We were lucky to catch up with Darick Rutley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Darick , thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

As a licensed Residential Builder, I have a responsibility to perform my tasks the right way. I was called by a customer almost two years ago to come and provide an estimate on completing a remodeling project that had been abandoned by another contractor. When I walked into the house the first thing that I noticed was that some walls had been removed and a new stairway was in the process of being built. In Texas, there is a lot of attic space that is usually wasted and can be converted into what we call “habitable space”. This customer was trying to take advantage of that extra space and increase her home value by increasing her square footage. This was a good idea! However, she has a few issues: First of all, the first contractor convinced her to pay him for the entire job upfront (which is something that a customer should never do)! As a consequence to this bad call on her part, the contractor came up missing. He took her money and ran off never to be found by her. This is what happens when you hire someone who is not licensed, registered, or has a Google profile where you can leave reviews. Because of this nefarious act of the previous contractor, she became neurotic with me (as a contractor) and lost all trust! She began to give me the third degree that she should’ve given the first contractor that took off with over $20,000 of her hard earned money. The second issue was even worse. I asked her did the first contractor pull a city permit in order to perform the renovations that was started. She told me that he told her that it was not needed. This was bad advice. Anytime you renovate a dwelling where you have to remove walls and affect the structural integrity of a dwelling, you must use an engineer and pull a permit with the local city/township. When moving loadbearing walls you must still be able to bear the load that the last wall was upholding. This was not done. I informed the customer that it’s not too late to fix the problem! Before I touch anything, we need to move forward, I need to get with the city to pull a permit and hire an engineer because if we proceed with the renovation without a permit, when you try to sell the house later, they will not formally accredit them for the extra square footage or additions. This means you will lose the money that you invested in the home. When I told her this, she decided that she did not want to go to the city out of fear that she would be penalized for beginning the work without a permit. At the end of the day, because I refused to work on the home without using the proper measures, she elected not to work with me.

The sad thing is that there are thousands of people who hire unprofessional contractors and at the end of the day the homeowners end up paying for it! It pays to ask contractors for references, Google reviews, pictures of previous work, and make sure that you don’t expect them to cut corners to do the work properly. After all, your home is your biggest investment where you and your family will live in for years to come. It’s worth making sure that things are done correctly and safely!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a certified journeyman carpenter and a Licensed Residential Builder. I have been building/renovating houses for 25 years now. Early on in my life I knew what I wanted to do for a living. I took wood shop early in high school, then attended a technical program to learn carpentry half of my senior year in high school, then upon graduating High School I attended a local community college to take a carpenter’s framing certificate program. I have always enjoyed working with my hands to build things. I often refer to my occupation as “playing with my toys (tools)”! 80 percent of my customers are repeat clients that I have worked with in the past. What they like about me is the fact that I’m honest, fair, and trustworthy. One of the things that set me apart from other carpenters/contractors is the fact that I don’t do what I do just for money. I do it because I enjoy the work! This makes me put more pride into the project! One thing that I want potential clients to know about my business is the fact that I pride myself on restoring customer service to the American consumer.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategies that have worked for my growing clientele have been me being fair, honest, and transparent with my clients. Also, you must be an effective communicator with your clients. Every customer wants to feel like they are your only and most important customer. Even though this is not always true, if you make them feel that way, you will have a customer for life. I think it’s a simple model. You just have to treat people right!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

As a business owner, the number one reason employees and subcontractors find value in you is your ability to pay them what you’ve agreed to pay them to and pay them quickly! If you want to keep people around to ensure a successful team of dedicated workers, you must not play with their money! If you create a reputation for taking care of your team, they will do anything you ask. You must also be clear on delegation of responsibilities. Your team will only respect those whom you present publicly for them to respect. When you set these parameters, you cannot allow the others to circumvent whom you have selected! Lastly, you cannot treat the customers great but treat your team horribly. A team that feels appreciated is a team that will perform accordingly! As a manager, it’s your responsibility to make sure that working with you is a pleasant experience. Some business owners don’t feel like being “liked” is important (and maybe it’s not). But it has never hurt anyone to be nice to people!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.augustcandoit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/augustcandoit/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AUGUSTCANDOIT/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@augustconstructionandcontr3167