We were lucky to catch up with Jaime Rubio recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jaime, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

One of my clients wanted me to build some windows. It was my first time making an estimate for merely windows, as I mostly worked on plastering, fencing, deck, etc. As the project went on, I realized that there were many unforeseen factors that took more time and money than anticipated.

First, the plexiglass in the size that we wanted was much harder to find than we thought, so we spent a whole day calling all material stores around hoping we could have some luck. None of the stores had the materials in stock, so we had to pay a much higher price to purchase a bigger size.

Since I wasn’t as experienced in window projects, I failed to consider my time to paint the woods, accurately quote for the plexiglass, and ran into a shortage of another material — rubber weather strips. All the unexpected issues had lengthened the project from an estimated duration of 2 days to ultimately 4 days. Fortunately, my girlfriend helped me throughout the whole project, and hence I only had to hire 1 employee instead of 2. We were working overtime till around 8pm for a couple of days to make sure we didn’t pass the deadline.

The material and labor cost ended up surpassed the revenue. One of the bigger jobs I’ve got had turned into a volunteering project. Though it didn’t generate any income, my client loved the final results and that’s all that matters. Now I maintain a good relationship with the client and she has been asking me for help whenever she needs something fixed. Another good things that came out of it is that I gave the remaining unused plexiglass to my neighbor who is a principal at the middle school my son attended. I’m glad that he could make good use of them.

I freaked out quite a bit in the beginning when different issues surfaced. Realizing I wasn’t going to make any money from this had put quite some stress on myself. However, I am a man of words and wouldn’t increase the price after the client had already approved the quote. I’m glad that I’ve experienced this so now I am a lot more cautious in writing estimates and taking all small details into consideration. This project made me feel really fortunate to be doing business with my partner/girlfriend because she shows me commitment not only in the good times, but also the bad times.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Born in a financially poor environment in Mexico, I started working since I was 12 in order to help support my family. I had my first mini business when I was 18 selling tarps, unfortunately my kindness was taken advantage of and I ended up losing a lot of money. I moved to the United States at 24 for better opportunities and have stayed here since then. Because of my lack of education (high school), the only jobs I could get into was construction. I joined a plaster company and started building my plastering skills.

After a few years, I opened my own plastering business which began to make profits after 3 years. The biggest projects I’ve taken on were between $50,000 and $75,000. Throughout the years, I’ve also slowly accumulating different construction skills. I ended up doing a complete remodeling on the house that my ex partner and I purchased in 2013. I changed the exterior from sidings to stucco, built a deck and fences, built a 1-bedroom apartment from an empty basement, painted all walls, changed the cabinets… you name it. Unfortunately, I had to close down my business due to some family emergency in 2019. I was unemployed for a couple of years then started working under Union afterwards.

Working in the Union provides me a stable source of income and a peace of mind. I don’t have to worry about landing projects constantly, or spend extra time buying materials, preparing estimates, etc. However, as a free spirit, my dream was to be independent again. So I have decided to start my entrepreneurship again and founded J & J Home Renovations LLC with my girlfriend in 2024. We are a general construction company that provides general construction/remodeling for residential buildings including, but not limited to, drywall, plaster, painting, flooring, deck, fencing, roofing, and siding. Though our company is new, I have been accumulated tons of skills and experience, as well as a good base of clientele.

Working at such young age has nurtured me into a honest, responsible, and hardworking human being. My honest-to-god work and sincerity is something I think that sets me apart from others and what I am most proud of. I love serving people; I truly love my work. Helping others has been my passion the whole life. Being able to do what I am good at and what I love on a daily basis is a blessing. I treat all my clients with sincerity and put 100% effort on all projects that I take on. Regardless the size, the difficulty, the obstacles, I can always deliver. This is how confident I am in myself, and the people I work with. From a kid who could only afford to eat 2 tortillas a meal, to a house owner and business owner, I want to let people know that we at J & J Home Renovations LLC are all about honest hard work. I don’t believe in taking advantage and overpricing services just because I can. In this world full of constant inflation, someone has to stay true to their value and give the community a hand.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I realized I cannot do everything by myself. It’s crucial to learn how to delegate tasks to others while not being afraid of spending in order to truly succeed.

I used to always try to do most tasks by myself, thinking it would generate the most profits. There was quite a big project that I got in 2018. I assumed it would be tackled with 2-3 employees over the span of 2 months. However, having that mindset, I only hired one employee to give me a hand. As the project went on, I realized there were a lot of details that couldn’t be managed by only the 2 of us. Even though we worked overtime from early mornings to late nights for one entire week, we did not see much progress. I’ve then decided to hire 4 more employees and the project finished smoothly in the next 8 weeks. Before I had the extra hands, I would get very frustrated and stressed from not being able to make as much progress as I expected. Had I not hire more employees, I would have spent much more than 9 weeks and gotten way more stressed from the slow progress.

That being said, I learned that hiring more employees doesn’t mean I will lose more money. Despite the higher expenses, the efficiency increases significantly which allows me to tackle projects faster and to be able to move on to the next project.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met Janita, my business partner and girlfriend, through dancing. We both like to dance salsa and bachata outside of work.
The dance connection that we had brought us together as a couple as well as dance partners. We teach salsa and bachata in the area and occasionally participate in dance competitions. Through this side hobby of ours, I know that she is someone whom I want to found my business with her. She had experience in her previous personal training business as a cofounder as well so she’s been helping me a lot with all administrative work. When time allows she will often help me at the job sites.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jjhomereno.wa
• Facebook: J & J Home Renovations LLC