Building More Than Homes: Creating Community in Asheville with Mitch Roedel

0:02Mitch Roedel:Hi, 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. as we go into their wins, their challenges, and their learnings. So we hope you enjoy it. Good day, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.

0:46Today, I'm excited to be joined by Mitch Rodell with Tara Futura. Mitch, thanks for being here. How are you doing today? I'm great, man. How are you doing? Yeah, I'm doing wonderful. We're excited to have you here, so let's go ahead and jump right in. So for those of you who may not know it yet, who are you, who is Mitch Rodell, and what is Terra Fortuna? So I am a kid that loves playing with Legos, and I grew up and got to play with real Legos. So I'm very grateful for that. A lot of people in this world don't have that opportunity. And for many years, I didn't think that I deserved that opportunity or had the tools to take advantage of that opportunity.

1:29I worked in restaurants for a long time and would do set design, set construction, design work, little fun things on my own for cash during the day. And then go to the restaurant at night and make the good money and get the free beer, free booze, free food and have some fun. And that was great. And I really learned how to interact with all different people from around the world. I got to work in the L.A. hospitality industry, and I really saw and experienced some amazing things. So I don't know why I had the mindset that I could not have a profitable career that was 100 % in building. But that's the idea I had until I let go of that idea.

2:18and went full-time building homes in LA about 15 years ago now. And the interesting thing about that is that I didn't set the goal. I didn't say, you know, this is what I want to do now. I just was available to help somebody. And he asked me to come in and be his assistant, and then I went full-time. And coincidentally, as that was happening, that's when I was with Thomas James Homes. as that was happening thomas james was growing exponentially so they promoted me to pro from assistant project manager to project manager very quickly i excelled the company excelled we started building lots of homes and that was 99 urban infill where we would go and find a dilapidated house on a piece of million dollar dirt on the west side of los angeles tear it down build a new home for a nice family and i loved that i also loved going into the old homes before we'd tear them down and grabbing the plants uh reclaimed wood weird old furniture things that i could use for my other creative building adventures so i had a great time there i learned a ton and i am very lucky to be one of those people that got paid to learn instead of having to go to school and paying somebody else to teach me.

3:42I did get an associate's degree years before this, and luckily I did that at a community college. So I had very low debt from college, and now I'm getting paid to learn what I really love and meeting all these interesting people and suddenly handing over keys for multi-million dollar homes to somebody and realizing that things had progressed quite a bit from the little lego sets on the living room floor at that point i also met my amazing wife she is an improviser um she is misfit improv of ashville founder artistic director i went to a show with my buddy in los angeles and i was the weird fan that came up to her after and gave her my number i gave her my number and a bag of chips and that worked um she texted me a few days later uh and And she is all that in a bag of chips, that is for sure.

4:34And we have just been laughing together ever since. Once I passed the boyfriend test, she brought me to Asheville, North Carolina. Technically, Waynesville, North Carolina is where her family's cabin is. And I immediately fell in love with the area, waited for it to be the rest of the family's idea for us to move out here. And three years now, full time, many years vacationing. But in that three years full-time, I have been building homes out here, and I just started working with Terra Futura. I am very excited about this company. So right after I moved here, I started going to real estate events and networking events where I could get to know people.

5:16But my main focus was affordable housing. I know how to build big, fancy houses for the wealthy. but what I hadn't figured out yet was how to make the numbers work for affordable housing and or just attainable housing for the general population so in these adventures at networking events I met Jack and Kelsey and at the time they seemed nice I got Kelsey's number we talked a little bit about construction and affordable housing but I really didn't know that this was going to happen. So years after that now, we had started seeing each other at some other affordable housing events and with other groups that we both happened to be part of.

6:03And then about two months ago, Jack called me and asked me if I could come work with them. So I stopped by and I actually didn't think it was a good fit for them at first. So I offered to sort of consult and give some advice and maybe help train one of their current team members. But then after a few weeks, we realized we needed to make this work. We were too good a match. And it was one of those things where life events just sort of collided into that moment. And we came up with an agreement, and I have officially started as of last week as a full-time employee at Terra Futura, and I think maybe future partner, they have completed four buildings, four new buildings of Phase 1.

6:52They are duplexes, so we have eight units currently under construction. And in about three weeks, we'll have the first two ready for showing. So I'm very excited about that because what Terra Futura offers is a mini community within West Asheville. West Asheville itself is a wonderful community, but it can be difficult to really connect with your next door neighbors. The founders, Jack and Kelsey, met at the West Asheville Farmers Market. So yes, you can go somewhere and meet people and have this amazing connection. But what we really believe is that people in the area are craving that little village to raise their kids in and to have families in.

