Episode 86 - Q&A Kids Corner: Mark Explains Building to His Toughest Audience Yet
Episode #86 | Q&A Kids Corner | Mark Explains Building to His Toughest Audience Yet
What happens when Mark hands the mic to his kids? A surprisingly honest, hilarious, and insightful Q&A episode on how builders get clients, what happens when projects go sideways, and why firing someone can wreck your whole week. From tree fort permit drama to client communication and custom home timelines, this one is equal parts kids corner, business therapy, and classic Curious Builder fun.
About The Curious Builder
The host of the Curious Builder Posdast is Mark D. Williams, the founder of Mark D. Williams Custom Homes Inc. They are an award-winning Twin Cities-based home builder, creating quality custom homes and remodels — one-of-a-kind dream homes of all styles and scopes. Whether you’re looking to reimagine your current space or start fresh with a new construction, we build homes that reflect how you live your everyday life.
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Mark D. Williams 00:03
We tried to build a tree fort during covid And your dad didn't get a permit because I thought I could just build it a tree fort with just because
Mae Williams 00:11
it was a tree fort. Our neighbors yelled at us because they blocked the trees. They're view of the trees, yep.
Mark D. Williams 00:17
And so we had to apply for a variance, which was denied. Remember that?
Mae Williams 00:22
Yeah, me, you and Carl went up to like, people's houses, and then a lot of people said, No.
Mark D. Williams 00:36
Welcome to curious builder Podcast. I'm Mark winners, the host today. We've got Kids Corner. I've got May, Simon and Tate in studio. We have a snow day situation, so we are going to get questions from kids to their old pops. Hey guys. Hey, all right, May, why don't you start? Since this is your idea, what are some questions that you would like to ask
Tate Williams 01:01
me about building Well, first I want to know how you advertise. How do you get your clients?
Mark D. Williams 01:07
That's a great question. Wow. What are some ways that you see me advertise?
Mae Williams 01:12
I see you on social media, but I also see you advertise like honey Hill and like big events like that, and
Mark D. Williams 01:23
so I think so what you're talking about is marketing, and I think it evolves. So when I first started building social media, didn't exist, so most of it was referrals, which is word of mouth and developing your client base. It's also asking your past clients to if you had a good experience, then they would, they would, they would hopefully give you recommendations to, you know, to their friends and to their family. Right then there used to be like print media, so you'd see magazines, and so you get magazines delivered to your house. And so you do advertising that way. Now it has changed. You could do direct mail. So you know how in the mailbox we get those little cards that you can throw in the garbage or whatnot. But some companies, you know, do 1000s and 1000s of those. We what we try to do is we use social media, so Instagram specifically, but we also use YouTube and LinkedIn, and all the videos that we post go to all the different video formats. So we have a cadence for Mark Williams custom homes where we post, like, six or seven days a week. And when I first started,
Mark D. Williams 02:25
yes, six, seven and, and so what we would do is, like, sometimes we'll do videos about, you know, like our cabinetry or electrical outlets. I try to make it interesting so people are learning something. Yeah, because for me personally, I want to, I find things that are educational and entertaining and beautiful? If I can do one of those three things, or all three of them, I feel like that's something that I would want to watch. So maybe somebody else would too.
