It never really was enough, right? You'd land the first $100,000 kitchen, and it still wasn't enough money. Then 150,000 and it still wasn't enough money. And then you're up to $200,000 and it still did never seem like enough for the budget. And then I go back to a $75,000 kitchen with a lower grade of finish and a client who just needs this done, for their family, for their space, to open some things up, to just create a
better home life for them. And I do that, and they're thrilled and they're happy, and I make more money than I had on these more elaborate, fancier jobs where things need to be just so. And there's a time and a place for that when that is what you're using to gage or as a benchmark for success. I think that you can set yourself up for failure and disappointment. Welcome back to another midweek modern craftsman. I hope all of
you are having a wonderful week. We're getting rained out today here in New Jersey, but that's really all I can complain about. We have Rachel coming home from a little work trip tonight, so that will free up my load a lot. I realize how much she does when she is gone. Uh, Selby has some softball that we've been busy with. Polly's birthdays this weekend. Gus birthday was last weekend. Tilly has a field trip to the cedar run wildlife refuge
today. So all is well in the world of the graces. But I'm going to start today's podcast off with a question, what if the most meaningful work that you do isn't that showpiece project, but the one that never gets shared. So today I'm going to dig into what I would call those B grade type of jobs, the smaller, simpler, overlooked ones that keep your business and your purpose alive, whether you know it or not. So as I mentioned, not every job that we do needs to be featured in a
magazine. And I think being on social media, you know, seeing all of the glamor shots, and everyone really just chasing clout, we lose sight of that. You think that you're not up to par. You know that that you aren't quite where you should be at this point in career. You're not getting the jobs that you want, the clients that you want, you're not really measuring up.
And I'm here to tell you that that does not really matter. I mean, if that's what you're basing your success on, and once you reach that, you're going to be happy and content, maybe it does, but I found that a lot of times you are chasing that dragon, you get that job. It's not what you anticipated initially. Get that high and then it's, it's, you know, what's the next thing? What's the next step? How can I elevate
myself? How can I get the bigger jobs? Because that's going to make me more money, that's going to make me happier, and typically that's just not the case, and we get into that loop and that perpetual cycle of thinking that that's the case
and it's not. And as I've backed off some, as I've slowed down, as I've refined my business and my client base and really focused on continuing to please my return customers, and not looking for the next, bigger and better opportunity and project, I've realized even more so how important these B grade jobs are, or these these Return clients, or clients from five years ago, who trusted you, invested in you when you were just getting off the ground, how important it is to maintain
those relationships, how fulfilling those jobs can be, and how they also ensure that you can continue to prosper and succeed From a business and a lead generation and a workflow perspective, right? And it doesn't need to be the full home renovation. It doesn't necessarily need to be the full House build, yeah, if you're structured that way, if your business is built to handle a certain volume, then yes, you need to continue to find those those type of jobs that keep the
wheels turning. But if you think that you want to grow to that scale, just because that's what's going to make you more money or that's going to be more fulfilling for you, I would challenge that. I think that there's ways to grow with limitations that can be equally as fulfilling and equally as lucrative. So a lot of the jobs that I've found lately that are most rewarding are jobs that aren't quite as glamorous. And when I go through my phone, I look at the photos and I look at
the content that I've created. Been produced, and the projects and the clients that I've had, I've done some really great projects, and I've done some very middle of the road projects and and hindsight, a lot of the projects that taught me the most, that were the most fulfilling, that were the most enjoyable, the least stressful, realistically, the most lucrative, were often the projects that didn't necessarily push the design boundaries or turn heads on social media go
viral. They're the more straightforward, honest, practical jobs, the utilitarian type of jobs. And these are the jobs that I've realized are the work that keeps me going and when I put less stress on chasing what I envisioned to be this ideal project that's bigger and has designers and expensive finishes. I've found that there's been challenges associated with those projects, with those designs, with the expectations. Yeah, they can be successful and they make for
beautiful photos. And, you know, I have great clients who want those things too, but a lot of times, they aren't as enjoyable as serving your clients and solving their needs on a function rather than form basis, to fix a problem that they've been living with for years, to help them solve an issue within their space, as far as how they use it, as far as how their family's grown, to create a healthier space for them, a more
enjoyable space for them. So these simpler, no frills jobs, I feel are where I get to solve problems and make people's daily lives better. People have saved their money, who have really wanted this, probably for a long time, and haven't had the ability to finally pull the trigger. It. You know, it might not be marble finishes, it might not be unlackered Brass, but
it's serving a purpose for them. They're very grateful. And these projects, again, in hindsight, can be very, very rewarding from a financial perspective and just from a personal fulfillment. They can create consistency with your business. They can keep you busy in between the bigger jobs, and they keep the phone ringing.
