Meet Beautiful Home Services

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Home Services and our clientele are mostly in and around the Beltway in the DC metro area.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Awesome. Well, I'm excited to just learn about everything else that you guys do.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

So for anyone just being introduced to Beautiful Home Services, can you take us back to the beginning? How did this business start and what made you both commit to building it together?

SPEAKER_01 0:53

That's a long story. Uh deal with the longest. Right. You want to go first? Yeah. So Andrew and I are best friends from high school. Um, we built our relationship back in uh youth group back in high school. Um, we always knew that we were going to start a business together, um, you know, just for fun. We used to write business plans and stuff like that. And uh, we both

Origins And Partnership

SPEAKER_01 1:13

went and I'm a degree mechanical engineer, so I went off and and pursued that and did that for a while. And Andrew's the CPA. And while we pursued those jobs, we realized we couldn't work for anybody else. So we decided to start a company and we worked together, built a business plan, and you know, the seeds of beautiful home services were sown. So yeah, that's how we got there.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

It's well said. I think we both like home improvement because it's uh the creative aspect to it. You know, you get to transform someone's home where they live, you get to make it more enjoyable for them to, you know, eat in their kitchen, to uh celebrate family events, to just enjoy their home more. And I think we both find that to be honorable and and we enjoy it very much.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Yeah, it's really rewarding work. Um, I'm third generation construction. Um, Andrew did a franchise of another business while we were in college, a painting company, and we worked together during that. Um, so we had a lot of experience building the company. Um, and so we started Beautiful Home Services and it's been quite successful. So it's been good.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

What a journey, and the rest has been history, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:16

We actually signed our operating agreement at my wedding right before we went down the aisle. We all, all parties, including his wife and my wife, all signed the operating agreement right at the wedding. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

So yeah, we we very much wanted it to be a four-part equation because it's not just myself and Craig, it's also our wives that have to support us. And if we came home after a hard day and there was, you know, kind of any negative energy of why didn't Craig do this or why didn't Andrew do this, that would undermine our business and undermine our relationship. And there's never really been that from either of the wives because they're they're a party to the contract as well. Right. And we was also showing commitment to them that we were working hard on this to help build build our lives together.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

So absolutely. Having that strong support system kind of backing you guys up, there's nothing better than that.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Yeah, absolutely. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

And you know, you shared that this journey started with painting and drywall and involved evolved into full service remodeling. What were the key turning points that shaped the company into what it is today?

SPEAKER_02 3:18

It's a good question. I I view entrepreneurship and running a business as very much being on a river, um, which is interesting because my wife works for a rivers organization. Rivers very rarely run straight. They very rarely run at the same speed the whole time. They'll run fast, they'll run slow. And as we got into the business and our quality of work was so good and our clients were so happy, they kept

From Painting To Full Remodels

SPEAKER_02 3:41

asking us to do other things. Hey, can you tile this floor for me? Hey, can you hang this cabinet for me? Hey, can you switch out this toilet? And that's how it started with remodeling. It was like, oh, the guys are here painting and also they're going to lay this tile floor. And then it went to the tile floor to maybe we should do the shower. Then it, it, it kind of progressed on there. And then as that part of the business, as bathrooms started to get better and better and we got more experienced with it, that market really expanded for us. And the painting side stayed consistent, but the the bathroom size groups uh side grew. Then it got into, hey, while you guys are here, can you hang a couple cabinets in my kitchen? Can you do the tile floor in my kitchen? Can you do the tile backsplash in my kitchen? Well, why don't we just do the whole kitchen? So we started, we did a couple of kitchens for some really um close clients of ours who had done a lot of work with us to kind of try it out, right? You're gonna try it out, you're gonna try it out with somebody who you trust. Then we figured out our business model for that, and then the kitchen and bathroom portion of our business just continued to grow and grow and grow based on quality, doing really good work for people, being honest. And honestly, the painting business has shrunk over time because the other two businesses were more successful, more profitable, frankly. Um, and also I think for the kitchens and bathrooms, it delved more into mine and Craig's design acumen. Uh, and I think we both liked that. And it it it kind of uh spurred our creativity, you know.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Okay, very cool. It just really grew over time with you guys.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

