Bold Moves Podcast

From Wells Fargo to Builder: AJ’s Bold Career Shift

• Mat Torres • Episode 21

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AJ’s bold career shift from nearly two decades at Wells Fargo to building his own successful construction company is the focus of this inspiring episode of the Bold Moves Podcast. Host Mat Torres dives into AJ's journey, exploring how he took the leap of faith to leave a secure corporate job and start Avanti Construction Services LLC, overcoming challenges and redefining success on his own terms. This episode is packed with insights on personal growth, navigating career transitions, and taking risks to build the life you want.

AJ shares his hands-on approach to construction, his commitment to quality, and the lessons learned from balancing corporate life with entrepreneurship. Learn how community relationships, adaptability, and a never-give-up mindset propelled him forward, even during challenging times. Whether you’re considering your next bold move or looking for inspiration in your own journey, AJ’s story will motivate you to embrace risks and focus on what truly matters.

**Key Takeaways:**
- How AJ transitioned from corporate life at Wells Fargo to founding Avanti Construction Services.
- The impact of bold moves on mental health, career growth, and personal fulfillment.
- Lessons on authenticity, trust-building, and client-centered work in entrepreneurship.
- Why embracing challenges and staying adaptable are keys to success.

Tune in for an engaging conversation that celebrates risk-taking, resilience, and the power of bold decisions. Subscribe to Bold Moves Podcast for more inspiring stories like AJ’s!

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:12 - AJ with Avanti Construction Services LLC
02:32 - AJ's Previous Show Appearance
05:38 - Shout Out to Aux Plumbing Team
08:12 - Self-Respect in Professionalism
11:56 - Bold Move in Commercial Projects
14:35 - Pivotal Moments in Life
19:50 - Balancing Construction and Wells Fargo Job
21:20 - Learning Construction Skills
24:55 - Getting Started in Construction
27:59 - Introduction to Quantum Computing
29:40 - Starting a New Career at Any Age
33:11 - Challenges of Social Media
35:21 - Evolving Definition of Success
41:33 - Future Plans for Bold Moose
44:43 - Quick Fire Questions
48:27 - Contacting AJ
49:28 - Outro

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I can't figure it out. But then once I got down from the roof, and I went down to the bathroom, I looked up, and I was like, my orientation was way off. I thought I was facing the other way, instead of facing the one way. So I told myself, forget about it. I solved the issue. It's good. We don't have that problem. I know what it is. The same thing. It's like, what the hell is going on? I couldn't figure it out. When I got down, I was like, oh man, this is it. So I actually on it. I'm like, sometimes it's the simplest things, and you're just like, dude, come on. Were there questions in that email I sent you? Honestly, I don't know. Okay, don't worry about it, because I pretty much just go through those questions. They're very basic. They're just kind of like, hey, what kind of bold moves have you taken in your life, and that type of thing. We talk about it. Also, if for whatever reason, you mess up a word or something, or you said something that you didn't want out there, just let me know. I'll edit it out. Then also, if you screw up something, just take a pause, and then re-engage it. Then I can edit that out if we need to. I'm trying to think if there's anything else. Oh, it's not live. It's all recorded, so don't worry about that. Like the questions I ask, they're just designed to kind of keep us back on track, because sometimes we'll veer off. Then also, what was I going to say? Oh, if you're talking, and I'm going on my iPad, I'm just going through what next question am I going to ask to back in. I'm not ignoring you. I'm still listening. No worries. I'm just trying to get that. Is there anything that you want me to ask you specifically, you can use for marketing purposes or anything? Is there any specific question you want me to ask, so you can talk about it, or just go with the flow? I think just go with the flow. I mean, yeah, nothing really that we need to sell right now. I think we'll just go back and ask the questions, see what's going on. All right. Then do you want me to introduce you as AJ with Avanti Construction Services? That works, yeah. I think that's pretty straightforward. My business card calls out my first name and my last name. I always go with AJ. It's just so much easier. Most people know me by that. Okay. All right. What I'll do is I'll give a quick intro. We'll go into it, and then we'll just go from there. All right. All right. This is the Bold News Podcast, and I've got a very special guest. I got Mr. AJ with Avanti Construction Services, LLC, also from my BNI group. Just got to throw that out there. But AJ, why don't you give yourself a little introduction? Tell the world who you are. Hey, good morning, man. Thanks for finally having me here. Really, my pleasure. Yeah. Again, I'm AJ with Avanti Construction Services. I am a local residential commercial contractor. I reside currently in Mesa, so I'm valley-wide, if you want to say it. So really, we don't shy from any projects, even if it's on the west side of a town. We focus on pretty much sky's the limit, right? So a lot of our cup of tea, if you want to say, a lot of our really focus areas lately has been around remodeling stuff, so bathrooms, tiles, anything indoors, if you want to call it. We also completed pretty decent-sized jobs from a hardscape standpoint, so outdoors pavers, pergolas, turf, synthetic turf, anything landscaping, etc. So yeah, like I said, the company has been licensed, bonded, insured in the state of Arizona for the last three years. My background on it is I've been in construction for over 15 years. Wow. That's a long time. Yeah. That's cool that you've been in it for that long. Yeah, so pretty much started since I graduated college in 2003. My brother-in-law and I, well, and it was really good. So we completed a lot of spec homes, like custom home builds, really nice homes. And unfortunately, if you remember 2007, 2008, 2009, the little crisis there, the housing market, just the inability was just not there for us. So we kind of part ways, sold inventory that we had, and from there on, I was working in more remodeling stuff. A lot of homes have basements that are not finished, so a lot of people were finishing that, outdoor decks, siding, roofing, stuff like that. Nice. I gotta fill the audience in a little bit here. So you were