Meet Clayton And Christian Hughes

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my name is Clayton Hughes. The company is New Urban Homes and we serve homeowners in the Northern Virginia, DC area. Awesome. And my name is Christian Hughes, and we're brothers. Awesome. I can't wait to hear a little bit more. So could

From Childhood Dream To First Jobs

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you take us back t- through your journey and what inspired you to start New Urban Homes? Well, so we started eight years ago, and the, genesis of that was me as a kid wanting to be a builder. That was asked when I was in kindergarten, and at the time, I didn't know what that meant, but knew that I, I really loved building and seeing things get put together. Been a long and windy and sometimes bumpy road through the trades to get to the point, uh, eight years ago to, to start New Urban Homes and kinda set the experience of building a company and building houses from the beginning. And that's kind of the what started it, of wanting to kinda set the tone of the level of expertise and the level of details, yeah. You know, eight years ago we posted an ad, uh, not even an ad actually, it was a, just a post on Nextdoor, you know, the neighborhood group. "Hey, we're, we're skilled carpenters, skilled, handymen and, you know, hire us." And that started from really small jobs working. You know, we would, we'd paint a room or renovate, even re-grout tile, and then eventually that led to renovating a bathroom then, and then eventually a basement, and then we worked our way up to, you know, whole home renovations. And since then, you know, we've been growing each year and, you know, now we, we primarily build new custom homes, and we do home additions and renovations, but we still do kitchens and, and smaller jobs as well. And especially for for our exist- our former clients we kind of like to think of it like if you've hired us before, you know, you supported our business. So, you know, even as we grow and take on bigger jobs, we still will do smaller jobs for our existing clients 'cause it's kind of like they're part of our family. Yeah. If that makes sense. And then Clayton, you said you knew since kindergarten that you kind of wanted to be a builder. Christian, was it kind of the same for you? Were you did you have that in mind when you were younger? When I was younger, I think I was more in the group of, I like-- I have a lot of interests and passions, and I wasn't sure how it would all come together in a career. And when I went to college, I studied historic preservation and urban studies, so I always had a, an interest in the physical environment and history and architecture. And so coming out of school, getting into that, that field definitely felt good. And, speaking, I speak Spanish, so that, that's the language of construction here, you know, in this area and in the US, to be honest. And so I always loved, you know, communicating with people from the top down in every, you know, every layer of the industry. And so studying that, I always thought I would be coming back into construction or development and, bringing my skills and pairing them with Clayton's is kind of a dream come true to be able to work together and have a business together. Yeah.

How Two Skill Sets Divide Roles

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So you both have different, um, experiences and different backgrounds. How have those experience kind of shaped the way that you guys approach building homes and running the company together? That's a good question. Yeah. I got m- my start, like my first job in the industry real job was as a carpenter's apprentice. So I started there. I worked my way up from hand digging foundations, setting center blocks, framing walls, cutting a hip rafter for a roof. And from there, trim carpentry, and then went into like the project management side and then the supervision side. And so my probably best trait in my background is just the construction side of like seeing the, seeing the things that a lot of other people might not see. And the, the business side is you have to learn that if you wanna start a company. But that's I think my probably strongest suit, like the things I can see and being able to see through the process and the schedule and different layers of construction and, you know, a large project can be really complex. So you have to be you really do have to be creative. Yeah. Yeah. And when you guys work on projects together, do, do each of you take on like different pieces or do you kind of work on everything together? You know, we, we do have roles and responsibilities. So, Clayton takes the pre-construction aspect, the lead on that, so the planning and the estimating and getting the job off the ground, if you will. And getting through the major structural components of the home, like the setting of the concrete and getting up to framing. And then I take over coordinating 'cause from that point there on, there's a lot more coordination across many more trades. And so Clayton's background of actually learning how to build in the field s- uh, informs his knowledge to be able to make sure everything is square and plumb and every- from the foundation up so that when I take over, I can coordinate the rest of the trades. And so that's kinda how we, how we organize our roles and responsibilities. Awesome. And