There was a period, uh, long time friends of ours and associates, there was a very long period where I'd say we'd never do kitchens. We're never going to do kitchens, then all of a sudden we start doing kitchens. And then that part of the business just really grew. Um, and that shows also a good market that was there that needed really high quality remodeling services in the area. And we were able to tap into that market and be successful.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Yeah, Andrew and I pride ourselves on staying nimble in the market and kind of reacting to what the market does, right? So we started the business in 2006, which is right before the Great Recession. So, in an industry that was directly affected by the Great Recession, we had to weather that storm. So we kind of stayed with the painting and drywall, a lot of small contracts, but keeping ourselves busy. And then as we got out of that, people got a lot more disposable income. They got a lot more comfortable. So we took what the market gave us. And we've always said to keep our head up while we're moving and we like to stay nimble. So we're always looking for kind of the next opportunity

Navigating Recession And Growth

SPEAKER_01 6:04

and where to shape the company, and that's put us in a really good spot.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Okay, I see. Kind of adjusting as we go and always kind of keeping the game game plan centered for just the best success.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Exactly. And never being blind to an opportunity that comes along. You know, so if a client was requesting some a service from me, Craig and I would sit down and say, is this a service we can offer? Do we have people on staff that can do it? Um, do we know what we don't know? Can we do it at a high quality? And then we would make a decision whether we're gonna try it out, you know, and then if it worked out, then great. Let's see if we can offer this as a service. And then as challenges came up, we would, and this is, you know, uh the nature of our friendship is the ability to sit down, have a conversation, flush out an idea, flush out a problem. Something didn't go right. Why didn't it go right? Did I estimate it wrong? Did I set customer expectations wrong? Did Craig not know something that he knows now? And that way we can, you know, build a better product for the client later on down the line. So without it turning into drama. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

For sure. No, I think that's a great business model. You guys are like the perfect duo, I think.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Most of the it's worked well. We we have designed the business in a manner in which uh we have very different set of skill sets, um, but we both have our responsibilities and we stay in our lanes. So there are some things that we discuss, like the general direction of the company and things like that we work on. But as far as day-to-day operations go, we are rarely overlapping. Andrew handles all the sales

Roles, Lanes, And Low-Drama Operations

SPEAKER_01 7:26

side and the business side. I handle all the production side. So it really minimizes as well any friction that you would have in a company because we have very clear, delineated responsibilities, which I think has been a key to our success.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

We also have the same end goal. So we're on, I describe it to people that we're on parallel tracks going to the same station. And sometimes they diverge, but mostly they stay on track. And because we both have the same end goal, we may come at a problem from a different direction and we may disagree with the direction that the other one's coming, but there's never an idea that one or the other is being disingenuous or has some ulterior motive. They I know that Craig's goal is the same as my goal, and we just have to hear each other out. And sometimes we don't agree, and sometimes we put it to bed and we'll bring the topic up and discuss it at another time, and then we ultimately find a solution, which is almost always a compromise between what where I started and where Craig started. And we view compromise as a win for both parties, not I gave up something or Craig lost something. No, we both won because we're still advancing towards the same end goal.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

For sure. And it's reassuring to know that a lot of thought is going into this, a lot of time to make sure you get that, I mean, the best result for the client. So I think that that's awesome the way you guys work.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

That's ultimately the end goal.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

We make sure that we keep our friendship, you know, as the number one priority, and that goes a long way. We do an annual meeting every year where we go away and have some fun together and we're playing golf together all the time and stuff because the the friendship is the lubrication that keeps all those conversations working well and gets us to those end goals quickly, even though we're coming at it from a different direction, and that it's always best for the company.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

So it's been really good.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

I can definitely see how it's the core of just everything. And you've been doing this for nearly two decades. What do you think has stayed timeless about great remodeling, no matter what trends come and go?

SPEAKER_01 9:15

So, you know, from a remodeling standpoint, you know, the key here is consistency and quality, right? Um, so that's from the construction side. We need to always crank out a good product.

Timeless Design And Quality First

SPEAKER_01 9:29

So there were times when money was tight that uh it's very hard to maintain quality and make a profit. And Andrew and I always chose quality over a profit. And there were times when we made no money. Um, and years where we did that, when we went through the Great Recession, things like that, is never sacrificing quality. Um, from a design standpoint, things, you know, come and go inside from a in and out from a design standpoint. You know, people were big into glass mosaics at one time. People have been into these bright colors, but the things that have stood timeless are the white cast iron tub, the white subway tile, um, black and white floors, hardwood is still in. Um, so those finishes, some of those finishes have lasted um throughout our entire careers. And then there's plenty of other things that have come and go. Like glass glass tile was all the rage there for a while.