Mae Williams 02:51
So you advertise with this podcast, yes,
Mark D. Williams 02:55
but that's for the curious builder. So for my building company, Mark Williams Custom Homes, which is how I took your question. I'm using social media to tell a story. And so maybe somebody's like, I just got a call today of somebody that went through one of the homes that I built 15 years ago, and they lost out on that house that someone else bought it. And so they called me because they saw the work we did, and they're like, Wow, this is really nice work. I wonder if this builder builds anything else. And so they called me today, and that was based on so sometimes we would have, like, somebody else give us a recommendation, but in this case, my house or the product that we did gave us a recommendation. Does that make sense? Like product? Well, like the home that I built, so I built a house for a couple named Adam and Kelly, and they sold their house, but somebody else who didn't buy the house, walked through their house and was like, Wow, this home is beautiful. I wonder if this builder still builds and they sought me that way. So we market in so many different ways. Sometimes it's somebody giving us a recommendation, sometimes it's us marketing like social media. So we do email campaigns, but I also do blogging. So I work with a lady named Alyssa from olivin vine. She's out in California. And once in, once a week, we write an article about something that I'm doing. It might be about Misa house, it might be about why we collaborate with certain brands. And so what we do then is, then people read that, and they and by reading about it, they get to know us. Or it's on Google, which is where we search for things like chat. GPT is AI Google, basically, the more you write, the more it has stuff to look at. It's called SEO, search engine optimization. So the more that you write, the more that's out there for for the Internet to consume. So by writing so many articles for the last couple of years, we have a huge Google is very aware of us. And so when people type in, you know, Minnesota builder, or builder in Excelsior, or builder in cottagewood, you know what I
Mae Williams 04:50
looked up? What I looked up, the curious builder Christmas edition, and it said, and somebody, his daughter may come. Is back for another episode of The Curious builder.
Mark D. Williams 05:03
See, you even were able to find yourself. So anyway, those are just a few of the ways that we advertise the work that we do. Tate, do you have a question for us? Yeah, talk into the microphone, buddy.
Tate Williams 05:16
How do you get your clients to do the stuff that you want them to do.
Mark D. Williams 05:21
How do I get the clients to do things that I want them to do? Yeah, well, usually the clients are asking me to do something for them, right? So some someone is coming to me and saying, Can I build them a home? So usually I'm not having clients where I tell them what to build, but I'll give them recommendations. Is that what you mean?
Mae Williams 05:43
I have a question if, let's say you wanted them to, like, pick a different location, because, like, okay, so sometimes they might like, if there was like, a problem, where there was like, the city might not let you, like, build there, or something, like, there was a problem and it was really hard to fix. Would you try to convince them to go somewhere else? Like, try to
Mark D. Williams 06:09
Yeah, that's a great question. So so if I understand it, so let's say somebody wants to build a house, and let's say in that city, they won't allow us to do a certain thing, right? And so it's called variance. So variance means something that's unusual or a variant to like, what's normal, right? Just for framing of reference for you. So, like, it's not normal for you to go to school on a weekend, right? Yeah. So, like, it'd be a variance if the school petitioned and said, Hey, kids have to come in on Saturdays and Sundays, right? And so what? Sometimes, what I'll do for a client, and I've done it many times in my career, is maybe the lot is really unique. Maybe it's got a big hill or some water on it, or it's just a hard lot, or really small lot. Then we'll go to the city and we'll say, hey, we need a variance to your city ordinance so that we can build our client a house. Remember our tree fort issue? Yes, yeah, yeah. So we tried to build a house drink or a tree fort during covid, and your dad didn't get a permit, because I thought I could just build it a tree fort with just because it was a tree fort.
Mae Williams 07:11
Our neighbors yelled at us because they blocked the trees, their view of
Mark D. Williams 07:14
the trees, yep. And so we had to apply for a variance, which was denied. And remember that? They said, No, remember yet you
Tate Williams 07:23
neighborhood?
Mae Williams 07:24
Said, Yeah, me, you and Carl went up to like, people's houses, and then a lot of people
Mark D. Williams 07:28
said, no, yeah. So we that was called the petition. So then we went to the city, and they denied her variance. So then we had to, we did get a variance, but it wasn't the one that we wanted. So anyway, there's a long story of basically saying, like, yes, we have to sometimes change what we're doing for the client, but there are some times where, you know, we'll go through, like, across the street from where we're recording this right now. We about four or five years ago, we designed a whole house for a client. They came to us. They loved our work. We went through this long ordeal, like six months. We got the city to accept it, and they were so burned out from the process and then the cost that they decided that they didn't want to build anymore. So even though we got everything approved, they were just tired of how long it took and decided not to do it anymore. And that was really that was really a shame. I felt really bad about that. Wasn't there a contract. There was a contract, but they that was called the design retainer. So they pay us to help them through design, through pricing, because they're not going to pay us to build a house if the city won't let us build a house on the lot. So we spent six months, or maybe longer, going through this design process with the architect. We designed the home, went through the whole process, and we got it approved, and then when we priced out, the house, was more money than they wanted, and they were just so fatigued and tired of the whole process that they just sold the property and just said, we're done. Oh yeah, I wasn't very good. I put a lot of work into it.
