SPEAKER_01 0:00

Everybody's got something to give. And it doesn't, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, time or money or or really good referrals that are going to be like, hey, that's a home run for somebody. They're going to make, you know, X amount of money on it or something. But it could just be a connection through a connection through a connection that you're trying to bring people in together.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

All right, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter, where we have conversations with Northern Colorado's best networkers and find out about all the connections that they've made uh that have led to their success. And today I've got Tim Lee on the on the podcast. Tim, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. Tim, uh, integrity construction. I feel like I've been taking a lot of your time. You've been doing some work on my house, my properties, and stuff like that. But if people haven't networked with you or met you yet, tell us a little bit more about what you do.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Yeah, so we're a general contractor located out of West Garley. Um, I personally am a licensed general contractor, and what we specialize in is uh helping people really, you know. Um we do a lot of insurance reconstruction work, and then on top of that, we do bathrooms, kitchens, basements, and full house remodels, old rental remodels, whatever a guy needs.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

There you go.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

How did uh have you always grown up be a handy guy, a trades guy? Yeah, you know, I had some family members that were uh in construction, so I kind of grew up around a little bit. Then I heard a lot of fun fish stories, big fish stories from my dad about construction things. So that was always kind of the back of my mind. And then, you know, I did some framing and electrical work when I was younger, and then just growing up, really uh what I always wanted to be was a business owner, an entrepreneur. I like joked about it a lot with a lot of my friends when I was growing up. I wanted to own a coffee shop, okay, or something fun like that. So um, and then this is just kind of what I fell into, to be honest with you. Yeah, just kind of it morphed a little bit from uh from lots of lots of connections, really. You know, it just kind of turned into think this is a business, I think I should run with it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Well, and uh construction's a big field, but how did you really hey here's what I'm really good at, here's what I market myself to be, and um really dial in um what you do.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Yeah, you know, I mean, as a general contractor, my job is to network, right, and find the right people. Um, I would I would say that that's kind of one of my strong suits. Once I start rolling with people and start jiving, and I can find somebody, a trade partner, or uh, you know, hire somebody that's good at one specific thing, you know, I can I can utilize that and I can bring that solution to other people. So kind of my job really is to put people together, you know, and take care of people and find solutions through different issues.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Well, I imagine every project's different, but uh you might need a different team to fulfill the right project. Yeah. Um how do you how do you qualify your subs or keep them um loyal to you, but also that you know, you got competitive work, all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Yeah, I mean you that's that's one of the biggest struggles for sure, I would say, you know, is finding the right people to bring it to uh, you know, it's their castle, you know, it's their home, especially when it's uh it's unoccupied, it's one thing, right? Or if it's a new build, it's something. But whenever you're doing a bathroom remodel or you're doing something that, you know, you're going into somebody's house, it's their castle, and you have to work around their dogs and their schedule and their, you know, the the the everyday life that they live there. So, you know, if we're doing like a kitchen remodel or something, it becomes a big thing. Um but yeah, so we're always just kind of we're going through people, you know, as we as we deem fit and then and then finding the right ones and sticking with them. And once we stick with them, it's kind of uh how do you take care of them, like you're saying, you know, um, build the loyalty and everything. But it's always just about communication and and how I can how I can make their job easier. So I've been trying to build those systems this year more than other years, I would say, with being like, here's a sheet and this is what we need, and do you need anything else from me? And then just daily check-ins and fun stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Anybody specifically you want a shout out that's been a really good partner, um, has been loyal to you for a while.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yeah, you know, I mean, uh, you you talked a little bit about, you know, some fun stories and stuff like that. It's uh my my company kind of came up came from networking in a weird way. Um I was I was just at a Napa. Okay. Some good networking happens at a Napa like Napa parking lot, right on it. And I'm at this Napa parking lot, and I I had a rough day at work. I was working for a different company at the time where we were like two weeks on and two weeks off, and I just got off, and this guy came over and he was like, Hey, nice flatbed. And I was like, kind of already grow up and I was like, Okay, thanks, Ben. You know, he's like, I've been looking to get a flatbed. He had the same kind of truck as mine, and uh this guy just wanted to talk, he just wanted to network, and he just seemed like such a genuine guy. So yeah, you know, I struck up a conversation with him. Um turns out he's uh he's an excavator and he has a small excavation company and he needed a hand every once in a while. He's like, Yeah, if you're not busy on your two weeks off, you know, come help me. So I ended up starting to help him. And from from all these, just these small little, you know, day jobs or a few days here and stuff, I was trying to build up my company on these two weeks off. Um, I just started realizing like this guy, he he knew everybody, you know, he was like a natural connector. And he was just as you can meet somebody at a Napa parking lot, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:36