SPEAKER_02 10:20

Wallpaper was in, then it was out, now it's back in.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Um neutrals have always been in, but there was that big period in the 2000s when everyone wanted an accent wall of some crazy color and that's gone away. Um, you know, nowadays the big trends we're seeing is stay white and neutral and do all your accents through accessories like furniture or uh artwork, things like that. Gold hardware. Yep. People are doing some different hardware things, mixing metals, stuff like that is very in right now. Who knows how long that will last? But um the uh the whites and neutrals are always a safe bet.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

I think the other thing that's always in style is having the conversation with the client of how do you use your space. Are you somebody who likes to cook a lot? Are you somebody who doesn't like to cook a lot and orders a lot of food out? Those are two different things. Do you have kids in your house? Do you not have kids in your house? Do you plan on having kids in your house? Uh, do you like to bake? If you're a big baker, maybe we're gonna design your kitchen around how you operate when you bake, where your where your dry goods are, where your mixing machine was, what have you. Um, and I think that that creates a timeless space by creating a space where the client feels very comfortable and can operate in that space with ease and comfort, whether that be a kitchen, whether that be a bathroom, whether that be a living room, you know, where are you gonna put the TV? What are you planning on putting? Like how do you decorate your house? Do you have lots of figurines and artwork that you like to display, or are you very minimalist? You don't want a lot of things. So I think if you start with the design and and really talk to the client about what are they trying to accomplish and how do they use their space, you're gonna get a space that's timeless.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

I find it really fascinating how you guys are able to really personalize and customize the experience to their lifestyle and what it is they do every day and how they live in their home. I think that that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

I think that some contractors um come at contracting with what is the fastest, cheapest way that I can get this done, assuming that the client wants the fastest, cheapest uh solution to whatever they're trying to accomplish. I come at it, we come at it from what is the highest quality that I can offer you? And what how can we, you know, um solve the problem that you have in your kitchen? My kitchen is very unfunctional. I did not design or build my kitchen because of the placement of the stove, the refrigerator, and the sink are all

Function-Led Design And Budget Truths

SPEAKER_02 12:32

jammed together. So on Sunday morning when we're trying to cook breakfast and everyone's in the kitchen with my kids, it's it's really a uh a um a bottleneck, right? So I think that the cheapest way to remodel my kitchen is to take everything out and put everything exactly where it is. That wouldn't provide me the most functional or most enjoyment out of my kitchen. I'm gonna need to move some stuff. Well, moving some stuff can be expensive. And I think having the conversation with the client, okay, what are you trying to accomplish? Here's where the cost drivers are without being cheap, because cheap implies quality. Call says, okay, X is more expensive than Y, let's discuss whether that additional cost actually provides a lot of value. And if it does, let's consider it. And maybe if that takes you over your budget, we can discuss other ways of cutting things out to reduce your budget that maybe don't provide as much benefit to you. So I think a lot of contractors are afraid to have that conversation because they're just focused on how can I do it cheap and fast. When I tell clients, if you're looking at speed, quality, and price, the only thing that really matters to me and Craig is speed, or excuse me, is uh is quality. Um speed is important, but we accomplish speed through efficiency. So if you do it efficiently, then you'll do it quickly, right? And then cost is just a function of what value are you getting for the money that you're spending, right? So cheap is not a word that I like to use. My number one goal is to bring a really high quality, functional space to the client.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Yeah. And on my end, what we're trying to do is then take kind of this vision that Andrew has created and then making sure we deliver it for the client. And in residential construction, we get all kinds of surprises. And there'll be things um there that might prevent a design feature, things like that. And the difference between us and other companies is other companies are just gonna jam the square peg in the round hole. We're gonna work with the client and say, hey, listen, these are the factors that are out of our control. We didn't find, but we know you have this vision and we know the goal of the space is this. Let's work together on finding solutions to make sure that your space stays as functional in the end as it was when you designed it in the beginning. And so that's always a priority for us. We tell our clients be it's not BHS versus you to get this project done. We're our team and you have knowledge about your house, you have knowledge about this vision. We want to work with you to get this done and make it as wonderful as possible.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

