We recently connected with Mike Mullikin and have shared our conversation below.

Mike, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

In my view, the US education system fails to prepare our youth for the basics of adult life and how to use individual strengths to become successful. Our culture has placed too much of an emphasis on college education and discourages going into the trades. I graduated with a BS in Business Management with a minor in Information Systems in 9 semesters. At the time of graduation I had about $30,000 in student loans. I was able to land a solid job with Sherwin-Williams in their management training program. About 5 years into my career with SW, I realized that I could’ve been in the same position or better with the company if I had started working part time for SW instead of going to college. I could’ve spent 4 years earning money and gaining experience instead of going into debt and “learning” common sense and basic math.
I am now approaching 9 years out of college (still with several thousand dollars in student loan debt) and have realized my strengths are in leadership, problem-solving, and working with my hands. I started my own contracting business in the summer of 2022, largely to improve my mental health. My goals include developing a business that will expose the trades to our youth as a viable option for a financially rewarding and emotionally fulfilling career.
As a country, I believe the biggest step towards improving our education system for individual students, is to abolish the Department of Education, and then significantly reform teachers unions. At a local level, I intend to encourage our youth to explore all their options. Business owners and recruiters can help by eliminating higher education requirements for applicants unless absolutely necessary.

Mike, 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?

I started working in the trades early in my life. My first job was with a landscaping company when I was 14. I later worked with a concrete company, setting house foundations in rural Montana (mostly in the Beartooth Mountains which is the origin of my business name). A few summers each of concrete, landscaping, and working with a custom home builder, and I graduated college with my Business degree and began managing retail locations for The Sherwin-Williams Paint Company. I worked my way up a few positions and relocated from Montana to Utah in 2018. In the spring of 2022 my mental health took a dive, causing me to reach out for professional help, something I hadn’t done in nearly 15 years. I realized that I needed a substantial change in my life. With the support of my wife, we organized a business, researched our market, and I left my good-paying job with outstanding benefits for the uncertainty of self-employment.
Our business, Beartooth Built, is a product of growing up exposed to the trades, extensive training in the coatings industry, and a desire to exemplify healthy habits for dealing with depression.
Beartooth Built primarily provides painting and epoxy services, but we can also help with a wide range of home improvement services. Our most popular service is cabinet refinishing.
Unlike a lot of other contractors, I have the heart of a teacher. I enjoy helping others learn new skills. It may not be great for repeat business, but if I can teach a customer how to replicate professional results while I work on their project, then I believe I’ve helped improve their livelihood. Nothing in the professional realm could bring me more joy.

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

The number one thing to being a good leader, is being genuinely interested in your teams individual success. My goal with every employee I’ve had, has been to prepare them as best as possible for their next role. I don’t care if they’re staying with my team, my company, or moving to the competition or another industry. I want them to be successful and happy. Often that leads to them moving onto better things, and can put you in a bind. But by showing a sincere interest in their lives, they will work harder for you, and will be much more likely to stick by your side, even when things get hard. The second thing is recognizing that some people you manage may be smarter/faster/better than you in some areas. That is ideal. Surround yourself with people that make you better, particularly in your weaknesses.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In my time managing a Sherwin-Williams store, I had to change our target demographic pretty drastically. Nearly half of our stores sales were to new construction painters, with the rest split up between repainters, homeowners, property management companies, and commercial painters. As part of a regional plan, we shifted our focus to repainters and homeowners. Those segments typically require a lot more assistance and don’t order the same quantities as new construction painters, but typically buy higher quality products. This shift occurred in the spring of 2020 and our operation model was upended by COVID shutdowns. We had to find safer ways to provide our products and services to a customer base that needed more direction.
My team rose to the task and performed beyond any reasonable expectations. We were able to turn the year into a tremendous success

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartooth.built
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beartooth.built
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mullikin-2007