the more cool things we can offer to you. Second, to learn more about growing your business, just download my book, the coach approach. It's free for you at giftfrombill.com. That's giftfrombill.com. Hey, and if you'd like more info about growing your business and what we can do to help you grow your business, send me an email directly.

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