Right Start by Stellan Eoin Builders
Welcome to the 'Right Start' podcast, where we dive deep into the essentials of home building and remodeling. Hosted by Drew Powell and Josh Hendrick from Stellan Eoin Builders, this podcast offers expert advice, insights, and stories to help you navigate the complex world of construction with confidence. Whether you’re laying the foundation for a new home or undertaking a major renovation, join us for guidance on making informed decisions that ensure your project starts—and finishes—right.
Right Start by Stellan Eoin Builders
What is "Right Start"?
Join us at Steadfast Coffee in Nashville, where we're brewing up the perfect blend of expert advice and personal stories to kickstart your home-building adventure. Have you ever wondered what makes a construction project truly successful? Discover how assembling the right team and understanding the core motivations behind your project can lead to satisfaction and success. With a bit of light-hearted banter and insights into our own lives—like Josh's fondness for Bluey and family life with Emmy and Millie—we promise to keep you entertained while sharing valuable industry wisdom.
Embark on a journey with us through the intricate pre-construction process, where we unravel the mysteries of zoning, permits, and more. Our "Right Start" process is all about fostering trust and setting a solid foundation before breaking ground. We'll tackle common misconceptions and hurdles with refreshing transparency, ensuring you're equipped with the knowledge to navigate your own building journey. As we wrap up, remember to subscribe for more stories and tips from Stellan Eoin Builders, and let us help you turn your dream home into a reality. Thank you for tuning in, and until next time, keep building smart and right!
well, hey, everyone, welcome to right start the podcast that helps turn your home building dreams into reality. I'm drew powell, the chief marketing officer at stalinowen builders and I'm josh hendrick, chief operating officer.
Speaker 2:Together, we're here to guide you through an exciting journey of building or remodeling your home. Each episode will bring you expert insights, practical advice and the latest trends to ensure your project starts right and finishes strong.
Speaker 1:So, whether you're laying the first foundation block or putting on the final touches, we've got you covered. So let's dive into today's topic and make sure your project gets off to the right start. Well, josh Hi, here we are. Here we are Right. Start Podcast, part two.
Speaker 2:I was wondering if you were going to bring this up on the.
Speaker 1:So we may have a little technical difficulties on the first episode. So this is episode one. Yeah, part two, episode one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the episode one was episode one canine. Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, man, I'm excited about this podcast. How are you feeling? We're here at steadfast coffee oh shout out to mark jones, the owner of this great establishment here in in nashville, and uh, you're a coffee guy yeah, so I've been coming to steadfast for a while now.
Speaker 2:Mark recently bought this and has already made great improvements yeah, even his staff.
Speaker 1:Today I was asking how it was going, he wasn't here and I asked and they were like man, it's really, it's, it's taking an upturn, and so thanks to mark for letting us use his space his son henry, and and my son aj get to play sports together.
Speaker 2:They go in the same grade.
Speaker 1:So, and we love coffee at stella big coffee guys, absolutely. Um, you're more of a connoisseur than I am, though I'm very well caffeinated. What's your line about? You've got a line about coffee that I love. He says which one?
Speaker 2:I have a lot of lines. You've got more than the most. I did make a joke to my senior project manager and I said I'm like coffee. I'm bitter at first, but once you get to know me you can't live without me.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's not the one I was thinking of there's one about good coffee and bad coffee like you can tolerate bad coffee, but you oh yeah, no, I can tolerate bad coffee, but I'll go out of my way for good coffee out of your way for good coffee, so this is definitely worth going out of your way, yeah steph was great.
Speaker 1:I actually, like you got a little like, uh, shadowy like you're, you're kind of glowing, you're glistening like, like uh edward cullen and twilight like the vampire. What is that? Twilight, the greatest trilogy of all. Actually, it's more than trilogy. There's like six episodes. You haven't seen twilight? No, with the vampires and the no, you're gonna go home and look it up and you're gonna think so much less of me that I brought.
Speaker 2:I was a harry potter nerd, so I've read all the books and did all this stuff.
Speaker 1:So most people would say that they're not even the same universe. Twilight is kind of definitely cheesy compared to harry potter my wife loves harry potter too. Yeah, so we get to. We get to co-host this podcast. Absolutely, there'll probably be a lot of nonsense like we just opened up with, because that's just how we, how we like to roll um, but we want it to be really helpful for anyone looking to enter into a building project yes, anyone looking to do a renovation to start, it's called the Right Start because we actually have a process at Stellanoa called the Right Start Process.
Speaker 1:So we're going to host this together. But before we jump into, I mean we've got so many great episodes planned, we've got so many guests that we want to have on. This is going to be a great podcast.
