We caught up with the brilliant and insightful JR Rodriguez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

JR, appreciate you joining us today. Often the greatest growth and the biggest wins come right after a defeat. Other times the failure serves as a lesson that’s helpful later in your journey. We’d appreciate if you could open up about a time you’ve failed.

Back in 2019 we were finishing a large project. We had a lot of things going on at that time and I was spreading my self thin. I was trying to were to many hats. We did not have a project manager, We did not have an office set up. Needless to say the project was being managed poorly. Things were not running as affectively as it could have been, it was not running how we do things present day. We had completed 90% of the work. Upon asking for the weekly draw, The customer and I got into a disagreement. The customer felt he did not have to pay. We only were asking for payment for the amount of work that was completed. Due to this we ended up losing all of our workers and crews due to no being able to pay them, it placed us in a finacial hole. While trying to get back on our feet then Covid hit. So we thought there was no hope and what would we do. The Lord was watching over us because I had a long time friend hit me up for work. He had 5 houses lined up for us to remodel and place in the market to sell. That was able to get us back on our feet. Looking back at it now I model our current management off that project. So we can have success in the future. We are more organized now, we have an set office staff, we have a project manager, and we have better disclosures. We now have open communication with our customers. They are able to call, text, or email us.

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.

I was born in a family of contractors in Long Island Ny. When I turned 16 I was pulled into construction with family members. I would go to work on the weekends and holidays, pretty much every time I had off of school I would go to work. I would go to work in the Hamptons and was introduced to craftsmanship I had never seen before. The pride these tradesmen had and the attention to detail was amazing. These houses were 5,000 square feet or greater and carpentry had to be top notch. That is the quality I have tried to perfect to this day and teach my guys in our company. Main thing I teach is ” there is always room for improvement.

We specialize in kitchen, bathroom, and home renovations. We design all our kitchen and bathroom remodels. It is very rare that a kitchen or bathroom stay with the same layout. We try to show customers functionality and changes the customers ask for by using a 3D rendering program. Being able to show customers what their dream kitchen, bathroom, or addition would look like makes it easier to close the deal for us. Customers feel comfortable knowing what they are getting before the swinging of any hammer happens.

I am proud of what we have been able to build for our customers. Every project has new problems we have to overcome but knowing we have a large team to get it done feels amazing. Being in this trade for over 25 years gives me the experience to overcome challenges we face when doing any remodel. When a tough challenge comes our way it gives us the opportunity to grow from it and although not always fun, its necessary in order to grow in skill.
Being in business has definitely had its challenges, a lot of sleepless nights and stress like no other. Something you cant learn in school, but I cant see myself doing anything else. I truly love what I do and those who I work with. Being able to bring customers ideas to life is an awesome feeling.

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

Best advice I can give based on my years of experience is, remove the bad apples from the fresh ones. A bad employee can ruin the work environment and possibly make you lose valuable employees. I once kept a employee that was awesome at his craft great at troubleshooting and thinking outside the box, but his downfall was he could not work well with others. He would often speak to customers, but didn’t have the best attitude at times. Which is not a good thing in our field. I was always afraid to fire him because I thought I could not find another employee that would do the same. Eventually I had to let him go because I realized it was affecting the work environment. Looking back at it now, it was the best decision for our business and we have flourished into what we are today.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think it has been a combination of things. If you see our reviews you can see that our communication with our customers is important. We offer quality work in our remodels. Our network offers skilled guys for their specific trade and they have mastered their trade which is what our customers see after their remodel is complete.

Contact Info:

• Website: CharlestonPremierWorkz.com
• Instagram: Charleston.premier.wokrz
• Facebook: Facebook.com/CharlestonPremierWorkz