The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
Our guests share their experiences, insights, and valuable advice that can empower you to turn your own dreams into reality. We discuss topics like marketing strategies, customer relationships, community engagement, and much more, offering practical takeaways you can apply to your own business or career.
Join us every week as we celebrate the unsung heroes of our local business community and explore the vibrant tapestry of entrepreneurship in our area. Tune in to The Alimond Show and get ready to be inspired, informed, and motivated to support and nurture the businesses that make our community thrive.
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The Alimond Show
David Sura of Virginia Home Services - Foundations of Ambition: Building Success from the Ground Up
If you’ve ever wondered about the backbone of a successful family business, you won’t want to miss David Sura's inspiring journey as he leads Virginia Home Services into new heights. Starting as a young boy translating for his father, David learned the ins and outs of the home remodeling industry firsthand. His passion transformed from a humble upbringing in a family of immigrants into a thriving business rooted in community trust and quality service.
At just 27, David's ambition is to expand beyond Virginia, aiming to take his family-owned business to all 50 states. In this episode, he candidly shares the challenges he faced, from fluctuating material costs to the reality of hiring and restructuring during uncertain times. His unique perspective reveals the importance of communication and transparency—not just with clients, but within his own family team.
David also sheds light on his desire to foster new business owners from within the community. By empowering others, he envisions a future where local contractors can thrive, creating jobs and trust with clients eager for genuine connections. His journey illustrates that success is not only about individual achievement but about lifting others as you rise.
Join us to learn from David's experiences, as he proves that with hard work, ambition, and a commitment to community, anyone can achieve their dreams—no matter where they start. Subscribe, share, and leave us a review to support continued conversations on building a better tomorrow!
Well, my name is David and pretty much the name of my business is Virginia Home Services, and the services that we provide is like general home remodeling, like kitchens, bathrooms, and we got our class A license so we're able to build homes from the ground up. As of this point, but my main bread and butter I work with insurance companies to help homeowners get their claims approved and stuff for such things as wind, hail, fire, mold, all those sorts of things, but it mainly revolves around roofing, especially in this area.
Speaker 2:Got it, thanks, yeah, and then you've been in business since 2010, and you've owned it for the past two years and you worked with your dad since you were 11. Can you talk to me about that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so working with my dad, honestly he's the man that really taught me everything about the business. I started off as his translator because I'm a first generation immigrant and my parents came here from El Salvador, so I would always have to to like translate uh for customers and everything. And at that point I was just, like you know, his uh tool grabber. I would go and get the tool board and then, um, like, as the years went by, I started. He started teaching me uh the trades, how to do like draw a wall painting and all sorts of things, and I was able to like actually start putting some skin in the game at a really young age. Like he taught me work ethic, which honestly I can't thank him enough for it because it's gotten me to where I am now. And then, like later on, once I got out of high school, one of our family friends actually introduced me into the roofing industry and that's where I learned how to do like the insurance claims and the insurance sales and I honestly had a blast with that.
Speaker 1:And I worked at a couple of different companies for a couple of different years you know, help build. A couple of different teams for a couple of different years, you know, help build a couple of different teams and, after a while, and gaining the experience and the knowledge that I needed, I was like, all right, I've already helped out so many different people. At this point, it's time to help out myself and be able to help out my family as well too. And that's when I went back into business with my dad in 2020, after losing my job, like right before COVID. Yeah, yeah, it was really hard and, like we, I started off in my parents, like back in my room at my parents' house and everything, and like I just built everything from the ground up. I built our website, I started knocking, I started knocking doors. Like I spent months on end just like trying to like do everything and yeah, rebrand.
Speaker 1:Because I was like I've worked so hard for everybody else, want to do it for ourselves at this point? Yeah, and then just recently, a couple years ago, he transferred. We got our class a license and at that point my dad was like listen, you're the one who wants to build houses. You have this crazy dream of going off 50 states. I personally just want to like stay local and be like a local repairman. And he was like I'm gonna let you take care of the business and you can deal with all those big projects and everything. Cause he's like, quite honestly, that's just a lot for me. You're young, you still have like the energy for it, and I'm here today.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Yeah, I like that. You're very ambitious. Even your dad's, like you, know what. You take over that part. I just want to be local, so that's great. That's awesome that you're very ambitious and you're hoping to move the company forward to all 50 states. I think that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, there's roofs in every single state, so there's houses in every single state, so there's always going to be business.
Speaker 2:Yes, how many employees do you currently have?
Speaker 1:So as of right now, I just had to have a little reset this past year so I had to let go of my team of about seven. I had some sales guys and everything and I just kind of had to restructure everything because we were able to like ramp up quickly. But again, I'm a first time business owner, so I'm learning in the process and I had my trials and tribulations along the way and at this point I feel like I'm at a great point where I can restructure and rebuild my team.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome. And now, as a family owned business, how do you balance professional and personal relationships, and what unique advantages does this structure bring to your clients?