7:38That thing that they had experienced in other parts of the world but haven't been able to find here. So right after I met them three years ago and they told me what they wanted to do, I was impressed with their vision but did not expect them to pull it off, to be honest. So when I came across them again three years later and saw that they had gotten city approval for 19 units on this sweet little piece of land in West Asheville, I was just blown away. And now we are almost done with phase one. Phase two will begin probably in four to five months. We will be starting the community garden in the next few weeks.

8:24and it's just an incredible place that i invite anybody to reach out to me and come by for a tour uh we have sold one of the units already to a nice family before even finishing people are extremely excited about this coincidentally some of my best friends from growing up are right down the street um it really is going to be it already is an amazing place but it is on the cusp now this is an exciting time to swing by um they have just had their second child together they have some other children older children from a previous marriage but the there is an energy in the air here that i am excited to share with other people yeah okay okay so take us back to the very beginning you know what made you say yep, I'm doing this, I'm joining up with Tero Futuro.

9:16So sort of pre-beginning was meeting them at an AVL meetup event. That event no longer exists, but there were some really great people there, and now they have moved on to other things. So we met, and then it was, I guess, actually four weeks ago now that I came to the site for the first time and saw what they had accomplished since I'd met them. Um, so as I pulled in and saw the four units that they'd started, it hit me that they'd really done it, which it's a goal that I had been afraid to even attempt personally. Um, but, but this is, this is the better, I shouldn't say better. This is the type of urban infill that I have dreamt of doing.

10:04So, again, as the tires hit the dirt road that will soon be a fresh, new, beautiful little driveway road with flowers and parking area, as I hit that, it just sunk in that they actually did it. The thing that so many people have talked about, the thing that I've wanted to do, they did it. and and and the true classic american success story that they sold so they had been in previous marriages they sold their homes got together and just used that little bit of equity from the earlier homes to do this this is not the wall street corporation coming in and building in these are ashville residents taking it upon themselves to develop using local lenders it's It's really a miraculous story.

10:57So that all just sort of hit me in the first five minutes that they did it. Okay. So let's say if you had to start from absolute scratch, you know, no brand, no clients, no safety net. What would you do differently the second time around? Or would you do anything differently? No, I really wouldn't. They've nailed it. They've just absolutely nailed it. Okay. Okay. So what would you say is a lesson you learned the hard way, you know, in business that no one really prepares you for? That the regret of not taking the risk always hurts more than the pain from taking the risk. So you mean just sitting on the sideline not doing it rather than doing it, it hurts more?

11:46Yes. Yes. Okay. Yeah. So what would you say is a lesson you learned the hard way as a business owner that no one really prepares you for? That even though I'm a great builder and project manager, I still need a project manager for my own stuff. My wife and I bought the sweet farmhouse in Waynesville, big time fixer upper. It was a great deal with a pond and all the streams is perfect. and instead of stopping and bringing in somebody to manage it for me and sort of guide me, I'm like, this is what I do. I can do this myself. But left to my own devices, I wander around my own path. And that project was the most over budget and delayed project I have ever worked on.

12:42You would think if it was mine, it would be under budget and on time. But no, no. For some reason, when I'm just doing it for me, things don't pan out. I have to be of service if I want to be successful. So what would you say is one common myth people believe about running a business that makes you laugh now when you hear it? that it requires wealth to start a business the business ownership is only for the wealthy yeah so definitely that's definitely not the case you're able to start with next to next to nothing i mean there's business loans there's all kinds of things you can do out there but yeah yeah definitely don't need a whole lot of financial backing to get started i agree with you on that um so be honest are you naturally more of an entrepreneur or an employee at heart I don't know yet.

13:39I want to be an entrepreneur. But as I said a couple of questions ago, I do much better when I'm of service to others. When I can show up and help Terra Futura, I do great. When I go home to work on my own little projects, my attention span goes back to baby monkey, just bouncing around. okay so how do you personally handle stepping away from the business are you a you know type of person that's able to unplug at six seven o 'clock at night or do you work around the clock how do you handle that that's another thing i'm very proud of with terra futura they really do believe strongly in a work-life balance so um we're currently focusing on welcoming their second son together Owen into this world um and I have never had the pleasure of showing up to a job site and getting to kiss a newborn on the forehead um so Owen is our focus for the next few weeks maybe month or two and then I got lost from the question I got distracted by little Owen can you repeat the question yeah no no basically I was just saying how do you uh how do you unplug at the end of the day yes yes so um i am a new uncle um and they are again new parents they they are very used to being parents but asking a parent as they're holding their newborn what work you know what life balance looks like is probably not a smart question but well i can answer that question that for the next few weeks there will not be balance we will be overwhelmed with love and joy as we lose sleep over this magical little human.

