Brantingham Builders: 50+ Years of Custom Home Building

Speaker 3 (00:00)

I'm Jesse Sampley and this is the Meridian Pursuit Builders Podcast. Today I'm with Rachel and Mike Braningham with Brantingham Builders in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Their dad Paul started the company over 50 years ago and they've kept it a true family operation. Today we get into sticking to budgets, setting expectations early with clients, keeping jobs moving when materials are late, and why they don't chase the cheapest bids. Let's get into it.

Speaker 2 (00:29)

I'm Michael Brantonham, ⁓ co-owner and job site foreman for Brantonham Builders. ⁓

My father, Paul, is the owner and founder of Brain Home Builders. We also have ⁓ Michael Ireland, who is also a ⁓ job site supervisor. He works directly under ⁓ me. He comes from a background of construction. His father was a home builder as well, locally. And he grew up working with his dad, so he has a lot of knowledge. He brings a lot to the table. And he's a great asset to the team.

and I'm really happy to have him on our team.

Speaker 1 (01:10)

So underneath Mike and Michael and my dad, we have probably 20 or so employees because we are unusual in the way that we do a lot of our own contract work. you know, some builders, they sit in an office and they just have subcontractors that do everything for them. We are extremely hands on. So someone is on your site every single day. We're watching over the work done by subcontractors, but then we do a lot of different things ourselves. So, you know, from

we pour our own foundation walls. So, you know, that's very unusual. Oftentimes builders have to get in a queue and they're just waiting to get those guys there because that's kind of the beginning of the construction. We're able to jump the line and move straight to getting that house on the ground. So ⁓ Mike has developed that skill. He runs a great team. And so we do that. I mean, we're up for doing our own flooring, our own trim work.

I mean, there's a lot of aspects of the construction. We do our own electrical work. We have a master's electrical license. So there's aspects that we can speed along, but also finesse to the expertise of our client, rather than having to entrust a subcontractor to come in and do it and evaluating the work and making sure following up with them and calling them back because they didn't do this right. We hold ourselves to a high standard. And so we know that those items are going to be produced.

And then of course we have 52 years of relationships where we've seen the good, bad, and the ugly. And we have clarified our niche, which is Hardin County, in about a 30 mile to 45 minute radius, because we will only work with our contractors. We don't want to go use Joe Blow and just see how it goes. We use these trusted contractors and suppliers. And so all of that is underneath both Michael and Michael Ireland.

My role is co-owner and then I'm the client liaison. So I meet with the client initially and I carry them all the way through to the very end. So they're hearing from me, they're being fed updates, they know what's happening. I also handle all the contract work. So they're hearing and then I show up at the closing table and I get to celebrate with them. So underneath me is a design team. So we have several ⁓ women that support with making all the design decisions.

When we started adjusting the way we did business about a decade ago, one of the pain points that I heard a lot was that our builder's always on equipment, or he's always out in the field, we can never get a hold of him, women, most likely there's a female that's making a lot of decisions in this construction process, and they felt like their voices were not being heard. And...

So by creating my position and then having females that meet with them on the regular, they felt like their voice was brought into the story. so, because oftentimes your builders are managing multiple job sites and they're managing multiple nuance-y details, they don't really want to sit down and spend two hours discussing the handles that are going to go on the cabinet. It's just not... I'll do it.

Speaker 3 (04:21)

Right. Really?

Speaker 1 (04:26)

On a day like today, maybe, it's raining outside, but ⁓ the people that our team will sit for two hours and make sure that they feel confident in their decision, And then we also, get to know our client and how much information do they really want? Do they want every handle brought to the office or do they just want to select three to five handles that they select from? you know, anyway, those are all underneath me and then we have a huge office staff. So we have

⁓ My mom is still involved in the company, Susan Braningham. She and my dad are side by side in everything. My sister Susanna is also in the office. And then we have people that surround them and work ⁓ in the office as well. So, love that. I tell people it's so funny. I tell people it's so great working with family because you can't get fired, but you also can't quit. So, it's got its pros and cons.

Speaker 3 (05:21)

take me back and give me kind of a little bit of the elevator pitch for your dad and kind of like, know, if you know why he started it, you know, why he stuck with it, this is not an easy industry. Like Mike said, this is very volatile at certain times. So, you know, what is kind of that core reason that, you you push through all of these issues rather than doing something totally different?

Speaker 2 (05:45)

I think for Dad, one thing I know about Dad is he has a passionate appreciation and love for this trade. I mean, he really does. ⁓ And I think his passion has been passed down to ⁓ Rachel and I. I really just think, I've never met ⁓ a guy that really enjoys this trade as much as Dad does.

There's a lot of times when I'm out there and I'm like, I don't enjoy this. And I look over and my dad is just happy. He's loving it. So yeah, I mean, think dad's dad just, whatever it is, you know, he started framing out an organ, you know, back when he was 20 something. You he still tells me stories to this day of them, you know, rain, snow, whatever.

You know, they'd make little boxes to keep the compressors warm so they didn't freeze up, so they could keep framing their pouring concrete in the rain. And he just loved it. He's just so passionate about it. ⁓

Speaker 1 (06:54)

To be successful in any industry, you have to be obsessed. And to see his obsession, it's beautiful, right? Because to survive some of the housing, so the subdivision we sit in, the one right behind me, he loves to remind me that we have no idea what it was like, because interest rates when he started the subdivision were 16%. So you have to be insane, right? You have to be absolutely obsessed with something.

to be willing to run into such a challenging market, challenging, you know, a field. But, you know, even now, my dad's been building for well over 50 years, right? It's been his life's work. He's seen homes of every kind. He's built doctors' offices, you know, and then here he calls me, the homorama is in Louisville, and he's like, let's go. He can't wait to walk through more houses.

you would assume that after 50 plus years and everything he's done, that you would be like, I've seen it, done it, don't wanna go spend my weekend doing it again, but he can't wait to go and see the new ideas and the innovation. And there's aspects to it that he doesn't enjoy so much anymore. He does like the new ideas and he is always brainstorming, but we can't drag him off the sites. So I think Mike and I both have that. remember

I was in the vehicle with dad and we were going to meet with a client and we pulled into Magnolia Farms, a very high end subdivision. We built several homes in there. And I remember pulling up to a stop sign and dad stopped a long time at the stop sign. And I kind of caught his glance and he was staring into the front window of a home that we had built. And I glanced past him and the whole family was seated at the dining room and you could just see between the curtain panels. And I just saw this smile come across his face and

At the same time, I've felt that feeling, right? There's something about creating a home where people are gonna spend every special moment of their lives, the hardest ones, but the most special ones, right? The birthday parties that are gonna be celebrated inside that home, the lives that are gonna be lived, the babies that are brought home, and...