That's just who he is in life.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

That's just who he is, right? Yeah, talking about flatbeds or whatever came up at the time, you know. So, and from that, I felt like I built I built some confidence. Um, you know, just being like, you know, it's it's kind of about who you know and how you how you bring those connections in with people and how you can help one person find another person, and then how that person can help, you know, whatever that other your sphere of influence, I guess, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:00

So when you've been networking for a long time, uh you've experienced some good things, some bad things, but uh, what would you say is like the key to networking?

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Um giving. Giving, I would say, is the key to networking. Uh it's not about what you can receive from somebody, it's it's how you can give, but also connect those people with other people, you know. So if you're always constantly thinking about that, you know, kind of like when we sat down the first time, it's like, you know, and in which which sphere of influence do you have can you help other people? Kind of thing. It's it's it's a thought process of, you know, the more you give, the more you get. But even if you don't get anything out of it, what those people can help and how many people those people can help from what you can help them?

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Well, let's talk about being a giver because I think sometimes that's what holds people back. Like they want to join these groups, but they're like, oh my God, I just don't feel like I have the resources to help all these people. Yeah. Um what do you do to make to to be a giver? To to to make the the referrals that are flowing out or the resources that are flowing out um be abundant.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I I think one-to-ones are important, which you know, I'm I'm not the best at. I kind of vanguard my time mostly because I end up working till 10 p.m., it seems like, and my wife's about like this, you know, most of the time. But uh one-to-ones, I think, are important, you know, just to be able to get to know somebody and and sit down and and realize, you know, once you get to know them, I think you can realize what you can do for people. And, you know, everybody's got something to give. And it doesn't, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, time or money or or really good referrals that are gonna be like, hey, that's a home run for somebody, they're gonna make, you know, X amount of money on it or something, but it could just be a connection through connection through a connection that you're trying to bring people in together. Um, I th I think that's kind of what the giving part is about is how it doesn't matter what it is, it could be tiny or it could be huge, you know, I think, but every little thing makes a big difference, especially in in our world and entrepreneurs and like just business owners and just you know, it's it's a big deal. It's lonely. It's lonely being, you know, being a business owner. It's it's lonely doing what we do. So, you know, to be able to find like-minded individual individuals that kind of can even if it's just a tiny little bit, help out just a little bit, it's a big deal for people.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Yeah. Well, I I see that like, you know, I walk into a room, I don't know as much people. Yeah, I don't know how to help them, but people will tell you if if you listen. Um, and those people who are networking that are generally trying to build relationships, um, you know, you'll you'll hear of an opportunity or something that somebody's looking for, and it's amazing how much like your life will just show that, and you're like, oh my, I just met this person, they can help that and and make that make that connection.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