supposed to be on the show probably, I don't know, what, like maybe six months ago? Six months ago, yeah. So I was like, different studio and whatnot, and for whatever reason, didn't happen. And so we just kind of kept missing the mark to get you back on the show and stuff. And got the new studio, got it, we're ready. And so I'm just glad that you're able to actually come back and get on the show and stuff. And it's unfortunate because I had another contractor on here whose name I shall not- Shall not re-say, correct. For, you know, if you know, you know, but I'm not going to air out laundry and stuff. But I just, I really, really wanted to get you on because I can, you know, a lot of people, by the actions they take, you can tell what kind of person they are, you know what I mean? And I think what really struck out to me was when I heard that you were kind of picking up the rope or the bag or whatever when that last construction company didn't work out for our friends in B&I at Allure Infinite Beauty, right? You know, Derek and Brittany. And I don't know if you want to share a little bit about that, but that really struck me, you know what I mean? I was like, that's cool, man. Because, I mean, you kind of picked up the, you know, you kind of picked up the weight and went with it. Yeah, I'm just glad it worked out, right? So unfortunately, there are contracts like that and they're really good sales people, so really good sales pitch. When you talk to them, everything is put together really direct. They kind of sound like they know what they're doing. They show up with the fancy cars, fancy trucks. They probably have a few people working for them. If they get paid or not, I don't know, like from a sub standpoint. And that's exactly what happened, so the plan was in place, the studio from Allure's standpoint was secured, he threw in the sales pitch. And unfortunately, my reflection on that, it just happened because it was part of the B&I group too. So it's somebody that, you know, I think we really need a smaller group at this time and even back then. And it felt like safe, right? Go to the person that it's there, you go with them. Unfortunately, he just didn't have the knowledge, didn't have the skills, period. And ended up being a scam addict too, right? So they lost quite a bit of money there. Money, but there's also lots of time and there's a lot of impact on their just mental health from a client standpoint as a human being. It's just going through all of that and then waiting, but you have to have some timelines to kind of hit, you know, moving out of the old studio, moving to the new place and getting it done at a really rapid pace. We managed to get him in there on the timeline, but they went through some hell, I can tell you that. Yeah, no, I mean like huge shout out to you, also huge shout out to Will from Paloma Plumbing who's also on our show. Pitched in and did a lot of the plumbing work and everything. Were there any other contractors that like? Yeah, I used, so my first go-to person was Will and Eric with Ox Plumbing too. So they came in, stepped in right away, got a lot of stuff moving like immediately for us. I used a lot of my, so, you know, it took me a little while to find a good base, meaning base of my subs that I utilize for my work. I would not send anybody, I would not send anybody to your place, Matt, if I wouldn't have them work anything on my home, you know, meaning like if that kind of makes sense. So there has to be a level of trust and they go through a certain vetting process with me, so I will give them smaller jobs, large jobs, make sure the quality is there to follow up if they're on time, you know, and if once the vetting process is good, then I kind of decide if I'm going to use them for more work or no. And we usually part ways if it just doesn't work out. And it took me about a couple of years just to kind of have that little really good base of people that I use with. So they were working on the projects, the little projects. And when I took on the little projects, it was my priority, so that was it. So, I mean, you know, we pushed our way quite a bit of work just to make sure that's done because I knew if I couldn't stretch myself thin, meaning like I had to have my crews there always available. And you know, with construction, there's an approval process too, right? So it took us a little bit to get at least the design plans and the floor plan approved, get that all designed with, you know, we had to find the architect first. Once we get that, it took almost like just a month, month and a half just to have a set of plans ready to send to the city. You know, city takes their time too. So the approval process took time, but we started working immediately on like demolition, the layout, the plumbing, you know, framing, all that. So, you know, we were at certain stage ready, but we just waited for the permit to be issued. And once we had that, then we kind of started into the approval process. And you got to get certain things approved first before you can go to the next step, which there's always, and then any delays, you got to take into account in the timeline, but then there's a, there's a goal, right? There's a, there's a timeline that they want to be moving in. So, but it worked out, it worked out really well. I think we all pitched in as a, as a, as a group overall. Yeah. So there were, there was something else you said that, that resonated with me is like, that you, you wouldn't like do something or send somebody that you wouldn't like have yourself, you know what I mean? Come to your own house to do. And it's kind of like, you know, cause I applications and software and stuff. And I, I wouldn't build somebody a website or a software application or anything that I wouldn't like use for myself. You know what I mean? Like if I'm building somebody a website, like I would build it and I have like build them for like, okay, this is how I would want it. You know what I mean? Like not, I'm not talking about design aspect or anything I'm talking about just like build quality. You know what I mean? Like I just have something in me that says I can't like give somebody or do something for somebody. And provide like subpar stuff. You know what I mean? Like if I'm not proud of it, like then I just can't. You know what I mean? I see that in you and your work. Yeah, that's the ethical, right? Like unfortunately a lot of subs and a lot of contracts that just don't have that, right? So there's always, the dollar sign always comes to mind right away, right? So if you base your company just on the X amount of dollars that you want to make for the year, there are people that are really successful