I just in that moment saw that smile of the fact that I was able to create something that keeps this family safe and warm and they're enjoying time together. And you know, this was maybe 10 years ago and I have grown up in the building industry, Mike has grown up in it, but at some point you have to adopt it as your own. Just because you're born into a family of builders doesn't mean you necessarily share that passion. And

Sitting there with my dad at that stop sign and looking in that window and seeing those kiddos and the parents and everybody abuzz with eating dinner, I was like, man, I want to do this. I want to create spaces where, you know, mommies feed their babies and daddies come home from work, right? And it's so fun because now I drive around with my kids and I annoy them because I'm like, look, we built that house and mommy helped with that and I sold that house because I'm also in real estate. you know, but I hope in some aspect they may.

Or maybe not, but I think watching my dad in that obsessive passion, he has done what he's loved, and he still does it at 73 years old. On the weekends, Mike and I are like, we can't wait to have the weekend off, and he's like, we should go dig that basement, Mike, it's supposed to rain on Monday. And Mike's like, we shouldn't, we should wait. So the fact that after all these years, he's still obsessed with it, I think if you find something you love, you never work a day in your life, and that's what my dad has successfully done.

We always try to identify who we're working with and we certainly ensure that we're not doing something that they wouldn't want us to do behind the walls. So we always encourage them to come in and they'll write scriptures or they'll write notes to themselves or their future selves or handprints in the concrete is a very common theme. So we always encourage those things but we also are cautious about what are we doing? This is their home.

Speaker 2 (11:09)

pushing something on onto a customer that would make them uncomfortable or whatever you you kind of have to you kind of have to feel the customer out and then you offer you know most of the time we say would you all like to have a groundbreaking ceremony we'll do that you know we go out and you know we bought a nice shovels and

Speaker 1 (11:26)

I'm a

Speaker 2 (11:29)

Sign the date and keep the shovel. We've done that several times. Obviously, hand prints, the kids come out, I'll let them know when we're pouring concrete. We've done a lot of that. We've done some scripture verses behind the drywall.

Speaker 1 (11:42)

You can have things that you do, but I think our generation is really moving to what their experience, they want their experience to be. So of course we have a framework, right? These are some things that we have offered or done with other clients, and then they kind of choose what works for them, right? Some of them are like, I don't want a groundbreaking ceremony, like it's dirt, I've seen it a thousand times, can we get started? But others are like, that would mean the world to us, we want a photo op, and then.

We had a family we just recently built for and they brought all the grandbabies and they took a picture with nothing behind them. And then at the end, they want to bring out all the grandbabies and take a picture with the house.

Speaker 2 (12:22)

Yeah, and I think it's important for us, we just try to create an environment with the customer to where they feel... In control. They feel comfortable enough to ask to do something. We try to obviously set that from the get-go, set that vibe, I guess you could say. To where they're comfortable saying something like, hey...

What about doing something like this, you know, and not feeling like we're just strictly business, business, business, business, you know. It's a family environment. Yeah, you know, we try to approach it from that aspect to where they're, know.

Speaker 1 (12:56)

And that's at every phase of construction.

Speaker 3 (12:59)

How do you start that rapport with that person? Somebody comes to you guys, or maybe explain this a little bit, but I would assume either somebody has a lot or they're looking for a lot from you guys.

Speaker 1 (13:12)

When I would imagine that it begins at conception. So the very first start is that we don't buy leads. All of our business is built on sphere of influence and referrals. Someone comes to us and in an aspect, they've already been introduced to them in some manner, right? Whether that be through social media, whether that be through a friend or family member that built with us, you know, but they've already heard our name and they know that the quality of our work. So having an established reputation of 50,

two years, 53 years, that goes before us. So they come in already in a trusted environment, right, most likely, right? So then they come in and they sit down and then, you know, from there we build upon that. We just try to connect with them beyond just, hey, we're here to do business, here's your package, here's what you're doing. We get to know them and oftentimes they're coming into like a family environment, whether the kiddos be in the other room. So we just, it breaks down those walls of we're not just.

a business doing business for you, we are part of your team. We're here to create this dream that you've had and you've formed. And so it just, it comes together to really create a relationship. Most of our clients we see regularly. They're our friends. We do life together. They're in the community. Since we've been here for 53 years, they've watched me grow up. They've watched Mike grow up. They'll even comment like, we used to see Mike running around when he was this big and.

You know, now he's leading the company. And so it's just a, we've built ourselves kind of a unique business in that way that we're not out buying leads and meeting with strangers. We're buying market share ⁓ by marketing and going to every event and being present in people's lives. So I think they come in and kind of a different approach.

Speaker 3 (15:03)

think that's a good, unless you've got something else.

Speaker 2 (15:05)

No, I mean, I just didn't want it to be closed off to people that we don't know. know, we have several clients that, know, obviously, E-town's booming. There are clients that come to us that are out of town that don't know anything about us. And I think the main thing is when we first sit down with them, basically, to be transparent, know, show them, offer them to tour a home that we're doing, to see our work firsthand. ⁓ We try to invite them to

⁓ Like I said, we just recently had a parade of homes. We will purchase tickets or whatever it is so they can get free entry to come and tour a house that we've built. ⁓ But I think the main thing is transparency. When I sit down with someone, I'm not a car salesman. I'm not just trying to make the sale. This is gonna be, it's not a transaction that's done. It's an eight to 10 month that we're gonna spend time, we're gonna spend probably almost.

