Episode 152 - From Custom Suits to Custom Homes: Trapper Roderick’s Journey to Building with Joy
#152 | Trapper Roderick | Roderick Builders | Building with Joy
Fifth-generation builder and former haberdasher (yes, really) Trapper Roderick joins Mark to talk about why building homes isn’t just about blueprints—it’s about people. From handwritten notes to handwritten boundaries, Trapper shares how he leads with joy, sets family-first priorities, and helps clients turn spec homes into dream investments. Also in this episode: a viral jobsite sign idea, a laugh-out-loud Faraday cage story, and how to send mail that actually gets opened.
Listen to the full episode:
About Trapper Roderick
Trapper is the President of Roderick Builders in Utah “Wasatchley LLC. DBA Roderick Builders” and grew up in a real estate family. He has overseen the build of over 250 million dollars in luxury property across Utah & California.
Trapper has a unique understanding into the intricacies of both building, construction, and design. His background in architecture gives Trapper a unique edge in the general contracting world that not many can boast.
Having been immersed in building from a young age, Trapper has a keen eye for detail and design, ensuring every project is not only aesthetically stunning, but functional and practical for his clients.
Trapper has experience in everything from modern custom homes, to large remodels. Trapper employs a hands-on approach to his work, ensuring beautiful work that is built to last. His responsibilities include design and build planning, material choices, scheduling, business planning, and team management.
Resources:
Visit the Roderick Builders’ Website
Visit the Roderick Builders’ Instagram
-
Mark D. Williams 00:00
We're excited to announce that we're bringing back Sonic camp 2.0 on March 20, from two to 8pm we had this last year. We had 42 owners. This year, we're maxing out the capacity of the camp, which is going to be 60 people. We're going to have a wellness panel with some Everest summiters, as well as some iron men and women to compete, and all about wellness and how they prioritize their health and wellness, not only in training, but in their lifestyles and in their business. And then we're gonna have a two hour window of sauna and cold plunging in the lake, and then an amazing wood fire grill, Mediterranean style food at the end of that. So if you're interested, please head to cures, builder.com under retreats, you'll find everything there is about sauna camp on March 20 in Minnesota, Ian when
Trapper Roderick 00:44
I meet a customer, I say, don't pick me because of my price. Pick me because you know that you and I can have the hard conversations. If you can't have those hard conversations, me pick somebody else, because this is going to be a marriage for the time of this build and selections and all that stuff. It's hard, and not everything will be perfect, but we will do our best to make it as perfect as it can be, and maybe even better than what perfect was supposed to be. Today,
Mark D. Williams 01:13
on the cures builder podcast, we had Trapper Roderick in from Roderick builders out in Utah, and we have a great conversation. He's been on a few times before. We've talked about mental health, which is really wonderful. We talked about our time together at the contractor coalition. But this one is really deep. We talk a lot about, you know, the boundaries that we set for our families and really trying to enjoy, you know, the journey and not the destination. Without further ado, here's Trapper Roderick. Welcome to curious Bibber Podcast. I'm Mark Williams. Your host today, we have a three time returning guest because he did 220 minute segments. If you missed those, go back to our Thursday Q and A's a few weeks ago. Got trapper, Roderick. Roderick, builders out of Park City, Utah. What's up? Trevor, I'm watching. Man, how are you today? I'm doing awesome. I was excited. It's funny because usually I do an hour interview and then I'll have repeat guests on, but we did reverse it with you. We're like, I couldn't wait to get you on. So I'm like, we got to hit you up for a few 20 minute segments. We did what? One on mental health, one on wellness, can't remember the other one was that maybe some things we were thankful for. Christmas. Thankful. Yeah, yeah. I loved it. Actually listened to it again this morning when I was working out, because it showed up. And it was funny because you had commented about the Hallmark thing. We got to start there, because it's so good. Tell the audience about the three slogans you have for your signs that you want to do. I think they're brilliant.
Trapper Roderick 02:28
Got printouts of them? You want to see them?
Mark D. Williams 02:30
Yeah? Well, sure. Why not? Yeah, I'll get them. Well, he's going to get them. So I should preface this that Utah has one of the greatest like, one star reviews. It's like a thing Trevor and I already talked about. Talked about this on a previous episode, but basically, Salt Lake is known for its skiing, and so what snowboard and Ulta did is they posted up on their signs. Like, reverse marketing is what I call it, like, one star rating, snow is too deep. One star rating the snow the hill is too steep. Like, obviously, if you're a skier, like those are the things that you're attracted to. But we were just talking previously about how funny it is that you can really market anything with the right angle. And it's genius marketing. So with that intro, you got to your back here, you got to hold up these signs for
Trapper Roderick 03:12
what you're thinking. So this is one you'll understand once it's finished. It's got the Roderick logo, the QR code, nothing else. I used to get all this information on my my signs that were in front of our houses, and everyone just drives right by us, you know. So why not grab their attention? This is the one I put in front of a client's house next week. And these are going to be four by eight feet, so they're going to be big. Somehow, are built fast. This isn't one of them
Mark D. Williams 03:38
that's so good. That's like the Getty. I was just watching the video of your dad in LA, a four year build. He could only take in eight yards at a time. Like, I don't know if I would have the patience to do that. I really don't think I could have done it.
Trapper Roderick 03:51
I mean, yeah, I mean, that's, it's the hardest thing about what my dad does, for sure, is he's on these jobs that everything about him is just so complex that every day is just a grind. I mean, like when you build a jaw, a house, a year, year and a half, I mean, you're dying to be done with it. Imagine four, four and a half years.
Mark D. Williams 04:09
I don't think I have the right mindset for it. You got to show me the last one here while we're on science. This one's my favorite one. This. Yeah, you read it, yeah. This isn't a project. It's a future memory. I think it's great. I these was just these were amazing. I love them because I love marketing. I've always kind of, I think the last 10 years, I've sort of said I'm a marketer who happens to build just because I love compared to builders. I'm good at marketing compared to marketers. I'm not that great. But like, I'm very susceptible to marketing. Because my cousin, who is a engineer, always laughs. He goes, You are the easiest person in the world to sell to because an engineer is super skeptical. They need facts and data. I just need a good marketing slogan. You got me? Yeah?
Trapper Roderick 04:50
So, yeah, we'll see how it goes. It's gonna be fun. I'm getting printed right now. This should be done, I think Wednesday next week.
Mark D. Williams 04:56
So when you get when they're installed, will you send a video and tag Q? Builder. We'll put it up because it is, I think it's great. I love everything about it. Yeah. Well, thank you. Well, let's do a quick let's do a quick intro. I know you, obviously we've had you on a few times, but for the audience that doesn't know you, why don't you give us the quick five minute elevator pitch of where you are, who you are, how you got into building. You've got a five generation legacy. We could probably talk the whole episode about that, but I really want to move on to move on to other things besides that, because I can call you look at your website, which is incredible. But why don't we start there? Why don't you give us the quick rundown?
