We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Donald Niehouse a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Donald, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?
The best thing we’ve ever done for one of our homeowners is the same thing that we do on a regular basis for our homeowners.
It’s the details. The small thing we didn’t talk to the homeowner about but we facilitated it anyway and the homeowner couldn’t believe we took the time to do that small thing.
For instance, we had a project where we needed to regrade the exterior of a home. The foundation wall in question was suffering from inward movement and water was intruding into the basement at the same location.
We conducted an extensive exterior project that included reshaping the entirety of the exterior of the foundation wall in that area which included taking up a large amount of landscaping in that area.
Our team lead took the time to carefully uproot and move some small flowers that the homeowner planted, and once the project was completed, our lead replanted those same flowers.
The homeowner couldn’t believe it. She stated that this was one of the single greatest acts of care that a business had applied to their home during a construction project.
Ever since, we’ve applied a standard operating procedure to our practice known as a “happy bonus”.
We didn’t quote them to put seed and hay down? Do it. Happy bonus.
As we removed an old fence that’s falling apart and the homeowner was aware that the fence was falling apart, replace a board or two. Happy bonus.
It’s the details that can make you or break you.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Donald L. Niehouse III. I am a Kansas City native and you could say business is in my blood.
On my Fathers side, My Great-Great-Grandfather, Lewis Edward Niehouse, was the first ever established hamburger shop in the Kansas City 19th ward many years ago as he learned the culinary art of cooking burgers from his Grandfather who brought the practice over from Germany.
My grandfather on my mother’s side, Floyd Jones, was a pioneer of business in Kansas City. He can be referred to as Kansas Cities original “Garbage-Man” as he pioneered the ideology of roll-off dumpsters for B2C way back in the 1960’s. He utilized that business to fund another business that included erecting the steel girder beams and columns that hold up a LARGE number of houses in the Kansas City Metropolitan area.
My aunt, Sheila, now handles that operation and she acts as one of my most insightful advisors / mentors.
The next time you’re in your basement, check the column holding up the steel beam in your home for a “JIMCO” sticker.
As for me, I always knew I wanted to operate my own business and apply some of the same ethics I learned growing up to it.
I started DLN Solutions | Foundation Repair out of the back of our Family SUV which was a 2001 Toyota Highlander. I remember I could only run 5 drainage pipes at a time in that vehicle, safely, and that made our first projects interesting.
The idea stemmed from fixing the water issues in my personal home. I had been toying around with some business ideas, everything ranging from Carpentry to Custom Woodworking but nothing stuck.
One day while building a dresser, the rain began and unfortunately, our basement flooded.
For some backstory, my Wife and I purchased our home at the time from our In-Laws and she remembers getting water in the basement every time it rained for at least 20 years.
I had the issue solved in 30 minutes.
My wife told me I should do that for a living and now here we are, a decade later, doing the same for our neighbors.
I take a lot of pride in our business, I mean, our business name is literally my initials. I feel that with every project we conduct, I leave a little piece of my heart behind, a little piece of me.
That ideology is what has set us apart and will continue to set us apart from our “competitors”.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Funding for a business is never easy.
I actually give speeches on this ideology from time to time to new business owners.
I know you walk into an established business and see the secretary, the shirts with logos, the nice trucks, and think that that is what a business should look like.
The reality is that that business is probably up to their necks in debt and one bad month will sink that business.
The worst part is with debt, it makes a business do “hungry” things. It can make a business cheat or cut corners in order to make the most profit possible.
I am proud to say that we have zero debt. We have never taken out a loan to purchase anything we have bought for our business and we never plan to.
Bankruptcy will not be our undoing.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Just doing good business.
Honestly, just do good business.
As you read this, you may think that that is obvious but it’s really, really, not.
Many, many, businesses out here are doing horrible business.
Their ethics are terrible, they put profit over people, they cut corners and scam / lie / cheat / steal.
One of the very first projects I ever completed was for a multi-multi-multi-millionaire who has an impressive grasp on the candle industry in Kansas City.
I didn’t have anything in line. I was a mess. My paperwork was garbage. It was sloppy and bad business.
Instead of screaming at me and acting a fool, he sat down with me one day and we talked for probably 3 hours on how exactly to do good business / what good business looks like.
His name is Pat Borders. A great man and amazing business man.
When there are almost unlimited options in Kansas City for a provider in Foundation Repair, Basement Waterproofing, Or Drainage services, you have to utilize good business practices to separate you from the pack—which I believe we have!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.frenchdrainkc.com
- Instagram: @Waterproofingkc
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/dlnsolutionskc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-niehouse-b690861b9?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
- Twitter: @Waterproofingkc