Mae Williams 08:55
How long does it usually take to build a house?
Mark D. Williams 08:58
Well, it depends on how big it
Mae Williams 09:00
so let's say it was like the size of maybe an average house.
Mark D. Williams 09:08
Well, average is different, but most of our homes are between like 3500 square feet and 6000 square feet. They're gonna take anywhere from maybe 10 months to 14 months. Okay, wait, let Simon have a turn. Simon, have a turn. Simon, what questions do you have
Tate Williams 09:22
about building is it like rough when you fire someone? Oh, yeah,
Mark D. Williams 09:29
really rough. I fired someone a couple days ago. Could you tell Yeah, was Dad very was that? Was I very happy last week, or was I kind of in it? Was I kind of in a tough mood? You're in a tough mood? Yeah, I mean that that that's probably a good I mean, that would actually be a good question. I think people would relate to that. Most of the people that listen to this are business owners, and they have families too. And sometimes, as owners, we forget that when we bring home, like, the stress of our job, like it affects you, right? So, like last week, I had a really, it was, I. One of the harder weeks I've had a long time, because I don't like to fire people. In fact, I only done it maybe twice in my career, and this was the first time I've ever had to do it with a subcontractor. So what happened was, is I had a framer on a job, and it's my job to look after my clients money, and the I gave this framer a number of chances to correct their work, to show up, and they kept telling me that they were going to do something, but they kept not doing it. And so grandpa used to, or my dad, your grandpa, used to tell me this, that the first time, shame on them, second time shame on you. Meaning like, if somebody tells you they're going to do something, they don't do it, that's not your fault, but if you let them do it again and it happens, whose fault is it? Yeah, it's it's my fault. And so anyway, this person kept not following through on their word, and I was super frustrated, so I met them on site, and I looked them in the eye, and I said, I need you to correct these problems. I need you to show up, and I need you, more than anything, to communicate. And they didn't communicate. They stopped returning my phone calls and my emails. And there were some other there's some other things that I saw that that was not good. And so I had to call our lawyer and make sure that we had a good paper trail. And and so we fired them. I told them that that was their last day of work and and we hired someone else now to finish the house because they they were not doing the work.
Mark D. Williams 11:31
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Tate Williams 12:33
like you kept you didn't have that many patients?
Mark D. Williams 12:38
Yeah, sometimes I run out of patience. I'm sorry, you know, sometimes we at we've used up all our patients at work, so, you know, I get to see you in the morning, right? And it's like, Come on, guys, we got to get out to school and then, and then at night, I'm tired because I've been working all day, right? And then I pick you up from school. And then we kind of have a routine at night, don't we, so we have dinner together, and then I give you guys baths. We play some games, but sometimes mom and dads are just tired because we've been working all day, right? We've been using all our patients like a muscle. If you use it all day, then there's nothing left.
Mae Williams 13:08
And that's that's I when I when you try to read me a book at night, you just fall asleep, and the only thing that will keep you with me is if I rub your head, otherwise you say, Man, I'm so tired, maybe tomorrow, and then tomorrow you kind of do and then halfway through, man, I'm so tired, I'll do it tomorrow. Simon or Tate, do you have a question?
Tate Williams 13:34
Wait, I think I might have forgot what I was
Mark D. Williams 13:39
gonna say. What is yeah, what is something that you you've been on a job site before? What is that? Do you have any questions about building? Do you have a question, buddy or No, I was but I forgot it okay. Well, that's okay, Simon, do you have another question?
Tate Williams 13:56
Um, like, when you're building a house, like, what, what do you have to do? Like, if something goes wrong when you build it, that's a great question.