Trapper Roderick 05:29
Oh, yeah. So my name is Trapper Roderick, like Mark said, fifth generation builder. It came from both sides of my family. You know, some were land guys, some were building skyscrapers. Others were in the trades, and my dad was in the residential home space, and so I always knew I was going to be in home building. I actually studied architecture for like, my first three years of college before the other seven years of college, and I, you know, quickly learned I didn't want to be an architect. I still love architecture. I love being involved in that design, but I was just meant to be in home building and guiding clients through their architecture and how space moves, and working with architects to make sure that they're not building something that client cannot afford. So yeah, that was a big part of my journey. But I didn't jump into construction right away. I went through all these other businesses marketing, and all of them started with marketing. So I'm similar to you. I'm a marketer at heart as well. None of those ideas worked without my, my my marketing. And so it was a haberdasher for a while, and that was probably the best. Did a lot of sales stuff. Got to travel the world and really meet some really cool people making custom suits and clothing for him. So it was a blast. But yeah, then I, during all that, I was, like, I was fixing and flipping homes just because, like, I couldn't stop with the construction side of things. Like, it was just always such a big part of me, and is really a part of my core, my my hands. Like, even though I don't do construction, I look like I do every day. You know, it's just a big part of my identity. Everyone who knows me has always known that I would, that would be me as a builder, and building a team, you know, to the level that I expect out of myself, has been a challenge. And I'm so involved in the design that oftentimes I think I scare away architects, not that I'm intending to Right. Like, I love working with great architects, because they have way better ideas and better vision than I do, but I love like seeing how their process works and being involved with them when I get that chance. And yeah, my dad runs the company in Los Angeles. I run the same company essentially in Utah. They're completely separate, but we brand together. We work together. He helps me when there's something that's way over my head, and I help him on the business side when the opportunity presents itself.
Mark D. Williams 07:41
Yeah, that's amazing how they're one of the things that I was curious about was, what did you learn? I just think it's such a cool backstory, like a renaissance man. I love the idea that you had a haberdashery. That's just a baller thing to say. What did you learn from owning, you know, the haberdashery, and how have you applied it to custom home building.
Trapper Roderick 08:01
So I was, like, you wouldn't know it today, but like, I was kind of a wimp when it came to being able to talk to people or sell people. Sell people like, I would have never knocked on a door 20 years ago and, like, tried to sell cookies to somebody, right? Like, and now, like, I'm relatively fearless, because I learned that. Like, if you walk into like, let's say you walk into a boardroom and you're you're meeting with a big company, and you don't really know who in the room you're pitching to, right? You should never underestimate anybody. First of all, I learned that really quick, because it's likely the guy that's in the suit is not the important person. It's usually the guy that's in the Tommy Bahama, and it's not the guy that drives the Ferraris, the guy that drives the f1 50. Those are the important people, honestly. So don't ever underestimate somebody, because the people who were like the best clients, who that were the most giving, who spent the most with me, they were the most unassuming people you would ever imagine. So that taught me great things about people, but it taught me how to work with people. Taught me how to sell people, taught me how to brand and market. So much of like the haberdashery was, like, just having fun with it. Like people get so tied up in everything that they're doing every day and it's just a grind. But like, you dreamt of doing this, right? Like Mark, you dreamed of being a builder at one
Mark D. Williams 09:15
point, definitely not,
Trapper Roderick 09:17
maybe, maybe the podcast. But like, there's so many things that people are doing, like someone dreamed of doing it at one point, and then they're like, they're mad that they're doing it now, right? And so the suit company taught me to have fun with it. And so we were taking pictures of skiing suits, water skiing suits, surfing and suits like doing all the things that I love. So I made suits fun for me, right? And I get to do that with building too. I think
Mark D. Williams 09:40
that's the secret sauce right there, that if you can find something you're passionate about. But honestly, if joy comes out like, I love I love joy, it's funny because maybe it's on my mind because my daughter's nine. She came home last night and she jumped up in the air. She goes, Dad, I spelled joyous, right? Because I read a book last night. She's like, J o, y o, u, s, joyous. And she's got this little dance. But. Like joy is just like pouring out of it may and in my point is, is like we are all very susceptible to passion, to joy. And I our world needs more joy. And I think what's be, I think one of the things that attracts clients, and a lot of people in the industry, to building, to architecture, to design, is there's like, a real joyful expression in the in the tangible thing that we create. And it's I was someone approached me the day about Misa, who's and they said, I would love to do either a brand with you or, like a base, an investor, but they have a design business, and they would like to partner. I said, Great. What do you want to get out of this? And I kind of use this joke, like, I'm sure I'm wrong, but for the most like, show me a wealthy builder, they don't exist. Show me a super wealthy real estate agent, they don't really exist. Show me a super wealthy designer, they don't really exist. My but why does everybody think there's so much money to be made in building? And I'm not saying you can't have a good lifestyle. That's not what I'm saying. And there's plenty you get. I think people understand that. I'm not disparaging buildings. I'm in it and I love it, yeah, but I think it's the fact that we're drawn to it because we love it. We love the expression, the joy that is elicited. It can be very toxic. We'll talk, maybe after this, about the other side of the coin, because the other side of joy is obviously depression and sadness and and it could they go hand in hand, and like, anyway, where I'm diving, I guess pretty deep on this is that it is so rewarding to have a career that has so much joy in it because the process, but the people for me, the last four years has been completely unlocked because of my love of other people, when I realized I wasn't alone and had a platform the curious builder and just meeting people like you. I mean, four years ago, you and I never would have met, and now you and I are, like, texting weekly, for sure. And now you've been on the podcast three times in a month. It's like, anyway, I'm this isn't about me. I'm just so obsessed with joy, and I love that was kind of in passion. Part of like, your process, like you the idea that you're skiing down taking pictures of your suits, and, like, I can just see it. And I'm like, Who it's like, if all the other suit companies like, why would I go to anybody else I'm going to whatever the name of your haberdashery was true gentlemen. True gentleman. There we go.
Trapper Roderick 12:09
So yeah, I'm right there with you, Mark. Just life is hard enough, so why not find ways to enjoy every second of it?
Mark D. Williams 12:19
You know? Tell me about what you find joyful about building I'll
Trapper Roderick 12:25
tell you something. Yeah, so there, if you do your job right in building a custom home right then, theoretically, that person will probably never be a customer again because you built them a home that they don't ever
Mark D. Williams 12:37
want to leave. It is kind of a dumb business model, but I have a little bit
Trapper Roderick 12:41
different twist on it, and it brings me a lot of joy when we achieve it with somebody. And obviously the people in general, like they become family. And so I'll start with, you know, when I meet a customer, I say, don't pick me because of my price. Don't pick me because of really anything. Pick me because you know that you and I can have the hard conversations. And so if you, if you can't have those hard conversations with me, pick somebody else, because this is going to be a marriage for the time of this build and selections and all that stuff. It's hard, and they're not everything will be perfect, but we will do our best to make it as perfect as it can be, and maybe even better than what perfect was supposed to be. And so I also try to educate people on the scenario of my goal is to make it so you have an offer on your home that you can't refuse, because then you will become a customer again and again and again.
