6 Tips to Stay Determined When the Going Gets Rough

By Breakthrough Academy.  

Learn how 15 years of hustling paid off due to Kim Larson’s grit.  

You need grit to be a construction leader, and no one knows this more than Kim Larson. After 15 years of hustling, Kim’s determination paid off, and she was able to scale her business to 10 million a year. As the guest of this episode on Breakthrough Academy‘s podcast Contractor Evolution, Kim shares her highest highs and lowest lows. While she might be the director of an award-winning luxury home design, construction and development company All Elements Design. Manage. Build, she certainly has hit a few potholes along the way. Yet she never gave up.   

So, if you’re thinking of throwing in the towel, if the people around you are doubting your abilities to become a construction leader, then this episode is for you.  

Tip 1 – Stay the course  

At a young age Kim knew she wanted to design and build homes. She started drawing homes at the age of six, began working in local architecture firms at the age of 14, went on to study architecture at university in California (being one of only two women on the course) and then got her foot in the door doing CAD drawings for a furniture company in Vancouver.   

Later, while travelling Australia, she hounded Robert MacKenzie from Robert MacKenzie Architect for a job. “I told him, ‘I want to work from you, I want to learn from you.’” Eventually, he offered her a position for $12 an hour. She jumped at the chance, moved back to Canada and found her love here for construction.  

Why is this all important? Because, every single step of this journey was exactly how she pictured it. She knew what she wanted and refused to give up.  

"I made hiring mistakes and learned my lesson. It was expensive and it hurt my brand. Now I have an SOP for everything" - Kim Larson

Tip 2 – Love the haters  

In her early 20s, Kim made the tough decision to leave a job she loved. She was working as a construction project manager on custom homes, but it was 2009 and the recession had hit hard. She was asked to take a 15% pay cut. “I was supporting my husband through school. I had built a dream house for us and couldn’t afford to take a pay cut.” So she decided to walk away from the job and start her own business, despite the recession.  

“I gave my notice and offered to help with the transition. The owner said, “No, we don’t need you. And if you’re going to go out on your own, you’re going to fall flat on your face.”   

This just added fuel to her fire!  

Tip 3 – Build a team with similar values and grit  

While Kim is extremely independent, she says being surrounded by “your people” is essential on the often lonely entrepreneurship journey.  

She met her first hire Stephan, a journeyman carpenter, while working on a $2 million showhome build. “He was the yin to my yang,” she says. “He had the same values as me. We started hatching a plan on how we could do things better; give clients a better experience and offer design build.” It was a dream team.  

This philosophy extends beyond their inner circle. It’s a reason she says she joined BTA and one that also applies to her clients.  

Tip 4 – Grab those opportunities, even if they aren’t the big $ makers  

When Kim started her business, she accepted a complex project she knew would put her company on the map…even if, as it turned out, she ended up working for free.  

“I wasn’t good at contracts in those early years. They were going to pay me $5,000 a month for 14 months – that’s how long we expected it to take. It took four years in total. After 14 months the well was dry, the cheques stopped.”  

But Kim went into extra innings for $0 until it was finished. “I never give up and will never quit.” The project, Sin-Ceras, won awards across the province and skyrocketed Kim’s company.  

Tip 5 – Hire (the right) people first, find the work second  

There is no bigger motivator than being forced to find work for someone you have hired.  

Kim took the leap after realizing she was the bottleneck in her company. “I couldn’t get the architectural designs out quick enough, so I hired a draftsperson. It was a tough decision to spend money before we made it.” But it paid off. Kim was able to take on all the jobs that were on the waiting list.  

However, she does say if you’re hiring, get your SOPs in order. “I made hiring mistakes and learned my lesson. It was expensive and it hurt my brand. Now I have an SOP for everything.”  

Tip 6 – Accept delayed gratification  

Kim’s path to entrepreneurship was looooong.  

So many obstacles were hurled at her, but rather than dodge them, she grabbed and smashed them!  

While she was extremely patient in the pursuit of her goals, she did make the mistake early on in the business of trying to scale up too soon. “The first time I tried to grow the business, I failed. I didn’t have the systems or knowledge, or the right people. So I scaled it back down again.”  

Years later, with the foundations firmly in place, she was able to grow to a $10 million dollar company.  

There’s so much more in this incredibly inspiring episode about one woman who rocked the world of construction by never ever giving up.  

Learn more about Breakthrough Academy in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit btacademy.com.  

Original article source: Breakthrough Academy   

About Breakthrough Academy (BTA)   

Breakthrough Academy (BTA) helps roofers systemize their companies to grow. We inject contracting businesses with the infrastructure they need to scale, help them make more money, and help owners to work a lot less by implementing intelligent systems. During the first 12 months in the program, average Members see significant time savings, 21% increase in revenue, and 40% increase in net profit.  

BTA works with over 450 contractors across North America, managing over $1.3 billion worth of revenue, and was the 213th fastest growing company in the nation by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business in 2021; the fourth consecutive year on a national growth list for the brand.