It keeps your your team staffed. It pays your bills, and it maintains those relationships that as people grow, as they as they progress, as they upgrade to a bigger house, because their family grown, you're still maintaining those relationships. You're never too good for them, you're never too big for them,
and they keep coming back. And to me, that's been really the lifeblood of my business and how I've established a pretty robust client base where I'm at the point where I'm not looking to take on a ton of new customers, because I have so many clients, and I'm doing smaller remodeling projects, and they know people, and they have a network of people that I'm not chasing these, these cold leads, you know, leads and phone calls and emails that come across my plate where I just don't know who they
are, there's really no personal touch there. And to me, it sometimes is more effort than it's worth to chase down that lead, land it educate them as to who I am. If I can maintain these relationships with these smaller return clients in these smaller jobs and serve their suit their needs and serve a purpose for them. In between the bigger jobs and some of the fancier jobs, then to me, I create a really dynamic
workflow. I can keep people busy, I can pay my bills. I can, you know, ensure that regardless of what happens with the market or fluctuations within the market, that I always have an opportunity to live in this in in many different price ranges and type of jobs, and I can always stay busy, and if I need to Audible, if I need to change the structure or the flow or the trajectory of my business, I have an ability to do that. So to me, these projects have been very rewarding. They've created
a lifestyle for me. They've they've been honestly like, because I don't have to court these clients. Like, for example, a client of mine just came to me and she wants to put a screen and porch off the back of her house. Really cool project, fun project, a little bit outside of what I do day to day, challenging project, but, like, it's not the type of project again that's going to wind up on the cover of a magazine, because I have brass fixtures and
antique mirror and really high end cabinetry. No This, this. This project is serving a function for this space, for them to get outside, for them to be able to enjoy their backyard, to not be bothered by bugs, to create. An extension of their home, and it's a utility piece for them. Yeah, it's going to be beautiful. We're putting a lot of finishes in there. It's an expensive project, but it's not, it's not the type of project that I feel I would have chased years ago. But it's a return
client. She came to me, we had the discussion on budget. We set her up with an architect. We went through a few design revisions, paid for the design, signed up for pre construction. I didn't have to sell anything. I was open with her. I was honest with her. We're moving forward with a loose order of magnitude budget right now we're doing pre construction. We're going to refine the the scope of work, the budget, make sure that we're on track with everything. I'll coordinate all the
subcontractors. I'll line up the work for this job done, and it's it's just a very low pressure job. She understands how I work. She understands how busy I am. She's grateful and gracious for the time that I spend. She trusts me and to me that is more enjoyable, more fulfilling and more manageable than to me to chase this new lead from a designer, an architect, a client who is buying a new $2 million house and wants to renovate it
before they move in and they have plenty of money. They just need it done now and then, I'm under the gun to serve this client's needs which aren't really within my workflow or my process. So, you know, I'm not saying that this job is a B grade job, but it's coming from a client that I developed 10 years ago when I first went into business, and I've grown in my business, and she's grown with me, and I've done a ton of work for her and her family. I'll continue to do a ton of work for
her and her family. I've done built ins basement, renovated a fair amount of her newer house that she bought. She'll always, you know, she lives in a modest house. She always will need stuff done. She's right now a single mom, so it's really rewarding and really fulfilling when I look outside of the scope of work and outside of the project, how I'm how I'm serving my clients, and how I'm suiting their needs, and what I'm doing for her and her family, and how this is going to change their
life, and when I focus on those things, the money comes. There's not a ton of risk, there's not a ton of pressure and a ton of stress, and it's not there's not the courting process. I have to be careful with communication and expectations and understanding timelines and everything else when I can get to people, but it's, I don't want to say relaxing, but it's just not a high stress environment that I'm putting myself in, and from a personal standpoint, that makes the most
