15+ Year Construction Veteran Goes All in On His Own Business

This episode of American Builders features Ryan Powell, Founder of AIM Construction Partners.

We discuss Ryan's journey from JE Dunn to Oddo Development and ultimately launching his own construction company, the lessons he learned from both the GC and developer sides of the industry, and how he landed and executed a nearly $9 million design-build project in AIM's first year. 

Ryan also shares insights on subcontractor relationships, operational excellence, networking, and what it really takes to build a successful construction business from the ground up.

American Builders is presented by TradeGuard, the insurance and compliance partner built for contractors. Learn more at https://tradeguardins.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of American Builders. I'm here with Ryan Powell, president of AIME Construction. Ryan, thanks for coming on today.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Thanks for having me on. Appreciate the opportunity to talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Yeah, it's going to be a fun episode. You've got uh a great career in the construction industry and the development industry. Let's take it all the way back to uh your days at J.E. Dunn and let's give the audience a little bit of context and kind of where you came from. Um, and just start, I guess, with you know, the background and how you moved into that role of superintendent at JE Dunn. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Uh well, I think it goes back uh even further beyond the the the the J Dunn days. Uh um goes back as a as a kid. Um it's in my blood. I've been building since I was a kid, um taking scraps from the the garage and building chairs and building tables and building things, uh, always looking for the next opportunity to assemble something, to be creative and and uh and so led that led into college wanting to do uh construction engineering, construction science, um, and ultimately landed at J.E. Dunn as a carpenter. Um, had some opportunities um to go straight to management. And what JE Dunn, I think, does that is that's so different than everybody else is Jay Dunn brings you in as a as a tradesman. Um so I came on board as a superintendent in training, um, and I wore my bags for four years. And I really learned the trades. I had to work side by side with the other trade partners on the projects. And I think from a background and an ability to manage, I think that's imperative to be able to properly manage a project to truly understand what it takes to build said project. And so it goes all the way back to as that that five, six-year-old kid in the garage, you're just doing it again, but you're doing it at a much different scale. Um, but it's in my blood, it's a passion, I love it, and uh blessed to be able to do it every day.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah, I think that's kind of a theme across your career, and a theme that we'll touch on throughout this episode is you know, you've then went from JE Dunn to OTO development, which we'll talk about, and just having that experience of pretty much every stage and every sort of experience that you could have along this construction life cycle, um, and I'm guessing has informed a lot of the way you've decided to run and operate in construction today. And we'll get into all of that, but I want to touch on something you mentioned there, which is what makes JE Dunn so different? They're obviously uh one of, if not the biggest general contractor construction companies uh in the country. What do you think it is about JE Dunn? And you know, maybe you can pick two or three things, but what stands out to you when I say, you know, what makes them so different and so successful?

SPEAKER_01 3:10

I think they're they're field leadership. Um, I think that their their capacity to be, and I'm I'm gonna use this this term a lot today, they are builders. They're unbelievably talented builders. The superintendent, um, and and it starts to a leadership level. I'm not I'm not trying to um discredit what happens behind the scenes, if you would, because that's very imperative to the project's success. Um, but but without the focus on the build, the relationship with the client, the quality of the product, the safety that's the the the the the pre-planning that's that orchestrates that that that safety, that quality, the the the schedule, the the and ultimately the execution of the project is imperative. Um so what differentiates Jay Dunn where I think that, and and I'm biased because I was there for 11 years and had a had a wonderful run with them and and uh and and can't think of enough for the opportunity, but I think that it was it goes back to their their field focus in the project performance and execution, I think is paramount and what separates J Dunn. Um but I also say that that I think that that mindset of the superintendent training program, I think that just kind of sets a baseline of what are our expectations, guys? You're gonna go to college. I believe college is is is is very important, but I don't think it's it's it's a it's a yellow pass to go straight to be a to to be the boss. Um everybody comes out of school thinking that they want to be the boss. Um what does that mean? I don't know that many new grads coming out of school understand what that means. Um so I think that that that it's it's important to be um to to to be kind of forced into the into the the the reality of what is what are you doing? What is construction? What are you asking the concrete guy, the dirt guy, the utilities, the electricians, the plumbers, what are we expecting of them to do? And is it realistic of what we're asking them to do? Um, and if it's not, let's sit down and have that conversation. What do we need to do? What do we need to align? How do we need to adjust schedule? How do we need to adjust sequence? How do we need to adjust all of the different variables that go into play when you're setting a project up? Um is is is is imperative to that. And it all goes back to that project superintendent, the builder, that mindset.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Okay, so let's talk a little bit more and just kind of hone in on the superintendent role. Um, you know, what makes a great superintendent? You mentioned there that they have a superintendent training program. What are kind of the the two to three pillars of that program that they focus on that say, hey, if you're gonna be a great superintendent, here are some of the characteristics or attributes that you need to have.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