Mark D. Williams 14:09
So that happens before. So sometimes, you know, I you know, like, how cars are built in a factory, and I often tell our clients that, like, Ford f1 50 is the most popular truck in America. And I don't know how many trucks they build a year, but let's just say 100,000 and they'll do what's called callback. So even though they're in a factory and they're building them, sometimes, they still have things that are wrong with the trucks, and so they have to get them back. Well, we're building a one of a kind house that's never been built before. We're building it outside when it's snowing. You know how yesterday it snowed 14 inches of snow, yeah, and so it snows all over the house, and it rains and it's in the mud and all these difficult things. And so things are going to go wrong. And so really, what clients are trusting us is that we can get through all the hard things and that we can solve whatever problem that we come up with. I think one thing that is really good about. It builders and designers and architects, is we're really good at problem solving. I'd say that's probably our number one skill, because if you can't problem solve, you're not going to be in business for very long. So Simon, your question is, what happens when things go wrong? The question is, is they things are always going wrong, every week, every day. I'd say, like four things today went wrong, but we've got to figure out a way around it. And so I would say we continue to problem
Mae Williams 15:24
solve, like the bear hunt. We can't go over it. We can't go under it. We just have to go through it.
Tate Williams 15:30
That's right. Ask you something like, what would happen if your clients fight and then and you can't break it up.
Mark D. Williams 15:43
I mean, like, like, if it's a mom and dad fighting, or just, are there, who are they fighting? If your
Tate Williams 15:48
clients are are, like, disagreeing with each other, like, what would you do?
Mark D. Williams 15:54
Well, that's a good question. I've had that happen. Sometimes we just need, like, a kind of, you know, how you guys, when you guys are fighting, we put you in a timeout. So sometimes, you know, we don't put adults in a timeout, but sometimes we just take a little break. So we've had it before where, like the team, like everyone's just a little emotional, and so we just say, why don't we just take a little walk? Or why don't we meet next week and talk about it? Or let's give it a few days. So sometimes we just need to let it breathe a little bit and just relax a little bit. Very rarely have I had, I can't think of any time I've had, like, a client fight. You know, we're like, they're arguing, like, out loud, I do. I know another, another builder. His name is Brad. Brad. Have you ever because I've met Brad in person, like, maybe we've heard him on the phone. You've heard him on the phone? Yeah, you have to talk him to the microphone, buddy and and so what? What had happened? Brad had a situation once where there was a client and he was yelling at his wife on the call, and they weren't hired yet. And Brad said, We're firing you. We won't work for you. And the client was taken back, and he said, why not? And Brad said that anyone that would talk to his wife the way that you're talking to your wife, we couldn't do business with because we you have to retreat each other with respect and like things are going to get difficult. Things are not even difficult right now, and you're already yelling at your own spouse like we can't trust you during the duration of a build, over a couple years of design and building. And so he fired him on the spot. That hasn't happened to me, but that's very rare. That would be it would make everyone feel very, very uncomfortable. Does your team ever fight? Yeah, sometimes our I don't know about fight, but we did more like, disagree, right? And so I think as long as you respect each other, like, I'm okay with people disagreeing. In fact, I often tell our clients, like, I like it when people disagree because you get better ideas. And so I, you know, I don't think I often tell our clients when they interview us, like, you don't want a bunch of people that are yes yes people, meaning like, I don't want to say yes to everything. Like, you know how we have our yes days? And like, that's kind of fun. But like, if you said, if you said, All I want for ice cream, well, if you ate ice cream every single day, all day for a week, you'd be sick. And so, like, if someone is always being told, yes all the time, you're not going to get the best result. Because now, guess what? You're building what they want the way they want it, but they're hiring us because of our profession, right? It'd be like going to a doctor and you telling the doctor what to do. Well, you're not a doctor,
Tate Williams 18:29
yeah, what would happen? Would you have to get a new client if one of them dies?