What funny is what happens when you do that is that the jobs actually go more efficiently because instead of Craig just trying to build something the client doesn't want or hide something and then the client's unhappy, and then we have to undo the work and then redo it. It's just done right the first time. Then the client's happy and they refer us or they use us again, um, which makes it more profitable from many standpoints. One, we're not redoing work, so we're making more profit on that individual job. And also when they're hiring us again or referring us to clients, those are better projects for me to approach than somebody who who randomly finds us. So we are making money in multiple different directions while maintaining a very happy client.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Okay. And I think that a great point was brought up is that having that good communication with the client is so important. I think it's key to make the whole thing just go smoothly. Uh, same thing with transparency, you know, seeing what is doable with what we're working with, um, to try to bring their their vision to life in in the best way possible.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Yeah, uh we find that, you know, one of the hardest things for me to train people on is that communication. And there is communication, just regular old talking, but then there's real communication where we're actually getting a point across. And sometimes in construction, you know, everyone wants to just get done

Communication, Transparency, And Craft

SPEAKER_01 15:59

and get done fast. And the problem with that is that to do that, sometimes you have to skip over certain communication points. And you need to, you know, people are afraid to tell a client no, or that's not possible, or here's a different option that we need to go with. And for me, I'm not willing, and Andrew are we are not willing to sacrifice quality in an end product. So if we don't think the end product's gonna look good, we have no problem telling the client, hey, listen, I know you just want us to ignore this problem, or we just want us to just put this here, but it's not gonna look good and we're not gonna do it. And um, standing our ground and making sure that the product looks good and that using our experience in those situations really make sure that we deliver a quality product every time.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

Absolutely. That makes perfect sense. And with that, what is one of the most memorable pieces of feedback a client has given you? Something that really reminded you this is why we do what we do.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

There's a lot. Uh we had a client um who may actually listen to this podcast at some point, who we over maybe 15 or 16 years, we remodeled their entire house. We did the kitchens, we did the bathroom. We didn't do the kitchen. I'm sorry, they we they did the kitchen before they uh we started doing kitchens, but we did the bathrooms, we did flooring, we painted the house repeatedly. They sold their house for a quarter of a million dollars over ask. And they called us and told us how important our work was to them getting that huge amount of extra money and how that that was, you know, generational money that they were able to have for their retirement and hopefully pass on to their kids and their grandkids. And that made me specifically, I mean, it wasn't about the money, it's the fact that they had trusted us with their house for like a decade and a half. And we've worked for their kids and we've worked for, you know, tons of their friends. But that just statement that, hey, that your work has added

Client Impact And Memorable Wins

SPEAKER_02 17:53

so much value to our house, made it competitive to sell our house, and that that m extra money has helped change our family, that meant a lot to me. That was cool.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah. And one of my favorite things is, you know, when we when we finish a kitchen and then we're all done and you go by the house uh a couple weeks later to look at something, and you see the kids sitting up at the island that you just built, having breakfast, and everybody's cooking in the brand new kitchen you did. Um, or uh, you know, you go up and you see the bathroom and they've got all their cool spa stuff by the tub that we just put in and all that. It really, it really feels good. It really feels good.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

I say this to people all the time. One of the uh, as Craig mentioned earlier, I'm a CPA and I love public accounting for a whole wide range of reasons. Um, I didn't uh and and public accounting is a phenomenal field. I didn't feel a lot of satisfaction doing it, it just didn't work with my personality. But thinking that, especially during the holiday seasons, this is especially important when people I know are celebrating Christmas, Thanksgiving, you know, Easter, um, you know, brush Hashanah, um, you know, Hanukkah, whatever the holiday is, they're enjoying them in houses that we remodeled, in kitchens that we remodeled. They're having that long day at work and they're enjoying their bathrooms and bathrooms that we remodeled. Are they thinking about us at that time? Probably not. But I know and Craig knows that we have positively impacted their life on a daily basis. That just generally feels good all the time. You know.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Makes it all worth it. It does.

SPEAKER_02 19:14

It does.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

It's a very full circle moment, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Yeah, very much so. We really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

And when a homeowner is considering a big remodel, kitchen, bath, or full interior, what do you wish more people understood before starting the process?

SPEAKER_02 19:31

I'll start.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Yeah, this is your your territory.