We're gonna have communication at least once a day, most likely, with you. So we're starting a kind of almost like a relationship, you know? So I think that's, there's a lot of builders out there that view building as just a transaction. Obviously it is a business. Just strictly as a business and a way to feed their family. You know, while that's important, there is also the other side of it to where I feel like it's important to actually kind of

form a relationship with this person. And I feel like we do a good job of that by, like I said, sitting down with them, being transparent, we'll tell them a little bit about us, how we got into it, ⁓ how dad got into it, how all of us kind of followed in his footsteps, kind of just give them the rundown. And then, like I said, let them just, let that speak for itself for them, you know.

Speaker 3 (16:58)

sure

that puts them at ease too when issues do come up. You already have established such a great rapport with these people. The communication has been so consistent where if there is an issue to work through, then you've already established that trust. So how much easier is it to cross over that bridge because there's not this friction between you guys.

Speaker 1 (17:21)

I would say it's easier on us as well. We like to get to know them. And so then it creates a human aspect, right? Versus where this corporation that is trying to do them dirty. No, we sit down and we say, hey guys, as your team, we got to talk through this problem and resolve it together. We went through COVID with lumber prices skyrocketing. And we met with clients and we work off of stipulated sum contracts. So everything is specified.

And so when something like that occurs, there's nothing, there's a small margin built in, but there's nothing that major. mean, it was 15 to $25,000 increases on number packages, just like that overnight, no warning, right? And so we sat in those meetings and we came to them and we said, hey, as part of your team, we're trying to problem solve this with you. Here's options, right? These are some ways we could tackle this. We could either hold off and wait, or we can proceed forward and just see if it were to drop.

You know, we...

Speaker 2 (18:19)

There were several houses during that that, you know, we ultimately decided that we would just push pause on the whole entire build, which...

That's not good for us, ultimately. We want to get these projects started and we want to get them to the finish line. But we realized that a lot of these people, where they were at in their life, what they were spending, this was a big spend for them. And for them to account for an unforeseen lumber increase like that was just, it was catastrophic for them. As a small business. did. We pushed pause on.

We had two or three foundations that just sat there for like three or four months waiting for those prices to come down. But we obviously didn't encourage them to do that and we didn't encourage them to go the other way because we didn't know what was going to... Those lumber prices are going to stay like that for a year or two. And then their construction loan, they would have to redo it or whatever. But we listened to what they said and we listened to where they were at in their life. And we just came down with them. They made a decision like we're going to push pause. And we said, all right, let's do it.

you if that makes you feel comfortable we want to support you in that and we did. A lot of times it out.

Speaker 3 (19:33)

those people say afterwards, you know, what did happen?

Speaker 2 (19:36)

The lumber prices came down eventually and we were able to continue the build.

Speaker 1 (19:40)

Well, and there was even a couple that we were we got notice of. But so when the lumber companies did that, basically they it changed overnight for them, So they had maybe a seven day notice. So they informed us some time some of the lumber packages we bought, we were breaking ground. We didn't need lumber for several months. And so, you know, we we we got storage units and we stored lumber packages on the behalf of some of our clients. Like, I think that that is one thing about our company is

You know, though we're one of the top builders in our local area, probably among the top 10%, we are still small enough and we're family owned and operated. And so we're able to go out of our way to create scenarios that are successful for our clients, right? So it was well beyond what we needed to do. And our clients knew that, right?

Speaker 2 (20:32)

Yeah,

I mean, it's like I've been around enough and other builders and other construction companies to know like that for what we do is we try to keep our ear to the ground and listen and pay attention to the market. Even when the whole tariff situation with Trump was going on, ⁓ hell, we hadn't even broken ground on a house. And we heard that the garage doors, because they were coming over from China, were going to skyrocket in price. So we got one of our customer. ⁓

Speaker 1 (21:01)

every

single

Speaker 2 (21:02)

Which is not, this is not an easy task to do. But we met with a customer, we got samples, and we went ahead and picked out the Dan garage door. And we ordered the garage door, what, months before we needed it?

Speaker 1 (21:14)

Yeah, we worked with the garage door supply companies because in and usually they won't hold those right. They want them because they can't they don't get paid until the job's completed by us. And so we worked with those suppliers as well and only because we have long standing relationships where we do repeat business for them. Were they willing to extend their hold times? And I mean, some of them we had to be creative storm in the basement because they only have so much storage available, right? It's a push pull situation. But, you know, and you're going to face

these fluctuations, there's gonna be highs and lows. And I think watching my dad over 52 years, he learned to just roll with those punches and you have to be, construction is so unique in that you're, in our field, we're custom construction team. So that's our bread and butter. We really focus on the custom client. So we're working with a customer who wants to create.

create every space and make it very special and unique. And so there's nothing cookie cutter. So you're rolling with those punches. Then you're also rolling with the market conditions, right? Cause at any time things are changing and shift. Then you're working with suppliers, like, you know, all of a sudden your flooring is no longer available. And that's the flooring, that's the only flooring your client loves, right? And so then it's, so it's a home building is a very unique field where you, and it's so vast in an inside of itself, right? You're a builder.

But there's thousands of styles of home. There's thousands of ways to go about everything that you're doing. So you just have to be very flexible and very authentic. I think it goes back to that where you problem solve with the client in real time because you cannot always, I can't foresee every crisis that's gonna come or every issue that's gonna arise. And occasionally I'll get that, well, why didn't you guys tell us this might happen? I didn't see it coming either, right? And no one else did either.

It's being able to, it's constant communication. It's being able to problem solve in real time, whatever that problem might be, and just being really real with the clients and saying, hey, this is new for us too, right?

Speaker 3 (23:23)

it sounds like you're pretty much a guide to some of these people. And then what do you extract from these people to even bring the options to them? Or like, how does that work exactly?