Mark D. Williams 18:35
That's a good question. I've never had a client die. I hope that doesn't happen, but, I mean, if it was a husband and wife, and let's say one of them died, you know, hopefully we would finish the house that we're working with. And if they both died and we're in the middle of their project, we would probably have to finish the home so that their estate could sell it. Because, you know, if you're kind of like, halfway through a project, you don't really just go, can't really stop, and so, but it would be really messy, because, you know, if somebody, if two people, die, it's called their estate, like it'd be their kids, or somebody else would be responsible for that home. And so, you know, we would want to finish the home to protect the asset for them. I've never had that happen. What is the
Mae Williams 19:20
process of, like, just your career like, not so first, tell me the process ever since, like, from day one, you've been a builder. And then tell me the process about like, first finding your client and then building the house until the very like, done. So first, tell me about your like from step one, from your career.
Mark D. Williams 19:43
You mean, like, 22 years ago? Yes, oh boy, that's gonna be a lot more. We only have one more minute left. I think that's like an hour podcast. Can you be How about it? You have a different question, because I want to take a long time to answer.
Mae Williams 19:55
Okay, then what about a the process? Us a building, like finding a client building the house
Mark D. Williams 20:04
and or you need a shorter one? Yeah, well, it's one minute. So how about this? How about I'll ask you guys a question. Ready? All right, What? What? And I'll let you because you guys are in unique position, because you're my kids, and you get to see me every day. What do you think is my favorite part of my job? Go ahead, Tate, you go first. I give him the microphone,
Tate Williams 20:33
building your part, calling people and telling people what to do.
Mark D. Williams 20:40
Do you think my favorite part is calling people then telling them what to do?
Mae Williams 20:44
No, like calling people and like talking
Mark D. Williams 20:48
to them. I do like talking to people. Tate, that's right. And my the podcast is kind of like talking to people, except by a phone. I'm talking by microphone, right? So I You're right. I love talking to people. You want me to help you open that water? Okay, maybe in just in a minute, may you want to ask me a question. Ask you a question. No, I'm sorry. What do you think is my favorite part of building, of
Mae Williams 21:09
building the house? So, like, what do you think my favorite part of my job is? Okay, so I think
Mark D. Williams 21:14
you're What do you see that gives me the most energy when you see me? What do you when do you see me the most
Mae Williams 21:20
excited when you get a new client and when you're talking to your team, and just, sort of just like when you're at those events, yeah, like,
Mark D. Williams 21:29
contractor coalition Summit, or, like,
Mae Williams 21:30
curious builder stuff, yes, because you're still doing your job, just like,
Mark D. Williams 21:36
less Joby, yeah, yeah, you're Right. That is probably one of my favorite parts. I It's um, all right, Simon,
Tate Williams 21:47
like spending time with your clients.
Mark D. Williams 21:51
So do you think that my favorite, my favorite part about building is spending time with my clients? Yeah, you're right. I do like spending time with my clients, because I like seeing how excited they are. So the thing that makes me the most sad is, or I should say, is also the most stressful part. Like, if I have a client that's really unhappy, they might be stressed out. Like I kind of feel that stress. One of the reasons why I was so stressed out last week is because I had to fire that person. I was stressed out because I thought the client was going to make it really difficult for me too, and I was wrong. The client was super supportive. So here I sort of dreaded telling the client that I was going to have to let this person go. And so when I called them, you know what they said, they said, Thank you for being so transparent with us. It turns out that they had built like six, seven years ago, and the builder at that time had a similar situation that they fired somebody, but they never told the client, and then it came out later, and that's why the process wasn't very good, because they because they weren't open and communicative to the client. And so my client not only was understanding and supportive, but they also thanked me. And so here I was carrying all this stress when I didn't need to. And so some you know how, like, we always say honesty is the best thing, even if you're wrong. Like, sometimes mom and I will just say, Guys, just tell us the truth. Like, we can handle whatever the truth is, but we need to know what the truth is, all right. Well, thanks for tuning into Thursday's. Curious builder Kids Corner. It's not Thursday, I know, but it'll air on a Thursday. Oh, nothing like honesty from kids. Thanks for tuning in to curious builder podcast, and now
Mae Williams 23:27
wait, I'm gonna drive. Thanks for
Mark D. Williams 23:36
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