15:24And then what that looks like is setting up systems that really let us cover each other. I have worked in situations in the past where people are motivated not to be replaceable. I have worked many places where I had that not good enough imposter syndrome thing in me. So I would often neglect sharing information with coworkers that will be helpful to them when I'm not on site because I am trying to prove my value through that system. And we all made it very clear when we started talking about this new relationship with myself and Terra Futura that we wanted a company culture that was loving towards each other and completely open with our information for many reasons, but especially so that any of us can step away when we need to and recharge and enjoy life.

16:29We are here to build a place where people can enjoy their lives. And that's probably not going to work very well if the people building it aren't enjoying their lives. And I know it's, it's, you're right about that. I mean, I don't think anybody on their deathbed said ever said, you know, Hey, I wish I would have worked more, which I would have done more over time and which would have, you know, drain myself out, you know, when I was in my twenties or thirties, you know, I think everybody just wishes they spent more time with loved ones, uh, never that they worked more. So definitely, I definitely agree with that work-life balance.

16:59I think it's huge. Um, cause there's more to life than work. Right. I mean, obviously we've got family, you've got new, you know, Owen and all that. So, um, so yeah, I mean, you know, let's, and this is obviously hypothetical, but let's say you're getting ready to hire somebody to join your team. You said project manager you work with when you're building that team and you're hiring people, you're talking to people, what traits matter more to you than what's on someone's resume?

17:26So willing to make mistakes is the most important thing. And no matter how good they are, they're going to have to come in and it's not really an interview with us so much as come meet jess who is our design assistant slash admin slash magician uh alden who is our site supervisor and then of course the owner is jack and kelsey um so we need to make sure we can all speak a similar language and work together and and then i i am of the mindset that i would rather train the person that's the right fit than look for somebody that has the skills that I can check off the boxes on and try to force their personality to match with ours.

18:16Yeah. Yeah. And I, and I totally agree with that too, because I, you know, I've said this in the past myself is, you know, you spend so much time at work. I mean, we spend more time at work than we do with our own families. Right. So it's like, if I can't enjoy being around you, I don't know if that's, I don't know if that's going to go well, especially when we spend so much time with each other. The real interesting thing with that here, I don't know if it was intentional or we all just got lucky. I'm the only one without very young children here. Alden, our site supervisor, him and his wife are parents.

18:53His wife's sister is Jess, who works here. She is a young parent, a parent of a young child. So there's sort of this co-parent, this like, we already have a village here. The job site's not even open to the public yet, and there's already a village raising children here together in the workplace. So it's pretty magical. Yeah, it is. It is. So do you do anything intentionally or on purpose to keep your workplace positive, motivated, and productive for anybody that you're working with, especially during a stressful time? Yes, absolutely. We thoroughly encourage humor, which I get recharged on no matter what when I get home to Jillian.

19:36Although she's often out late doing improv shows in and around Asheville. So sometimes it's not going home after work. Sometimes it's catching an improv show right down the street. And that's the other thing I love about Terra Futura is I have had the honor of building homes all over Western North Carolina now. And it is incredible to get to drive up a mountain and claim my job site as, you know, this place with world-renowned wildlife. But to be able to go to the same place every day in the heart of the community that I'm already a part of is pretty special. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Western North Carolina is a special place.

20:19All right. So, yeah, so we're going to head into what's called the quickfire round. So basically what's going to happen here is I'm going to give you one word and then you just tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear that word in regards to your business. But then you also I also want you to expand about us, expand upon what you're talking about when you say that. All right. So the first word is education. Education. So we need to be able to teach each other in the workplace and be open. I love dumb questions. Dumb questions are my favorite questions. um the more dumb questions the better i i get nervous when i stop hearing questions in the workplace yeah next is planning so planning is technically my job but really it's everybody's so there are a million different software options plans and great ways to make a plan but here at Terra Futura, we need to sit down together and really look at the whole thing.

21:24Because a big portion of what we do also as a green builder is making sure that we don't waste materials. And that means to allow for the plan to change on the fly when we realize we have extra siding or we over-ordered on the cedar shingle. So we're going to actually shrink the other types of siding and adjust the design process, which then involves Jess and Kelsey. Yeah, being able to adjust on the fly. Inspiration. Inspiration is real easy here. I am currently sitting at the kitchen table of Jack and Kelsey's home while they're at the hospital with their newborn. They are building the village around their home.

