Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Crandall.
Hi Justin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In a nutshell, I graduated high school in 1999, travelled a lot growing up, we moved somewhere new every couple years. Worked in sales and customer service for 20+ years, made a lot of money here and there. I have a lot of childhood trauma, followed in my parents and brothers footsteps in coping with stress and failures through substance abuse. Unlike other members of my family, I asked for help, and found in 12 step recovery. First stint started in 2008, and then a sever relapse, and started again with a new level of surrender in 2013. I was homeless, living out of my car for a period with my cat. It was different this time, I even quit smoking then, started getting into fitness, and took the first job I could find, which was PaPa Johns Pizza, and I mad enough to move into a halfway house. A roommate saw my hustle and work ethic, and asked if I wanted to drive his uncle around. He’s a licensed GC with his mechanical, electrical and plumbing licenses so he was always on the phone. He got in an accident, hence the need for a driver. So I started the day I interviewed with him, and as we drove from job site to job site, I began to teach myself construction via Google and the used book store McKays, and bought books on construction and the different trades. Within a year, I was pulling permits, sending bids, making payroll, and project managing. But there was a moment, involving a wedding I can elaborate on later, where I realized I would never been seen as more than the help. So I quit, but I hired and trained my replacement, and went to work for another GC who made all kinds of promises, and didn’t deliver. I was down as codes one day, watching a guy frustrated at the check in desk, trying to get in line again, scratching his head, and so my 20+ years of customer service kicked in. I pulled the guy out of line, and ask for his permit tracking sheet, laid out a map for him and told him what he would need to do. And he seemed even more flustered, and that’s when he backed up, threw his hands up, and said “can i just pay you to do this??” I didn’t pick this business, it picked me. I incorporated in 2017, and the rest is history. Forgive my grammar and spelling errors, as I am currently trying to solve the problems I have by attending a course at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, I am tired of being the technician. My skill set is better sent working on the business. We are trying to grow the business right now, and trying to figure out how to scale my experience and build some new technology, which we have a little. The goal is to get the business operating at a level, where I can work on a non-profit and be a consultant to Builder Assist. That may have been more than a nutshell, and there is more detail I’m happy to cover in an interview. I have mapped out the process to the letter, and we have incorporated automation. We are working on developing more. I want to scale the business, work as a consultant, and start a non-profit.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
By no means has it been smooth. There have been all kinds of bumps and scares. When ordinances have changed, or consultants have come to codes to clean up, or competition opening up. There have been external and internal challenges. My recover journey has evolved to doing trauma and adult child work. My father just drank himself to death, and my mother died last year, and my cohort who helped managed half the business had to leave abruptly, and i
was completely overwhelmed mentally and emotionally. I can elaborate on this more.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
the thing that sets us apart, is that we live here too. We are very well recognized in the codes office, and we bring a layer of connection and relatability with all of the officials we work with instead cold AI and automated systems. We visit the office regularly, bring my kids in, I used to bring my golden doodle before had kids. I specialize in pragmatic problem solving, bringing people together to find common solutions in the development porcess.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I love comic books. My collection got stolen in the early 2000’s. My success afforded me the opportunity to go to my first San Diego comic con last year and me and my inner child fell in love with comics and art again. Most notably I love Mile Morales, Into and Across the Spiderverse might be two of my favorite films of all time. I especially fell in love with the new Scott Snyder written and Nick Dragotta drawn Absolute Batman. DC is building out a new line of origin stories behind these iconic heroes. They have created a blue collar Batman, who uses his brain instead of money, and peak physical fitness and dicipline.
As far as books, I’m between a few, “Find Peace, Set Boundaries”, great for personal and professional life. “The E-Myths” was a big eye opener for the fact that I needed help, and “The Art of Decision Making Under Pressure by Silas Mary.” There is a parenting book in there for ADHD kids and parents also.
Pricing:
- depends on the permit – we charge by the permit type
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.builderassistllc.com