but most likely they're really not. Or they're the ones that, you know, they come in, do the job, take the money and you probably won't ever hear from them again. Yeah. They are there. I think when yesterday, was it Thursday now, meeting I think Chris with True Home Maintenance he mentioned contracts like three, four times. And I was a goose bumps when he says like, so contracts is kind of the, it's one of those like unknown areas that always get a bad rep but there are really good guys out there. They really want to deliver good results. You know, fair from estimation, invoicing same and the smooth process. Things happen, unfortunately. And there's a lot of unlicensed people there that are just ruining people's lives completely, you know? So, you know, some of those remodeled jobs like say bathroom can go up to, you know, 20, 25,000 and then, you know, it leaks next day. Yeah. And they're not there. Yeah. And that's, there's a lot of contractors out there. And I think that, you know, it's, I kind of see it as like a minefield, you know, because like, you don't know if the person you're going to be working with is going to follow through, you know? And that's, that's a scary thing. And it's like, I think that brings me back to like why I really love B&I because we've been in B&I for, you know, about a year now, right? Yeah. Yeah. And like, it's not just about like the business and all that other stuff, but about the, like the relationships, the connections you build and the trust that you have with people. And it's like, I have no doubt in my mind that if I needed like a job done, you know, contractor wise like I would go to you over anybody else out there because like, yeah, somebody else may be offering something that you don't like, but I don't know them. And I know you, you know what I mean? Like, and I've seen the work that you do and I see how you work with clients and I'm like, okay if I was going to pay somebody to build something in my house, like I would want you. So I think that that says a lot because like, just to kind of like circle back a little bit, you know with our B&I group, you know, we had those, you know we had our friends with their business and, you know contractor just kind of skipped town and you kind of picked up the slack and, you know like that says a lot, you know what I mean? Just because if anyone is thinking about B&I I don't know why you wouldn't, you know what I mean? But yeah, I'm kind of curious. Would you consider that your bold move? Cause our show is all about, you know, taking bold moves. Yeah. I mean, I, you know, and just kind of recap on that like all should have asked, like he should have just asked. Right. So if you're not, from a project amount of standpoint and the size of the scope of a project, it's really I say it's a small to medium, right? Yeah. It's really manageable. You really don't need, there was not too many subs or crews overlapping each other. There is fairly straightforward, right? Just follow the steps, work with the city get some approved closing, right? They already knew what they want. They already envisioned the kind of the end product. All just got to ask, right? So, hey, I'm not familiar with with the approval process of the city. I don't know how to pull permits. Well, let's talk, you know what I mean? Just, just ask the question. But yeah, I would say that was one of my bolder moves. I mean, I, I wasn't really looking forward to it in a way that I wasn't really looking for X type of job to kind of take on, especially like early in the year. I think it was when we started talking it was like almost the month of May, I would say. It was kind of getting to the busier season. There were a couple other projects on the horizon that I could have kind of waited for, but it was really a bold move in a sense that it would be it was a good challenge for me too, right? So I think I've established a certain level. I'll say, well, the commercial piece was like, okay, it was the next level. It worked out, right? It was challenging at times, just from a timeline standpoint, right? So there was, it was a time where it was set and then just like, well, I really can't push it because they got to leave the other place and move into this one. But yeah, I mean, it was a bold move. I think it was a lot of decision-making that took into it. I think I was thinking about it for like two, three months. I knew with, once I saw the set of plans I kind of saw the initial layout, but I just knew that it will take at least X amount of days to have official set of prints ready for the city, which really, I was worried about the timeline, right? So there's just like, I'm losing time no matter what I'm going to lose X amount of days just to get the layout approved, get the print stamped, submit it to the city, and then you've got to wait for them to kind of accept because there was like back and forth with the city on the design itself because they had questions. Yeah. So, you know, that's like two months just easily just kind of disappears out of your timeline. So. That's wild. So looking at your entire career and all of the steps that you've taken are, is there anything else that comes to mind where, you know, you had to take a leap of faith or, you know, this was a pivotal moment in your life? You know, was there any other moment in time that you can think of? Well, I'll be frank with you. You know, I've been in constructions for, you know, it's like construction, but different, different kind of aspects of it for a while. But I also worked at Wells Fargo for a long time and that was my kind of corporate career job. And I think I've spent just under 19 years. Wow. So I've, it was good, right? It was, it was really good. I found, I've done a lot of different things at Wells Fargo. We could probably sit here for like two days talking about just, just that side of the board. I liked that world. It was really good. And then COVID happened. Yeah. Right. So then you spend two years at home and then they try to kind of reintroduce you back to the company, like to the site itself. It's not the same. I don't know about you, but if you've experienced corporate before COVID and after COVID, it's just not the same. It's not the same environment, but the people are just not the same. They don't want to be around different, like other people. You know, just from like having an office or the cubicle, for example, and not having a cubicle, it's kind of first come first serve. You just don't, it feels like you just don't belong anymore. And there was really no team engagement. For example, I was the only one here in Chandler and the rest of my team was East Coast. So, you know, I would