Speaker 1:Okay. So, being that we're family, it's super easy to be able to like work with one another and communicate. Like, as long as there's transparency and communication, everything can be resolved. Like if it's not my dad, like my mom will step in sometimes, if it's not my mom, it'll be like my girlfriend, like it it's a combination, like it's a, it's a team effort at the end of the day, and as long as we have that communication and transparency with one another, like, it's really easy to be able to, um, you know, maintain the company and be able to do everything that we got to do on the back end.
Speaker 1:And how it translates into our customers is they love seeing family-owned businesses. Like they, they always root for them. Uh, because at the end of the day, they're tired of getting burnt out by like the big guys. Yeah and uh, that's where you know I'm able to like make more of a connection with them, and I've worked, actually, in loudon a lot. I've done over like 100 roofs here in this area and I've like met a lot of families. So, like being able to have my own family dynamic and my family business. Like I'm able to understand people's situations and what's it called empathize with them a whole lot more, you know, be able to be more flexible with them, and that's what's honestly been able to help me create an awesome referral chain over the past couple of years.
Speaker 2:For sure. No, that's awesome being described as the Swiss army knife of contractors. How do you ensure top quality workmanship across such a wide range of services, from remodeling to roofing and repairs?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So this is where a lot of people ask me hey, why don't you just focus on one thing, like with the roofing aspect of it?
Speaker 1:Like roofing is very big in the United States, it's one of, like, the top moneymakers, and like they're like, why don't you just go in on one thing and just focus on one thing and I'm just like listen, I love being able to do that, but with the background that I have with my father and like being able to like have been able to walk, been walked through remodels, been able to like talk to all the different subcontractors, be able to, you know, translate and communicate for my father, that really has taught me and put into my mind that there is a proper way to do it and a proper way to balance all these different trades.
Speaker 1:There's systems to put in place, there's the right people to put in place and, honestly, with a lot of my subcontractors that I work with, they're family, friends and we just help each other out and we've worked for so long together that I know they're going to do a quality job, because, at the end of the day, I don't want to be seeing them at the family parties and everything. So we want to be able to make sure to take care of one another. That way, it doesn't only benefit myself and my father, it benefits all our subcontractors as well too. Absolutely. And that being said, I do have like checklists for projects. I have like a certain list that the insurance company has for certain photos and stuff that if I'm not doing and making sure I take care of I'm not getting paid. Yeah, so that's why, like quality control, communication and you know again, transparency and being able to work together as a team is really important.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no, you're absolutely right about that. You're aiming to expand and create more jobs in the DMV area. How do you approach community involvement and what impact has your growth had on local employment?
Speaker 1:So, like I had mentioned that team of seven that I had built, they were all like friends that I had recruited over the past couple years that I had worked with at other companies. They got burnt out of the industry and I was like I had, uh, that I had recruited over the past couple of years, that I had worked with at other companies. They, they got burnt out of the industry and I was like, hey, listen, I want to be able to help you, you guys, out. I want to be able to lend you a helping hand by helping me out. I want to be able to help you guys out, cause I want to be able to have you guys be able to open up your own businesses one day, cause if I'm trying to go all states, I know I can't do it alone.
Speaker 1:So, uh, like, I've made sure to like, uh, invest a lot of resources into my guys and whenever I'm out in the community, like, um, the parents always be like, oh look, son, he's out here working knocking doors. Why don't you get out there? And that's how I'm able to you know, uh, be able to get some referrals. That's how I've gotten some of my sales guys in the past as well too, and my goal for for after this restructure that I have planned for 2025 and 2026, I want to start putting ads on Indeed and everywhere and just start recruiting good people and be able to, you know, put them through the process, cause my whole goal with this 50 states thing is to be able to also have not I don't want employees, I want to be able to create, uh, business owners, that way they can help out their local communities in each state as well too. That way, everybody gets a cut of the pie and everybody's able to, you know, prosper.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. I think that's such a wonderful goal to have. Thanks for sharing that. And now, um, what are some significant challenges you face in the home services industry and how have they shaped your business practices today?
Speaker 1:These past five years since COVID started, it's just been able to keep up with the production side of it Because, as you know, materials over the past couple of years they've just been fluctuating up down left, right, sideways. At this point you never know and projects are changing on a daily basis. So that's why I make sure to use like the same software as the insurance companies use, because they have like a standard for like your local labor and materials costs as to how much it's supposed to be. So I try to keep myself as like well informed on all the price increases and everything, on all the price increases and everything. That way I can translate that into my business and translate that over into my customers and be able to be transparent about it with them.