amount of sense to me, but I'm, I'm a being. I'm able to serve the needs of my clients. And right, if I had a project that I was chasing because I wanted to fulfill ego, or I was chasing clout, where I wanted, you know, I only want a project that I'm going to be able to post on Instagram and and get in magazines and bring a designer on board, then I probably would walk away from this project. And who's to say that chasing all of those things would actually make me happy or make me money, for
that matter, right? Because a lot of times with those projects, it's more headache. There's not as much trust. There's a lot more setting of expectations, managing expectations. This client already understands what she's going to get. She understands where my strengths are, where my
weakness is. She trusts me fully, transparent with how much money she has, to the point where she budgeted more than she needs, and was like, Hey, I'd rather give you all of this money now, because if it's in my account, I'm going to spend it. So I'd rather give you this money and you can do the work whenever you want to. Like, that's the relationship that I have with my clients, most of my clients, not to that extent, but like, the trust is there, and it's not overselling, and it's
not over promising. It's setting realistic expectations, and then when the work begins, like, yeah, executing a great project, maintaining budget, maintaining schedule, and meeting and serving my clients needs. It's not necessarily about the million dollar project, right? It's not about the quarter
million dollar remodel. This isn't that, but it's equally as fulfilling to me, and I think what a lot of us run into on social media and going on other people's websites and seeing their vans and their marketing and their T shirts and what they're doing with summits and how they're teaching people, and how they have these These robust systems and processes, and how you can learn from them, and how they're so legit. It's great. It's amazing. I do a lot of that myself, but I'm not going to sit
here and tell you that you know you need to be chasing. Those full gut renovations, and you need to be building new homes in order to make money, in order to have a fulfilling life, in order
to have a fulfilling career. I've learned over the years that if I can manage my financial situation, between my wife, myself, our family, our kids, what we have going on, if we can save some money, if we can account for, you know, what it takes to live that I would be happier working with clients and my processes that I enjoy, that create and serve and suit clients needs, rather than looking to chase a project for ego because it's going to be the coolest project that I've ever
done. And I was on that path for a long time, and part of that was probably insecurities. Part of that was probably wanting to prove to myself and to other people that I could do it, but I'm just not there anymore. And there's more important things in my life, and I think that at the end of the day that didn't necessarily bring me the happiness that I anticipated it would, it never really was enough, right? You'd land the
first $100,000 kitchen, and it still wasn't enough money. Then 150,000 and it still wasn't enough money, and then you're up to $200,000 and it still didn't ever seem like enough for the budget. And then I go back to a $75,000 kitchen with a lower grade of finish, and a client who just needs this done for their family, for their space, to open some things up, to just
create a better home life for them. And I do that, and they're thrilled and they're happy, and I make more money than I had on these more elaborate, fancier jobs where things need to be just so. And there's a time and a place for that when that is
what you're using to gage or as a benchmark for success. I think that you can set yourself up for failure and disappointment if you lose that job, if you don't get that job, if the architect doesn't want to work with you, if it's a headache, if things go south. So for me, I like to control my future. I like to control my lead flow. I like to control the type of work that I do, and I don't want to work to somebody else's program. So maintaining these relationships with return clients doing these,
you know, jobs that aren't quite as sexy, right? And I say B grade like it's it's not as though they're crappier. They just a lot of times we're spending budget on the function of the space rather than the finishes. And again, it's not to say that they're not nice finishes. A lot of the most of the stuff that I do, I couldn't afford for myself. So it's not a
judgment. It's, I think I'm trying to ensure that for everyone out there who sees people doing jobs or discussing projects that are $800 a square foot, $1,000 a square foot, like, that's not me. That's not what I do. That's not really what I want to do. It's the people you know who are building for $300 a square foot, $350 a square foot, where it's like, yeah, we have a tough time hitting these numbers, but
they're for people who really appreciate it. And we're getting to do fulfilling work, and we're getting to create spaces for