Why Referrals Drive Their Growth

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so your business has grown almost entirely through word-of-mouth referrals. What do you think has made clients want to share their experience with others and continue sending people your way? You know, it's, it's a product of doing good work and, and doing what we say, um, and also a product of, we need to be better at marketing. So, we're working on that. But ultimately, you know, contractors get a bad rap. Uh, it's one of the least trusted professions in the US, to be honest. And so everyone's heard the horror stories. We, we hear this all the time, to be honest. Um, and so when we tell people a budget and a timeline, and we actually deliver on that people are, like, really surprised. And they're just really grateful that, you know, we're, we're honest with them and, and, we're-- w-we work in earnest, so we really value the opportunity to work for families and, and build their homes or renovate their homes, and we, we think it's a great responsibility. And so we don't take that lightly. And yeah, I mean, that's just been the lifeblood of our business, our reputation, and our referrals. So, uh, without that and without that mentality, we wouldn't be here today. Yeah. Especially 'cause I feel like building or, like, being in a home- in someone's home or building someone's home is so much trust. How do you guys build those strong re-relationships with your clients throughout the building process? I think one of our-- the, the main r- the main way we gain trust and also one of our best assets is communication. Mm-hmm. Communicating. We, we know weekly updates if there's a problem. One thing I'll never remit forget, a former client told me, he was like, "One thing I learned in my career is, like, if there's bad news, you tell them quickly. Bad news fast." Yeah. And so if there's ever any problem, which inevitably in construction, it's the whole art of a long project. It's like complex issues and figuring out problems and solving them communicate. If something-- If a client asks us a question about something that's going on on the project, to us, that tells us we're not communicating enough. They shouldn't have to ask. Already should've been updated. And I think being a small team, um, we work directly with people, so we're, we're heavily involved in the day-to-day. So I think that leads to the trust. We're not passing it on once we've, signed a contract with somebody, Yeah. And we, we have longstanding relationships with our trade partners, and we've-- One of our core values is just respect, respecting everyone. The, the homeowner, the boss, right? Or the person, you know, sweeping the floors. Everyone commands the same amount of respect. And so we-- that's the way we carry ourselves, and we feel like, you know, that, that earns the respect out of our clients as well. Absolutely.

How To Choose The Right Builder

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And when someone is considering building a home, what are some things they c- they should consider, and how can they find the right builder for them? That's a good question. I just wrote a blog post about that. You know, I think a lot of the main questions that someone interviewing a builder is gonna have is, you know, what's your price? How long is it gonna take? Those are the two number one-- The number, number one and number two questions in commercial construction with investors. But when it's your home, there's an emotional attachment. You know, you're gonna be working, you know, you might be coming by once the job's done, and they're living there, and you're in their home. Um, so it's a very sensitive issue, and there's a lot of, you know, emotional attachment. So it's more than just that, right? What's-- Who's gonna be running the project? So when you're working with a bigger company, of course, the person that's selling you the job isn't the person that's actually building your home. And so is the person that's gonna be there every day, how experienced are they? How long have they been working for the company? Asking questions about, what is your budget? And, and if something comes up, what's-- how are you gonna deal with that? How are you gonna solve problems? Yeah, I- you'll have to check out the blog post that I wrote- Yeah it's the top 10 questions to ask your builder. And when things go wrong, how are you gonna solve them? References is a big one. Yeah, absolutely. Mm-hmm. Um, we always offer them. And part of our word-of-mouth, we have, like, a lot of clients that, that were really happy and have offered, and we've taken up on, like, walking a potential client through their home or, a phone call, you know, we-- or their email. Um, but I think if you're going to hire a builder, it's a really expensive decision you're making. Mm-hmm. And, like, talking to former clients, seeing a project that's under construction even if you don't know that how a pipe looks, but a clean job site I think those are, are, are really important rather than just taking someone's word. Yeah. Um, 'cause a big part of industry is, like, setting expectations. If you were to do the same project 100 times, some smaller percentage would be a nightmare. A much larger percentage would be a client would end up unhappy because expectations were different- Right from what they were paying for and what they thought they were gonna get. And then on the builder side, it's like what your number was and what you were proposing to provide. Mm-hmm. And a lot of times, that disconnect can lead to disappointed people. Yeah. So making sure you're on the same page.