I think the first thing is you gotta listen. You have to listen. Um, if you're not willing to listen, um I don't think that you can be I don't think you can you can you can reach your your your max capacity um because the the trades the tradesmen on site know far more than they're ever gonna convey. If you're not willing to listen to them um and at least consider their their their thoughts, um again it's it it it goes back to that um that that understanding and appreciation for what it actually takes to build. And so a good superintendent listens, um, a good superintendent plans, a good superintendent has has some foresight into where are we going, what are we trying to accomplish, and how are we gonna get there? It's a teamwork mentality. So they're gonna listen, they're gonna plan, and they're gonna understand that without the team and without everybody participating in in that that same mindset, the project is not gonna go as well as it could. And so bringing everybody together, um, bringing everybody um in a true open line of communication. Um I was recently talking to somebody that uh about about opportunities as superintendents, and and and one of the questions he had asked, he said, Well, well, do you do you yell? Do you scream? And I thought it was an interesting question. Um, so then it it so you asked that question, and it spurs a thought in my mind is to superintendents can be pretty abrasive. They need to be abrasive. Um, there's a time and place to be abrasive, but that doesn't mean it's every day. So it goes back to that listening, that teamwork, that focus, that that that preparation. All of those things come into play for a successful project.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

It almost reminds me of you know the characteristics or attributes of a a good you know NFL GM or a good head coach, if you will, having the balance between knowing when to kind of get on people uh versus knowing when to listen, and again, planning strategic. I feel like that's that's a fair yeah. Um okay, let's let's get into the development side. So you're at JE Dunn for 11 years. What did the transition into Odo development look like? And then just touch on what your role at Odo was specifically. Good question.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

So um the the the the I'll say the only reason that I left JE Dunn was because of I was traveling. Um I was a I'm a I'm a family focused man. I'm a husband, I'm a I'm a father to three wonderful kids. And and I think that that's important for us to to prioritize things in life. And and I think that my family is my my number one priority. Um, I don't think I know they are. And so so I was traveling, I had a wonderful opportunity for for Jay Dunn down in at Lacland Air Force Base. Um I had a two-year-old at home, wanted to get back home. Um, ultimately saw an opportunity to to to come back to Kansas City and work for uh Odo development. Uh my title was director of construction. Um, I was an in-house general, uh basically in-house GC general contractor for uh for the Odo family for auto development. Um, so my primary role was more construction focused, um leading the construction division for Odo development. Um with that being said, as I was able to get into it, understanding more of what is important to a developer, all of the different components that go into it at JE Dunn, I would receive a set of plans and specifications, uh, sometimes a schedule that was put together before I was engaged. And then I would revamp the schedule, start the pre-construction meetings, all of those things that we talked about previously, but um not understanding or having an appreciation for what developers do behind the scenes before the general contractor is even selected is was was mind-blowing to me. Um so I think that that I know we're gonna touch on here in a bit, but having an understanding, okay, now I've I've I've done the general contractor, I've worked for J Dunn, I've built some incredible opportunities buildings and opportunities and relationships and all of those variables at play, but um seeing what goes on from land acquisition and planning and all the things that have to happen before that project gets the the building permit and the green light to go, the project financing. I mean, there's so many things that come into play that um that I had a new respect for developers.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Yeah, I would think the financing piece has to be one of those pieces that you've never really touched on the general contracting side. How much of that were you getting into with Odo development? Were you kind of you know overseeing the numbers? Was that somebody else handing the information off to you? What did the finance side of that look like?

SPEAKER_01 11:29

I wasn't too involved in the project feasibility from a finance. I was more um more involved in the construction finance, the cost, the the the the the implementation cost of what we're trying to accomplish, doing uh feasibility studies, uh feasibility pricing, um, looking at opportunities to do um if we added additional or or or combined two commercial lots and do one single structure versus two separate independent structures. And but uh to answer your question, I I was not on the the uh Rick handled that from a uh from the developer finance side. I would provide the the construction costs um for feasibility studies.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

And then you said you were kind of the self-GC. Was there still general contractors uh kind of underneath you that you were going out and hiring, or were you fully acting as the GC hiring all the subs directly?