Speaker 1:Because it definitely has been challenging over the past couple of years.
Speaker 1:Like there's it's literally been so seasonal Like there's seasons where there's just like a ramp up in work and then there's other seasons where it's just like customers asking for estimates and then they'll just wait months to get it done because you know they're saving up or like their job, like they're worried about job security, and once they actually feel secure then they start going and doing that. So during that time, I've made sure to like be able to stay busy, like everything counts Small repairs, big repairs, big jobs, small jobs anything that comes in, you know, adds to the bucket and is able to, you know, keep us afloat. And again, like you said earlier, it's about the hustle, like if the business doesn't work, if I don't work, at the end of the day and I've realized that that's not the only case just for myself Some of like the richest, some of the wealthiest people in the world, like Elon Musk, warren Buffett, a lot of these older, very wealthy people, they still work to this day. So, again, the needle only moves if you're over there pushing it behind it.
Speaker 2:Well said, and now? How do you stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies in home improvement to ensure your clients receive modern and efficient solutions?
Speaker 1:Social media. Honestly, it's been so awesome over the past couple of years. I've seen so many different contractors across different states be able to grow their platforms and be able to get support from their communities and be able to like start getting sponsors. So I've like started like posting stuff on tiktok. I made a company instagram. I'm literally just trying to like uh everywhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm trying to be everywhere so I can see exactly what's going on in every single market. Because, uh, I'm 27 years old and I have like two different audiences, like I'm trying to target. I'm trying to target the younger audience and, you know, the older audience at the same time and be able to mesh that together. Yeah, yeah, so that comes with like wholesome content and like fun and edgy stuff, but not too edgy yeah, I know that you said you wanted to reach all 50 states.
Speaker 2:That's a goal of yours, but, looking ahead, what are your goals for Virginia home services and how do you plan to reach all 50 states? That's a goal of yours, but, looking ahead, what are your goals for Virginia Home Services and how do you plan to continue serving and enriching the DMV community?
Speaker 1:So with Virginia Home Services, after this restructure, like I mentioned, this upcoming year, I definitely want to be able to start expanding Again. I want to be able to start taking more people on and my main goal is the DMV area. Like it says on my website, the Swiss Army Knife of the DMV is the District of Columbia, maryland and Virginia. I want to be able to service those markets first and, you know, be able to have a really strong foothold here and, once I build here, then be able to start transferring and start, you know, creating that network for all the different contractors to be able to go all 50 states, and that's a bigger thing down the road. But what I've mainly got to focus on right now is building up the DMV area.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely. Is there anything that I have not touched on that perhaps you would like to get out there, whether it's about yourself, your business, your industry.
Speaker 1:You have this opportunity to share that. Yeah, for sure. To be quite honest, my main thing is, with everything that I've learned, I really just want to be able to share the knowledge that I've acquired over the past 11, since 11, 15, 16 years. At this point, yeah, I want to be able to share that knowledge with somebody else. So they're so they don't go through, uh, the same shows I went through, um, I have a really good uh friend of mine. He's actually we're business partners and uh, with him, like he he just recently opened up his own company and like we've been helping each other out and I've had to humble myself because he's younger than me but he just gets it so quick, like he's just so on top of it and his discipline and everything.
Speaker 1:I wish I would have had that when I was younger and like I want, I want like a younger audience to be able to understand, hey, this is very much possible. You don't have to be some 50, 60 year old guy, you know, with a big belly and everything, to be this contractor. No, you can be young and you can be, like, very successful at it. You just got to be able to one keep up with the trends, to what's it called be able to adapt with the markets, because seasons, seasons, change. It's not always going to be good. There's's, there's going to be the downturns and you really have to be prepared for those downturns. So, just like a squirrel, you have to like stack up your acorns yeah and everything.
Speaker 1:So it's just uh really important to be able to one stay consistent, to be able to share that information to uh so, like, the younger crowd is able to create a brighter tomorrow. You know, that's really what it's about, because I've seen so many mistakes at this point from, like, bigger companies and I don't want to be able to. I don't want to cause those same mistakes, I just want to be able to create new solutions. That way, the construction industry and everything starts getting a better rap as a whole, because, as you know, there's a lot of shady contractors out there. There's a lot of people doing shady work. So the the trust uh in in contractors has definitely gone down over the years, uh, especially since a lot of people, like, have been going out of business. They haven't been able to keep afloat again. That's that. It goes back to consistency, um, and you know the sharing the knowledge and being able to communicate and translate that to your team. That way, everybody is able to use all the tools that you've acquired over the years.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Well said. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. We really appreciate your time and you being here and sharing a lot of your experiences and your insights. It was a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:You're welcome.