Pre-Construction Planning To Match Budget

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And then how might the process look like when, um, someone reaches out to you guys? Uh, so we do a con- pre-construction side of things before we sign a build contract. And that part of it is we, um, we're heavily in collaboration with, like, architects and designers. Mm-hmm. And we work with the client on the front end, um, establishing their budget through the design phase, make sure that whatever we're drawing and planning matches their budget along with their allowances, and make sure we're tracking up until we get a full s- set of finalized plans and go into permitting. And, you know, we have architects we love working with, but we, um, we're trying to drop the, uh, old stereotype of the gruff old builder that, "You do it my way or else." So we're heavily collaborative. Mm-hmm. Try to leave where you go through the door. Kind of one of our policies, best idea wins the room. So we try to just, you know, advocate on the side of the client, uh, to make sure we stay within budget and design the house they want. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and that, the pre-construction agreement that we, we like to work with clients early on to help assemble the team and help guide them with real data about how much things cost along the way so that when they get their final set of plans and they're ready to build, they're not gonna do a backflip when they give their plans to the builder and it's, you know, $300,000 over their budget. Mm-hmm. Um, and so unfortunately, we've seen that happen in the past of, we get plans come across our desk and say we're one of three builders. We provide our number, and all three builders' numbers are much higher than their budget, and they never end up building the project. It's the last thing we wanna tell people is, "Hey, I'm sorry, but, you know, your budget doesn't match your plan." And so that's why we like to, you know, have a collaborative approach early on and, and try to, you know, be honest and earnest about, our pricing and everything so that we can match their project and get it, get it built for them. Absolutely. And is there

Listening Well Without Losing Standards

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anything that you guys value, like anything that you put first when working with your clients? I'd say just listening. Listening to what's most important to them. Mm-hmm. 'Cause everyone's different, and it's your home, you know? Yeah. It's, like, such a personal investment. And so everyone has different wants and needs, and so really listening in that first meeting and early on and coming up with a plan that-- and an approach to the project that matches their needs. You know, there's-- We work on different, a lot of different neighborhoods and price points and budgets, and no one budget is more important than the other. No one client is more important, you know, in terms of someone that wants super high-end finishes- Mm-hmm and, you know, really, really nice finishes and other ones that are more budget-friendly. And just being able to listen and be receptive and, and not, you know, not pushing our opinions on them too much. There's, of course, some things we won't back down on. Just, you know, building things right behind the walls and, and the integrity of the building. And we, you know, installing systems like waterproofing and, framing packages, things, structural components that are really important. But when it comes to the finishes and the things on the walls, you know, we're super receptive to what, what people want and yeah. Yeah. And then kinda staying on the topic of that collaborative effort, how do you guys balance capturing your client's vision versus things that might, like, your- in your opinion, might be better for, you know, the specific house that you're building? Well, uh, we always share our, we obviously are very open to sharing our opinions, but I think on our end, it's like we want them to get their vision. Mm-hmm. But where we come in, it's like sometimes your vision and your budget might not align, and then kind of molding the, mending those two- Yeah where maybe there's some things you're willing to sacrifice, some things you're not, in order to, to get the project up, off o- up off the ground. Mm-hmm. And what are some things that they shouldn't sacrifice? Well,