Mark D. Williams 13:29
And that's a great line. I like that a lot, and
Trapper Roderick 13:33
it it's working. My clients usually have 700 to a million dollars equity in the home by the time we're done. And that's crazy to believe, considering how high building costs are, you know? So, yeah, hopefully they become a spec home investor, and maybe they live in them for a while, but at the end of the day, like, that's kind of our goal,
Mark D. Williams 13:52
is that because parks like Minnesota, we don't have that kind of market, like, it's just people don't vacation to Minnesota. It's cold enough, but it's not, we don't have the ski hills and some of those other things. It's usually family people. Usually family. People move back the way of life is amazing here that people are amazing here. At the time of this recording, there's a lot going on in Minnesota that's not super awesome. And it's, we're not going to go down that road right now, because it'd be an unjoyous podcast. But you obviously Park City. You've got the mountains. What is it like? You know, your dad's in LA, which is a very desirable place to be. You're in Park City. Do you think was that lucky? Fortuitous? Like, as you look around the country at other markets where you have people that can get vacationers and can get because the idea that you could build a house and it's worth a million dollars when you're more than when you're done, like, when I was talking to Brad Levitt, like he was on a home where it was like 24,000 square feet, and the homeowner was debating whether, after two years, to move in or just sell it and make, you know, X number of dollars. I'm like, What the heck? Like, that does not happen. I'm so far away from, like, what happens in Minnesota? Like, it's unrelatable, honestly.
Trapper Roderick 14:51
Yeah, I mean, so I'm Utah through and through, right? So, like, my family came over with, like, the pioneers. So I never really envisioned it being like that. And. I still think a lot of people in my market who are builders, developers, and they don't really realize it either. My dad all the homes that he was building in, LA, every single one of them was a spec home, which was just crazy, because they're all 30, $40 million again, Hollywood flair, right? Whatever. So that's what got me turned on to, like the idea of spec homes, and because I was seeing how much money my dad was building them for and then I was seeing what they were selling for, and there was an insane Delta, right? Like, 100% cash on cash type returns, right? And so I was like, Huh? So I kind of started studying the Park City Market. And, you know, there were some amazing things that happened in Utah, right? We had the Olympics in 2002 we're just, we pop out new babies every 10 seconds here, right? Because we're all big Mormon families and but it's become this melting pot, right? Like all my clients are moving from Chicago or Texas or Florida or California and Los Angeles. I mean, you name it, right? So everybody's coming here, and this time, it's a little different, like they're moving here for a better quality of life, because they realized how crazy LA is, right, that they never saw blue skies the way you see them up in Park City, you are getting people from Chicago because they're just like, well, I can work remote now, so why not be where I can I can ski, I can bike, I can golf, and I can even water ski on the same day, theoretically, right? In all within 1015 minutes of each other. We have, like, I think it's nine or 12 ski resorts within an hour of the Salt Lake airport. Like, it's crazy. It's not like going to Colorado, where it takes you four hours. So you've got just some of the best mountain biking, you got some world class golf resorts, and then you've got all these amazing ski resorts as well. So it just becomes this melting pot and and then now we're getting the Olympics back again in 2034 like it's gonna be crazy. And it is crazy. I mean, I'll show you the picture I had took on the way home from work the other day. The amount of cranes that were in the air was just like, what is happening
Mark D. Williams 16:58
when it comes to quality craftsmanship and performance. Pella sets the standard whether you're building custom homes or designing a timeless space. Pella offers innovative window and door solutions that blend beauty and efficiency with showrooms and experts around the country. Pella makes it easy to find the perfect fit for your next project and their team to support it. Build with confidence, build with Pella. Visit pella.com to explore products and connect with your local rep today. For more information, you can listen to episode one or listen to episode 109 where we bring on Pella owners and founders at Pella Northland, as well as their innovative team behind the steadystate innovation, Ian mentioned earlier on in the podcast about that. You know, like architects, like, you have a architectural eye. You went to school for architecture for three years. I was a little surprised. Right before he came on, you were just talking that one of the asked you, like, what's your what's difficult right now? And you're like, I would really like to work with more architects. And you couldn't figure out, like, what is the Henry watt, I feel the same way. I think that's starting to change. And then, like, I know Nick Schifrin, we were talking, you know, the reason he's doing 45 white oak is he's, you know, he kept getting passed over. He has the team, he has the chops, he has the quality. And people just would pass him over because he didn't have the pedigree or homes like but that's not your case. I mean, look at the home behind you. I mean, look at the look at all the homes you guys have built. So what is it? Let's talk a little bit about that. Why has it been hard to get architects in terms of how you call on them, or even getting the table to bid? Or, let's talk a little bit.
Trapper Roderick 18:27
It's a great question. Yeah, I'm not getting on the table to bid. I mean, they usually know who I am, which is that's at least a start, right? You know, I did land a job recently that's coming from an amazing architect, but I started with the client, and then he asked the architect, yeah, have you ever heard of Roderick? And he's like, Oh yeah, I've heard of him. And so yeah, I'm diving deep on it, because I don't know why. I feel like we are really good attribute to an architect, right? Because the architect, they design, they pour their heart into these plans, and they they want it to look like it is. And I think there's nothing worse for an architect when another builder kind of butchers their awesome plans. You know, I've seen it and they've commented on it, and I'm just like, man, like, if I was going to change an architect's plans, like, that much, I would definitely be consulting them, because I want to enhance their plan if possible. Like, oh, if I, if I'm walking something, I'm like, Hey, this isn't right. Like, I'm gonna call them. I'm not calling the client. Like, hey, let's let's talk it out. Let's work it through. But yeah, it's definitely something I want to solve. And I think Brad's been a big inspiration to me. Like using things like LinkedIn to educate other architects of who I am and why we're a good fit for them. You know
Mark D. Williams 19:37
how you just something you mentioned there? So like, architects here anyway, have construction administration, so probably 90% 95% of the architecture fees from the architect to the client, obviously up front, getting everything done. But then, depending if you have an interior designer, or whether the architecture firm handles interior design, either way, they're very involved. And then, you know, they're approving Windows shop drawings, engineering. And then most of our architects here are keeping, you know, CA hours, construction administration. Do they not do that there? Because you kind of implied that some builders, which kind of sort of take their kind of water down the plans. Does that mean that the architects are not staying on board for the duration of the build?
Trapper Roderick 20:16
The good one, the good architects are, but it's, it's more of a problem on the build side, right? Like, everybody uses your job as a contractor. I mean, there is probably more f3 50s in this state than there are sit Honda Civics in Camrys and Teslas, right? Like, combined.
Mark D. Williams 20:32
So funny. So that's because they got to haul their kids in a camper.
Trapper Roderick 20:38
So, yeah, I think it's, I think it's a lot of just like, the bad reputation of builders, like, they just, they blow and go, right? They don't really care. But there are a lot that do and, and I think a lot of what's maybe deterred other architects, like local architects, from working with me is, you know, you you see some of the jobs I've worked on, and maybe it looks like I have it all figured out, right? Like, like, this is a Thomas to a Hanson design. He's out in New York. Like, it's a pretty impressive design, you know, so maybe it looks like I have it all together, but like, I'm not too good for any build, right? Like, I don't just do 40 and $50 million homes in Los Angeles. Like, I'll do a two and $3 million home here in Park City. Like, no problem. Like, I'm not too good for it. And so I think that's a big part of, like, some of my rebranding is making sure people know that I am never too good for anything, and I just want to work on good jobs with good people, with good design and good architects. And you know, I'm putting them together similar to our those signs, I'm mailing out handwritten letters to all these architects. And let's start with that on one side, what does it say? Design led, construction mastered. Because all too often the design is forgotten by the time the builder even puts his hands on it as he's trying to save the client money because he underbid it.