Speaker 1 (23:35)

So in our initial

meetings up front, one of the things that we ⁓ decided to do right away was we brought in our own CAD designers. And so we actually, we are a true custom builder from the location. a scattered site builder. So we'll build anywhere in Hardin County. And we will develop the floor plan with you through pictures and notes and floor plans that you've seen that you like. most of our clients go through that process. So during that process, I get a really good feel.

for who you are. Do you like every option under the sun and want to sort through those yourself? Or do you want me to give you three options and say, hey, here's your three options? Or do you just want me to make those decisions for you? Because I've had clients who say, I don't want to know how many options I have. Tell me what, here's what I want my house to look like. Make it happen, right? So you learn your client once again, but taking them through that initial design process, it tells you a lot. And then we cater every design meeting.

towards that. You know, I have clients who say, Rachel, here's what I want my house to look like or here's a home we sold, our team sold previously and I love everything about it. Can you make our house look like that? In which case, I just meet with them and I say, hey guys, here's two flooring options. Both of these are going to be in your budget and they're going to give you the outcome that you desire. What do you love? And they're like, ⁓ you're perfect at this. We would have been so overwhelmed. And then we do work with clients who have saved for

years. Like this is their dream home. This is finally coming to fruition and they want their hands on every decision. So you just get to kind of decide and we tailor their experience to that personality.

Speaker 2 (25:16)

Yeah, I would say, you know, last I'd say out of the last 20 clients we've had that have come in, I'd say only maybe two of them have have a plan that they're they're set on. Most most of our clients come in with, you know, we like this plan. We like this aspect of this plan, but we also like this aspect of this plan or we like the exterior views on this plan. And so we'll yeah, like Roger said, we start

Most of the time we start from scratch with them and design the entire home. I have my degree in ⁓ computer aided drafting and we have a great team of guys that I work with. I'm too busy, we'll bring them in to help basically design their entire home.

keep it in mind their budget, you know, at that time, usually at that initial meeting, they'll kind of give us an idea of what they're looking to spend. And then that gives Rachel a good idea of, if you're willing to spend this much, you know, that puts you in, let's just say, you you divide it up into categories, you know, one through five, you know, that puts you in about a three. She and her team can start kind of putting together some interior finishes, like you said, faucets, flooring. ⁓

exterior finishes, brick, know, hardy siding, vinyl siding, whatever that category puts the, you know, where they're at. And then we can kind of, before we even break ground, we can kind of let them know, you know, with this price, with this plan that we've designed, you know, here's a list of some finishes. A lot of times, even in our contract, we'll put in this type of faucet with this kind of, whether it be like a champagne gold or...

⁓ black or whatever. Rachel and her team are great about figuring out where they're at and then getting an assortment of materials together that will fit into that budget that will be presented to them when we get close to that stage.

Speaker 3 (27:23)

So I'd say it probably is pretty important for you to go to these different shows and just I mean I would say just nationwide like what are other people doing and you know what what you know, let's say Hardy board versus ⁓ Vinyl, know, if you're working with someone's budget, know, you're gonna point people towards something that says hey, this is gonna be a much better option Let's fast forward ten years down the road, know Vinyl is gonna be in this condition versus this with maybe just a small upgrade is gonna be in this condition so you choose but still like

there's a continued education to it on your guys side so that the advice you're giving people isn't 52 years old, it's actually up to date with the new technologies ⁓ or the new products that are coming out and being able to be like the most up-to-date guide. Would you say that's pretty true? I guess the question in that is really like, how important is it to continue the education in like today's...

Speaker 2 (28:12)

Yeah, I mean

I mean, it's ⁓ the construction, the home building industry is constantly evolving. As enhancements are made with technology and stuff like that, it is a constantly changing environment that you've got to stay up to date. ⁓ Even that starts with just,

the structure of the home. There's continuing education classes that me and my team have to attend all the time. Codes are changing. Same thing with Rachel and her design team. They've got to stay up to date. ⁓ If you don't, you'll end up becoming a builder that...

Speaker 1 (29:03)

And especially

for our niche because we want to be a custom homeowner who's built specifically off of referrals and sphere of influence. So, you know, for us, we're constantly trying to stay on top of that because we want, we don't just want to build, we don't want to just make money. We want to build homes that stand the test of time and speak for themselves and the quality of our work. So, you know, we're constantly looking, is this quality, is this material quality, high quality that's going to stand up?

you are we gonna have long-term issues? We offer a one-year warranty to every single client, but trust me, we're going back 10 years later and helping with small things to make repairs or whatever, because that's just part of our brand. That is who we are.

Speaker 3 (29:43)

We also said.

you've already defined your geographical location. So you have to live with these people. You have to run into them at restaurants. there is, you know, your sphere of influence is finite, even though people are always moving in, but you you have to protect that. So there's another switch topics a little bit, but you know, how are you protecting that? And also, you know, what are some ways that you are continuing that relationship? Yeah. there's, so there's also, you know, there's video, there's photos, there's

website, is word of mouth, there's all of this stuff, but how are you kind of protecting this reputation that Brandingham Builders already has in this community, which is, you know, they build one of the best custom homes in Elizabethtown. And you've already defined your area, so what are some ways that you're kind of protecting that?

Speaker 2 (30:32)

think for us, what we try to do is, like I said, by the time, from the very time we sit down with you, we want to build a relationship with you. ⁓ I know builders who I've heard, you know,

years down the road the client will come to them and they'll have a problem and it's you know your one year warranty's up go hire a handyman fix it. ⁓ We operate a little differently and it's not easy it can be a little bit frustrating at times but it's what we want to do we want to we want to go back and take care of that customer.

because I feel like that sometimes is the best advertisement. It's the best way to show your character and the way you conduct business is if you do take that three hours or four hours out of your day and you go out there and make sure that whatever they're dealing with, whatever issue it may be, even if it has nothing to do with us or what we did, it could be anything. It could be something that they did. We had a client that...

their daughter forgot and left the bathtub running and it overflowed and flooded the whole upstairs of their home. And it was, we were done, the year warranty was up, the homeowner called me freaking out. I loaded up six guys who ran out there. We pulled the carpet up for them. I brought some fans over there until they could get a remediation team in there to take care of it professionally. But I went out of my way to run out there and just help them out, because I knew they were in a panic mode and they were stressed out.

didn't know what to do. ⁓ I mean, it's just, the little small things like that, you can go and spend ⁓ thousands and thousands of dollars on a commercial and it can air on TV, but sometimes just going out your way for for an hour or two and going and helping a past client out can be, honestly, the best way to...