SPEAKER_02 19:34

First of all, a a honest understanding of what the cost is. And again, not trying to be cheap or not cheap, but there's a lot of incorrect information out in the world of what a remodel of those spaces costs to do it at a high a medium to high end. And I'm not saying you

What Homeowners Should Know Before Remodeling

SPEAKER_02 19:49

have to buy a $25,000 shower fixture, but you don't want to put junk in your house. I say that and the total number of choices that you have to make. You know, with a bathroom, there can be dozens, if not hundreds, of choices. So if you're taking on two, three bathrooms and a kitchen and some floors and some built-ins, you're gonna have a thousand choices and people will get into and the number of choices within that choice. Like you go to a tile vendor and they could have five, ten thousand tile choices, and it can be overwhelming for some people. So I think understanding how many choices you need to make and having a vision of what you are looking for is extremely important because the TV shows make it look really easy. Even if you're working with an interior designer who's gonna be helping you with some of those choices, at the end of the day, you have to say, I want that. And that can be very challenging for clients. So they'll try to say, Hey, I want three bathrooms and a kitchen done and I want to start in two months. And my response is, have you already picked out and ordered all of your materials? Because if you're starting this process from scratch with an unrealistic timeline to pick those things out, it's gonna be very stressful and probably almost impossible.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

Yeah. The um the the making the clients realize that they need to be an active participant in the process is is huge. Um and then from my end, it's understanding the schedule and understanding that this stuff takes time. So in the pre-planning part, you might need, if you figure you've got to stop at the cabinet shop, the tile shop, the plumbing shop, and all these different places, that all takes time. Then cabinetry might be 12, 16 weeks out. And then permitting, if we're dealing with permitting, things like that, that process can take a long time depending on the municipality. And so, yes, somebody might tell you that they can start in two months, but realistically, are they gonna be ready to start? Or are they just gonna come in and demo and leave you with a half done project until all the stuff comes in, which we hate that. We one, we start a project, we assign a crew and they stay on that job until it's fully complete, which again creates really nice rapport with the client, things like that. And then clients need to understand that the actual work takes time. Drywall takes time to dry, paint takes time to dry, floors. And so there is a when you're dealing with quality, there are there's a correct way to do it. We can't just jam a thousand people in your house and have it done in a week. It just doesn't work like that.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

I think that the reality TV, you know, HGTV, those have been really good for our industry because it inspires people to do things. They'll see it on TV and they're like, wow, that's really cool. I want something similar to that in my home, which gives them some ownership of their home. The downside of HGTV and those kind of shows is that it it's not always realistic because they're doing it in 30 minutes. So you're or 40 minutes, and you're not seeing the eight or nine times they did it and it didn't look good, or the ones that didn't make the cut to the show. Or the number of times that the contractor had to reset something because it was they just didn't like it. Craig sometimes

Tech Upgrades In Kitchens And Baths

SPEAKER_02 22:37

will show up on a job site, guys are tiling. Maybe he doesn't think it's, you know, a row of tiles is exactly the way that he will be happy with it. And he might tell the crew, hey, I need you to reset these tiles because I want them to be absolutely perfect for that client. They don't show that on TV, right? So uh, you know, and and the client is expecting Craig in the production crew to do that because they're paying good money to have really quite high quality work done. So I I I think that um those are some things that that customers just don't always take into account how long things are gonna take. And also, like I think Craig said perfectly that the client has to be an active participant, an active participant the entire time, not just they picked out their stuff and they wiped their hands and they just want to come home and have it done. They need to be a participant of where do they want the light switch? How do they want the tile to start here or do they want it to start over here? Like you're paying for this. It needs to be perfect. And I think sometimes clients don't understand how many, how much how much they need to be involved and they get fatigued.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

It's so it truly is fascinating how many parts and pieces are going on behind the scenes to make all of this magic work. Um, I think you bring up a great point how the TV shows they truly are inspiring, but they aren't realistic. They don't show all the work that's going on, um, you know, early mornings, late nights. So I think I think that that's a great um piece of advice for us all to just keep in the back of our mind. Right. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

100%.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

And you've talked about technology becoming a bigger part of kitchens and bathrooms. What are some of the most exciting upgrades or innovations you're seeing clients request lately?

SPEAKER_01 24:12

We got some really cool ones. Um, so we one of the big rages these days is electronic shower controls. So uh you have an L C D screen in your in your shower, you press a button, and it can control shower heads and rain heads and body sprayers, and it'll hold the temperature to whatever you want. Um, that's been a really popular one. Uh we've had a couple clients um put in cold plunge tubs. So it is a full-on freestanding tub that you can fill with hot water, just like any other one, but there's also a chiller put outside so you can fill it with cold water and run a uh run a cold plunge. That's all the rage these days. And we are putting in more heated floors than ever. Um, people love the feel of that warmth under their feet. Um, we've been doing that a lot. And then the uh the last big craze that I've seen nonstop is the LVP. Everybody wants LVP for floors. Um, it's it's a really durable product. It is uh it works great for kids. It's uh creates a moisture barrier in basements. It does all kinds of wonderful things. So those are some of the big trends that we've seen.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

