We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dennis Robinson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dennis below.
Dennis, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I get my resilience from lived experience. Early in my career, I was apprenticing for a busy contractor who specialized in new construction on projects over $150,000. About six months into my apprenticeship, he apparently ran into financial difficulties, and all of his projects came to stop. I had learned that several of these customers had paid for a large part of their project before the work was done, leaving them in financial trouble, with a contractor that was about to disappear.
Since I was still working part time at my family business, and had a few smaller construction projects of my own, I was in a financial position to help these customers. I started injecting tens of thousands of dollars to get these projects running again. I was able to assist the majority of his clients and finish up their project on budget. By the time the final customer project was complete, this decision ended up causing a huge financial hardship on my family and at one point I had to borrow money from my parents. Despite this, my wife and I believed it was the right thing to do for these families who had put their trust in a bad contractor. We hoped that karma would reward us in the long run.
As it turned out, the referrals from these families once I formed my own company allowed me to achieve substantial profit in the early days of my business, which has now turned into a 6 million dollar per year in revenue company. The lessons I learned—educating customers and maintaining transparency and honesty—have become foundational to my business practices. It saddens me to hear so many stories of people losing money in construction due to a lack of basic knowledge on how to protect themselves financially when entering large contracts.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
At Custom ADU Builder, we pride ourselves on being your one-stop shop for all your building needs. With over 25 years of experience in building Custom homes, ADU’s, and complete home renovation, our crewmen and subcontractors bring unparalleled expertise to every project. Our unique blend of customer insight, design skills, and construction expertise allows us to guide families through building their first ADU or remodeling their current home.
We have dedicated tradesmen in each craft, enabling us to expedite projects in half the time compared to smaller companies with limited staff. Our resilience and unwavering commitment to integrity set us apart. By trusting our skilled employees and focusing on efficiency, we have been able to double our business revenue year after year while delivering top-notch experiences for our clients.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
From the age of 20 until the age of 35, I worked in my family business, running a successful florist and retail greenhouse here in Southern California. On the side I took on small renovation projects for myself and a few close friends. As my love for construction grew, I spent less time at the flower shop and began to apprentice for some larger General contractors, until I was able to get my own license.
Having spent most of my adult life in retail, I have gained extensive insights into the customer experience. This knowledge, combined with my design skills and understanding of construction, has shaped me into the business owner I am today.
Guiding families through this significant journey, where many of my customers invest their life savings to secure a better future and build generational wealth, has been the most fulfilling aspect of my career.
There are always challenges, stress, highs and lows that come with the territory of building small houses in someone’s backyard. However, the trust my clients have in me motivates me to improve and grow everyday so I can continue to deliver a top-notch experience.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Throughout my life, my parents have always taught me the importance of leading your life with integrity, even when nobody else is watching. Showing up, day in and day out, in a way that you can be proud of yourself when it is all said and done. Even when I lost my mother in 2021, which was the hardest period in my life, I knew that I needed to carry on these values for my family, my customers and my employees. My dedication to my craft and my business seemed insignificant during that period, but those values that are so important to my parents, had new meaning when I wanted to give up. I knew so many people were counting on me to move forward.
During challenging times I took intentional steps to look at the larger picture of my business and life, which has made so many other obstacles easier to overcome. I have learned to trust my employees, who have dedicated their lives to their specific crafts, to help make decisions when issues arise on the job site. By surrounding myself with knowledgeable tradesmen who share my values, I can delegate many day-to-day tasks and focus on creating a more efficient and effective company. This approach has allowed us to assist more families with their construction needs and has helped me double my business revenue year after year since its inception.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.customADUbuilder.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/customadubuilder?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
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