Speaker 1 (32:12)

Relationships

Speaker 2 (32:37)

to advertise, you know I'm saying? So we just try to do that. We try to back up our work. We try to prove to them that, this is a relationship that we have with you that we're going to take care of. You can count on us if you have a problem. And a lot of these clients that we've helped out and gone on our way to help on down the road have called us for a future project. I know we just built a house for a customer who dad built their house. The Greatest Company.

Speaker 1 (33:06)

when they call you and want to build again.

Speaker 2 (33:08)

Dad built them an awesome custom home 20 years ago and they were ready to downsize and they called us back and they were like we want you guys because over those over those 20 years they had called dad with some problems or some issues or and then we had even done a remodel on that house. We'd gone back and we'd taken care of them, made sure they got what they wanted on the remodel and then when it came time for them to downsize they called us and they wanted us to do it.

Speaker 1 (33:38)

We've we've diversified just a bit so one of the things that I've done over the past ten years is I got my real estate license and so I've established my real estate team here in Hardin County and so we sell we're among the top three real estate brokerages in e-town so we sell a lot of real estate so that helps with exposure we also started a property management company and so all of those companies they carry and

⁓ They carry forward the same brand that Branding Hemp Builders does. We're a part of the community. We give back in many ways. We market ⁓ our mission, vision, values in a very similar way and we try to carry ourselves across all platforms in that same manner. And so what it does is it retains clients. So we looked at our business and we wanted to basically create an infinity symbol.

that if you are in any way in the housing industry, whether it be from buying, selling, investing, on a property management side, remodels or new construction, you're here, you're home. And so it's so cool because the client that Mike's describing, we built for them back 20 or 30 years ago before I was old enough to be on the job site. And then we did a remodel for them.

We did their son and daughter-in-law's remodel. We built for them again, and now I'm working with their grandkid to buy their first home. Like, that is our success story, right? And so it's so cool what dad did 52 years ago. He created a company that had high values. It was built on character, it built on integrity. He didn't always make people happy.

but he always did right by everyone. And I think at the end of the day, that shines through, even if you can't make someone happy because the flooring is no longer available. If you're honest and transparent and you show them the numbers and you say, listen, this is what's happening and I'm so sorry, but we're here as a team, we're gonna work together to fix this. Then you start to build that and then we benefit from that reputation and now we get to carry that brand forward. I mean, he's built it.

Speaker 2 (35:55)

I mean a lot of times even on those initial meetings I'll tell clients, I was like hey, know, I'm not gonna sit here and BS you and tell you that we're not gonna run into some issues or some bumps in the road, but what I can guarantee you is we're gonna be here to work through those with you and keeping your best interest in mind. Whatever it may be, we're gonna be there for you. We're not just gonna be like.

Here it is, you figure it out, let us know when you're ready to write the check to whatever.

Speaker 3 (36:28)

I think it's

pretty obvious why people work with you. What would you say is the reason people do not work with you guys locally? Because obviously there's other home builders, choose other people over you. What do you think there's a reason that people do not work with you guys?

Speaker 1 (36:44)

We don't want to be the cheapest builder. you know, when ⁓ my dad built the first green build home ⁓ in Hardin County and he won an award for it, we're not necessarily tree huggers per se, but we do think that there's an environmentally smart way to build a home. We go the extra mile with spray foam insulation. We go the other extra mile with high efficiency, you know, heat and air. We want to build homes that are as low-main as possible.

So we do things like, we don't do wood decks majority of the time, we're doing concrete port decks. So we're not the cheapest option and we don't want to be. That's its own niche and there's people that do that really, really well and there's nothing wrong with it. We want to build high-end custom homes that are going to stand the test of time and are going to be just as good quality 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now. A good portion of that reason, I think people come into this and they

They assume that it's all apples to apples. So they price everyone and then they go, well, that's the cheapest option. But my dad told me one time, he said, everything has a cost. And if you're not paying the cost of that item, something is wrong. Like you're either not getting as much quality or you're not gonna get the same service. You're not gonna end up with being happy because there's a cost to that item, right? And so, you know, I think

when being judged against our peers, we're not the cheapest option and that's okay by us. We are, from my perspective, one of the most quality options with the highest level of customer service and communication, so.

Speaker 2 (38:26)

There is a lot, I mean there has been an influx of, you know, builders in this area because this is a community that is growing, growing very, very well and I think, you know, there has been a lot of people that have gotten into the industry. There's normal things as where I can sit down with you and like I said, I can tell you my life story and tell you how got into it, be transparent and, you know,

I'm not gonna, I could sit down with somebody like you and I might not like you. It just might not happen. I like you, but somebody else that comes in here might just not vibe with you. There's that aspect too. I know I have buddies that are in the building industry and they'll meet with a client, I'll meet with a client. And for some reason that client felt that my buddy that builds houses, maybe they got along better or they found a common ground that they hit.

Whatever. So I mean, there's that, but yeah, I think the main thing is nowadays with as expensive as the industry, the building industry has gotten with the price of materials and stuff, it's tough. You gotta pick somebody that, know, a lot of people are picking people that are the cheapest. And we try to do a good job of maintaining, kinda keeping that middle ground. We try to build a high quality home, but we try to keep the people's, you know, their budget in mind as well.

Speaker 3 (39:51)

How do you communicate that? That's a bit of a nuanced message. What do you think is the best way to communicate that with somebody?