Mark D. Williams 21:53
Yeah, I think that's great. Yeah, I just wrote that down because I'm going to do the same thing. It's like anything. It's a relationship. I mean, I can speak a little bit for myself, like for 21 years. I think I can think of 122, projects that I've gotten in 21 years where the architect came to me, and oddly enough, it was not because I was the first option. It was because they couldn't right. It was the third option, which is fine, I'd be to save the day. And we did. We did, we did, and now we have a great relationship with that architect. And they're actually, we're in talks right now for a big project with a very well known architect, and but they did say, the other day, I checked in with them, and they said, well, they asked me for three and I put you at the top of the list. And I'm like, amazing. That's all I can ask for. Is the opportunity. And we do the same. I mean, in our market, this is kind of my standard question, because I'm always just curious different areas of the market. I haven't interviewed a ton of Utah builders, which obviously in q1 I'm working up the west coast here, and so I'll be doing a handful from Utah. But in Minnesota, we have a huge builder legacy here, right? So the Parade of Homes started Minnesota. 76 years ago. 77 years ago. It's the oldest in the country, yeah. And so Midwest is very builder first. And so for me, it's I assemble the team, and at least that's what my marketing does. That's what I do. That's also geographically, what has kind of been the playbook. So they come to me, I put together the design team and the architecture team. We do joint interviews. Sometimes it's just this is the person. You just know it, and that's who it is. But most the time, it's one or two architects, one or two designers. We interview. They pick who the bet team, and away we go. So when I ask architects here, they're usually, well, their default answer will be, most of the builders bring us the leads, which I don't totally believe, because I don't believe in 21 years that, no, no architects get any leads. But anyway, maybe it's just me, I don't know. Anyway, I'm curious, in your market, where are and not just you, but where do you think most of the is it mostly builder driven? And if so, do you have any idea on the metrics, like, is it 9010 is it?
Trapper Roderick 23:51
I bet it's. I don't. I don't have the metrics. But yes, it is heavily builder driven, on like the 3 million and under market, but like the five to 20 million, it's very real estate agent driven, because they're selling these people, this lot that cost them $2 million and they're like, Well, who does good work in this neighborhood? So if you haven't built in, like, say, like a promontory, they're just gonna look like, Well, up. Well, designed that house next door. That's pretty cool. Like, and who built it? That looks good to me. Sounds good, because all these people are from out of state. I was just in Promontory right before I came here. We're looking at a deal there. And there's 1900 home sites in Promontory. And it's one of the nice, I'm sorry, what's promontory? It's one of the nicest communities that overlooks, like all the ski mountains. You can see ski slopes for days, and it's got four golf courses. Well, three, right now we'll have four. So big gated community, super nice, right? One of the more successful gated communities, right? And, you know, the there was only 16% of the people that live there are permanent residents, and the Arab, yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Mark D. Williams 25:01
And I mean, is that? I mean, obviously we like to build it, but it's also, I mean, there's, I don't even know where to go with this question. I mean, it's just, I mean, that's just like, wild, a little bit the wealth. And these are all second homes, if that's the case. But it's kind of a bit of a graveyard, if only 16% of 1900 homes, that is not very many. That's what 160 homes, 200 homes out of
Trapper Roderick 25:23
but the crazy part is, like, so there's three golf courses in that community, and, like, they're booked every day, so people come in using it, and it's mostly people that, you know, they thought they wanted to ski and ski out house, you know, they were looking at, like, Park City or something like that canyon stuff, and they realize, oh, wait, I'm only gonna ski 10 days a year, but I'm gonna golf and bike and all these other things 80 or 100 days a year. Yeah, the wealth is insane. There's some new records getting beaten there right now, like $50 million homes in Park City, Utah. It's crazy. Wow.
Mark D. Williams 25:58
That is, that is pretty wild. So your strategy this year, handwritten notes. What do you do? One, you know, one of the oldest adages and businesses, the best way to grow your business is help somebody grow theirs. You know, what I've sort of tried to do is, if I have a client, I bring them to the architects, obviously. How are, where are your clients right now? How are they coming to you?
Trapper Roderick 26:16
Yeah, I mean, I tend to find them, a lot of them through real estate agents. I'm very good to the real estate agents in this community. I've got a reputation for one, right? So that that helps, but I'm starting to hold more events like at the homes that I've finished, especially whether it's like my spec house or spec house I did for a client. Like I'm having agents that maybe aren't selling the home come and see it like, just so they can know how we are and how we work, and I'm making sure that I'm going to all my HBA meetings and under and helping them understand, really, all the things that we do. Not just like, Hey, how are you? Like, we're friends, but really diving deep into each other stuff, because there's so many ways we can help each other. Just kind of even, like, along some of the texts that I sent you today about some of the people in my CPUSA group, like, just making sure I'm being involved is a big, big push for it. And then I'm also with that handwritten note thing. I'm I'm pulling up all the title records, and I'm anyone that has bought a lot in five of these neighborhoods that I love in the last six months. I have their mailing address, and I'm doing the same thing to the now, land owners the handwritten notes.
Mark D. Williams 27:23
Are you doing that manually, or is there a way you can scrub it? I know you're like a master of AI.
Trapper Roderick 27:27
How are you scrubbing it? Yes, but you could also just call your local title company, and since it's land and not a house, they can give you the information. So that's how I started, and then I had my AI scrub from then on, and I could obviously have it automatically print a message, but I want to do the handwritten message.
Mark D. Williams 27:46
I think it's more meaningful. It tracks. I mean, I think we did, we did for for our Misa, who's project we did, there's a small community in cottagewood. Think it's like 260 homes only. And so I did a we live in Minneapolis. So I get the mailers like crazy. And I just the amount of waste is insane, the amount of stuff I throw away. It's like, I mean, when my mailbox fills up, I made, like, one thing is for me, the rest of it is just like junk. And so anyway, so I'm like, Well, with that in mind, I did wedding invitations that were black with like white ink, like, they were super cheap, as you could imagine, and but I was funny, because I have a couple designers that live in the town, and they were like, yeah, the everyone's a buzz about me, sous, but they're really annoyed because they all thought they were going to a wedding. And so then they open it up, and they're like, all it was was, hey, we're building in your neighborhood. Here's a QR code to our website. We want to thank you in advance for your patience while we work on this beautiful community blot coming in the, you know, the summer of 26 but everyone thought it was so did it. Did the magic. Everyone opened it. But anyway, just kind of a funny, a funny way to just do something
Trapper Roderick 28:53
a little it's a good idea. I might have to steal it, because I was thinking, like, how am I going to get someone to open these letters? Right? Like, I was thinking, I probably need to have, like, really sloppy handwriting on the actual, like, envelope, so you can clearly tell, like, this is a handwritten letter.