have to be online, you know, at 5 a.m. to hit some of those calls, but I would still finish my shift. You know, it's, and again, salary doesn't really matter from that, but it's just like, there was just not team member cohesiveness. It was just not team member work, even though a couple of times we were in the same building, but they wanted to do Zoom calls. Like, we're in the same building. Can we just, you know, go to the meeting room so we can have a little, you know, social interaction and stuff like that. So then I decided, I was getting busier with the company. I, you know, I got a license a year before that and, you know, buying a shirt. So I was doing more like a small stuff just so I can kind of manage both of them. But then I said, I'm done. So I parted ways with Wells Fargo, just on a nice, gave him a two weeks notice, like I'm pursuing this. So that was my, one of my other big, like big stuff that I was like, okay, I'm going to leave something that at some point I thought I'm going to retire, but I was just getting, I didn't have any more fun. I just, I just wasn't, wasn't, I wasn't in a good place. I wasn't happy. And I, you know, I just parted ways and I started doing this full time kind of early in this year. And, and it's, it's been, it's been a coaster ride. Like it's been one of the roller coasters, but it's been good. Yeah. It's challenging, but I feel you on the corporate world changing. Cause I, I worked for, for MetLife for a while. And right when 2020 happened, they like sent everybody home. So I was working from remotely for about a year. And then, you know, I left and, you know, did some other, did some other things, other ventures and, you know, try to get back into the corporate world after working from home, you know, for like probably maybe four years. It's weird. And I remember going to a meeting and everyone's in the office. Everyone's at their own little desk, but they're all on, on teams. It was like, they were just like, yeah, no, yeah. And I'm like, we're, we're all here. Like, why, why are we doing this? Exactly. You know, it was, it was very strange. And there is like a, I don't know, it, there, there was just a different vibe. It's a different culture too. I mean, the culture changed like so fast. Yeah. And I'm just talking about Belles Fargo and quote me, right? So it's just what I was experiencing, right? It could be just my internal team, but it was really, it was really challenging. Like you, you, you really, there was just nothing really, just like you come in, do your stuff and you, you know, there was just not, no celebrations, nothing really to kind of motivate you to come back. And we lost that, like, it felt in the, in the past, it was like, okay, we had some ownership piece, but it's like, well, you, you kind of lost all that. And I know COVID created a lot of that just to hold it all, you know, with that, but it was just not for me anymore. I'm not saying I won't back, right? If, if, if my, the company doesn't pay it out, if, if I'm, if I'm just not successful enough and successful really to me, it doesn't mean like money-wise, if it's, if I'm just, if I stop having fun and if I'm not happy in what I do, you know, I can always go back to corporate. Will I go back to Belles Fargo? I don't know. I'm probably gonna look for some challenges, like maybe go somewhere else. Because I, I always, even Belles Fargo, my movement was, you know, I would peak in certain roles and then I will look something to do something else, like outside the department, because that was just another add-on bonus for me. It's a new learning, like a new learning skill. I'm learning more skills, meeting new people, but also it's a little challenging environment that I have to kind of cope with and then kind of, you know, step up and it'll suddenly result, so. So were, were you like simultaneously, like doing like construction work while you were working for Belles Fargo? Like how did that work out? Well, I'm tired, like, you know what I mean? So, so the nice thing with Wallace and I, and I never abused any of their time. So I've never used any of the resources for anything, right? Like I would do my job. I always deliver exceptional results, you know, but you know, like I clock off at certain time and then once I knew I'm clocking off at four, I have no more meetings, so from four till eight in the afternoon, if the clients are okay, I was doing my projects, right? And then I would use my Saturdays and Sundays for that. Wow. So I ran that for almost two years like that. What kind of projects would you do? Like smaller stuff, so bathroom remodeling, like anything really, like kitchen remodeling, kitchen demos. The nice thing for me, you know, it took where we talk about finding the right people to work with, right? So I would be the face initially, go meet with the clients, renegotiate, see what the vision, what the picture is, you know, start some of the demolition process, and then I would start engaging my crews through afternoon. So they would, you know, you would kind of overlap each other. And then if they were okay, like for us to be there, like on Saturday morning, we would come in and just spend all day knocking all out. Wow. But they were to the scale that it was manageable enough, right? So there was not multiple weeks or multiple days. It was like one, two, three day, and then we would be getting done. And there's a lot of stuff out there like that. I mean, those are, in my opinion, those are the quickest, the best ones too, right? So... Did you just like self-taught construction? Like, did you learn from somebody? Yeah, I mean, a lot of that. So I was always like mechanically construction-inclined. So my dad is a mining engineer. I've learned a lot from him. Like just always hands-on. So it was always like, you know, back in when you're fixing cars and hold me something. So I was the one holding the light. I could never get it right, but I was always holding the light. You know, even back in Germany, I have a material science degree from back then. So it was always hands-on, always something, you know, to work with my hands. And then a lot of stuff here, it was also kind of self-taught, right? So just kind of hands-on framing. You know, when you start a home, blueprints. I mean, I can tell you that probably half of the contractors don't know how to read blueprints and it's sad, right? So if I will throw in the set of prints and they just don't know how to navigate that, it's, you know, kind of tells you enough, but just hands-on, just being hands-on. I mean, my favorite show is like Homes and Homes. So if you heard about that show, it's the Canadian guy. I mean, it's like, I've