Speaker 1 (39:59)

I think it starts right up front. So the very first thing that I asked them to be transparent with me about is their budget. And you know a lot of people want to hold that back right like why would I tell you what I want to spend. But when I got in the real estate industry. If you came to me and you said Rachel want to buy a house and so can go shopping without knowing what that number was everything starts and ends with that number right from what lot we purchase the way I designed the plan, I mean.

Just the lot in and of itself, it has HOA restrictions, it has a slope, it's covered in trees, it needs septic, it needs sewer. So I always start my meetings with explaining the reason why. I don't want them to just be blindsided by the fact that I need that budget number to build upon, but it is the foundation. If I know what you wanna spend, then I can say, okay guys, we're gonna guide you on ways to maximize that budget, right? So from.

The very first thing which is where to go for financing. Then we're gonna look at land and I'm gonna give you the do's and don'ts and the pros and the cons. We're not gonna tell you what decision to make, but I'm gonna give you all the information to make the best decision that you can make for your family, right? And then we start that design process and it's, you know, we can throw that wet room in there and your shower and tub can all be in the same enclosure. However, just so you know, the impact that financially is, because I gotta waterproof that whole space, or...

You know, we can do the same thing in essence, but utilize the money a little different.

Speaker 2 (41:31)

I can't tell you how many clients have come to us that have just, it's not their fault. They were trying to build a house. So the first thing they did was they went to an architect and they had this architect. They paid this architect sometimes $10,000 to design this home. It's an awesome looking home. And then they bring it to us and after we start talking to them, we find out what their budget's at. And I'm like, well, you know,

This plan is, don't think anybody in the state is gonna be able to get anywhere close to your budget if they build this plan. And they're just devastated, you know? And they spent months working with this architect, but the architect doesn't know the cost of materials. His profession, and they're very good at it, is designing a home. And so it's the same thing with, I don't, people's time is valuable. I don't wanna meet with somebody.

and go round and round and do the same thing that these past clients have done with an architect. I don't want to design them a home and put all these fancy stuff into it. And then we get to the table and all that, all right, here's your price tag. And they go, that's $200,000 more than we're ever going to spend. And I'm like, well, they just wasted all that time. And time is valuable to people, especially nowadays. It's a go, go, go environment. yeah, that's how we do things. And we found it to be the smart way to do it.

Speaker 3 (42:57)

What is the best way for people to, what is the best way? You you said like, okay, they went to an architect, then they came to you guys. What is the proper, most efficient way for someone to say, okay, I'm ready for this custom home build? What is the best process?

Speaker 1 (43:10)

have

to ask this question a lot. And I really feel after thinking long and hard about it, if you're anywhere in the country considering building, okay, the very first thing you do is you develop a relationship with a builder. And someone that you completely trust. Some states require licensing, others do not. So, State of Kentucky does not require any licensing for builders. So, if that's the case in your state, I would...

recommend that you go to a builders association because they hold those builders to a higher standard. They require continuing education.

Speaker 2 (43:46)

Like a registered builder program that has a registered builder program.

Speaker 1 (43:49)

Yeah, but but that builder is then gonna guide you through so cuz you know that budget is a land is B C is the plans and then I tell people in essence It's like we're building your house on paper before we ever break ground right your house is completely built on paper all of your Materials your contract notes when we get paid what the tile is what the plumbing is etc

It's all built on paper before we ever break ground. But you need someone that is also someone that is local and knows what's happening in the community, right? So we're highly connected to the developers. We're highly connected to the city officials. You could go buy this piece of property for way over what it would be valued at possibly because an agent doesn't always know. And then right next door goes a convenience store, Dollar General, right?

but you really wanted five acres, you wanted to be on a rural piece with, and there used to be a horse farm behind you, but now that horse farm sold to the developer that's putting up. So, having someone who's extremely well connected and established in that community and knows that it's in the know, they can then guide you, okay, that lot looks like a great deal, sure, it's super cheap and it's been there, it's in a well established subdivision, so we can make you the cheapest house in the neighborhood.

However, it's filled dirt and you can't build there for X amount of years, right? There's things that we're aware of because we've been here for so long that another, that they're just going out and buying on your own. You might not get that information. ⁓ So find yourself someone that you can trust and develop a relationship with them and then tell them your goal, right? Say, hey, I'm gonna go here. This is what my vision is. I want this home for approximately this price. I want this lifestyle.

and then let them guide you through all the things because it's a lot and it's full of landmines. ⁓ Working with a client, went out, the parents live in a subdivision and they wanted their daughter, when she gets married, to live in that same subdivision. So they saw a lot for sale, they went out, met with the agent, bought it. Not my team, not me. We'll come to find out there's a utility easement that runs down the.

dead center of this lot that they paid high dollar for. The builder who is, the developer who lives in that subdivision never said a word. The agent didn't know. The listing agent never said a word. Of course now they're in an ongoing battle. Attorney fees trying to back out of this deal and get this reversed, but they piled all this money into purchasing this gift for their daughter who will never really actually be able to build on that lot. So once again, going back to like,

Find someone that you trust, build a relationship with them, and then tell them your goal and they will guide you through the steps. So we have a rotating schedule where we don't take on multiple builds at one time. It's about a three month ⁓ phase where we get them in the ground. We pull permits, we get them started, we get them in the ground. We get them to framing and then we'll start another one. and we just, we start.

The initial process of bringing a client in usually takes me three months. And the reason is because most of them, from the beginning they say either they have a plan they can't afford and we've got to break that plan down and redo it, or they have a site that needs a lot of prep work. You know, we've got one we're getting ready to start and it needs a ton of fill dirt, so we'll be sitting on that for a bit. You know, or we're starting that design process, right? So when I initially meet with them, I just warn them upfront, hey, we got a couple weeks here where we're gonna be working together just to.

get all the contract notes done. And then once they have signed, then we start them in that queue and they just know, okay, you're gonna go in the ground, you know, at this. that every site is rotating. We don't have 10 of them being framed at the same time. They're moving through the process at a staggered rate. So we're rotating our contractor. Our hope is that our framers go from this one to this one, to this one, and they continue around. So that's in a perfect world, but.

