Building Success: Greg Junge's Journey from Remodeling to High-End Construction

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.

0:37hey there hope you're having a fantastic week welcome to this week's episode of epic entrepreneurs and we've got a real good one today i am talking with greg young of young construction so howdy greg welcome to the show how's it going yep and uh so tell us greg you know how did you get into construction in the first place? Yeah, pretty much. Well, thanks for having me, Bill. I've always enjoyed doing these. So it was a lot of fun. The funny thing is, I guess I just sort of grew up in it. So I don't know if I really had a choice to be in construction. It sort of found me. I'm a second generation general contractor and um i've been doing it for quite a while now so

1:33what like what what do you build do you build like new construction do you do remodeling what what is it that you focus on so i've had the pleasure and curse of doing a lot of remodeling, which is only a curse because it involves a lot of unknowns, which is sort of, you know, great for some people. But I sort of started getting tired of fixing rotten wood and have been aiming towards new construction more over the last few years. Yeah. A little bit slower, you know, it's, it's a little bit weird of a barrier to entry. I feel like when you're more known as a remodeler, you get a lot of calls for that.

2:11And that's sort of what I grew up doing as well. So, you know, about eight years ago or so, I decided that I want to do more new construction, which was more of a turned into kind of an additions first version of new construction. So at least we were attaching to houses instead of just fixing their existing spaces. But but yeah, the reason I say it's it's it's sort of a good thing and a bad thing, because a lot of guys just do new construction where I feel like we were able to see what was done wrong so many times. It kind of makes us a little bit sharper of a new construction firm rather than guys that only do new construction.

2:56Yeah, I know back in 2009 time, France, when it had a downturn, a lot of people that only did new construction tried to do remodeling and didn't do it well because it's really a different business. it's almost like two businesses and right now as we're transitioning it still feels like two businesses you know it's um it's very kind of tricky yeah it's uh it's remodeling is very mentally distracting you're almost as involved with a medium-sized renovation as a whole home there's a lot of emotions there's a lot of um you know not i wouldn't want to say dealing with the client but they're you're in their home so it's a lot different you know there's a lot a lot more customer, a lot of different customer facing challenges than new construction.

3:46Yeah, because they're either living in it or even if it's a second home, they want to be there some and, you know, their house is torn up. So, yeah, but it's a good business. They're both good businesses. But I do think they're different businesses. So I think your think on that is now. So one of the things that I know you've been working on is getting into some upper, higher-end neighborhoods. So tell us a little bit about that process and what you've learned by doing that. Well, it's definitely a process. We've learned it takes time and you need to be patient. um it's it's definitely been a long road to uh to break that initial entry and um up front cost is definitely there just putting in the the groundwork for that um we're we're currently very proud of uh well we've been able to get started in brights creek which is a local community in mill spring here um not mills river which we seem to get confused a lot with but um it's uh you know the steps are are definitely they're sort of laid out for you though which is kind of great so you can kind of follow that in um in this particular circumstance we needed to come to them with a house that we wanted to build so there was a lot of time involved getting like a really nice floor plan um so a partner with shamburger architects to get that rolling wanted somebody who was really renowned for the area and have a reputable name that we could kind of piggyback on.

5:20So that was a tactic that we used to make that a little easier, and it did seem to work. We've got a homeowner construction in there that is just beautiful and will be a really nice finished product when it's said and done. Yeah, so all right, so these developments have rules. They have a way to get in there. In this case, their rules were basically you had, I mean, I'm sure the floor plan has to be approved. You have to be approved as a contractor to even build in there. And then, but your tactic was to get with Waylon Schamburger, who's probably already in there, and is a well-known architect to use sort of his, I guess, his database and his reputation to be able to work with you to get a house into the development.

6:16Correct. And I think it probably started with referrals because the way it seems, I don't think that they reach out to anybody that hasn't been vetted at least two or three times over by other people and then they came to me and asked if we were interested in participating with their preferred builder program. And then that lands you in the lineup for the top five builders that they refer you to. And I think to really get your foot in the door, you have to bring that floor plan to them so you can kind of have some skin in the game and be a partner with everybody. Yeah. So did you guys have to make an investment, like buy some lots or agree that you were going to do certain things?