That's the funnest part of it, man. It's like, it's like I put these two together, and then like that was three years ago or four years ago, and like now they're starting a business together or whatever, right? It's yeah, it's lit truly listening to people, but but beyond that, it's just yeah, it's it's fun what you know God puts into your world and and the connections that are made just through the world and the universe and whatever's coming up, right? It's just like yeah, everything just clicks, especially when you put yourself out there and you really like you're talking about, it's like you're listening, you know, and you gotta listen because you gotta open up your mind a little bit. Sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Well, integrity construction, right? It's the brand, but what does integrity mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Yeah, I mean, I think it obviously it means doing the doing the right thing when nobody's looking, right? I think that's kind of a big part of it. And you know, as we build our team culture and you know, and in-house things, and I kind of dial some stuff on, it's it's underpromising and over-delivering, you know, um, in client relations, I think, because anybody can fix uh, you know, there's a tile that's askew or something weird, right? The client doesn't like it, you know, it's not that big of a deal. We can fix it. But it's when you ignore it or you brush it off or you're rude about it. Little things are easy to fix. We can we can put it up, we can put it back together, you know, whatever it may be, but it's it's gonna be client relations, I think. So it's like a bespoke experience for for our clients, really, is what I'm trying to create, which is not easy, you know. So that's part of the working till 9 or 10 p.m. is trying to dial in systems and how I can figure out how to, you know, make that kind of experience for my customers.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Right. Yeah. Well, it sounds like a sense of service too. Um, you know, I'm curious to talk about like, hey, I want to make sure my client has a good experience, or I want to do uh do the right thing, or um really take care of the human being that's behind the bid and the project. Yeah. Um sometimes that might come in odds of like you taking care of yourself, I'm thinking. Like, like you said, I'm I'm staying to 10 p.m. at night, maybe like you know, my wife is counting on me. How do you balance that as an entrepreneur between doing what you know to do as an entrepreneur versus doing what you know you need to do for yourself?

SPEAKER_01 11:03

That's a real stressful situation, and we just don't talk about that either. We just ignore it and we just push through. No, I mean, you know, honestly, uh, I have an incredible support system in my family, in my immediate family, and my wife, you know, she's very lenient, I will say, in that regard. Um, but yeah, I think uh work life balance is a real thing, you know, especially and a lot of a lot of business owners are like that, right? And they they push, they push and they push and they push. And I'm right now specifically trying to work on building systems that will allow me not to be burnt out and allow me to kind of get that work life balance where, you know, I I don't think I could ever work 40 hours a week, but you know, if I can do 50-60, I'd be pretty happy, you know. But the 70-80 is a little bit much, you know. So I'm trying to find that balance, but I'm just like that. I just like to, I like to try to, you know, get every get ahead of things, you know, or build things or try to come up with systems that'll work. So um that's part of what I'm doing right now. But yeah, it's it's it's a different world for sure, being business owners and everything. So networking helps, though, you know, I think, and the support systems that you find within networking and the people that you connect to randomly, you know, and the universe brings you together and God creates that world for you. It's just yeah, every time I want to quit, I feel like it's like, no, you're not quitting. Something else happens, and then I get pushed in the direction. So it's pretty fun, I think, too.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

So well, talk to me about networking as a tradesperson because I see you know, some networks either don't have any tradespeople at all, or that's like the main focus of the group. Um so uh, you know, as a trades business, I see some networks, they're either very trades heavy and they got a lot of them, or they got none of them. Yeah, and I'm curious of why that is. Um, what what do you see that like as a as a trades professional, what are you looking for in a networking group that you would seek out?

SPEAKER_01 12:58

You you know, I'm I I haven't really a lot of the networking that I've done in the past has been, you know, some of the speed networking things or the random event, or you know, I got invited. Um, and then beyond that was like uh, you know, I don't know if I should name it, B and I. Yeah, you know, like B and I, and um I would say the the time suck from some of those places and the return, the return on value, you know, your ROI from some of these are just for tradespeople specifically, are just not quite enough, it seemed like. Um I would say, you know, like networking in action, the difference between some of these different networking groups that I've been to, and specifically networking in action, um, would be the value that I get from it, or like it's true, and it's it's substantial to the point where it's like sometimes when I leave those, I'm like, it was a gut, it was a, you know, it it hit you, right? Like some of the stuff we go through and the the things that we learn, and it's specific to the business and or your life and what you're trying to create in your world and everything like that really makes you think. I think that's pretty fun. Um, you know, as far as like the tradespeople it involved in those situations, um, you know, I think I think it's just tough. It's tough to it's tough to push out that much time for something that you don't see an ROI on, you know. And you know, for us it's like, man, I gotta get this backsplash set so that the plumber can get in there to put a vanity and I can't, you know, allocate the time and stuff. And there's always a lot of push on schedule, you know, in the sequence of schedule, it's it's tight. You know, if you want to try to make money, is what we do, it's tight. So it's hard to, it's hard to uh put the time into the networking sometimes, like I said, you know, but I think uh I think tradespeople really, you know, like you're saying, it's rather a bunch of tradesmen in one group, and then it just almost doesn't make any sense because you know, I mean, it's once you find your trade partners and you, you know, you find your people that you're kind of you kind of jive with, you know. I mean, I don't know how much it really makes sense, but expanding outside of you know, a network it that is not just tradespeople so that you can kind of bring value to other places and people can, you know, pick you out whenever you need to be picked out. So yeah, for sure if that answers your question. It's a roundabout way of saying networking is awesome at the right networking thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