22:10and this is a 1940s farmhouse um i love old buildings i get inspired every time i walk in here and then i get to look out the window to the southwest and see the blue ridge mountains and the sunset there's currently a fire in the fire pit right outside the door that i lit before i sat down here barefoot in their kitchen to do this interview i mean this is it's hard not to be inspired when i step outside i can just smell fresh pine from the mulch that we got from tree trimmers in the area to use for parking areas and pathways in here i then go over to the converted barn garage that we use as our office and look for reclaimed materials to add to our projects and the entire time i'm being followed by daisy the dog that jack rescued while he was spending time in panama um so yeah it's hard to i it would be impossible for me to show up here and not be inspired yeah commitment commitment is something that has changed a lot for me recently.

23:30I am committed to doing a great job for Terra Futura, but what I've done in the past is run from myself by doing that. Especially in my 20s and early 30s, I didn't want to be self-aware. I didn't want to look at my demons, at the mistakes I'd made. I didn't want to stop and ask myself why I talk to certain people a certain way.

23:57And partly from the own work, from the work that I did myself before getting here, and now what we help each other do, we're able to be committed to our life away from Terra Futura just as much as our life here at Terra Futura when we show up to work. Perfect. And the last word is execution. Ah, execution. That's a very important project management word. So we have a fun workplace. We have a workplace where we get to educate each other. We get to tell jokes and come up with incredible design ideas. But at the end of the day, it's the execution that has made us, unlike any other builder in the area, it is execution on the part of Jack and Kelsey that it was able to get 19 units in West Asheville through planning on their own.

24:54I mean, they will tell you that they had help from others, but in my mind, they did something incredible on their own, on a shoestring budget. So they're actually some of the kindest, most loving people that I've ever met that are masters of execution. Nice, nice. All right. So yeah, appreciate that with the quick fire round. So, you know, and I want you to be as candid as you can and be as honest as you can for this next answer. But let's say, you know, let's say if a small business person, a small business worker or owner was listening to the podcast right now today, and let's say they feel stuck or overwhelmed, having a rough day, having a rough month or having a rough 2026 all in general, what's a piece of advice you'd want them to hear from you today just go for it i was looking at land for a potential client two days ago and i pooped my pants out there in the world it's it's embarrassing not what i wanted to be doing well you know what i cleaned myself off and kept moving and the client's very excited about the land uh there there is there you know just go for it and and it'll be a funny story later.

26:11It might be uncomfortable. It might stink in the moment, but it'll be a funny story later. And I would take that any day over going back to the stuffy office job that I had in the past. Okay. Okay. So what's next for Terra Futura? What should people be excited about coming up in the near future? So we will be unveiling our first model unit in about three weeks, and then we'll be breaking ground on phase two. Yes, come see our show unit, and I want people to tell their friends that Asheville can be the city we want it to be. Now, that's going to take a lot more than Terra Futura. But we do not have to keep building boring beige apartment buildings in this town to tackle the housing crisis.

27:08We can tackle the housing crisis one little beautiful neighborhood at a time. Okay. And finally, what's the best way for someone to connect or learn about more about what you do? My phone number is 828-508-8246. That is my personal cell phone number. Anybody can call or text me anytime from anywhere. when it's time for me to shut down i hit moon on the phone and flip it over walk away from it um i want anybody and everybody to know that if they need help building something in this area i am here for them terra futura is here for them we want to build a more beautiful sustainable ashville all right perfect all right mitch yeah this has been fantastic yeah thank you so much for sharing your story, your perspective, and your real behind the scenes of building your business.

28:00We really appreciate you doing everything for the community and wish you continued success in Terra Futura. Thanks. I want to add one more thing. Yeah. That phone number is for anybody and everybody. There is a way to build housing on any budget. Jill Queen with HomeTrust, it's a local bank, local lender. She has incredible programs. I promise you, if you don't think you can afford your own home, we will find a way. I love it. I love it. And you had that phone number. And let's go ahead and repeat that phone number one more time. 828-508-8246. You can afford your own home. Perfect. Perfect. All right, Mitch.

28:44Well, yeah, appreciate it. You have a wonderful day. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. All right. Appreciate you.

28:51Mitch Roedel:Hey, thanks for listening to the Epic Entrepreneurs Podcast. 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.

29:38Mitch Roedel:Just send it to williamgilliland at actioncoach.com. That's my personal email that I read. No one else reads it first. it's not screened it's my real email just send it to me i can't wait to talk to you hey and until then all the best