watched him so many times. Like it's over the board at times, but it's detailed enough that you can kind of understand the steps, the process, and then he allowed me to see what not to do. And then, you know, but I always self-reflect like that. If you make a mistake, right, at least be frank with that, you know, go and there's got to be lessons learned from it. Dude, when I was, I don't know, I was probably eight years old, I remember Channel 8, I would always watch Bob Vila and This Little House. There was also another show that I liked to watch. I don't know if you know it, it was called the New Yankee Workshop. You remember? I don't remember that, no. This dude, he would use all these old-timey tools to like build stuff, you know, like not modern electric tools, but like old school tools, you know what I mean, to like create things. You know, I always thought that was the coolest thing. But yeah, like I've recently gotten interested in like construction type stuff, you know, because my wife's grandfather, last year, he passed away and he was like a big auto guy and he worked with construction. He worked on a lot of things. And recently, you know, we acquired some of his, you know, some of his stuff and a lot of it were tools, because I don't really have much tools. And it turned out timing-wise, like this was my first, you know, entry into construction. It looks good. Myself, you know, you could probably tell from your background and there's like some things you're like, you know, but hey, you know. But you know what, like I pieced together what I could, you know, on the budget that I had, you know, like Nellis Auction and I picked up a lot of these things from there, you know, like super discount, like just trying to make it work, you know, and like going on YouTube and trying to figure out like, okay, how do I do this? And a lot of it is just kind of like Mickey Mouse type jerry-rigging things, you know what I mean? Like, just like, because you have that engineering mind and you're just kind of like, oh, I can do this, this and that. And kind of like, okay. But it's just interesting because like I was telling my wife, I got, you know, I started using his tools and some of his, you know, some of his clothes too, because, you know, he's around my size. And all of a sudden I'm like this, you know, but yeah, I just, I thought that was, that was interesting. You know, I'm going off on a tangent. I don't know where I'm going with this. I just, you know, if someone wanted to get into construction, like what would you recommend for them to do? Or to like learn from somebody? I mean, there are apprenticeships schools out there, right? It kind of depends where you want to be. You can, you can start with just being a laborer. I mean, if that's, if that's your cup of tea, like there are some jobs that are, that are really, really tough, like concrete, right? So concrete laborers, it's really hard, right? So it's, it's really physical. It's, it's mental at times, right? Just from a bed and schedule. So like, you know, who knows? But if you end up in a really good company, good crew with a good leader, it's, you know, you can be successful. You can learn a lot if that's what you want to focus on. Same with tiles. So a lot of the, a lot of those like specialized licenses, like tiling, you know, concrete, drywall, painting, it's a hands-on. So, you know, you can start as a laborer at the company, spend some time and, you know, that's what a lot of guys do. They just kind of, at some point they peak and they want to open. But, you know, then hopefully they go to the licensing process with the, you know, zoning and ROC and get licensed, get official bond insured, and then, you know, see if you can, if you can make it out there. Plumbers, right? There's a school for plumbing, I think, you know, same with electricians. You can be apprenticed for a while. HVAC, I think now, I know they have refrigeration schools here. There's like, you know, a couple of years, which is, which is, we talk to AI, right? And it's a lot of jobs. It's going to, it's happening. It already has, it's going to happen. A lot of these construction jobs, who's going to fix your plumbing, right? Who's going to, who's going to demo your concrete? I mean, we will, who knows? Yeah, that's exactly like, I am pretty like heavy into AI, right? And I follow it daily because you have to, because it changes daily. And some of the things that I've learned, you know, six months ago are already like leaps and bounds, like obsolete already, you know, and it's just accelerating to the point where it's like, it's, it's probably going to be a couple of years, I would say at the, you know, maybe sooner where there's going to be a noticeable impact with people in their jobs. Like people are feeling it now, but I would say probably about two years before, you know, the, the desk jobs, basically. If you're behind a screen, like you should probably be like, you should probably be a little, a little concerned. If you're client focused, so if you're behind the screen and you're client focused, anything resolution wise, right? The intake process is already changing, right? So when you call up to complain, the whole intake process is a little bit different than it was like, you know, three, four, five years ago. Yeah. So, you know, when you see those cuts, you know, throughout the news and stuff, I bet 90 plus percents are. The other thing that people probably don't realize is quantum computing. Have you heard of quantum computing? Yeah. Quantum computing is on a whole nother level. Like when that becomes more integrated into our everything, especially with AI connected to it. Yeah. Forget about it. Like it's. You'll make a decision. I mean, you can probably get, I mean, the escalation process, it's, you know, you, you took two, three, you know, push a button to get somewhere it'll, it'll route you right away. And it'll probably give you a decision like right away. I mean, now the chat, like chat, help chats. Yeah. It's, it's all, I mean, there's nobody there. You're just talking to. Well, I mean, even, even like this podcast, like AI could create, like I could literally go in, do some coding and create a podcast of like two people talking and full video, audio, everything. And you wouldn't be able to tell. There might be some minor things where you could be like, oh, that looks a little weird. Um, but for the most part, it's to the point where it is that good. Um, and it's kind of scary. It's scary now with the videos, right? You just don't know. Like people always have you seen this clip and it could be something pretty bad. It's like, well, that doesn't look right. You just, it's, it's, they