Business as usual for JB Custom, exceeding expectations

The Lake Country Mom + JB Custom, Our Basement Project

Let’s face it, we all have a room and/or space in our house that we would like to create or update. This past year with lots of time at home with the pandemic it turned into … you guessed it, home projects. We purchased this new-to-us home with a partially finished basement in 2019 that we never initially intended to finish. But we quickly discovered that we needed the additional space for a dedicated office and an additional area to retreat to. Seriously, who doesn’t want additional space? Developing the basement would easily add ample room for all to enjoy.

So it goes, with the pandemic in full force this past year, we took it upon ourselves to jump into this do-it-yourself home remodel project. The basement. This specific area is around 1300 sq ft and had a previous drop ceiling, minimal drywall work, with part brick & bare cement floors. Truthfully, it was a space you walked quicker through to avoid thinking about as it was unsightly and well, kinda blah.

The drywall experience

After waffling for sometime, we decided today’s the day! And the drop ceiling was no more! Onward, we had other requirements prior to the drywall which included updating the electrical and plumbing. The drywall hanging experience turned out to be a tedious and a time consuming process. Physically speaking, it was absolutely back-breaking work… which was probably better left to the pros. This includes time spent driving back and forth to the big box stores for various materials, educating ourselves in the process of proper hanging technique, etc. Consistently full of surprises, all of which took time to work through.

Once the drywall was hung (by us) we started researching the next step in the finishing process and decided to wave the white flag! (and surrender) We knew we needed to call in for reinforcements.  I can’t count how many times I heard; “Rach, could you come down here and hold this?” Or worse, power tools after 10pm, lol! We knew we needed a professional contractor to assist us in finishing up this project as the finishing work with drywall is tricky. This process is where the joints of the drywall are taped and glued together with compound to make a seamless wall. Any errors in the finishing process can lead to unsightly cracks to which we obviously wanted to avoid. It just wasn’t worth the headache and skill level (artistry) required to tie in the project altogether. Remember, this entire process was a year in the making while balancing our day-to-day jobs, kiddo responsibilities and just life in general. It just left very little time for anything else.

After many calls out to different contractors, for which we had brief conversations that didn’t create that trust we were hoping for. Including some calls that went unanswered and no-show appointments.  Frustrating. We then came upon JB Custom, and we are relieved we did.

After reading JB Custom’s Google reviews, (which were great by the way!) we reached out to schedule an appointment. They shared their values, their heart, and we felt that trust. We met with Jon and discovered their wonderful team! We hired Jon and their company and got our project scheduled and we couldn’t be happier so far with the experience. We feel JB Custom is fulfilling all their promises towards our home project.

On day one, we were introduced to the workers and you could tell by their demeanor that they love their craft and the work so far really emphasizes this.

In my own home

Usually, I get the honor to support businesses out in the community—but this time I get to have them come to my own house for a bit of a more intimate experience. The best part is that we get to share it with you. I have learned that they are more than just drywall, they do it all.

Personally, I am thrilled to be working with JB Custom on my family home. People want results, that’s automatic. It is important to have trust while discovering a reputable contractor, which leads you to the result you want in a general contractor.

JB Custom drywall finisher in The Lake Country Mom home

Why did we decide to work with JB Custom?

Jon’s drive and enthusiasm is worth mentioning as he sends that energy to his team. You can feel it in the room when he spoke to his crew on day one of our project. Almost like a quarterback bringing his players into the huddle to discuss the next play… The play was our home remodel/finishing project.

Jon forecasting / scheduling his team for upcoming jobs at JB Custom in Menomonee Falls, WI

 JB Custom was the right choice for our family.

They will be completing our basement / the main open area and adjacent office space by achieving a level 5 finish of the ceiling and walls. This is going to give our new basement space a high-end and complete look, a look that we are striving for in our home remodel. They are already a few days in, and the amount of work and beauty they have achieved in just a short time is astonishing.

Our thoughts, “Why the heck didn’t we do this sooner?”

Learn from our mistake, hire the pros the first time!

•••

 I would like to share the story of JB Custom with you, in Jon’s own words.

{Follow along on our social outlets to see our basement transformation.}
Stay tuned for our video together and interview, where we will also invite you to ask questions and connect with us.

Jon’s perspective

Changing perceptions, exceeding expectations

JB Custom started in 2010.  I started the business after working for my uncle’s drywall company during summers of high school and college. I continued to work in the drywall trade for a short amount of time after college as I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  I did know that I wanted to be great at whatever I did and business always interested me. Once I learned the trade and started doing side jobs, I knew a drywall/construction business would be an opportunity for me.

I was always a very driven and competitive person. My dad instilled a strong work ethic in me and would preach the keys to success on a daily basis. Over time his values were instilled in me.  It started with sports but then went to business. It has always been about never quitting, always moving forward and pushing through any barrier that was in my way.  Doing anything to be the best.  Stepping out of my comfort zone, letting everything and anything fuel and motivate me.