And we don't like to spread ourselves too thin. Mike does a really great job of being president at every site consistently. there's a threshold where we're enjoying what we do and we're making a great living and we're paying all of our bills and then there's too much. And so we're just, we've kind of come up with a formula that is good for us and the way we move people through our pipeline. And that ebbs and flows. Good markets, bad markets. Sometimes, I mean,

You know, the housing crisis back in 2008, 2009, I mean, we adjusted our business model completely and we were doing remodels and we were doing things we never thought we would do. But we adjusted based on what we were faced with and we found a way to make it through and I think everybody's had those moments. So if you're a newer builder, just know you're not immune to it. There will be a market condition where you find yourself drowning.

and you've got to figure out a way to problem solve and come up with a solution. mean, you know, we keep our overhead really low ⁓ and, you know, we ensure that, you know, because we're a custom builder, we're not carrying financing for multiple people. So that helps when the market conditions soften. We're in a soft market right now here locally. I think that probably is actually across the country from what I understand. But, you know, it's not an ideal time.

necessarily to be a builder. You've got high building products, you've got high interest rates, you've got contractors are expensive, you know, there's a manpower shortage, and then you've got buyers who are a little nervous, right? There's a lot of administration things going on. And so it's not always the easiest, but you find them motivated. I think, you you continue to market yourself and there's always a client out there. You just have to find them and help them trust you and then get them to their goal.

Right? So we're staying consistent in these softer conditions. And then of course, when things are great and interest rates are 2%, I can't meet with them fast enough. So it's, you know, it's not, I don't want to paint it at this luxury. You know, it's just like every other industry. It has its highs and it has its lows. And we enjoy working together as a family. I think that makes it fun. I give them a lot of hell. So.

Speaker 2 (50:18)

No, but yeah, I think that, you know, I've witnessed, you know, the past 10, 12 years that there has been times where, you know, a builder has just, he has taken on, you know, 12 to 15 custom builds at a time. And unfortunately, I think if you talk to him right now, he would say that was the biggest mistake he's ever made. So my ultimate goal is to protect

our clients. if I meet with them and I'm upfront with them and I'm honest and say, hey, I'm working on putting two in the ground right now, that means I'm not going to try to squeeze you in here. I would love to, but it's just not smart for you and it's not smart for me because I'm trying to create a high quality home for you. And I know that if I'm trying to do too much,

Guess what? If you're going too fast, the quality is going to trickle down. We try to, like Rachel said, we try to space things out. And most of the time we find that clients appreciate that, you know, when it's all said and done. They appreciate that maybe it was a month or three weeks that they had to wait before we broke ground. But ultimately, by the time that project's done, that's not even going to matter to you. But what's going to matter is the

Speaker 1 (51:39)

that.

Speaker 2 (51:44)

quality of the home that you're gonna spend the next 10 to 15 to 30 years in. You what saying? So, yeah, I would say be leery of builders that just will just promise you to get started right away and you know that they've got five or six others going. You wanna make sure that you're a priority to that builder and that you're not just another build going on. You know what saying?

Speaker 3 (52:10)

We're going to wrap up here real soon, but what do you look for in subcontractors? It's kind of switching gears a little bit, but I'm sure you guys cycle through a lot of subcontractors. You specifically said you do a lot of stuff yourselves, but what is some advice you would give other home builders if they are looking for some of these A players?

Speaker 2 (52:30)

⁓ My advice would be...

Speaker 1 (52:32)

We're

probably different on this, so I'll let him answer.

Speaker 2 (52:35)

I'd say in like in the custom building world. I would say you need to surround yourself with subs who are ⁓ you know have the ability to I Wouldn't say I don't like to use roll with the punches, but I know be flexible ⁓ we've we have you know, we have painters a great painting crew and ⁓ the customer will will pick out all of their colors on every room and you know the after the

After it's painted, the homeowner will come in and it's just not at all what they thought it was gonna be and they'll want it changed. ⁓ you know, having a sub that's willing to, you know, there's always a fee associated with it, having a painter or any kind of sub that's willing to make that change. Just, you know, hey, I get it, you know, but here's what it's gonna cost and I'll say, okay.

I've got it approved, let's get it done." And they're willing to jump in there and make that change. in a way, you kind of want your subs to have the same mentality that you have as a builder. We're trying to create someone's dream home. there's going to be, they call it a dream home because every night you have a different dream of how it's going to look. So you want to have subs, surround yourself with subcontractors. Like I said, our framers are really great with that.

I can't tell you how many times we've framed something up and the homeowners come over and saw a window that was framed in and just, that's just not gonna work. Well, we gotta change, we gotta move this window. And he, when we have a framer that just jumps in there, you all right, let's do it. You know, we take the header out.

Speaker 1 (54:16)

I think it goes back to that, you know, because we are, part of this community and we really want subcontractors who also understand that we're part of this community and they are as well. And what I mean by that is, you know, a lot of them, they're on to the next job, right? The next job, the next job, the next job. But when it comes to our work, they have to slow down and they have to care a little bit more, right? And we demand that, you know, they do high quality work and we require them to, when the client says, wait, wait,

We'll come by, you know, it's two o'clock, we're gonna stop in after work and we'll make a decision on where we want that put. They're not, we're outta here, you know, we're packing up. They come back the next day and they put it where we said that the client wanted it, right? So they have to be willing to do life with us and do business with us. They have to roll with those punches and be flexible. It's not always about the cheapest price.

Speaker 2 (55:04)

And my advice to a builder is if when you find a sub like that make sure you take care of them because that's invaluable. that is I mean to have

We really try to take care of our framer because the framer, the framing is honestly, it's so important. And a lot of times changes are made and we have a guy that is willing to make those changes. So we try to take care of them. We try to make sure that at the end when he submits his final bill, I always look it over and I'm like, hey, you didn't charge me for move. I need to pay you for moving that wall because we decided that that wall wasn't going to work that. It was drawn on the plan. That's what you bid.

But you you just, gotta, you need to look out for your subs, you know, cause they're part of your team and they're an intricate part of your team.