get me so good at it. It's like, you can't really tell what's going on. Yeah. And, and that's why, um, like I, like I I'm considering it. I think other people should do is like, you know, looking at trades and looking at the skills of like doing, you know, electrician work or carpentry or plumbing, you know, like, I don't know, like I, I, I, I think just for my own self development, you know, if it interests me, like I want to explore it, you know what I mean? But let's say someone's listening and they're probably, you know, maybe late thirties, early forties, somewhere around there. And, you know, maybe they do have like a computer job, you know, where that's all they've been doing, you know, like, what would, what would you say to them to like, Hey, if you're looking at exploring this, like, here's what you should do. You know what I mean? Like, what, what do you think they should, you know, like what's that first step? I mean, obviously you, you were talking about like, pick us a niche, you know, like they're interested in like carpentry, electrician, like plumbing, that type of thing. But like, where do they, where do they go to after that? You know, there are schools, right? So I would say just, just pull, find resources, right. And see if that's, that's for you. It's never too late. Right. So I'm 46, right. And I've made a big career decision or the whole, you know, change with leaving Wells Fargo, we're going to focus on that, but it's never too late. Now I probably could have stayed and managed both and be under X amount of stress. That would probably like break me down. Right. But then like, if I didn't few years down the road, I would be thinking about, I say, I should have, right. Like I could have, I should have done it. It's like, well, you know, give it a shot. If you, if you really want to give it, you, you, it's, it's a commitment, right? So you just have to make a decision. You know, if you have a significant other to talk to them, get involved, but it's up to you to make that choice. And if you do make a decision, then you got to be committed and you got to be willing to go to some rough time initially. Right. So just because you are an executive SVP right now, if you go join the apprenticeship program for electrician, you are going to be treated as your apprentice. Right. So you just have to be, or if you have a smarter funds, you can get educated. You know, you can open a company for yourself and then, you know, hire the right people to work with and you just do the, do the boss stuff. I am pretty hands-on. So like a lot of the stuff that you see out there, I'm probably 90, 95%. It's me. Yeah. So all these small jobs, style work, stuff like that. They can see painting, trim work, carpentry. It's me. I just, I got to get better with social media, take pictures of myself. I take before and after pictures, but it just, I'm just never in a, in a snapshot, which I got to do more, but it's me. Yeah. And I like that. And I, I'm usually the, I'm the first one that you're going to see when I show up for the estimate. And I'm, you're going to see me throughout the process. And if I'm inviting somebody else to help me out, I'm going to let you know. And then at the end, I'm going to be the one and you're going to call me. Like you won't be dealing with any of my subs, I have nothing. I have nothing to do with that. You're going to deal with me and you can bet I'm going to be there. So, you know, no matter what positive way of, usually, you know, where, when I walk into clients' homes, it's like, it's like, can we build this to the scale that you are my customer for life, meaning I could be doing this really small job for you. Yeah. But then if you have a, something else they want to remodel next month, you, you're not going to go shopping. You're just going to, Hey, AJ, come on over. Let's do this, you know, ideal state. It doesn't happen, but, you know, I'm trying to, when I close the door, close my invoices to say, Hey, I'll be good. Anything else that could be done, you know, how could we move on? Or if there's any feedback at the end, like, please let me know, you know, but it's perfect, I guess. Dude, I, I, uh, I struggle with that social media part too. Like, you know, like the, the video part of it, especially while I'm doing something, cause like, you know, like I, I look back at it and I'm like, Oh man, I should've got a video of that. That would've been great. Like, I'm, I'm thinking about it, you know, like, Oh, when I was building this, you know, putting this, that would've been a great video, like a time-lapse thing or something, you know what I mean? But I didn't think about it. You know, it's like, I'm, I'm the same way. Like I know, I know Will for example, he's really good at it. Like you can see a little setup that he does, and then he kind of comes in and lifts the toilet. I told him I was, I got it. I can do that too. Like nailing the, you know, bass stream or installing some tiles. But once I get there, I'm in a, I'm in a zone, man. I'm, I'm not thinking about social media. I'm not thinking, I just want to make sure that I've, that I've, my layout is right, that everything is level, I'm using the right tools, and I just kind of keep moving and kind of work backwards, but then I will sit down. It's like, Hmm, I should have probably taken more pictures of it. But you know, that, that's the scary piece of social media as well too. There's so much out there. There's so many different groups. People do ask other people's opinion on those groups, which I, I just read a comment, I never comment on it. Um, but there's, there are, you know, out of the thousand comments, there's probably like six that are educated enough. They can say it makes sense. Everything is just junk. People just waste their opinions for almost on anything. And even when, you know, if you, if you're looking for example, to remodel your kitchen and you go in and you ask somebody online, Hey, do you know someone? You know, they'll refer 15 people, but I don't like we talk, I don't know you. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. I can go on website. I can see your pictures. I don't know if those are your pictures, you know, the videos. Uh, and then, you know, people just update their cards and they expect you to call them or the DMU. It's like, it's, you're just opening like a whole area of unknown, probably that might fail or, you know, backfire on you so easy, so check your references. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Would you say your, your definition of success has, has changed at all since you've taken your bold moves? And like, if it has, like, I mean, what has it changed to? I mean, I think completing projects, like delivering scope of a project to a client right on the, on the, what we discussed. So, right. There's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a certain steps that go into negotiating, right? So the pricing, for example, is the one that always comes up. Are you affordable enough? Well, it's like, what does that really mean? Right. So am I cheap? Probably not. Right. There are cheaper guys out there. They're, they're probably guys that double that. But I think I'm fair, meaning, you know, I've, I've started utilizing AI, estimating apps or software things that kind of gives me at least a ballpark where I should be, and they're pretty accurate, right? So I would go in and explain what I'm trying to do, add some pictures to it. It will give me like initial starting point. Now they, sometimes they're off on the hours. I can recalculate how many times I have to be there, how many hours, and I can kind of readjust that. But it's really, really a, a really good starting point for us. But, you know, a lot of customers have that idea or somebody told them, or, you know, I've, I've heard, or they would Google something to say, you know, it should be this amount of money. Yeah. So for me, success, like now, and, you know, since, since I started working, you know, construction jobs, like full-time, it's been just making sure that whatever we agreed upon and the timeline and the quality aspects of it, that I'm delivering to it. Now at times, like I might underestimate myself. I'm okay with that. But the client is happy, right? What they envisioned, it was delivered. It was delivered in the right timeline. And I'm moving on to the next one. Now there's a little recap I do on my own from a learning standpoint. You know, so you say, okay, now I have to, how do I readjust? Because I've, I thought it was going to take me X amount of man hours to do certain things. Now I got to readjust that. That's just on my own. I don't, I never pushed that back on my clients. Because it's just kind of something that I should have done and maybe overestimated. But success right now is just making sure that the, that, that I'm positively viewed in, in the, in the environment, meaning like clients that I work with, the references that I get and that the results are there, right? So on time with the right set of whatever we promised, whatever discussed is delivered. And there's a little recap or follow up through that, you know, I am still a go-to reference. Yeah. You know, everybody says, well, I never based my, at some point, maybe down the road, right, the scale, if we grow that say, okay, we need to make $15,000 a month. It's, it's a bold move to say that then I'm chasing the dollar sign and I'm forgetting about everything else that's out there, right? Yeah. And then once you, at least for my end, like once you start doing that, it's, it's, there's no coming back, right? Then it's like, well, 15 is not enough. I'm going to put another. And then you're going to do everything just to hit that number, meaning cut corners, go cheap, you know, mean cheap, I mean, cheap, cheap from a quality standpoint, not a price because you probably have to, your margins probably have to increase 10, 20, 30, 40% for the same amount of job that you did maybe a month ago because you're chasing a number, you know, so, you know, I've never really been a fan of the whole like race to zero mentality because like I've, I've worked for companies where, you know, like they, their aim was to be the cheapest. And I worked for a lot more companies where they're like, we're not the cheapest and we're not going to be, and we're not trying to be. Um, and I would, I would also probably say just from those, those experiences, the clients that are looking for that, that race to zero, the cheapest, you know, possible thing that they can pay. They're a lot harder to deal with. You know what I mean? Like they're, I would say they're probably more, more difficult than, than a client that's willing to pay a little bit more for quality. That's fair. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's not like, you know, the ask is ask, so it just has to be, has to be fair, right? I'm a, I'm all for shopping and you can go get two, three, four estimates and they're probably going to be, one is going to be super low. One's going to be super high. What I suggest focus on the two in the middle, but also you have to see pro and cons, right? Like what's, and it's ultimately you as a, mostly clients will have to make a decision. Unfortunately what's happening, a lot of them have really good salespeople. Yeah. They come in and you are going, you're talking to a sales guy. He's just there to sell the company. You won't see that person. They're using probably third parties that they, you know, they utilize. And you know, you don't know who's coming in to your home at that point. So, but yeah, there's the contracting overall, it's a bad rep. Yeah. You know, there's, there's a lot of people out there that are going to say I'm a contractor, but really doesn't. And they, you know, sometimes they work out of the scope completely. They just don't have the capacity, but they are doing the work. And, you know, if, if, or, or if you lately, I've, I've been just to double check stuff, like I I've, I've got calls where they would just call me to, Hey, can you come in and like, like look over this estimate and I don't mind doing that. Yeah. I don't mind. Like, I'll give you my honest opinion. This is, this is what AJ thinks as a homeowner, you know, not a professional, just as a homeowner, this was what I would, I would say, you know, you should, you should do or not do it again. It's, it's for them to make a decision ultimately with what's going to go. Is there, is there another bold move for you coming up or are you kind of, you know, good right now, or do you see anything in the future? I just keep taking on projects, right? I think that's, that's the one. I think where it's the, I think creating a right pipeline of, of clients coming in with variety of different, you know, projects to keep us busy. Yeah. I think, you know, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm not about cold calling. I think there's like a lot of those, you know, tech say, we're going to send you five different leads. I don't know what to think about that. I'm not opposed of giving a shot. Like I'm, I'm, I think I would consider working with someone that can, if they can send me four or five leads in a valley that I can call and, and, and do some estimating and then paying for those leads, it might be a venue. I'm not opposed, but they have to be, you know, qualified