I well, and I think it's important to like what is truly the cost of this networking opportunity. Because if I'm turning down a piece of business, you know, if I'm spending a lot of time but they're not getting a return. Yeah. Um, you know, the other thing to highlight is um the work when we're talking about working on your business and working uh in your business, sometimes more business isn't always helpful. Like if you're if you're networking and let's say it's working really well, but you can't you can't handle that much. Um how do you manage kind of the the flow of the results uh that come into you to um be the right amount of busy?

SPEAKER_01 15:57

Yeah, that's that's that's an excellent point because it is it is exactly that. And I do fear coming to networking things sometimes because of that. It's like I love I love people, I love making solutions and making people happy and providing a service for them that that just gets uh weight off their shoulders. I love that part. Like it really, it's you know, it's why we like doing insurance reconstruction too, because I can come and give them a silver lining when they're like under so much stress, and you know, so that's a really fun thing for me. But then you go to, yeah, it's a stressful thing when you're like, oh man, how am I gonna, you know, if I make too many, too many connections here, all of a sudden it's gonna be too much work, you know. So, and I think that's gonna go back to what I've been really concentrating on this year, is like uh don't scale a turd, right? So if I want to be able to handle the right business, how am I doing the title?

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Yeah, there you go. Oh, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

No, that's good about it, because you know, realistically, if if you have the right systems in place and the right people in place, and I think I have I have the right people in place, I just don't have the right systems in place to be able to provide the correct service for my clients sometimes. So, you know, if we're doing four million dollars a year, if that's a substantial amount that we can't handle correctly, then I might as well just scale that way back until I can handle that amount. So, um, but you know, I mean, connections are always gonna be there. It's you, I don't think anybody in the in in our world and you know, business and entrepreneurship and everything like that, if you tell them, you know, I'm just too busy right now to handle that referral, but I really appreciate that. But please keep me on your mind for anything in the future. I don't think anybody's gonna be like, oh, that guy is horrible, you know. No, I think they'd appreciate it because it's you know, you can only handle so much at one time. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Yeah. Well, uh, what's the vision, Tim? Where you where you grow into? What uh um where do you see integrity in a couple of years?

SPEAKER_01 17:48

I see integrity construction and restoration as a company that I could pass along to my son. I see it as something that's that is not stressful if somebody wanted to take it over. Yeah. I see it as sellable, you know, I see it as um just something that that's a fine, well-run machine to the point where it's it's not such a stressful thing for myself to be a part of and you know, whatever it may be. And then beyond that, you know, I see it as a a solution driven, you know. I just wanna I just wanna bring solutions to people that need it. I just want to help people when I and I want to do it on a scale of whatever that may look like, you know. So I want to be able to handle this business and not be like stress out that I'm I can't take that, you know, kind of thing. So that's where I see it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Well, Tim, uh, if people want to come network with you, or maybe they got a um a leak that just happened in a bathroom and they need some insurance reconstruction, or maybe they're just looking to build their dream kitchen. How can people get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Um, integritystampofapproval.com, and there's a contact us form, fill that out, it goes right to me, and from there I can help you out anyway. And then, you know, if you want to connect directly, we'll put something in the show notes for an email and stuff like that. Yeah. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Right on, Tim. Well, thanks so much for coming on the show sharing. And uh I really have enjoyed you uh networking with you around Northern Colorado and uh from personal experience can can uh give some testimony of the great work that you do. Appreciate you. Thanks for having me on. It's been great. Right on. Thanks, Tim. Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me, or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh go in the podcast description. There's the ways so you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.