people to grow in and to live in. And for me, I've realized through the past that for through my experience, that for a long time I couldn't see the forest through the trees, and what I was focusing on and what I was chasing wasn't actually bringing me the happiness, the enjoyment, the content, the freedom, that really actually creates peace of mind for me, creates happiness for me, creates a lifestyle for me and my family that's conducive to getting up every day and feeling
accomplished. And I think that there's probably a lot of people out there who are in the same boat, who are seeing what other people do, seeing the the margins that they're claiming to have, seeing the budgets that their projects have, and thinking, I need to get there. Once I get there, I'll be able to do this. Once I get there, I'll be happier, and I'm just once you're there, it's not any different. It's the same thing. You're a couple years older, you might have a few more gray
hairs, you probably have way more stress. And I think when you focus on understanding your business serving clients who have specific needs that you can fulfill and expectations that you can properly manage and not saying no to a B grade project, because, hey, this, this doesn't fit with my portfolio. I think that you might find yourself a little happier then, then you might expect so that's just food. For thought today, again, don't say no to every client, hear them out, see if you fits
their program. Maintain those relationship with your return clients. They can be the lifeblood of your business and sustained success. For me at this point now, I haven't taken on a new client in a very long time, and I continue to serve my return clients and suit their needs and fit them in when I can, and they understand how I work. I just had a client reach out to me yesterday that I did work for all through COVID I
haven't worked for for two years. We were looking at a project two years ago kind of fell through the cracks, circling back now, hey, we never got that done. I know we just kind of dropped that. We'd like to get the ball rolling again with that. So there's always more work to be had from these return clients. If you're setting the expectations, if you're making the money, it's more of the same type of work, which is perfect. So that's my advice to you. I hope that it
resonates with you again. I hope everyone's having a good week. We're having a good one here. I can't wait to hear what Tilly brought a I had to go get her lunch last night, and then she brought a notebook with her, because Rachel's away. And Rachel told her that she wants to hear every detail, so she asked me for a notebook so that she could write everything down to share it with Rachel. And that kind of broke my heart. So sweet at times, and so devilish at times, but I love her, and we
love them. I know we spoke about this on the main podcast, but Nick and I are looking to put out monthly workshops online 45 minutes to an hour. Think we're going to do on Fridays. We've been doing them at 3pm Eastern Time, which is noon, Pacific Time, Central Mountain Time, obviously between them, but we
figured it's close to lunch time. Maybe you can squeak out for 45 minutes an hour, or towards the end of your day on a Friday, and you can dip out early, or, you know, account for an hour towards the end of a week to hop on and join us, just to dive into business, to dive into what we're experiencing. It'll be a live workshop. So podcast type, format, but live, Q and A, we intend to pull documents, resources from a lot
of the courses that we developed to discuss. So if that's the case, we'll provide you with that resource for free and a link to register for the Zoom workshop for free. So you don't need to buy anything. If you want to buy something, we'd love it, but you don't need to buy anything. You can hop on, ask questions, learn something, gain a little bit more insight and experience. So we hope to see you all there. If you want to hear about them, make sure that you're signed up for the
newsletter. You can get that on our Instagram. You can get that on our website, modern craftsman.co if you have any questions specifically, you can reach out to Hello at modern craftsman.co or Tyler at TRG, home concepts.com, I still do and I have people emailing me every week. I still do
consulting calls. I did two this week. If you're interested, or you have a struggle that you're you're having trouble getting through, if you want to run something by me, if there's just something that I do the you want, you know some one on one time to dig into your numbers, your marketing, how to run a smaller, lean, efficient business and sustain a lifestyle and make some actual money. If you're struggling to do that,
I'm here to tell you you're probably not overcharging. You might not be able to charge more, but there's probably ways that you can run and operate your business to make you the money that you need to without necessarily 2x ing your top line revenue. So if you're interested in that, you can shoot me an email, Tyler at TRG, home concepts.com, again, I just do a couple of them per week to fill in some time while I'm home,
doing other modern craftsmen type stuff, so reach out. I'll explain how we do that, but I appreciate everyone hanging around listening again. Enjoy your week, enjoy your weekend, and I will catch you guys next time.