As a builder for ABC’S hit TV show Extreme makeover home edition I learned how to make what seemed to be impossible, and make it happen. I learned a entirely new meaning to “team work” and courage, along with having faith others.
In 2010 helped as a co-builder in pine mountain Georgia on my first build and after just a few hours I was hooked! I told the locations producer that if they would consider Hampton Roads area then I would gladly be the builder, and 11 months later we were in Virginia Beach making it happen.
Now, I have always been someone that would take on a challenge, as it seemed a lot of my projects even from my days in the heating and ac business to real estate investing (flipping houses) and eventually building new custom homes and renovating commercial buildings. I found out after the extreme makeover builds that I had this designer locked up inside me that was ready to get out and now with my resto mod furniture and up cycling of old americana into things it was never supposed to be, I have found my comfort zone, finally.
A few months ago a friend told me that my experience with starting businesses should be shared with others, my first thought was why me? I am no one special. But after a long conversation about the ups and downs in the HVAC company, selling that company for a nice profit and then getting into the real estate business at the worst possible time, 2007 I have been able to adapt to a ever changing economy and found a way to change the way I run my multiple companies on demand, meaning as the market changes I can correct the day to day operation to meet the new ever changing economy. If you operate your company by looking at your profit and loss statement after each quarter is over, then you are behind and anything you do to adjust the way you operate will constantly lag behind current conditions. This is can be any type of business, the way forward is to understand the changing spending habits of consumers, since we live in a crisis to crisis economy the consumer may feel good one day and not the next. My job as a business coach and speaker is to help bridge the uncertainly and help with making your company operate in the uncertain market.
I did not know it at the time, but from my first day in business in 2000 to building a 4300 square foot house in 106 hours for a hit TV show and enduring the housing and financial crisis in 2008, I have found my place in the coaching world, nothing else could have thought me so much in such a short period of time.
If you are looking for a positive take on the ever changing game of business, I would like to talk to you about how we can give you a new perspective on how to dominate your market.
Duane Cotton
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