I'd say lots of lighting. You know, you have um mirrors now that have lighting integrated in them. We have vanity cabinets that have lighting integrated in them, um, some that have motion sensors. So if you're you know going into your bathroom in the middle of the night, that the lights along the base of the cabinets will light up. Um I was just at uh a trade show. They have now uh cabinets that have integrated um spice racks that will lower down for you and raise up that are pretty cool. Um we were looking at uh they have uh moisture sensing or humidity sensing vent fans in bathrooms so that the fan isn't just always running while you're trying to put your makeup on or something. It only turns on when it senses um obviously humidity. Everything has Bluetooth integration now that you can, you know, the uh shower controls, you can Wi-Fi it, you can open it, you can turn your shower on, you can make sure it's warm while you're still laying in bed. Um obviously appliances are all completely integrated with the internet now, and uh, you know, it'll tell you how much milk you have left in your in your refrigerator. So I think uh there's a lot of that technology that's that's working into it. They have now we are we're starting to install like vanity tops that have hidden phone chargers. So you can just, you know, while you're brushing your teeth or whatever, you can lay your phone and it will just wirelessly charge your phone. Same thing in kitchens. Think those are some neat technology that's coming along. It's cool. Yeah, it's good stuff. Yeah, there's a lot. You gotta stay up with it.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

I bet it's been really neat for you guys to see over the years all the advancements that are coming in and how they're progressing.

SPEAKER_01 26:36

Yeah, it's been that's been its own challenge. Every minute we, every time we figure out how to plumb the new faucet, the newest model comes out and it's let's relearn it again. Let's

3D Design And Decision Fatigue

SPEAKER_01 26:45

let's see how this works. Um, but I love to see the industry moving forward. We're seeing so many cool things. You know, everybody, you know, you've seen a lot less people drink these days. So carbonated drinks are a lot more popular. So now we're dealing with kitchen faucets that you can hit a button and carbonated water just comes out cold.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

It's like a soda stream, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:02

Yep, right, ready to go. Um, so you know, it's just all functionality for the client. And the more we can get them that functionality, the better, and the more they use their space and enjoy it. So it's been good.

SPEAKER_02 27:13

Our kitchen designer, her, the software package we use, she can send them a link that brings up a 3D rendering of their kitchen. I know how to use a software too, by the way. But she's just better at it than I am. And you can walk through the kitchen and you can open the cabinets and you can do the pullouts. So she can set the pullouts in, and so you can click on the pull-ups and it'll roll out, roll back in. And so you can not only just visualize the kitchen, but you can kind of imagine yourself walking through it and like, okay, if I'm standing at the stove, like where is the spite shreck in it or the the um you know drawer that has the pans in it? How is that actual? So you not only just like talk about the functionality, you can actually visualize the functionality in 3D, and she just sends in a link with the email.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

How cool.

SPEAKER_02 27:55

I mean, that's just neat stuff. Yeah, it's neat stuff. Blows the clients away.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 28:00

Um, it also um really ensures that the client is really getting what they want. That next step of like, hey, you actually walked through your own kitchen before we built it and you saw where every door is, every drawer is, every pull-out. You can really imagine cooking Thanksgiving dinner there and what you're gonna need and where you're gonna put your stuff.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

How much more exciting I feel that probably just makes the process, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:22

Oh, and the more excited the client is, the more engaged they are, the more we can fight off that fatigue. Decision fatigue is their as they stay excited about the project, then they stay more engaged and they really enjoy it. And the end of the day, we want them to have a great experience from start to finish. And in construction, that's tough. So everything we can do to help that process and things like that definitely help.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Absolutely. Well said. And you guys have earned major recognition through Pro Mid-Atlantic. Can you share what those awards mean to you and what it says about your standards as a team?

SPEAKER_02 28:54

Well, just a couple of weeks ago, we got 14 awards for the 14 projects that we um submitted. I think what's cool about Pro, we don't pay for the awards. Um we submit our projects, and the projects are judged by competitors in the industry, our colleagues in the industry who blindly grade

Peer Awards And Team Culture

SPEAKER_02 29:15

the projects and select those winners are selected based on their grades. So I think being judged by a panel of our peers who are in the industry who are doing the work, these aren't necessarily designers. These are these are other contractors like me and Craig who are giving us these awards or I think is really satisfying, you know, just to be recognized by your peers that, hey, these guys are doing really superior work.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Yeah, we've worked really hard to get here. And so, you know, seeing everyone recognize that and and getting those awards really show that we're doing the right thing. We're on the right path, we're putting out a great product, and everybody can see it.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