Speaker 2:But I thought we'd share a little bit about who we are if we're going to be hosting this thing and you know talking every week. So brag on your family a little bit. Man tell us about, uh, okay, well, I am josh hendrick, I'm the uh coo here at stalin own builders and my wife is awesome, her name's emmy and she, uh, she's the mother of my amazing little, now four-year-old yeah millie turned four saturday.
Speaker 2:It's going by fast, yeah we went and, uh, we went to the uh, bluey's big play at t-pack and it was wonderful, it was awesome yeah, see we're raising kids in different generations.
Speaker 1:Because he was like bluey and I was like my youngest is 11 now, so I'm kind of out of that world. I'm kind of feel like I'm missing out. He said it's a good show you should try it.
Speaker 2:Even your 11 year old might like bluey she may still be watching it.
Speaker 1:I don't know, I'll watch it yeah, you told me you said she fell asleep and you stayed.
Speaker 2:What stayed up watching it oh yeah, absolutely no shame in that, that's great. Can't tell you how many episodes I've even cried at.
Speaker 1:I mean it hits you in the feels, picturing you laying in bed there by yourself at night watching bluey and tears running down your I mean it hits you in the feels, it's real, it's some real parenting. What are some things that you guys do for fun as a family?
Speaker 2:so, uh, work, that's uh, that's what I, that's a lot of my fun, anything millie related um, we love she loves uh going to the park, um, uh, the plays and stuff like that, and so, um, you know, it's getting into the fall, so, yeah, we're basic white people, so we'll pumpkin patches and fall festivals and trunk or tree, yeah. Oh, no, no, just her. Oh yeah, I does.
Speaker 1:I can't do it.
Speaker 2:No, well, not purist, I just. You know, I can spend $5 for a cup of coffee, but you know, when it gets to eight or nine, it's that's the premium that I'm just not enjoying. Oh man, yeah. Oh man, yeah, pumpkin spice can get there. That's funny. So, um, yeah, but yeah, amy is a complete basic white girl like drives a white forerunner has two pairs of hugs um pumpkin spice everything. She went to the eras tour I mean it just goes on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it goes, checks all the boxes yeah, but it's really good for me because, uh, if I mess up, I know what I need to buy her. Yeah, I'll just go buy another pair of hugs, or taylor swift tickets or something like you know I've got always works. Yeah, endless get out jail free cards.
Speaker 1:That's awesome yeah, yeah so and I get to serve as in marketing here at stellan owen and um yeah, similar to you man, we um family these days is kind of everything you know our family is very into sports and just being together. My wife and I've been married almost it's just over 23 years now which is, which is wild.
Speaker 1:And uh, our oldest is a junior and and uh, down at southeastern and in florida in college and then we got one here in belmont, stayed local, which is great. Just got to spend some time with her today on campus and that was really fun. Yeah, um, she's a freshman there. And then 14 year old boy eighth grade and then 11 year old girl in sixth grade and it's really fun. She's a freshman there. And then 14-year-old boy 8th grade and then 11-year-old girl in 6th grade and it's a fun season man, similar to you. It's like as much time as we can spend together as family and really it kind of bleeds into our core values as a company.
Speaker 1:Honestly, and John, our CEO and founder, he's big on family, he's big on relationship and kind of. The reason why we wanted to do this podcast and I really want to pitch this over to you and have you speak on it is because we're a relational company and we do a lot of custom work and part of that is getting to know people's stories, and a tagline I think that you came up with that I think is so powerful for our company is we build around your. Why we're going to talk about that in the next episode, a little bit more about who stellan owen is, but talk a little bit more specifically about why did why podcast? Why did you want to do this right?
Speaker 2:start podcast um, so the big thing about podcast is it's so easy to relay a lot of information over time and I think the right start specifically that area, so right start is we are exploring the complexities from the idea of a project all the way through permit. So there's so much that happens that really sets up your project to fail or succeed during that time, and a lot of people will go through that whole experience hire their contractor right before the build, right, well, that leads to like more change orders and that leads to a lot of, just a lot of different things where you know you're kind of having to look through the whole planning process again and say, ok, well, now that the contractors involved like here's X, y and Z, you know, and so what we're trying to do is kind of reverse that and go, ok, help, let's, let's get the contractor involved early, you know, so we have a complete service and let's get now. Let's like start selecting the architect, the designer, the engineers and everything and build this, because I mean I can help the architect say, hey, if you move this wall, it could cause, you know, we save the client x amount of dollars or, um, you know, helping conceptualize some of the like mechanics behind the build, right, yeah, um, and what you do is you end up with a team, you know. So you have a team based around your designer, your architect, your engineer and your builder, and we all have one goal in mind, and our goal is to give you the best project that you can ever imagine. And we, when I say we, build around your.