Speaker 1 (55:50)

Interesting because at Christmas time, you know, we'll get a lot of suppliers and subcontractors that show up at our door thanking us with, you know, a ham or something at Christmas. But we are at their door because we would only be possible, we would only be able to do what we do and they make it possible for us. you know, it's like we're passing, like we're bringing them a ham as they bring us ham, right? We value them and they know that they're not.

They're not just somebody that's doing work for us. They're a member of our team.

Speaker 2 (56:20)

Yeah, you can sit, we can sit here and talk about, you know, we have this dinner, but that's nothing without those subs. I they're the ones that make it actually happen.

Speaker 3 (56:31)

And if they're at

that caliber, they're being poached by other people. ⁓ So like you said, you're trying to protect those people so that they're not.

Speaker 2 (56:39)

Yeah, you find, like I always say, you find a good sub, you need to take care.

Speaker 1 (56:42)

He's a great

HVAC guy and I'll hear all the time, oh he's so busy, he's covered up. I'll pull out my phone, I'll dial his number, he answers the first ring. And I think the difference there is that I go out of my way to develop that relationship with him. I ask him about his kids, I ask him about his grandkids. We have a friendship, it's not just a subcontractor relationship. So sure, he's extremely busy.

But he prioritizes our work and getting us our bids. Maybe over and above somebody else who needs him just as bad and is willing to pay him the same amount of money. But I think it dials back to that relationship.

Speaker 2 (57:21)

And

you know, the crazy thing is, you know, back in high school, I worked for my brother who had a company here. My brother had a company, and so he was a subcontractor for some local builders. And I went and I was working with him. And, you know, there was one builder who, when we got almost done with the home, he made sure to show up and take us to lunch. It wasn't a fancy lunch. It was a burger and fries, but he took us down there and he paid for us to eat lunch. And I remember

The crew, my brother's crew, and me as a high school kid, it made me, when I got back after lunch, and then when we went back a couple weeks later, it made me do even, work even harder for that builder. And it was a small little thing like that. It's a gesture. It's just the smallest little gesture like that. So yeah, mean, when you find some good subs, make sure you take care of them, do little small things for them. Holidays, make sure you do something for their family. ⁓

And that's what we try to do.

Speaker 1 (58:23)

those relationships are as important as client.

Speaker 3 (58:25)

Golden rule stuff. I this is real common sense. You know, treat people good, be honest. It's not a complicated business model.

Speaker 1 (58:35)

If you dial back to the basics, I think there's a lot of beauty in those and in a lot of aspects there's a lot of businesses that have forgotten those. So we're just good at being good to people.

Speaker 3 (58:46)

As we wrap up, the vision for Braiding Hand Builders in the future. What you've established, how you guys started, where you are now, how you take care of your people, what does the growth look like in the next 20, 30 years?

Speaker 2 (59:00)

For me, mean ultimately my goal would be to be you know one of the one of the top builders in in this area, you know quality ⁓

Speaker 1 (59:12)

Yeah, we

want to maintain who we are. And I don't see adjusting much. I do think as technology advances, think there's some fun ways that we can improve our client experience in that way. We've got some developments that we're working on. And so we're excited to do more of that in the future. And we're expanding our real estate and property management and those services to better serve our clients.

Speaker 2 (59:41)

Yeah, I mean, there's there's builders in this area that I've known since I was a little kid that started around the time dad did in this area. And, you know, there's not one person in this town that has anything negative to say about those builders. And they're they're known as, know, you know, the top builder or the top builders. They're in they're in they're in like a group of of of the best of the best of the best. And, you know, as much as I can sit here and tell you that, you know, we're we're there.

I don't want to have to tell you that. I want to conduct myself or our business in a way that it speaks for itself. I don't have to sit here and give my spiel to everybody. So that's our ultimate goal.

Speaker 1 (1:00:26)

I mean, of course, I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say I hope that in 30 years from now, you know, one of my sons, maybe both of my sons, know, Mike's got a daughter and a son, you know, you know, this 30 years from now, if you came back to interview us, maybe one of them would be sitting to our right or left, that they would, you know, enjoy this and see this as something that they wanted to continue forward, right? So.

Speaker 3 (1:00:49)

And on my side on a marketing aspect of it is I'm trying to ⁓ convey this to people, especially like in the Florida market. There's just an influx of new people that are coming. So yes, you can have this reputation, but someone's going to be new to the market. How are they able to get all of that 50 years of this information and reputation?

to these people immediately so that when they do come to the table, they do have that snapshot of what people say about these people and what they look and feel like. That's kind of my goal is what does that journey look like? And in the most basic way is good website, good video to just show people. Tell the story. Yeah, tell the story.

Nothing too elaborate, just give a really good foundation for your brand so that it is presented well. Because what I'm seeing, and I've seen this in other industries too, which is you can look one way online and it can be a totally different experience when you actually meet with that person. And you're just like, am I at the right place? I saw this one person and then I'm seeing this person and then ⁓ there's just too much of a difference there. disconnect. ⁓

Speaker 1 (1:02:03)

Yeah.

Speaker 3 (1:02:06)

What is the best way for people to ⁓ contact you guys, learn more about who you are, all that kind of stuff?

Speaker 1 (1:02:12)

Yeah, so obviously we have a website, so you can obviously find us at www.brantinghinhomes.com and then through social media, so Branting Him Builders on Facebook. And then of course, definitely follow Mike and I, because we kind of share our stories and our individual roles a lot more through our social media pages. If you type Branting Him in, you're going to find us.

but we're in Elizabetown, Kentucky. We'd love to connect with other builders out there. We have a lot of builders that we've connected with over the years that we have great relationships with. And it's a camaraderie that only those that are in the industry can really relate to and understand. And so we don't view those relationships as competition, we view them as collaboration. So we hope we make you better in some aspect, but we also wanna learn and grow from you. So we're excited to listen to the additional podcasts that are coming.

I think we can always learn and grow. So yeah, make sure to look us up and at us. We'd love to connect with you all.