Johnny Hourihan of Vintage Builders

Nov 29, 2020

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Johnny Hourihan is the co-owner of Vintage Builders, the co-host of The Modern Craftsman Podcast, and one of the four brand ambassadors for Fine HomeBuilding Magazine by The Taunton Press.

What are those things we wish we had known when we started in business? What are things we’re doing now that we would have fast-tracked had we known their importance from the beginning? For instance, when is the right time to hire for certain roles, or how much should certain staff members be paid? We discuss questions like these and other specifics that all business owners should know and understand in order to have a thriving company.

Listen in as Johnny discusses how to deal with the drastic lead times companies face today as a result of COVID-19, dealing with team members and clients as people instead of as procedures, and managing your finances as you hire and scale up your business.

Topics Discussed:

04:21 How Johnny built his construction company
18:29 How having a strong brand allows you to have more effective loss leaders
26:11 The importance of looking at all the financial considerations when hiring
29:27 Justifying your price to a prospective customer
32:40 Which part of the business does Johnny focus on the most now, three years in?
43:12 Hiring the right people and retraining them as the business grow
57:59 Treating your team and clients like your family
1:09:07 Knowing when you have enough of a cushion to take a financial risk
1:17:01 Building your credit and risk tolerance
1:24:15 Promoting the trade to the next generation

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Key Quotes from Episode:

Know your numbers, track your numbers, and evaluate them as you bring employees into the mix. Do those numbers still work after you’ve begun to hire?
Only the top 10% of our industry gets repeat business.
Finding the right hires is like finding the right clients. It’s not just about checking off the boxes. Find the little things, the idiosyncrasies, that reveal each person’s character.
Adhering to the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law with regards to your processes only gives you a false sense of security as a business owner.
We’re not in the business of finding problems. We’re in the business of finding solutions.
Before leaving any conversation with any client, ask them questions to make sure you’re both on the same page.