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Question. I was I was uh uh the only GC uh fully responsible for buyout contracts, uh schedule, construction, sequence, all of all the above. We had uh uh there was myself, um, two full-time superintendents, um, and two assistant superintendents on the team there, Dodo.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

And so where where my mind goes here is uh you were kind of teed up perfectly to where you were working within Odo, but you were able to really kind of hone in the role of what would it look like if I ran my own general contracting company? Is that a fair assessment? You were basically you kind of you know started your own business, if you will, within Odo. Um, talk to that a little bit, and then you know, was there a point where you realized, hey, I could actually just do this myself?

SPEAKER_01 13:17

No, good question. Um it I have a tremendous amount of respect for everybody that I've had the opportunity to learn from. Uh grandpa told me a long time ago be a sponge in life, absorb, soak it up. Um tremendous opportunity at it to be behind some great leaders there at uh JE Dunn and tremendous respect for Rick Odo. Um Rick Odo is is uh again, I'll be biased, the best developer in Kansas City, right? Um he's phenomenal at what he does. Um, but I think it did give me some behind the scenes um kind of a view of of of what the opportunity could be. Um my JE Dunn days, I was so focused on commercial. I love commercial building, I love ground up building, um, the developer experience, I love the developer kind of the infrastructure and how all of those pieces come together. Um, again, going back to the statement of not understanding or appreciating when you come to a to a pad ready site, what happened before that. Being responsible for ensuring that all those utilities were at that said pad ready site, whether I was building it or Rick was going to do a land lease to somebody else or sell the lot to somebody else, whatever the the situation was. Um so yeah, it but it but it I couldn't have done it without the support and the leadership and and and everything that they had done for me. Um but ultimately, yes, it did. Um it I've always had the itch to go and do it, and and I decided I had to scratch it. And um had a had a customer that I've done a lot of work with. Um I say a lot, it's all relative, but had done quite a few projects with uh that had tremendous confidence in me as a builder, um, had an appreciation for me as a builder and an opportunity that I couldn't I couldn't pass out.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

So let's talk more about the entrepreneurial leap, if you will. You know, the moment you decided to go all in. Walk me through that. What kind of fear was in place? Was there some anxiety about what is the future gonna hold? Was it pure confidence? Um, just talk me through the emotions of going from a long career working for somebody else to now you're fully on your own. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yeah, no, I think that the the the fear is the unknown, right? I mean, that's that's what I think anybody, I think it's what separates somebody who's willing to make that jump and not is that you you you forego all that comfort that you have with an employer. Um but but I think that it's that that mindset, I think you either you have it or you don't. And and I think those that are successful in in in in entrepreneurship and and and business have a have a have a a peripheral view of what opportunity can be. Um but I also think that that it's that the that the you have to overcome that fear of the unknown with confidence that you're gonna surround yourself with with with family and friends and and then getting into the professional world with with suppliers and trade partners and and and it all goes back to relationships. Um and so I while yes I was fearful, I really wasn't scared of of failure. Um I was confident in the the community that I have around me. I was confident in my my experience. I was confident in um in being able to lean on on some mentors that can provide some business guidance. Um, but I also knew it wasn't going to be perfect. I knew I was gonna stumble. I knew I was gonna trip. Um, but it had to be, it had, it, it, it, it had to be a uh uh a level that I was comfortable taking um from a risk perspective.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

You mentioned there the the comfort of having employment, and you know, a lot of people use this term, the golden handcuffs, right? You've got a great salary, you've got benefits, 401k, the whole nine yards, right? And that's a great thing to have. Um, but it kind of puts you in those handcuffs to where, oh, this is so good. Do I want to go out on my own thing? And it's just this, you know, people who take that entrepreneurial leap, um, there's always that golden handcuffs. And kind of where my mind went here is, you know, you you made this this jump into the world of entrepreneurship a little later in life. I'm I've made it kind of right at the start of my career. Um, and at the end of the day, you know, when you're at the start of your career, there the the risk, if you will, of failure is, you know, you're so I'm you know, I'm so young, it's like I could fail for five years and still be a young guy and have learned a whole bunch of things, probably a lot more than I would have if, you know, I never did this. And then conversely, when you have a lot of experience um in relationships and all of that stuff in place, that kind of de-risks things as well. And I just say all of that to say, you know, the golden handcuffs are great and you know there might be a sense of risk, but whether you're young and you have you know a lot of time to fail, um, or you're a little bit older and you have a lot of relationships and experience to rely on, you know, take the leap. The risk isn't necessarily as large as you might think. So love all of that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