Speaker 2:Why what we're doing is everyone has a reason they're doing something. Everyone has a reason they're doing something. Everyone has a reason that they're going to have a new kitchen, that they're building the addition, or, you know, they're building a new home. So what we want to do is understand that core, that core why, that core concept, and keep that forefront in the whole project. You know, because the further we get away from that, the less satisfied you're going to be with a project once we're done yeah, yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1:Well, I didn't realize, because I'm kind of the non-construction voice of the podcast, right, I don't have a background in this whereas you and john and others, you know, you guys have spent, you know, a couple decades now in this space, right, I, I just had no idea how much goes into a project before it starts, like you know, and working with you guys recently, you know, just realizing how overwhelming it could be to start a project and deal with the codes and all the process, to get all the applications filed just before you begin, before you start, and I think it can be very overwhelming, very daunting for someone going into this space.
Speaker 1:And so that's why I love that we've created this Right start process, right, so, like people can, can really come to us first. I mean, ultimately we'll kind of put all our cards on the table. The goal is we'd love for them to hire us for the project, but even if they don't, they can have a contract just for the right start process to walk them through all the pre-construction, absolutely, and so to walk them through all the pre-construction stuff and we're going to talk about that on this podcast.
Speaker 1:but go ahead.
Speaker 2:Oh no, I was just going to say the way we specifically structure that contract is so we start with the idea of a project and then I get an estimate based on every person that needs to be involved so your architect, your engineer, your soil scientist, designer and then once we have all that information of what it's going to cost you your architect, your engineer, your soil scientist, designer and then once we have all that information of what it's going to cost you to get all the paperwork and get all the concept and get all that planning, we get you under contract for that, and so these are all working documents that you're going to need to build your home. So in our right start contract, that service, you're only contractually obligated to use us during that process.
Speaker 2:Got it Okay, so you're not contractually obligated to use us for the like for the actual bill process. I had a joke that it's kind of like in a moose boosh, like you get to taste before you get to spend the money.
Speaker 1:Right, so you get a little try before you buy.
Speaker 2:So, um, you know, and our, our goal is to is people, right, this company, our heart is people, but we're hoping that we can prove to you that through this process, through the RightStar process, that you know we're the contractor you can trust to do the actual build. Yeah and so, and the only way to really build trust with a lot of clients is by saying you're going to do a certain amount of work and then doing that and giving them the results right.
Speaker 2:A lot of communication and a lot of transparency, and what that does is it builds trust over time. So our hope is that all that trust is built before we actually break ground yeah, what are some of the common challenges and misconceptions that people have?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what are some of the common challenges and misconceptions that people have and you've talked about already a little bit, but go a little deeper into that before starting a project of really any scale. What are some things that people bump up against that they might not know that it's part of the process.
Speaker 2:So lot size. We had a client that had three acres in Metro and in their mind they could just build whatever they wanted, right, um, which is great. Like, three acres is a lot to work with, but it was zoned to where it could have one permanent living structure, okay. So you know, we couldn't even do a dad do or anything else. Like a dad do is in a detached accessory dwelling unit, okay, um, so we couldn't build another separate structure. So, um, we had to attach everything.
Speaker 2:So, um, or sometimes you have a smaller lot but you can actually have more units on it, based how it's zoned, um, so a lot of zoning, um, questions, a lot sizes, um, there's all kinds of confusion around septic systems and soil Once you get into the surrounding areas. Some areas take a lot. They're a lot quicker to get your permits, some areas take a lot longer, and what you're allowed to have is based off of bedroom, not bathroom. So you know there's all kinds of like, and then you know what's all kinds of like, um, and then, uh, you know what we can build. So you're obviously your finished.
Speaker 2:Quality and size depends on, like, your budget. Yeah, um, but there's so many more elements that go to into it that you know, sometimes I can build you a lot bigger of a house if we have simple fixtures for a certain budget where I can build a smaller. The veritables can move so much left and right and it's all client dependent. And since we do all custom construction, we're just really good at saying, okay, what is it that you want? Why do you want to do this? What is your family needs? What is it your personal needs are? And then let's start moving all of these variables around to where you get exactly what you want.
Speaker 1:So what is your hope for this podcast as far as what you want people to experience, how you want it to help people, like when you think about the kinds of episodes we're going to do if people want to listen to this. What do you hope that we are able to serve people with with this podcast?
Speaker 2:So my hope is that we're providing expert advice in an area that's not very well explored. You know, there, in an area that's not very well explored, there's a lot of podcasts out there that are solely based around building a structure during a lot of the building phase of things. There's not a lot that explores the pre-construction phase. It's the least fun phase. For a lot of people. It can be the fun phase. It's where you get to plan and dream and, um, start like conceptualizing like oh man, like wouldn't this element be cool or wouldn't this here? You know stuff like that, so like it can be a really fun phase. Um, but also it's the phase least talked about.