Nonnegotiables Behind The Walls

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we don't compromise when it comes to the quality of the build. So, if there's, like, a cheaper way to waterproof a bathroom shower, hire somebody else. If you don't want dimpled board waterproofing, not to get too technical, great, hire somebody else. We're not the right fit. Had a sales call yesterday with a, a woman that wanted to flip a house in, uh, Clover Park, and I told her, I was like, "To be honest, like, we're not the right fit to flip your house." Like, we-- Not that anything wrong with that, but, um, just quality of the build, we don't compromise on. Yeah. Yeah. Selection, size of the house, how many bathrooms, build a house, don't finish the basement, all day long. Um, but we don't cheap out on the quality 'cause we warranty it and stand behind it. And at the end of the day, we're ha- hanging our hat on that, so. Yeah, at the end of the day, you know, we, we warranty all our builds and all our products, and we're there to fix things when things go wrong. So, if we want to cheap out on things behind the walls, ultimately we're gonna have to stand behind that, and so we, we take, we don't take that lightly, you know? Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely.

Growth Plans And Where To Find Them

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And then as you look towards the next chapter, what does growth look like for you, and what are you most excited to build together? Um, we're leaning more into our custom home projects these days, so really excited to grow that aspect of our business. And, renovations have been the lifeblood of our business for the past five-ish, from the genesis of the company to year five or six, and we started leaning more into custom homes. And so we're just excited to grow the business and grow our team to be able to do more projects and, you know, build more really high-quality homes to add value to, to neighborhoods and communities in our area. So, and for someone who is considering building a custom home and would like to know what the experience looks like with New Urban Homes, what would you want them to know before starting that conversation? Well, I would say before we schedule a discovery call where we go over goals, budget, timeline, on our website, we're pretty open book. We have a lot of information talking about our process just in the industry, the local industry, municipalities. Um, a lot of, like, really good information that gives you background not only on us, but our company and how it works. So when you do call us and, and, and talk to us, um, there- there's some baseline. Yeah. Yeah. During that discovery call, we, we talk, we, you know, like I said, we listen, we listen to your goals and, and, you know, what type of project you're working on. And you know, normally we're, we're all ears to hopefully be able to help you out on that project. And after that discovery call, we'll, we'll do a meeting either at, if you have a, a house you're working on or a lot, we'll happily meet you there and, and talk about what the next steps are, which, may be a, a pre-construction agreement. Or if you're super early on in the process, we can help assemble the team and, and guide you through with real-time pricing so that, like I said, you get to that line in the sand where you're ready to build and, and your budget aligns your project. Or maybe you already have plans, you already have an architect, and maybe that looks like us, you know, providing a price that you know, a proposal to work on your project. Yeah. Awesome. And then as we wrap up, actually, where can people find and connect with you guys? All right. So our, our website is, you know, the, is, uh, ground zero. That's where we have, everything's connected through the website. So we have a blog on there. We have an Our Process page, FAQs, how we price, behind the walls. So really try to put all our information on the website. But from there, we're on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, uh, YouTube, and, you know, we'll be on the next one when it comes out. Awesome. So, you know, we're young, so we're- we're always adapting to technology. Yeah. Uh, it's one of our strengths. So, where you can find us, we're there. Awesome. And then as we wrap up, is there anything that you'd like to add that we haven't touched on today? What

A Message For Young People In Trades

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do you think, Clayton? I think, uh, g- growing up in the-- or like getting my start in the trades, I find it like really heartwarming that nowadays you hear a lot of like younger people that like wanna go into the trades. Mm-hmm. And, uh, my hope when I started, I wish there was like infrastructure and programs locally to like help guide people in the industry. 'Cause it would've made like my journey, which w- wasn't easy and like wouldn't w- be one I would recommend to the faint of heart to get to where I am. I think it can be a lot easier if there was infrastructure. So I, I think that's just really exciting for our industry like the, the younger generation embracing it, yeah, and if you're younger and you're listening to this, reach out. Like we're, There were people that helped us through the years in, in providing guidance and being mentors, and so if you're young and-- younger and you're listening to this, and you're interested in getting in the industry, don't hesitate to reach out. You can find our phone number, email on the website, social media. Send us a message. Happy to walk you s- walk you through a project, see how we can help you up through the process of getting into the industry. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Clayton and Christian, for joining me on "The Alloman Show" today and sharing your story with us. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you very much.