So let's dive into and I do want to touch on the the like the you you mentioned, I mean I think that that we all we all we work to provide a living, right? I've got a family support and but I don't I'm gonna state that I don't do this entirely for the money. I'm not I'm not independent wealthy. I need to work to to provide. Um but I'm also gonna say that I'm passionate about construction. If I didn't have to build, I would still build. Um it's it's the tangible aspect, the relationship aspect. It's it is it is truly something that I love doing. Um and I think it's important to note that that that so many people think that I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna start a business because I'm gonna be a millionaire. And it's like you've already started down the wrong path, guy or gal. If you're gonna do this because of the money, you're not doing it for the right reason. The money can be good, but it but it adversely, it can it can also not be. And so do it because you love what you do. And and and because, as I said earlier, you got you got the the the issue, you've got to scratch. Um do it for the right reasons, because the the the the the monetary benefit, while it can be there, shouldn't be the sole reason you're doing it.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

It reminds me of a story about um Mark Zuckerberg when he was fair, I mean, pretty early on in Facebook, he got an offer from I think I want to say it was Yahoo or something like that, uh, to you know acquire Facebook for over a billion dollars, and he's you know in his early 20s, and he turned it down, and it's kind of this legendary story. And his reason is, well, if I sold the company, I would just go and start another social networking company, and it's like you know, it's like them I would just go and do the exact same thing I'm doing now, so why would I sell the company? Um, and it's you know kind of touches on that that exact uh you know lesson you were talking about there. So let's dive into aim construction specifically. What was that first job uh that came through that you guys started working on? How did it come about? Just kind of give me the full details of that first job you guys did.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

Um it it I think it goes it goes back to um you never know when when that opportunity is gonna come. Um you never know what you never know what decision or what's what what appears to be a very small favor that you've done or a small gesture of kindness or a small project, whatever that is, the little things matter, um, personally, professionally, in life. Um the little things. So it started back at a as a um as an office remodel. Um and then office remodel led into another office, which led in another small um coffee shop. Um, and and and as we As we built our relationship as a contractor and owner, um, those little projects we we kept winning, and and we were able to build a product that um that in a time frame that nobody else was able to do it, a price point that nobody else was able to do it either. And and those things just kept adding up. And and then had the opportunity to go build a large um entertainment concept uh in Overland Park. Uh I'm sure everybody's familiar with it uh by now, but it's called Tappins Golf. And that project opportunity came from uh a small office renovation, all relatively speaking, it was very meaningful office renovation. So when I say small, I don't mean from a from an from a monetary standpoint. Um, but it was a it was a very important project to me. It was an important project to the owner. Every project is important. The scale of the project, the value of the project is is isn't what makes or dictates how important it is. Um and so little things matter. And so Tapins Golf came um uh was was was was brought to me before AIM was was a company. And I got to to just thinking about do I want to do this? Is this the right time? Um I'm in a very good place with a very good, uh wonderful developer at at uh Odo Development. Um but again, it wasn't entirely about the money. It was about the opportunity and it was about the satisfaction, the job satisfaction of doing it on my own. And people questioned, can you really do this? And I I I never wavered. Absolutely. The initial concept was was a restaurant and and and and miniature golf and the discussion of a greenhouse, and all of a sudden this greenhouse is now it's 26,000 square foot greenhouse. Okay, so let's figure out how are we gonna build the greenhouse? Well, I've never built a greenhouse before, but it's still a structure, you still have foundation, you still have structure, you still have you've got a lot of glass. Okay, well, then codes get involved, and now you've got to because of occupancy levels. So, how do we navigate all of this? Well, you do it by focus, you do it by what's your intentions? What are you trying to accomplish? What is the end result that we're trying to accomplish? And and and and and everybody on that team, I've not been involved in a project with so much excitement and so much energy, it was fun. It was can't believe it was it was the most memorable project I've ever done. And and and and um I think that the results indicate that the energy level and ownership all the way down to to the the trades on site um and the suppliers and and the vendors and everybody who's making it operate today. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

You mentioned kind of the satisfaction that comes with you know doing the job on your own. Um talk about that a little bit. You mentioned, you know, started off with some small jobs, but just the general satisfaction that you feel when you get, even if it's the smallest job, when you know it's something for your own business that you generated, um, you know, how much better does that feel as opposed to doing it for somebody else? You know, for us, it's like the first insurance policy I sold was very small, but it was like, let's go. Absolutely. So we sold a policy, we've done it once now on our own. Now we can do it a million more times. Talk to that a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