Speaker 2:So, you know, you and I we just had a heart to help people and we want to inform them on. You know, hey, here's some, here's a list of experts. Um, we're going to be bringing in designers and architects and realtors and all kinds of experts in this field, yeah, and we're going to just talk, to talk through you know what they're an expert in. Yeah, you know, like, um, we're going to bring an architect on and we're going to ask them like, hey, what are your? Um, what questions do you really want answered before a client gets to you.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Can that save a whole meetings worth of. You know you usually meet with a client and you get all those expectations. If they came to you with a list of answers, how well could that expedite the whole process. Right, right, and then you know, for I'm going to bring a soil scientist on, someone that does, like you know, perking, and just explain what do different municipalities require? You know Tennessee's got a lot of rock. You know Mount Juliet, especially, has a lot of rock. So what are different issues that you've encountered around the certain areas and people? What should you be looking out for? At what point should you try to bring in a soil scientist before, even under contract, is there a need for that? Because what I don't want is I don't want any clients wasting time or money anywhere.
Speaker 2:So if it's a lot that we can't build on, or if it's, if it won't perk for enough bedrooms for your family if you're, you know, if you have five kids and it only perked for three bedrooms, you know that may not be what's best for you and your family. So we want to bring on a panel of experts, um, one at a time, and just talk about different areas in pre-construction. That is just unexplored um on the on the podcast platforms. Yeah, um, then there's going to be plenty of episodes with you and I have just talking through like um difference. You know kind of feelings around situations.
Speaker 2:Um, you know we'll have a financial advisor on um, but like you know the feelings around situations, um, you know we'll have a financial advisor on um. But like you know the economy's ever-changing um, you know we have political elements and I'm not going to get political on this. You know lord knows I'm not going to get political. But um the, you know we're going to be talking through some of the economic um factors that we're feeling in the economy right now, or uh, okay, we're going to talk about some of the economic factors that we're feeling in the economy right now.
Speaker 2:We're going to talk about some of the economic factors that we're feeling in this area and just talk about is there a good time? Is there a bad time? Is there what's out there? I can bring a real estate agent on and be like, hey, what is out there, right?
Speaker 1:now.
Speaker 2:So just providing information to people is really our goal so last question for you.
Speaker 1:So what? And this is a big one, okay, I'm gonna hopefully it won't stump you, but I'm sure you've got a good answer for it. What, what would you say, is the most important aspect right now? Someone getting ready to build a home, um, and they came up to you, said, hey, what is the number one thing I need to be thinking about right now before I start into this? Is there one, or is it a multitude of ones, or um?
Speaker 2:I would say the number one thing is what does this like? What need does this fulfill? Okay, so, if you're wanting to build a home, is it because you have a growing family? Is it because you can't find what you need? Um, do you have a very specific taste and you just building is going to be the best way to get it.
Speaker 1:So you're starting more philosophical.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, because if it doesn't make sense for you personally, I'm not going to try to talk you into it. I'm not here to do a custom build for every person in Nashville. I want, want to, you know, help out the clients that really want help and make sure that everyone that approaches us to build a home or to do a renovation, uh, is taken care of to the best of our abilities. Yeah, so good man, all right.
Speaker 1:Episode one in the can what's okay what's a sneak peek for next week? What? What do we got coming up?
Speaker 2:So we're going to do. Who is Stellan Owen? Okay, so we're going to talk to you and I and we'd love to talk to John, but John's a very busy man. John is the owner of our company.
Speaker 1:We'll get him on at some point, I know.
Speaker 2:We'll pull up a chair. We'll put a booster seat up.
Speaker 1:Oh, here we go, you can make those jokes, I can't yeah, that's true, he and I, he and I go back.
Speaker 2:He's a great guy. Um, he's just, uh, you know well, you're like six, eight so it's not like everyone's short right like compared to you, um, and I am as average as average gets.
Speaker 2:I'm 5 10. So you know um. Yeah, so we'll, we'll have john on um, but not for the next episode. Next episode is going to be you know who is stellen owen um, why is our? You know people, our passion, um, we'll go through a couple of the values. You know who is Stellan Owen, why is our? You know people, our passion. We'll go through a couple of the values you know. Well, we literally only have two values, but we'll go through the holes and we'll, you know, we'll just kind of get to the core of who we are and why this is so important to us. Awesome Thanks, josh. Thank you. That's a wrap on today's episode of Right Start. We've hoped you've gained valuable insights that will empower you to make informed decisions on your building journey.
Speaker 1:Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform so you never miss out on expert tips and stories. And if you want to learn more about Stellan Owen Builders or need personalized advice, visit our website at stellanoencom.
Speaker 2:We're here to help you build the home of your dreams. Thanks for tuning in and we look forward to bringing you more expert advice in your next visit.
Speaker 1:Until next time, keep building smart and keep building right. You've been listening to the Right Start podcast by Stellan Owen Builders.