Bill and I met at a mutual friends project and we clicked right away. As soon as I met Bill I knew he had the drive as well.  We both were hungry and decided to jump in and partner up.  We started off working 7 days a week.   We both wanted it and it all started with hard work.  Now the hard work is different (more mental) but it is still there and we are still as hungry as we were on day 1.  Hard work, dedication, discipline, and consistency has been the foundation for our success and we look for these values when bringing others into our company.  Bill and I were a great team from the start.  While sharing the same core values, we also were different in ways that complemented each other.  Our 3 unique differentiators were originally founded by some of our core values as well as some of our complementing differences.  To this day on a large scale we still have the same 3 unique qualities of flexibility, responsiveness, and creative problem solving.  We feel that these 3 unique qualities help us stand out from our competition greatly.

Flexibility and responsiveness came very natural for both Bill and I from the beginning.  These 2 qualities are where Bill and I are very similar and come naturally because we both are driven entrepreneurs.  For example,  if a customer calls with a drywall issue we have always been responsive to get back to that customer immediately. Same goes with flexibility.

If a customer is calling with an immediate need, we have always been flexible to solve their problem.  It takes a trained mindset and systems to do this on a large scale but it is something that our company has done and continues to modify and improve on.

Creative problem solving is where Bill and I are very different.  I would say that we are both creative problem solvers but on completely different levels. This is the game changer for our company and I truly feel that we needed each other equally to build our company. I am a creative problem solver when it comes to people. How to recruit/ motivate people and get the most out of them.

Bill is the best creative problem solver in the field I have ever seen. His mind just works that way and he has a special gift.  We could have 5 or 6 people get stumped on how to frame out a challenging space and Bill can come in and come up with an idea in seconds. It is amazing. Same with ideas at our office.  How to plan how the office layout, how vehicles will station and go in and out, etc. He is also always trying/researching new products or coming up with his own innovative method of doing things more efficiently.

When we look back on how we grew the company the first thing that comes to mind is the hard work, determination, dedication, never quit, keep moving forward mentality that we always had.  But it really wasn’t that easy. There were so many times that we got stuck. So many times that we failed, so many times that we just hit the ceiling and couldn’t break through. The effort and determination was there but there are just so many different aspects of business and to be running efficiently on all aspects is so tough. This is where we looked for help.

We looked at the top business professionals in similar industries, watched what they were doing, asked questions, even hired them as business coaches multiple times as we got stuck during different years in business. We worked hard on the business instead of always in the business and developed systems and processes for everything. Things are always changing and we have always been open and ready to change with the times or new techniques etc. We still make mistakes but using this process to work on the business has been a game changer. On a weekly basis we study what is working and what is not.  Having meetings, creating issues lists, coming up with action plans, testing new systems, seeing what sticks, and then trying again.

Problem solving has become a part of our culture. If there is a company that can make a difficult project or timeline happen, it is us. Right now we plan for about 1.5 to 2 hours a day with our operations team all in the same room. This includes our general manager, sales guys, project managers,  and our operations coordinator. There are a lot of systems and planning that allow us to manage so many jobs on a large scale. There are so many crews with so many moving pieces.  It has taken many years to develop this system and it is always evolving.

Throughout the journey there are so many key members that have joined the JB family and each have such amazing individual stories of success.  We have promoted internally and many employees have started from the beginning in a labor role and have worked their way up the rankings into key field positions, project management, office positions, and even our general manager role.  It is an amazing feeling to look at the staff that runs this company and know that the majority of them started from the ground up just like Bill and I.  We have also hired externally for some positions.  We base our hiring and promoting off of the core values that the company was founded on and the hiring process is a group effort.

We are now bringing our 3 uniques to the General contractor level.  We understand that things need to be planned correctly but even when everything is planned perfectly things still come up.  Material still gets delayed. We have a team of flexible, responsive, problem solvers.  That is our culture. We have had projects where cabinets or counter tops get delayed. We are wired to solve the problem instead of communicating bad news to our customers…

How are we going to solve the problem?  Our team immediately starts searching big box stores, and searching multiple online options to provide solutions. We have an army of guys willing to drive hours to go and pick up products if we have to. Whatever it takes! We just finished a small basement project that a trim order got delayed.  It was a unique trim and we searched everywhere but couldn’t find anything that would work. The team got together and one of the carpenters remembered where similar trim was used. It was at Bill’s house in his basement (my partner). So we pulled the trim out of Bill’s house and installed it in this customer’s basement to make it happen. They were thrilled!

That is what it is about for us. This is our passion!

Thank you for taking the time to hear our story at JB Custom, we would be honored to chat with you.
–Jon, JB Custom

Martinson job down by JB Custom | Bedroom remodel

 

Robers job done by JB Custom | Bathroom remodel

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