7:01Or was there any kind of a, I guess, I mean, that's sort of one way to qualify people, I guess, in some of these neighborhoods. Right. And that's pretty much how it went down. We didn't purchase the lot, but we were selecting lots and looking for a house that would sit well on a prime lot that they could then list for sale, essentially. And it's a fun little process, but Brides Creek is sort of a little further removed than a lot of the other neighborhoods in the area that have maybe been here almost equally as long, potentially. But because we're so far from Home Depot and Lowe's and all of the common amenities that a lot of folks desire, it's been a little bit slower to come up.

7:49You know, so even though it's a beautiful community and beautiful setting and great golf course that doesn't have everything for the full family, so to speak. So they've been building up their internal amenities. And as some of the Western counties and places in Asheville are sort of running out of real estate, we're now seeing a pretty good uptick in interest, even though it's more remote. So it's it's coming around right now. Yeah, it's nice out there. um beautiful yeah it really is well let's switch gears a little bit tell it so let's talk about some of the lessons that you've learned i mean you've been in business for a while what are some of the bigger lessons that you've learned over the years some big lessons and some painful lessons you know i'm i've been very very i've been very grateful and lucky that i've learned from so many mentors around me so um I've been able to avoid a lot of painful mistakes that I've seen other people make.

8:51So I wish I could give you some exact examples, but a lot of them were sort of escaping me now. Really just client interactions are super important. Managing expectations, I think, is probably one of the biggest hurdles that we all face. And I would imagine that's in all of our different career paths. But in construction and managing a whole home's expectation, there can be some general assumptions that get missed along the way. And if you don't clear them up quickly or you don't have contracts that have a lot of things in writing that really guide the client to what they can expect to get from you, that's probably one of the biggest lessons that anybody that's just starting out should grab onto from this comment.

9:38if you're not covering everything in writing. And I'd say it's hard to cover everything in writing, but there's a lot of important details that need to be covered in your contracts. Yeah, I mean, I heard, well, first I heard have mentors. And that's the first thing I heard. That's the first big lesson that I think that people should take. The second is client communication is massively important. And the third is, it's really four. Third is managing expectations. So that's about positioning how this process is going to work. And then the fourth one is you need to put it in writing. And so that could either be through contracts or checklists.

10:18I'm a big believer in checklists. And so that even talking to a – having a system that you go through with every single client is important because that way you get all the bases covered. At least you've said it. They've signed off on it. They understand the importance of it. So that's four or five big lessons, I think, that could – and it doesn't matter if you're in construction or not. That's 100 % across the board with any business and dealing with any customers. So it's just a big number when you're building a house. And so it's usually the, you know, for most people, that's the biggest investment they'll ever make is whatever they're investing on their houses.

11:10So not everybody, but most people, that's it. So there's a lot of emotion tied up in there and the contracts and the expectations and all that manages the emotions and brings it back to some logic. Yeah. Yeah. So that's gosh, even expectations for when the client's going to contact you. You know, if you are in this business long enough, you've probably gotten plenty of phone calls and text messages or things after hours. And, you know, it's sort of an invasion on your personal life after a certain point, you know, at 11 o 'clock at night to be getting, you know, text mess, text message barrage of about a exhaust fan in the bathroom can really disrupt your your your peace at home.

11:53Yeah, yeah. No, it don't mess up your mind for sure. Well, I guess that's the fifth lesson is boundaries. I mean, you can position that stuff. Hey, look, I'm available. We'll have a meeting. I mean, what I like to do is have a meeting every week. Like, look, let's meet or every other week or whatever the appropriate time frame is. But we're going to have an actual meeting and we'll just save it for the meeting. We'll go over everything we need to. And it'll be during our business hours and be a time that's convenient for you. And most of this stuff's not urgent, you know, so it doesn't need to be done at 11 o 'clock at night.

12:30So that's I think I think that's I think that's awesome. Well, let's do, you know, EPIC is an acronym. So let me get your thoughts in about business and growing businesses. Sure. The E stands for education. So what are your thoughts on the role education plays in growing a business? I think if you ever stop educating yourself, it's the first milestone in going out of business. It's true, right? You're just going to plateau out. I mean, it's always the more you learn, the more you earn. So I love that. I love that. How about planning? I mean, obviously, we've got to plan when you build a house.

