We were lucky to catch up with Jack Olea recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

My prior job before became a business owner was fundamental to achieve such title in my present. I worked 3 years for a construction company that had been stablished for 10 years in the area. One of my uncles still being the general supervisor for that company so he was the one that got me that job when I moved in to the big city. I had my goals and my plan really stablished so for those 3 years I stayed focus on that. The first year I focused on learn how to do any job and any task. I focused on learn each of any construction craft and skill so I put my tool belt on and by the end of that year I was a skilled carpenter.

The second year I got a promotion and I became a crew leader. They gave me a company truck to drive and a crew to lead in any of the projects we worked on. In that year I practiced and improved my leadership.

By the third year the started to give more responsibility on the projects, technically I became a contractor/Builder by that time. I still had my tool belt on but at same time I was running and organizing the projects.

At the end of the third year I felt and knew I was ready to do the big step. I had the skills, the experience, the knowledge, the tools and equipment that I had bought during those 3 years and some money saved to invest in my own company. So I quick and the rest is history.

I was so lucky for that job opportunity and for the supervisor and boss that I had. The lesson I can share to you is that you need to be determined about what you really want. You need to have a plan, goals and be completely focused on that plan. For this kind of career you don`t really need the school or a college degree, you only need to be determined, focused and persistent about what you really want to be and want to do and trust me… You´re gonna make it!

Jack, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello everyone,

My name is Jack Olea, I´m 33 years old and I am the main contractor/builder/designer and owner of Frontstar Construction LLC.

I got into the construction/remodeling business when I moved from a small town at the border in South Texas to one of the most important and big cities in North Texas. For years I was pursuing my dream to create a music career and became a “Rockstar” in my hometown but when I decided to leave that world and do another thing I moved to Dallas and I started working for one of my uncles in a construction company. After 3 years working there I generated the knowledge, skills and experience to follow my own path and found my own company. And as an natural artist I began to feel the same passion to build, create and design as same as I have it for the music.

Frontstar Construction offers all kind of general contracting services. We do new construction, Bathroom remodels, kitchen remodels, additions, roofing, decks and porches, ADU´s, outdoor living spaces, driveways, general repairs, etc.

We offer one of the best contractor services in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We build the dream space to all of our customers with a professional team, great quality, values and ethical standards.

I´m really proud of my work team, my happy customers and friends, my brand, my quality, my leadership and now the service of teach other contractors on their careers.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I have to stories to share and both of them happened in the same year. THIS YEAR ACTUALLY! So they count as one.

The first one is about my first experience dealing with a tough customer. First of all he got in a really slow season (winter) so I really needed to get a project to keep my team working and keep the company running. This customer got a big water problem in his house so he needed to remodel the first story completely, kitchen, flooring, carpet, walls, etc. He was desperate because his house was uninhabitable and his insurance was fighting to not cover most of the expenses. So we were negotiating the price for weeks. As I said he got me in a really slow season so I dropped the price drastically to get that project. Technically that price would just cover my direct costs and overhead for the project but not profit at all. What I did not know was that the two months of project was going to be a nightmare full of stress and anxiety for dealing with a really difficult person and culture. At the end I lost some money for the price I was agreed and it cost me a lot of nights with no sleep but the project turned in one of features for my portfolio and I´m proud of it.

The second one is about a real state investment I did. I thought that as a contractor to fix and flip a house was going to be easy. WHAT A MISTAKE!

At the end I bought the property for a high price, I spent more money that I estimated in the remodeling and the housing market was terrible this year that it took me four months to sell the house and I had to sold it really cheap just to get rid of it. I lost a big sum of money on that one. It almost cost me the company.

But I decided to leave this mistake in the past, learn the lesson, get the experience and wisdom and keep going and working on my dreams and goals.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

professionalism and quality for sure! But the most important things to build a good reputation in this industry is the honesty, transparency and good communication with my customers. They really appreciate that you share with them any detail about their project not matter how big or tiny is that detail. They really appreciate to hear the truth about all the circumstances that could show up during their project. And they really appreciate you for being polite and respectful any time you talk with them.

I´ve been in business for two years and I´ve kept busy only with referrals thank to my good reputation. Until this year I started working with a marketing company to double our revenue and production as a new year goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.frontstarco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/concretecowboytx/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackolea91
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-olea-b94083197/
• Twitter: https://x.com/jack_olea
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConcreteCowboyTV
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@concretecowboytx?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Image Credits

Erika Amescua Mendoza