So it's and I gotta it's just you know, I gotta shout out our team. I mean, it's not it, it's it's actually very little to do with me, Craig. Yeah. It's a lot to do with uh, you know, our entire staff, our our folks who help with um selecting materials, the project managers, our controller, our marketing person who puts together the presentations, just the, you know, our obviously our workers who are the ones who are actually doing the work and who take a lot of pride in what they do. So it's an entire team effort. And I think I I love being parts of teams because very few wonderful things in the world happen without a team behind you. And I think this is like the culmination of like that we are successful as a team, that we have built this awesome team together and our competitors, these are people who are competing against us, recognize that too. I think that's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

Absolutely. And I like that you're talking about team um teams. I I say it all the time, but teamwork truly does make the dream work.

SPEAKER_02 30:45

Yeah, totally. Very few things in life that are worth doing uh happen alone.

SPEAKER_00 30:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Yeah, we have uh we have an incredible team that we've built. Um, you know, a lot of our employees have been with us for a long time. Some of our uh guys out in the field even have been with us for almost 20 years. So um we have guys that we were working before with before we started Beautiful Home Services. So we've got these craftsmen that have been trained up for a long time, and we're really proud of everybody, the people that are in the office and the planning part, the execution. It takes everybody to do what we do and and everybody pulling in the same direction. And it's been really nice. We have a lot of great people. So we're lucky.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

That is great. And with that, you know, 2026 marks a huge milestone for you guys, your 20-year anniversary. Congratulations, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 31:33

Thank you. It's been a road.

SPEAKER_00 31:34

I thought what does that long longevity kind of represent to you guys? And what are you most proud of

Twenty Years And Staying Friends

SPEAKER_00 31:41

after two decades in business?

SPEAKER_02 31:44

I'm proud we're still friends. I was gonna say it's hard.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

It's hard running a business for that long. You know, we faced the we faced the Great Recession, we had COVID in there, uh, we've had some immigration issues, stuff like that, that all affect our business directly. Because uh, you know, all these things affect homeowners and people in their homes, government shutdowns, because everyone in this area is a federal employee or tied to the government. Um, and weathering all those storms, but maintaining our friendship and continuing to pull in the same direction without our relationship falling apart is key. And I think that bond that we have is the glue that gets that whole team to stay together and work together and pull in the same direction. And so we're, you know, I I'm really proud of that. And I'm proud of it too. And and it's been really good.

SPEAKER_02 32:33

Yeah, I think that uh I would agree with that. I think it is also a testament to our commitment to quality. And even when, like Craig was saying earlier, when there are times when it hasn't been as profitable and we have had the choice to say, okay, well, we're gonna cut some corners just to make some money, that our ethics and our just our our our moral compass, and I'll shout out both of our par our parents for that, right? Yeah, that they helped set us up to for success and that um we never wavered from that commitment to still doing quality because we knew the storm was gonna end at some point. And at the end of the storm, if you've trashed your reputation, then what do you have? Right. And we've both stayed on on the same point on that, of just this. We're never willing to sacrifice that. If I have to choose between profit and doing the right thing and doing the right quality, I'm always gonna pick quality over, like I said earlier, quality is our number one because I think it's it's just like I was saying, how honorable it is to work in somebody's home. It's also morally suspect if you're doing poor work, knowingly doing or intentionally doing poor work in somebody's house. It's the opposite of that, right? And I don't think Craig and I ever wanted to be a part of that. I think that again, I I champion Craig and my relationship there. And I would, I would shout out to all the employees that have come that are currently with us that have helped us build the company over time. Um, I think those are things that I'm really proud of. I'm proud that we're still friends and we work on our friendship, like Craig alluded to earlier. We go fishing, we uh, you know, we go play golf, we do things to outside of work that maintains our friendship because if, you know, it's just like a marriage. If you don't maintain the marriage, you wake up one day and you're like, what do what are we doing here? Right. Um, and that allows us to work through the challenges that we've had over time. So I'm really proud of us. Yeah, proud of it. Especially since most businesses don't make it three or four years. And if you look at contracting, especially, you see a lot of businesses that go away and then they come back and they have a different name and they work for a couple of years and they go away and they come back and they have a different name. We've been beautiful on services since day one, and uh, we're really proud of it.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

For sure. It's extremely admirable, I have to say.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Well, it's been fast and slow at the same time. I'm sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:35

And you also have a charitable arm

Giving Back: Kids And The Bay

SPEAKER_00 34:38

behind the scenes. Can you share what inspired the Blate Schneibel Care Charitable Foundation and why giving back is so important to you both? You nailed the name. You did it.