Mark D. Williams 29:07
That's funny, but I like, I know what. Honestly, I think you're in for those that are watching this or see the clips. I think that black, that negative space, is super powerful, depending on, you know, you can, you know, you however you're coming up with these. But like, come up with a few more for the neighbors and just and then it's, I think less is more. I think yours is so powerful because it fits your branding. I think it's a black envelope with, like, white, like, just white space on it. Like, who wouldn't want to open it? Or something, like, most people, most people wouldn't open this, but you're not, but you're not, like most people. Or, like, you know, yeah, I'd have to open it up, right? And then maybe it's just a QR code. Like, maybe there's nothing else but a QR code. But then in the world we live in, it'd be like, the QR code takes you to the we just Hank your hack, your bank account. Like, there'd be some paranoid people that are just like,
Trapper Roderick 29:53
Yeah, I mean, so, I mean, I'll tell you what it how I have it currently. So there's the handwritten note. Yeah, does have the QR code? The QR code actually leads to a video of me talking just like, I like that.
Mark D. Williams 30:06
I like that. Oh, I like that a lot. I think I might have to write that. I'm gonna tell you that.
Trapper Roderick 30:10
I'm gonna give you the whole playbook. I already went over with Brad Robinson, like the whole course.
Mark D. Williams 30:14
Well, between the three of us, the amount of ideas we give each other that we we need full time assistance. Well, that's also I interviewed some of the other day. Well, Julia Miller, very fabulous designer. She's actually done stuff out in Sun Valley, and she does stuff out west, and she was at the curated event out in Utah a couple months ago, and she she was laughing because I was showing her all the swag. She's like, how much do you spend a year on swag? And I was like, because I was showing her those Nike shoes that I gave all my curious builder ambassadors. And I was like, I told her, and she's like, You did what? I'm like, Well, there's a method to the madness. I mean, they're they're my logic for that is they're wearing them at international builders show, they're wearing them in their collectives.
Trapper Roderick 30:55
And like reality, I have towards those shoes every time I see someone wearing them, I would pay more than Nike could ever sell them for
Mark D. Williams 31:04
Nike didn't sell them. I had to custom make them there. But I tell you what, when we open up a Utah collective, don't worry, I already don't know who's gonna be my ambassador. It's you. And so then you're then you'll get your one day when I call, you'll be like, is this the day I get my shoes? Yeah, about, you know, yeah, oh yeah, like the Masters jacket. So one of the things we kind of clumsily go back to, we talked about joy, and I think we need to go, because it's something you and I bonded on, you know, we, you can. We met at contractor coalition a couple months ago. We were in Chicago, amazing opening night, you know, we, we named the open mic night after Ron Jensen, a fellow builder in Utah, that committed suicide. Turns out, the night that we had the open mic and we were talking about mental health, it was super, super powerful. And we're now going to name it the Ron Jensen open mic night. We'll do it at every single contractor coalition Summit. And where I was going with this is the opposite side of joy is obviously sorrow, and we deal with it. And you sent me this two beautiful texts today, because, you know, the day we're recording this, obviously, is three weeks from when this airs, but on the day that this episode we're recording, it is you had sent the previous episode where we talked a lot about the mental health, and people can go back to that episode and learn more a little bit about it, but it was just a beautiful message that just share a little bit. You don't have to go the names or anything. But just like, I sent that to Brad Morgan, Nick and Tyler, just like, because it may when people tell you how, like, how your light is helping their life, like that is that's the power of joy and care and empathy that we need to talk more about. And every time it happens, it's like that, that rock in the in the water, and the ripple that's coming out of it is just incredible, the ripple effect.
Trapper Roderick 32:47
Yeah, yeah. So I just sent the episode to like, the cbusa group, and I just said, Hey, you know, like, Hey guys, I think this episode could be good for everybody. But also, if anyone's interested in the curious builder, can't promise that you'll get on, but, you know, it's, I'd be willing to make an introduction for you, right? So because I, you know, I wanted to get some traffic to you, and then I also, you know, just wanted, actually, people to listen to it. And I was shocked that I think more people from that group listened in it than my family did, right? The amount of responses I got, which we don't ever get responses in these chat groups were pretty impactful. I didn't know so many people were struggling. There was literally three people, like, I'm really bogged down right now, so I really needed that message. Thank you so much, which then obviously opened up other conversation of like, hey, like, we're both builders. I understand a lot of your pains, not all of them, but I understand a lot of what goes into building. And I'm here for you, you know, we don't have to be competitors or anything like that. We, we're here to help each other. And so it was really powerful. And like, one of them was just like, you must have been inspired by God, because, like, today was really bad, you know. And maybe I was, you know, I don't normally do things like that. So, yeah, maybe I was, you know,
Mark D. Williams 34:03
well, it's that old saying. It's not odd. It's God, you know, it's, I think there's so I think we don't know how we're impacting another person. And I think sometimes maybe people think I try to give thanks for a meal when I'm out to eat, or wherever I am, just all I have to do is say thank you, and it's something we do as a family. Something we do as a family, and it's not for show. It's not any of that. And you know, as I'm trying to teach my kids, they're young, and so they still sometimes are uncomfortable praying in front of other people or at a restaurant and just bowing their head. But what's really interesting is, when you are at a restaurant, a coffee shop, wherever you might find yourself, and you look around and you see somebody else bowing their head just to give thanks. It's a it's a beautiful moment. There's something in you, or when we see kindness, or when we see love, like, how are we not moved? When we see like, you can clearly see like a dad hugging a grandpa or a child. There's something about children, of course, that's just. Super special children, just have a unique adults too. Like, I love, I don't know, I think, I've never thought about this out loud if I was a good writer or something, which I'm not. I think it'd be amazing to just travel the world and sit in coffee shops and observe people. Like, wouldn't that be amazing to just watch people interact and just watch them love each other? I mean, you'd see fighting, you'd see all of it, but you'd see, I think there'd be a very special outpouring of just watching how people interact. I think that's what moves me, and that's what that's how I would feel encouraged.
Trapper Roderick 35:30
I think, I think I mentioned to you that my sister makes
Mark D. Williams 35:33
coffee table books. I did not know. I don't if you did, I forgot. It was just at the
Trapper Roderick 35:38
contractor coalition. So I always make these big coffee table books of a project when I'm done with it, so I can give it to the client. Here's the plans, here's all the pictures, you know, like, it's kind of fun for them, but she does it like each one's themed. And so she did one on on Christ, which I was shocked she picked up for her first one. Like, she
Mark D. Williams 35:54
went to the top of the shelf, one and done.
Trapper Roderick 35:58
And then, you know, she's done like, one on Italy, but wow, I think that's going to be maybe one of her next coffee potato books. Is people throughout the country, you know, the United States, no names, right? But people bowing their head at coffee shops, people the way they interact with their kids or grandpa, right? Total strangers. I think that could be really, really special, because you're right, it's amazing.