So it's it the excitement for me is is is but how important is the project to the to the customer? Like they're bringing to me, they're like, hey, Ryan, I have this concept, I have this vision that I want to to create this. And and my excitement is is is as much of a level of confidence in being able to to provide that vision or bring that vision to reality um as it is um excitement for the company. I mean, for for me, the the excitement in getting an award a project. So uh we just got awarded uh uh an opportunity, can't talk publicly about at the moment, but we just got awarded an opportunity last week um on Friday that I've been working on for four months. It's not monetarily a big project, but it's a meaningful project to the community, it's a meaningful project to to the owner as much a meaningful project for AIM. Um and so his excitement and and meeting with him, he has his vision, and going back to that tangible aspect of what construction is, is we're gonna take some before photos of what it was, and and then we're gonna bring his his vision to reality, which will support his business, which supports the community, it supports the patients. I mean, it's it it it kind of is that full community bringing everything together that that that uh that that I love.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

And I would have to imagine some of your experience with Odo and being on the development side kind of leads to that where you know you were on the opposite side of it, where you you had the developer's interest in mind and understood all the excitement and passion that goes into it over there. I would have to imagine that kind of gives you the ability to have some empathy, if you will, or put yourselves in their shoes. Um and just talk to that a little bit on how much you know you're able to use those learnings to just improve the the customer experience, right? Because you were basically, you know, you were were you were who your customers are now. Um so just talk to that a little bit and and how you've been able to kind of put yourselves in their shoes a little more.

SPEAKER_01 28:15

And what's what's important from a value. Um value has is is is a pretty loose term in terms of what what does that mean to a different person? Um I think that that understanding, I think that transparency is paramount in in all aspects of this business. If I've got an owner who's who's keeping some something in his cuff because he doesn't want to release or what doesn't want to have control of X, Y, or Z, um it it prohibits me to be able to provide a full service to him to be able to ultimately meet the demands that he's expecting. And so I think transparency is key. Um and so having an understanding of what's important from a customer standpoint, from a from a value standpoint, from which which correlates to the monetary aspect of what we do. Um the uh uh a $5,000 expense on a $50,000 project is substantially more than a $5,000 expense on a $15 million project. But it's still $5,000. Is is is important. And seeing it on the developer side, everybody thinks all these developers, they they they live in the they they make all this money and they have all this this uh this success. Well, the reality is they also have the most risk. And so treat treat everybody's money like it's your own money like it's your own. Um and and and the value, which again is is is correlated to the the the the total sum, but it's more what is the what are you trying to accomplish? What's the outcome? What's the goal?

SPEAKER_00 30:17

I I like that quote there. Treat everybody's money like it's your own. Um you know, you just hear so often when it comes to trades and construction, whether it's a homeowner who's building a custom home for the first time or a developer who's building a massive project, there's just, you know, there's tends to be some frustration when it comes to tradespeople not showing up on time or leaving the job site dirty. Um and so I think those two things you mentioned there of transparency in terms of timeline, pricing, setting expectations properly, um, that combined with you know treating every dollar like it's your own will lead to a much happier customer experience.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

Absolutely. And that's the goal. Again, I think that it's that it's that that you but but it all goes back to the very the onset of that first conversation about the project. It's transparency, it's expectations, it's clarity. Um and it's and it's it's it's establishing the goals. Um so yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

What does the future look like here? We'll kind of close it up. We're coming in on time. Um, where do you see this going in construction? You know, what what are the the kind of five to ten year goals here? Good question.

SPEAKER_01 31:33

I think um I think that it's hard to put a put a put a our goal is to be the best builder in Kansas City. That is our that is our focus. We will be the best builder in Kansas City. Um that doesn't mean that we're gonna be the builder on every corner of every project, chasing every opportunity there is. Um, we want a very client-focused approach. We want a value that we bring, and we recognize that that value is is limited in terms of coverage. We we can't go, we're we're a two-man company today. We're gonna be a three-man company in a week, in six days. I've got a uh our third employee coming on board, which we're super, super stoked about. Um, so it's not over, it's recognizing your strengths, it's committing and following through with your with with your commitments. So it's if if you say you're gonna do something, you do what you say you're gonna do. You don't overcommit because of the the appearance that there might be additional revenue or money to be made or profit. That's not our focus. Our focus is is is doing what we say we're gonna do, do the right thing. And so the five to ten year goal for aim, it's hard to put an put a an exact number to that. We're gonna continue to grow as builders, we're gonna continue to grow the team, we're gonna grow the team with like minded individuals, and we're gonna grow the team with people that I'm confident that'll that'll provide that that that ex that experience, that user experience for many more clients, hopefully to come. Beautiful. Thank you so much, Ryan. Appreciate your time.