SPEAKER_01 34:49

Yeah, I got a hard last name. Um, the, you know, from the start, uh, when Andrew and I first put our business plan together, charity was part of that. Um, we feel as though any business that operates has an obligation to its community. That community provides us with business. We should do what we can to give back to the community. Um, and the things that Andrew and I value are um underserved children and the environment. And so um every year we have a big charity crab feast um that uh bring a lot of people out. We've raised a lot of money over the years. We fully fund a program at um the HSC Pediatric Center, um, which is a uh program that we're really proud of. We actually worked with their team um and we fund the program almost in full. And that is a program that's designed for kids who have different developmental, physical, developmental issues. Um, it is a program for them to do extracurricular activities. So they do things like play softball, kayak, they have prom, they go bowling. And in a lot of these cases, their siblings don't can't go play on the softball team with their sibling, but in this environment, they learn how to play together. How can I alter my movements for a wheelchair? And how can we continue to play these games? And it's really a positive environment. Um, Robin um over there, who runs all of that program, is absolutely amazing. She's done a great job with that. And then uh in the bay, we uh we were both fishermen. And so key to the bay's health is oysters. So we give a lot of money to the oyster recovery partnership um and help uh grow the oysters in the bay and help keep the bay

Raising The Bar For Contractors

SPEAKER_01 36:31

clean so we can enjoy more fishing.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

You nailed it. I got in a rare moment, I have nothing else to add to that.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

You guys are doing some amaz amazing things. Keep it up. Thank you. Thank you. And as you look ahead to the next chapter for Beautiful Home Services, what do you want your name to stand for in this community? And what do you hope clients feel when they think back on working with you?

SPEAKER_02 36:55

So I think that when we set out to start Beautiful Homes, um, you know, when I told my late father that I was going to quit the accounting firm right after I'd got my CPA license to start a construction company with Craig, he was uh the best devil's advocate that there's ever been. And while he supported the decision, he questioned me on it and I said, you know, Dad, there's all these companies out there that do construction and home improvement, and they do it very poorly. And that's why there's so many of them, because people are constantly looking. And I think Craig and I can do it better, right? We can we're not trying to reinvent the wheel here. We're not trying to discover something new or invent something. We can just do this thing that's being done poorly much better. And I think I want people to remember that we set out to change what clients should expect from a construction experience. Communication, quality of work, intention. And I think that we have accomplished that up to this point. And I think that um that I that's what I want people to remember is that like these are guys who really, really wanted to do a great job for the client and and build really good spaces and be honest and transparent and um just you know deliver what they promise. Um, and to change that that should be the expectation. And if that's if you're not receiving that, those companies that are not delivering you that should be pushed to the side and to make room for other companies like ours who are delivering that.

SPEAKER_01 38:14

Yeah, that was always a big conversation for Andrew and I early on, is that, you know, we wanted to do it different than everyone else. And it is very hard to change an industry, especially one as old as construction, as entrenched. And we wanted to set the expectation that you don't need to argue with your contractor. You can have a conversation with them. It's not you versus them. They're not gonna take advantage of you if there's a change order. They're gonna work with you to get that design and they're gonna listen when you talk. Um, and that, you know, they're not gonna try to talk circles around you about construction. They're gonna make it so you can understand. Um, and we've worked really hard to change that. And subsequently, we have seen the industry change. The expectation out of contractors has changed because of people like us. Um, and holding contracting businesses to a standard, a professional standard that they weren't previously held at in the residential field. Um, we have greatly changed the game and we continue, we we plan on continuing to change the game and keep everyone stepping up to where they should be. I'm quite proud of that. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 39:14

Absolutely. I can definitely see that for you guys. I'm so I'm just so happy for you for how long you've come and and continue to go.

SPEAKER_01 39:21

Yeah. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

And as we wrap up, is there anything either of you would like to add that I haven't touched on today?

SPEAKER_02 39:32

Uh no, we've really enjoyed being here. Thank you for for having us and opportunity to talk about beautiful home services. We really appreciate it. Yeah, this was a lot of fun. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 39:39

Of course. Thank you, Andrew and Craig, for joining me on the podcast and sharing your story with us behind Beautiful Home Services. I wish you both the best of luck and all that comes your way in the future.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.