Mark D. Williams 36:23
Anyway, just, I guess what, what prompted this was that gentleman's text to you, just, thank you for sharing. We just don't know how or like, Actually, I did this in college once. It's kind of funny. I went to the University of Minnesota, big campus, probably too big. It's funny because I made it really small. I had like, four friends, and, like, all we did was stay when it got really big, we got really small. And anyway, there was a sociology thing that we had where we had to, like, engage with the public. And so I had this idea, you know, like, when you go down the street and someone's like, Hey, how you doing? Hi, good. How are you doing? Like, it's almost like just saying hi. Like, we don't it's not actually a question. We don't even want to know the answer. It's become like, how we talk to people, yeah. And so I went down and and what I did is, anytime if someone asked me how I was doing, I'd be like, terrible. How are you? But I would say it in a positive voice, and nobody ever picked it up. I'd be like, awful. How are you? And like, I'm, Hey, Mark, how you doing a terrible How are you man? And like, but no one actually would like, stop and be like, did you say terrible? And then the opposite is true. You if you go out and somebody is like, somebody's like, hey, Roderick, how you doing to me? Like, man, I'm doing really good. It's just you. I'm taking the two things and mixing them. It was I confused a lot of people. It was beautiful. But where I'm going with this super dumb story is, have you ever had it where sometimes where someone is like, you feel moved, or someone's like, trapper, how are you doing? Or, like, I love it when someone asks differently, when they're like, trapper, how are you doing? Yeah, like, they you can just tell like, this isn't, this isn't a flyby. This is like, your opportunity. Do you want to share something? And like, I just, actually, I was just thinking about, like, different questions the way we could ask it. Like, is there anything like you're curing right now, that's just really heavy you want to talk about, like, it doesn't and you don't. I don't think we have to force people to get like, the worst thing you can do is force someone to get super vulnerable if they don't want to. But like, how often does someone actually just sit down and just say, what do you got? Big guy, Lay it on me. I'm here for you. That's pretty cool.
Trapper Roderick 38:18
Yeah, no. I mean, it needs to happen more often, because before phones and technology, it did happen more often. You know? I think that's why, like, I've always I did have a depression state in my life, like when I was younger, and what got me out of it is I went, I went camping every weekend with my buddies, right, for like, a year and a half straight. But being outdoors and we had those conversations, right? Because you're forced to, you're driving for hours and hours, right? And so, yeah, I do notice that, and I'm going to make an effort to do that once a week, at least once
Speaker 1 38:47
a week to go camping. No to ask. Wow, so fast. Well, that's, do you guys have children. We got two, yeah, two, yeah. What ages
Trapper Roderick 39:03
six year old and a year and a half? Okay? Girls, six, yeah, yeah.
Mark D. Williams 39:07
Those are, I mean, six is a really fun age. I mean, one half is two, but man, six is, six is a pretty golden moment. What are, what do you think other things that in your career, personal life, that have caused you to like, what's caused you to slow down to sort of reevaluate your trajectory, either as a person or as a business.
Trapper Roderick 39:27
There's gonna be a lot of people that I know that listen to this, so I gotta be careful. But years ago, and I'll tell you the rest of the story off air, but me and my wife went through a really hard time, and it was nasty, and in short, we were able to mend it and make it work and but it changed perspective of everything. It changed me like I would get angry. I didn't need to be angry. I wasn't appreciative of things. Vice versa, right? I mean, but it changed everything. And you, you told. Story when I first met you. If how you have, like, This regiment schedule, you got to be home at this time, and if you leave three minutes late, like you're screwed, right? That's me, but I there's days where it's like, Do I really have to leave right now? Like I'm in the middle of something, but I make it a priority, because my wife is my priority. My wife, my kids, are my priority, and the family I have created will never be affected by anything that created me, right? Like that is the most important say that one say that one more time, the family I've created should never be affected by the family that created me. Like explain that a little bit. So whether it's my family my mom, right, my family comes first over. My mom and my dad understood, Okay, got you. My family comes first before. The friends that I had before, anything that came before doesn't matter compared to what I've created, understood with my little family. And that has to come above all. Doesn't matter work or anything like that. I mean, there's obviously sacrifices and times where that my family, but communicating it, working through it, and but it's helped me take it into my, my my life as a contractor. Because now, when someone has something with their kid, I'm like, dude, leave, go do that. That's more important. And then now me and that electrician, or whatever, like, we'll do anything for each other in business, because we made sure that we put the family first right and so, like, just like, little things like that, but a big one was that struggle in that period of time.
Mark D. Williams 41:35
We're happy to announce that on March 20, sauna camp will be coming back to Minnesota for its second annual event, we're going to have three panelists talking about wellness. We've got a Mount Everest summiter. We've got two Iron Man athletes and the inventor of hostage tape. In addition, we're going to have, of course, two hours of sauna and cold plunge with some Himalayan chocolate in between. We'll have themed saunas. We'll have story. Sauna, silent, sauna, community, sauna, for different topics. And then we'll end with an amazing wood fired meal from fumo. All the details are on the curious builder podcast.com so I'm curious, like, if you were to look back now, like, What changes have you made in the business that is that, or as you see it now, like it was really difficult. Like, you put in the hard work you and your wife. Kudos to both of you, by the way, because that's not easy. I mean, I've often said that bad marriage, bad marriages are terrible, but good marriages are hard too. Can't even imagine. And so, like, you just both have to and everyone, whether they talk about it or not, like, life is hard, and like, we've heard that platitude, it's true. Like, choose your hard like, both paths are really hard. Like, where do you want to invest your effort in? And so kudos to you guys for for working through it. And so what have you What have you learned? Like, if you had to go back to Trapper six years ago, so four years past you fixing it, what would the trapper today from 2026 tell the trapper of 2020, 20 20/21 of all, covid is coming quick. Buy a bunch of stuff, but after that one,
Trapper Roderick 43:09
yeah, yeah. I mean, setting boundaries, right? Like, and that's not just with yourself. I mean, you have to set boundaries with yourself. Like, first right? Like, work is here, home is here. So I don't really take my work home. I sometimes I work in the basement after everyone's gone to bed, but like, doing my best, like, phone gets set aside, and if there is an important call that's going to be coming, I make sure everyone's aware ahead of time. I'm not just interrupting dinner. So I'm home for dinner every night, almost like, very rarely do I not have dinner with my family. It doesn't matter if a client wants to have dinner or anything like that. Like, it's kind of off limits, so personal boundaries, but then also, then taking that to my clients, like, if a client wants to meet on a Saturday ahead of time, like, when I first meet them, I tell them Saturdays are off the table and some days are off the table. Doesn't mean that someone might not be working on your house or something like that, but I will not be, and I will not be, and I will not be answering or responding to anything on those days. So I think just boundaries is probably the biggest one. And man, it just I get to enjoy being home where I think so many and, yeah, my mind's still spinning like, cool. I'm an entrepreneur or whatever, right? But I get to enjoy it more than I ever did before.
Mark D. Williams 44:21
I've been banging that drum for the last two years because my favorite quote has been, boundaries create freedom. And you saw, I mean, that was the first time I've given that speech before to the contractor coalition. Was all about that, right? And I have just seen so much growth in myself and in those around me. And it's not easy, like growth is hard, like I was telling the kids the other day, like, you know, it doesn't grow if you don't water it, but it also doesn't grow if the sun doesn't shine on it. And, oh, by the way, sometimes if it, if you don't, if you go a couple days without water, the roots grow deeper. So actually, you kind of need to have hard things too. And so I guess the life is sort of beautiful that way, if you can sort of appreciate the difficult thing. I think it's the journey, right? It's like if we always, and I think. Is a good lesson for building. Or I found it to be true that like people at will ask you, what is your favorite part of the build? If you had to pick one like, what excites you the most
Trapper Roderick 45:15
damn mark? That's a really good question. I mean, probably finished carpentry, but we do a lot of it in our homes. I mean, you guys do too, but it's not just drywall, right? Like, I think that's when the home comes to life, or stone, like, natural, raw, anything that's just like, Oh, you just love it. You want to lay on it, whatever it is. Like, I think that's my favorite part.