13:15What is your thoughts about planning a business? Planning a business. Yeah, it's I mean, it's very important. And I'm getting more and more time and opportunity to work on that as as we grow more personnel. You know, sometimes you can kind of just shoot from the hip and you can see the repercussions of that. So planning in this business is very important. And I don't think that there's another business that would, that values it even more than construction. You know, there's just so much pre-planning that needs to be done. We're managing a lot of moving parts, right? So I think even the best plan is not going to be good enough.

13:56So that means you really need to plan well. Yeah. And then planning is not just the big overall plan. I mean, you got the daily planning as well. I mean, you got to plan out your weeks, your days. Mini plan. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's the plan. Yeah, I always said, you know, you wouldn't, I mean, I wouldn't build a house and I don't think most people would build a house without a plan. You know, what makes you think you should build your business without a plan? So, you know, it's the same thing. So it's in there. Well, this is an interesting one. The I stands for inspiration. And, you know, we all know that in business, you don't get up, fired up every morning.

14:35And so where do you either find inspiration or how do you be an inspiration? And or be. Yeah. And that's a good one. And I had your your statement about not waking up every day inspired is definitely a true one. This I think probably everyone would relate that life is a bit of a roller coaster and we all, I think, go through seasons of of emotional states. So it really goes back to your E. If you're not educating yourself, you can fall out of that trap or that fall into a trap of not being inspired and not know even really what to do about it. So, yeah, I try to do a lot of small little tactics to help me stay inspired.

15:17And parts of them are just doing difficult things. So it might be ice bathing or, you know, meditating, you know, tapping into motivational speakers and things like that is sort of how I start my day to get the funk out, if you will. I can't really overemphasize how much power that stinking ice bath has. I'm going on close to two years now of almost daily cold water submersions. and I tell you, I mean, it started with cold showers, but it's progressed to as cold as 32 degree water. And man, if you're having a funk, you get out of that water and you were definitely feeling a little bit, you're a different person.

16:01Yeah, no, I think it's, I mean, Jim Rohn said it best, work on yourself harder than you do on your job and you'll be successful. I mean, this is all working on yourself. This is all getting yourself into state to be able to be the best you can be to do your job. And frankly, you can inspire others if you're not inspired. Yeah. And so that's awesome. That's good stuff. Yeah. So for all you out there, just take an ice bath and it'll get you. And don't just jump into the ice water because Greg said so. You need to educate yourself on how to do it, what the benefits are and how to do it and probably stick it slow because you can actually cause harm by doing that.

16:46I wouldn't get... Yeah, yeah. No, no, you got to know what you're doing. But I mean, look, I mean, turn the hot water off at the end of a shower and see what that does for you first. Start a timer and see how long you can wait. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not, I've done it and it is invigorating. Let me put it that way. It does change your point of view. um how about um how about a how about commitment the c is commitment and it kind of goes along with inspiration right so you don't get up every day 100 inspired until after you've had your ice bath and then and then you got to commit so what what's the got to commit to something what what's your thoughts on commitment i mean gosh commitment is such such a big thing i mean even committing to do the ice bath is another thing there, you know?

17:40So it's like, you can really want to talk yourself out of that. And that goes into, um, the doing difficult things. Cause you're going to have to do a lot of difficult things throughout the day. And if you're committed to jumping into something so difficult as to climbing into ice water, well, maybe the difficult conversation with employee might not be as difficult. You know, you're like, I mean, if I can do that, what else can I do? Right. So if you're committed and I feel like for me, this is easy because if I say I'm going to do something, I feel like I always have to follow through with it to completion.

18:12So I feel like I'm a committed individual, but then you also have to be careful. Like, what are you going to commit to? Because that can be a curse too. You know, if you're overcommitted, you might also be pretty unhappy, you know, if you can't make all your obligations. So, So, and it's a trick. Growing a business, you know, if you're not committed to the pain and suffering or to, sorry, if you're not committed to the goal, you're going to fail on the pain and suffering because it can be very overwhelming. Yeah, you'll quit. Yeah, if you're not all in, don't understand where you're going. It is not, it's not, I was talking to some guys yesterday and, you know, one of them came out of corporate and he said, you know, I traded a 55, 60 hour a week job for an 85 hour a week job.

18:54Yes, sir. So, I mean, that was what he – but he's committed to the job, and he knows it's not always going to be that way. So, yeah, it's pretty interesting. Let me ask you a question that I usually almost always ask, which is, what do you wish somebody had told you? What do you wish you had known before you got into business? Yeah.

19:25I'm almost, well, I just turned 40 this past year in 24. And I started my first business when I was 19. And I ran it for 17 years. And so it's really tough to go back before that. And I feel like I did learn a lot of lessons along the way. But I mean, more recently, I think just things that I've learned is a lot of visualization techniques and things like that could have helped me sooner. You know, I can tell you, though, that that's not just an easy. You better be committed to that as well, because it's not a single dose application. It's like a daily commitment to to really like being there for yourself and working on yourself and.

20:12Keeping your head out of the gutter and. And, you know, I don't think anyone needs to tell you that business is hard, you know, but anything is as hard as you make it to be. So I guess there's a lot of lessons in that, in those little statements. But I'm telling you now, I'm not an expert at it. I'm still a student of that mindset and that pathway. And I'm personally in one of those winter seasons right now where I don't feel that inspired. And I'm having to lean on my commitment to pull up the I. So my C needs to lead my I right now. Yeah, no, I understand. I understand that. Yeah. Well, that's right.

20:49I mean, that's where I say, where do you find inspiration? Sometimes, like for me, it's usually a new class or a new learning or something that, or a new goal. But I've got to sit down and actually do a little reflection on it. I'm going to let you in on a secret, and you already know it because of who you are. But the listeners out there, I'm going to let you in on a secret. And that is, if you want to grow your business, grow yourself. That's all there is to it. I mean, John Maxwell called it the law of the lid and basically said, if you're at a certain level, for those that are, that are, that are seeing this on video, you see my hand, your business can only go to that, to where that level is.

21:37But as you grow, then the business can come along behind it. So if you want to grow your business, grow yourself. And yeah, I think that's true with everything. You want to grow your bank account or you want to grow out of a home that you're living in. If your mental story is I'm just a poor person who lives in a single wide trailer, boy, that will keep you there longer than anything else in your mind. Yeah, you'll figure it out if you change the message in your mind that you're a multimillionaire. Even if you're living in a single wide right now, if you believe it and you continue to tell yourself that, you'll be a multimillionaire.

22:13Your brain will figure out how to do it. You'll take the courses. You'll do the work. Now, it's not easy. You've got to do the work, and you've got to become the person who can be a multimillionaire, but you've got to do the work that way. So excellent stuff. So any other advice, anything that comes to your mind, anything you want to say about anything, about business, life, Greg, young construction, anything? Well, I mean, the education part and being a student of yourself is probably the biggest takeaway that any person can get from any of this that we're talking about today.

22:57It is what keeps me going, I would say, just knowing that I'm going to keep tapping into it. I'm looking at my whiteboard here beside me as I'm looking for inspiration to answer your question or to go deeper. I feel like I've just, as I learn a lesson, I write a little quote down, you know, I've got things on this board. Like I was born for this kind of challenge and don't meet me there, beat me there. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. And there's just, there's a lot of little things on my board here that help me stay inspired, I guess, when I'm, when I need to look for something. Yeah, just keep working on, keep working on going, getting better.

23:35Yeah, you still have, you still have to do the business stuff. You still have to learn the hard stuff, but you got to do the soft stuff, too, working on yourself. So that's a good thing. So if people are interested in building a nice house, how do they get a hold of you? Yes, if you're looking for a multimillion-dollar luxury home on a golf course, look us up on Facebook for Young Construction. It's J-U-N-G-E for everybody who doesn't maybe get a visual on that one. And my dad is from Germany. It's a German name. It means young. So we say it as its meaning. But it's really Jungen, which is a little difficult to pronounce.

24:18But we're on the web. We got a good website and web presence, things like that. You could actually find our house listing on Bright's Creek website as well. So if anyone's interested in that, that's a good resource, too, as well. Fantastic. So just check it out on the web. We'll get that in the show notes. We'll be in there. So this has been fun. Thanks, Greg. Yeah. Thanks, Bill. Thanks for having me on. I enjoyed it. Yeah. Hey, and for any of you who would like to work on yourself or work on your team or work on your business, we have a number of 12-week training courses. We have 12-week leadership, we have 12-week management, we have 12-week sales, and we have a 12-week general business masterclass.

25:07So if you or any of your people could be better managers, sales peoples, or leaders, we'd love to have a chat with you. Hey, and until next time, all the best.

25:21Hey, 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 gift from bill.com that's gift from bill.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 just send it to williamgilliland at actioncoach.com that's my personal email that i read no one else reads it first.

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