leads. And I mean, you know, but I'm, I'm, I'm not going to be working somewhere that just hassles or harass clients on a phone call daily, right? So, uh, but I, Voortemouth is really good. I think being honest, it's been really, really positive for me. You know, a lot of work. I, you know, it feels like lately it's been a lot of those family members, so they've seen some stuff that we have done and I'm, I'm kind of jumping between family member, family, which is really good, you know, hopefully there's a couple neighborhoods that we are looking from a hardscape standpoint that we did a couple of backyards, like the whole shebang, like everything from, from just a third, like third patch of dirt to a beautiful backyard, but you know, you know how the new homes are, right? They're all like that. Yeah. So if we could kind of come in into that, that would be a kind of nice area for us to stay for a little while and, and kind of move on. Um, commercial jobs, always really good, but it's always challenging. There's just whole level of, of, of, um, project management from a commercial standpoint too. So nothing really on my own that I'm really wanting to say, I'm going to go buy, you know, certain things, I'm going to expand sometimes, I think I'm, I take it day by day, Matt, I really, you know, I forecast my week, I'm always thinking three, three days ahead from a project standpoint, because I, I, I need to finish something this weekend because I got to start something new Monday. And if I, if I don't, then it delays and you know how delays are, right? So you lose a day here, lose a day there, something happens, then, you know, your, your timeline keeps moving. And it's among those dominoes things like you, you know, somebody that you have in line first week in January, now they're, you know, mid of January. So it kind of pushes my timeline. As long as we stay on track and we, we have certain things, you know, come into our pipeline that we can work with or go talk to the clients and estimate and, and, and get some projects on, on our books. Perfect. Some quick fire questions for you here. So what's your favorite book, podcast, or resource that inspires boldness to you? Hmm. Favorite book, podcast, or or any resource could be like, you know, maybe a speaker or, you know. I'm really into sports. So, but I also listen to like variety, so I'm not really like net picky individual that I can only listen to certain things. I mean, I get triggered, like, like Joe Rogan, for example. Not my, not my go-to, but, you know, some of his guests and the conversations that they have in, it's, it's a variety, right? So I know if I pick up something and the first few seconds triggers me, and if I like what they're talking about, then I will stay and listen. Now, I don't subscribe for him. Like I'm not going to, every day I'm going to go, but you know what I mean? Like it's one of those things that kind of triggers me. I've read a lot of books. I think it's, there's really nothing really, you know, motivational stuff. I, I was never brought up growing up on motivation, right? We, we always work hard. So that was never out of question. I never needed somebody to tell me, hey, you know, certain verses to, to get me going. It's just like, you get up, you do your stuff. Because my background, right? If you probably know, it's, you know, I grew up in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the war, moving around. I came, we immigrated to, to U.S. 98. So, and with like four bags, that's all we had coming in here. Wow. And you, here I am. Yeah. Right. So there's really, there's no time for that. So it's the next day you wake up, you just, you keep going. But you know, sports, a lot of sports, a lot of, a lot of, a lot of stuff that I, like people that I, that do go through a lot, like David Goggins, for example. I've listened to his old books that he written. And I don't know if, if, if you have you a chance, at least the first one, they don't know me, I think, something like that. That's, that's the first one that, but I had to listen to it. So in the car, I was just going to listen to, to the, to the book audio and things that he went through. And even now, when you see him, it's just, he's just a beast on his own. Like, you know, crazy times, stuff that he does. He runs those 200 mile marathons and stuff, and he's wanted to be a Navy SEAL, but then his childhood stuff that kind of, Hey, you went through a lot and he's there. Stuff like that kind of gets me energized, I say, but motivated. I get up, have my cup of coffee and I'm, I'm out of there. You know, like. In, in one word, how would you encourage someone to be bolder today? This is to take a chance. Okay. I would agree with that. Don't overthink it. I find myself doing that all the time. Yeah. The more I think about it, the worse it gets because I'm probably you like the you're like, I just do it, you know, just, just, just leap of faith. Just do it. Take a chance. Might work out, might not. As long as you, you know, reflect back and say, Hey, but don't be discouraged. Yeah. You know, nine out of 10, it's not going to work out, but then just keep, keep at it. Don't give up. How can people get ahold of you? Easy. Easy. Um, we are both on Instagram and Facebook. So Avanti Construction Services. Uh, I, I do my best to post my work there. So if you really want to see some, some of our recent work, they can go, um, both Facebook and Instagram. Um, we do have a website, AvantiConstructionServices.com. My, my info is there. So, you know, AJ at AvantiConstructionServices.com, email address, but the phone number and stuff, it's, it's all there. But if they really want to, want to explore some of our recent work and some of our feedback and, and, um, from a client, I say Facebook page and an Instagram page, probably the best, best way to get a hold of us. Cool. Right on. Well, AJ, it's been a pleasure. I'm glad you were able to come on the podcast and share a little bit about you and your business and your story. And, um, yeah, glad you were on. Thank you, man. Appreciate you so much. Thanks again. You got it. All right. That's going to be a wrap for the bold news podcast. And until next time we are out. And that's cool. Nice work, man. Yeah, man. Glad you were finally able to talk for hours, man. I can, I can talk. No, there's so much out like, so you, you've, I think I, who I talked to, I think I, I told him, Jane, just like, I don't share a lot about me. Like I've never have. I only share just enough per se. You know what I mean? Like, but we.

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Mat Torres

Host
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AJ

Guest