Mark D. Williams 45:38
So the route where I'm going with this is, like, you we, you have to find joy in the journey, because it's not about the destination. Now, from a selling standpoint, like, especially a spec home, like, we're excited for when it's done so we can sell it, yeah, and so and all that. But like, for me, it's the it's like, the first couple meetings. I love the dopamine hit as a salesperson. I love arranging the team, those initial design meetings, I get so excited about the team and the excitement of it could be anything. And the architects are doing their thing, and designers are doing that. So I get that's mine. I agree with you, if I was to pick a tangible thing for sure, like, right now, where I'm at with Misa, who's like, we're we've got two months of trim and cabinetry. And I'm like, every day I go there, I'm like, Oh, this is amazing. I got. I love the tangible, the meat and the wood, and as you're pointing you'll be done in, like, March, April. I will be done, nope, a little bit later than that, because we've got about a month and a half of paint in about a month of plaster, and then we've got all, of course, I'll finish it. So we'll finish right now. We're may 12.
Trapper Roderick 46:38
We're about a month, month and a half ahead of you. Yeah, it'll be fun.
Mark D. Williams 46:42
Yeah. Okay, so what do you do? You know, going back to the other side of the coin, are there people that you know in your area? Like, what inspires you to, sort of like, people ask all the time, like, where do you get your energy? Or where do you get your joy? Or when you, like, reset, like, what are some foundational things that really help you get perspective. Because you mentioned the boundaries were hugely helpful. But like, every year, do you sort of look either with your spouse or with yourself, and kind of write like goals or the boundaries that you would that you would like to I mean, I feel like it takes an active effort to get rid of things, like we accumulate things in our life, no different than a remodel. It's like one of the most cathartic thing, most, I should say, challenging things for a client is like, if you're going to do a remodel, they've got to get they have to move out of their house. They got to get rid of everything out of their house. So then we can remodel it. And usually one person sort of likes it and the other person dreads it. That's a metaphor for, how do you do that, personally, in your business and in your life as you look forward, I don't know if you do it. How you do it? Year to year, quarterly? Not at all. Like, how do you think about that? I mean,
Trapper Roderick 47:45
I think about it every day honestly. I mean, it doesn't mean I have a reset every day, but I kind of do in a weird way. So I got this giant dog that my wife doesn't love. He's like, you're on the floor right below me right now, part poodle, part Newfoundland, and she loves the dog, but she just doesn't want him to live with us, big and black, and we have a house that's like, stark white everywhere. But I walk him every night for like, 45 minutes to an hour. And so I make calls at night to anyone really who will answer the phone, which because it's late, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, my time. Usually it's freezing, but I get to hear other people's stories, other people's sadnesses. Sometimes no one answers the phone, and so I'm scrolling across the curious builder podcast, and strangely enough, like you were on my mind last night, as well as a few others, and the amount of energy and organization that you have, like I feel like I'm pretty organized, but man, you guys are just taking it to another level, and it's inspiring to see, like, how you do all these other things, like, how are you doing the podcast and running a good construction company? Well, you've been a little bit better at delegating a lot of what you do on the job site, more running the business versus, you know, being in the jobs than maybe me. And you know that that really is inspiring. So like, but I get something like that every day and just last night, you happen to be on my mind. Maybe it's because we're preparing for this. But, um, yeah, I think people are what really give me those resets, because there was another guy. He's a legend in Utah. His name is Walt plum. Really, nobody knows who he is, but, like, he's, like, this silent, probably billionaire, right? Like, no one knows he's this wealthy guy, but it was just so fun, like to be with him. And because he's not just there about the money, He's genuinely there about the friendship, you know, and teasing me, he's like 80. He wants to do push up contests. He's trucking through the snow as we're looking at lots, and I'm like, Oh my gosh. And but, you know, he asked questions about my family. He asked questions about if I could build in any neighborhood in this entire community right now. Which 1am I picking? And because he's like, sitting there going, how can I help trapper? Right? Because he doesn't, he doesn't need the money. He's taking time out of his day to go drive and hike some lots, you know. So that's really inspiring to me. Like, how can I be more like a wall plum?
Mark D. Williams 49:58
I think that's a really great answer. I. Think I just had my grandma just turned 99 last week, and she's super with it. We went and visit her, and it was really cool, because I let each kid ask her one question. And it was just beautiful to watch the children ask, you know these funny questions, you'll get a kick of this. My soon to be six year old asked by grandma, his great grandma, grandma, you guys are grandma Lou. Grandma Lou, how many of your teeth are real and how many of them are fake? Like, how many of your teeth are permanent? And she said something like, I think I've got four or five permanent teeth. The rest are in Tate's, like, yeah, I've got about four or five permanent ones too. Because, like, he's just losing his baby teeth. Like, I don't think he really dawned on them, like it was, I died laughing. But I think as we get older and when they're younger, like, the only thing that really matters is like, time that we spend with people that we love. Like, I look at my kids now and i i have the parent guilt complex like anybody does, and I do know, if I'm fair with myself, that I do spend a lot of time with my kids. So it's not that I don't, but it's like, we all still deal with it. It's the whole cat in the cradle, you know, Cat Stevens song, right? And it's like, but you know, like, you come home you're tired from, you know, I don't know if this is true for you, but like, you spend all your patience on your client, and you have all this energy you give to your work, and you and you give it a lot. And even if you have a lot to give, at some point, you got to refill it by sleeping, and you have to do some self care, like working out, or like, you know, whatever is fulfilling for you. And then, you know, by the time I get home, I have dinner, I give the kids baths, like I'm like a shell of a human being, like I am tired, I just need to sleep sauna or, like, I just don't have a lot left to give because I've used it all up. I've been up since 430 I just I've got nothing. And like, the kids, and then, of course, Tate's like, Dad, do you want to have a Nerf gun war? Do you want, Dad? Do you want to play Monopoly? And you're just like, you want to say yes, but you're just like, you're not your best self, and so I How have you sort of navigated you know that? I don't know. I'd call it guilt complex, or whatever you want to call
Speaker 1 51:47
it. Man, are you still there? You haven't figured it out?
Trapper Roderick 51:50
No, I have not figured it out. But, I mean, I can tell you how I deal with it. I'm really good at setting work aside and taking a vacation, even if it's the worst time at work possible. I am good at that, at least. I think I am. I hope my wife agrees, like tomorrow, I know my daughter has Friday and Monday off, and so we're leaving to go to California, if you're for a few days. It's a terrible time right now for me to leave, but I'm gonna do it. And obviously those come in, you know, months, months apart, but it's something we get to look forward to. And just, do us, there's, there's not the kids activities either, and stuff like that. And but I do think about it a lot, because literally, it's like you just described my whole night. Last night, I was so exhausted. My daughter did ask, how many teeth of mine were fake, really? Yeah, cuz I have four my forefront teeth, or implants.
Speaker 1 52:38
Oh, funny, they get knocked out, or a lot skiing. Or were you doing a suit video, and you walked into a
Trapper Roderick 52:42
tree, knocked them out twice, doing what date warning the first time, and then I knocked the implants out in a car wreck. Oh, so yeah. Oh, there you go. But yeah, I was just, I was so done. I didn't want to walk the dog, and I knew my wife needed some attention to and so I was like, I didn't have anything to give her, so I was like, You go get in the tub. You just enjoy yourself. I'll listen for the kids. I'll walk the dog later. I'm gonna nap, though, while you bat take the bath. And this was like, already, like, 10 o'clock, you know, like you were sound asleep. But just every day is different. And I think you also what we need. We need to observe what other people need, because it sometimes puts what we need in perspective. I was so exhausted and tired, but I can guarantee my wife was just as tired or more, and I think that helps with perspective on those in those moments.
Mark D. Williams 53:35
Yeah, I think that's a I think that's a good answer. I still like the idea where I was, like, you're gonna commit to camping every week. Like, no, I was committing to talking to someone every week about something deep. Yeah, I heard something, you know, kind of interesting about, like, asking your I decided the other day with the kids, maybe it's been in my mind for a while, but, like, I want to any question that they have, I want to answer truthfully. I'm looking at my notes in my studio right now. My daughter interviewed me over Christmas, and it was this really beautiful we and we do it every year, and it's just this really special thing and but just got me thinking of just like having these I just, like, authentic, real people. And, you know, I mean, it's one of the reasons I really value our friendship and like Brett, I mean, there's so many people you meet, and, you know, I keep coming back to the contractor coalition Summit, not because it's, it's because of the people and the opportunity to get to know people. It's, you know, it's really special. And, you know, they stay in your life, and they, hopefully they're for a long time, but maybe it's only a season that's okay. I think sometimes we, at least for me, sometimes, I used to think, when I was younger, that, you know, if you're friends with someone, they have to be friends for your whole life. And maybe they will be, maybe they won't. That's not the point. The point is you're putting in, you're putting a destiny, or, yeah, you're putting a destination and a in, a burden on their relationship that doesn't be there. You can just enjoy that experience and just in where it goes, it goes. And it's the more of that I've done that like, the more beautiful the relationships with people have become. And I've just found a lot of value just to like. I'm going to enjoy and pour myself into them. And if they reciprocate, great. If they don't, it's not going to stop me from pouring into them. Because, like, kind of, like, the sun's going to shine on everyone. If you want to seek the shade, seek the shade. But like, I guess in this analogy, I'm a sunbeam, but like, you just bring the joy. Like, just do it. And, you know, and some days I might not be so joyous, and you are. And I think that's what's beautiful about a community of people that care for each other and share, because we just everyone have so much to give. And, yeah, this is turning into the woo, woo Monday, but that, I mean, we're both here for it. So there you go. If I had a custom suit, I'd want, like, hearts on the inside. Oh, we can do that. I know you can know that.
Trapper Roderick 55:38
I mean, the coolest thing about great friendships, though, like is, doesn't matter how long you've been since you talked to somebody, the second you see him, you can pick up right where you left off. And that's the coolest thing about, like, really great friendships, and especially if you do your part in it. You know one
Mark D. Williams 55:53
thing, and we I meant to talk about, I apologize that I didn't get to it. You and I are both super avid and very passionate about including wellness into our homes. We've only got three minutes left, so we would do the topic considerably injustice. So we'll, we'll have to bring you off when I'd love to talk well, I'm hoping we'll see how it works with travel plans. I'd love to come see your house, your spec home is done. You said in a couple of months,
Trapper Roderick 56:15
it should be right around, like March 15, April 15. Depends on how many changes I do. Right now, how
Mark D. Williams 56:22
much snow you have, we might have to make a sneak visit out there with the guys trip. I know we talked about that question is getting the flight permission from Mrs. Williams. I've my travel schedule is pretty full this spring here, and I'm not really good at booking flights. I'm sure you are. I've been to Utah a lot. I mean, Utah is easy to get to. I've skied a ton, you know, in the big Canyon, I've got friends up there, and actually, that's where I bought my DPS backcountry skis. Is because we would ski between Ulta and solitude, have a buddy that kind of knows that route. And I was like, Oh, this is amazing. So every time I do go there, it's like, the few times I bring my backcountry skis, because I at least I know where I'm going, because you don't really want to go into unknown, uncharted territory unless you're really into it, and I don't ski enough to be really into it. So it's like, I want to know where I'm going. Yeah, sure what you're gonna be at international builder show. Yeah, you guys can do it. Okay, so you're coming all right? And I know I've been, are you bringing your wife to sauna camp? No. Oh, come on. Come on, Mrs. Roderick, let's go.
Trapper Roderick 57:20
There's a lot more to it. Okay? Yeah, there's a lot. Yeah, it's not happening. Then next year, sure we can do all of it that we want this year. Nothing's on the table,
Mark D. Williams 57:29
yeah, all right, well, we'll pin that one for next year. What are you what are you most excited for the remainder of the year? If you had to pick one
Trapper Roderick 57:37
thing, two things, honestly, I have this just home, that we're going to be starting in February, that it's going to take every bit of 1819, months to build, but it's going to be in the Parade of Homes in 2027, it's got a three sided infinity pool. I mean, it's going to knock the socks off of some people when they see that view over Deer Valley. So very excited about that. And then I'm really excited to do more of this, right? Like, just grow the community, help other people, work with other brands. I mean, there's so many cool things that we're already doing, but like, why aren't we partnering with somebody else who's doing the same thing that we can help them and they can help us, right? Like, so growing our our personal brand and partnerships with brands. You know, I
Mark D. Williams 58:18
forgot to do this with our last guest, so I will let you do it. You get to leave the intro question for the next guest, who actually is going to be Stacy Ekman up in Seattle and LA, I don't know if you know Stacy. He's leading our curious collective.
Trapper Roderick 58:31
We've had some interesting kind of conversations, and we've been told to meet way too many times by Morgan, but it never works out. And All right, so here's your Hawaii, yeah,
Mark D. Williams 58:39
so here's your question. You get to leave him a question. So I will start his episode, which will air the week after yours. What question Would you like me to ask him?
Trapper Roderick 58:48
I'm actually gonna still, I think your was your question. What is the biggest mistake? Like, I want to know the biggest mistake you made on a job. And that can't be financial related. It can be because, like, the financial detriment was bad, but like, did a wall fall over? Did you break the water lines? Did you break the post tension slab? What have you done in construction that was just like, oh my gosh, I should have been so fired so fast for that.
Mark D. Williams 59:18
Okay, all right, that sounds like a good one. I appreciate your time. We'll have everything in your show notes. You'll be back on, I'm sure, many times this year, and we'll see you down in Orlando. Let's do it. Thanks everybody. Appreciate it. Thanks for tuning in. The curious builder podcast. If you like this episode, do us a favor. Share it with three other business owners. The best way that we can spread what we're doing is by word of mouth, and with your help, we can continue to help other curious builders expand their business. Please share it with your friends. Like and review online, and thanks again for tuning in.
This episode is sponsored by:
