Featured Contractor: Justin from All Dads Contracting Talks ServiceWhale

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Justin DeStefano. It was truly a privilege to learn a bit more about Justin, his family and his company, All Dads Contracting.

ServiceWhale: How did All Dad’s Contracting get started?

Justin DeStefano: What happened was a buddy of mine owned a commercial scrap & recycling company, I had a general construction company, a cousin of mine had a painting company, and another guy I know did flooring. I noticed that I would stay busy for a few weeks then it would get slow but one of the other guys would get busy during those time. We would help each other when it was slow for one of us and we soon realized that when we were working together we filled our time.

We’re really four companies in one, now we are under one group. I even have a buddy that does concrete, so if I have a job that needs concrete, we use him since concrete is not my specialty. We are a group of hardworking men that, by ourselves, weren’t necessarily very busy, but together we fill out each other’s schedules really well.

SW: That’s really great. When was it that you all came together to start All Dads Contracting?

JD: We started at the end of 2014. Prior to that I had been in business for myself for about 10 years. Some of the other companies that make up All Dad’s Contracting were in business longer than 10 years prior to us all coming together.

SW: Justin, how did you get started as a contractor?

JD: I started when I was about 5 years old. I was tiling floors around that age with my father. My father is a contractor so we always worked for him throughout the years. After graduating from high school, I started working full time with him while attending community college.

I got into working on some vacant bank owned properties and ventured out on my own. I never really looked back. To this day, I still use my dad on some things. That’s the brains behind some of this business.

SW: Why did you choose the name All Dad’s Contracting?

JD: Well, I learned from my dad and I think its a friendly name. We all have children and we’re hard working. We felt it was a strong name and since we are all partners, we didn’t want to use just one of our names.

SW: What does it take to become professional contractor?

JD: I learned a lot from my father. I also took classes and got certified in lead paint removal, attended trade school for two years and went to community college for general studies. I’ve learned through experience and through reading. I enjoy reading things that will educate me and help me to generate money in my business.

SW: How your business is unique?

JD: When I meet with a homeowner, I try to find out what the customer wants and find the best way that we can get it done for them. I might need to contact another companies for information or doing research to be able to present multiple options to the customer. I think really with us, it’s about seeing through the job and making our customer feel that we’re not workers when we are there. I tell my guys that if it’s trash day and we’re on the job, pull the trash for the homeowner. We do little things like that because we’re All Dads Contracting.

SW: What is the hardest job you have done?

JD: I think we are getting started on it this week. We are doing two full renovation/rehab jobs in Pottstown. Everything from the ground up is needed. We have to re-plumb the entire house, install two water heaters and two new heating systems as well as all new floors and paint. One of the roofs needs to be seal coated, the other needs to be completely ripped off and re-done, from the studs to the brackets, to the plywood – its a really big job. It even has water in the basement so we have to stop the foundation leaks.

But to be honest, all jobs are hard in different ways. There are dirty ones, hard ones, dangerous ones. It really depends on your definition of hard.

SW: What would you consider an easy job ?

JD: That also depends on what the job looks like when we get there. I’ve done floors in a few hours, installed cabinets in two hours, and a hot water heater in about two hours.

I suppose an easy job could be changing a handrail, putting on a door knob or installing a screen or interior door. There are some easy jobs, but even an easy job can get difficult as soon as you open up a wall and you see what’s behind it.

SW: What do you like about what you do?

JD: It all goes back to the customer. If it’s an older couple on a fixed income, it’s great if we can get them a price that they can afford. Initially when you see the customer, it’s always “Oh my God, oh my God” but when your done and leaving, you get a smile and a handshake. When the customer is satisfied, it’s the best thing and that is when we’re satisfied.

Also with my own home, there have been things that I have done that I could have never afforded to do if I was in another profession. But for me, as a contractor, it’s just the cost of material.

SW: How do you acquire new customers? What type of advertising do you use?

JD: All Dad’s Contracting is kind of old school in what we do, a lot of what we do is through word of mouth. We usually work locally and a lot of my jobs are referrals or from repeat customers. We have flyers up in a few local sandwich shops and there are several businesses around that recommend our work.

We just started with the lead companies recently, like ServiceWhale. We figured why not try it out. If we land one job a month, it’s fantastic. That’s one job that we would have never had before and who knows, maybe it could generate future work.

Our business is getting to the point now where we are starting to take it to the next level. We are creating a website; we really haven’t had a need in the past for one but to compete with some of the larger companies and get where we want to get it’s necessary.

SW: What would you say is the best case scenario for getting a job?

JD: The best way to get a job is to go in and make the customer happy. If you do a nice job then when someone comes to the customer’s house and asks who did the work, the homeowner tells them. We hope they will say that we gave them a fair price, we kept their house clean, and that we were aware of what time their schedules. If their children had to go to school at a certain time, we would come after that so we don’t disrupt their day. Word of mouth is really the best way to get a job. It’s a very strong and cheap form of advertising.

When we do a job, they can tell their family, friends or neighbors about it if they are happy. They can see the work that was done and get input from someone they already know and trust. This is why it is so important to do a good job and follow through with everything you say that you are going to do.

SW: Can you tell me a little bit about your company’s goals and future plans?

JD: In 2014 I wrote down short term, midterm and long term goals for the company. It was a one, a three and a five year plan. Within a year and a half, we reached our five year goals. When you write down a goal, start striving to reach them and taking steps toward it, you realize you can reach them fairly quickly. So we sat down and re-evaluated.

Right now we’re working out of my double car garage. By the end of this year, we would love to get into a larger space with two nice garage door entries, a main door, and office space. Another goal is to do a little more advertising on a larger scale. Currently we work with several investors and real estate agents, but we’d like to work with somebody on a larger scale. These are some of the things that I’m aiming for.

SW: Have you observed any problems in the industry?

JD: I think there are a lot of problems in the industry. One is that a lot of these smaller companies are paying guys cash under the table and they can under cut our bid. So, yes you can get a floor done for $400 cheaper with somebody else; however, the guy might not have the proper insurances, someone can get hurt because they may not be using all the proper safety tools and they may not be able to pull the permits.

SW: How can it be improved?

JD: I think that somehow we need to weed out some of these guys that aren’t following the law really.

SW: How has the industry changed since you started?

I think contractors today are more willing to work together then they were when I started out. I remember when I started, there was hardly any referrals from another contractor. Now, if one company doesn’t do what the customer is looking for, they will tell the homeowner about someone who may be able to help them.

SW: Have you seen anything new that you would call innovative in the industry?

JD: There is always change in what people prefer. It was wallpaper, now its paint. Before it was plaster, now it’s drywall. There is always some change but nothing crazy.

But, I work with some bank owned properties and something that I helped change is using something called clear boarding. They use to put up plywood on vacant homes, but a realtor or a police officer couldn’t see if anyone was in the house. Now we use a clear plastic board that allows the realtor or other people walking up the street to see inside and see if there is a squatter or vandal in there. This is something they are going to start doing across the board. That’s something that I’m working on.

SW: How did you hear about ServiceWhale?

JD: I heard through one of your sales representatives (Nick) who has been a buddy of mine since elementary school. We grew up together and he knew I was doing this kind of stuff. He reached out to me via Facebook and said that I would be a great addition to ServiceWhale.

SW: What were your thoughts when you first heard about ServiceWhale?

JD: At first I was hesitant because I didn’t know what I had to pay.

SW: What convinced you to sign up for ServiceWhale?

JD: Nick told me I didn’t have to pay anything to join, I just had to show that I had enough on my card to pay back. He told me that there is a 10% fee due thirty days after the job is booked, so nothing is coming out of my pocket. I’m not loosing anything. If I never get a job, it never costs me a dollar and the first job was free. It was a way to advertise and a way to get more leads.

SW: How long have you been with ServiceWhale?

JD: We literally signed up two weeks ago and we just finished our first job!

SW: What has your experience been like with ServiceWhale?

JD: It’s worked out great so far.

SW: What do you think about ServiceWhale pricing model?

JD: It’s a no brainer. To me it’s a no brainer because if my dad was doing a job when I was younger and I found him something, he gave me a 10% kickback. Really it’s a kickback, you guys are providing the website and the search model. All I have to do is follow through.

SW: What advise can you give homeowners about hiring a contractor?

JD: I would always ask for a reference. A lot of homeowners don’t do that. They should ask questions about how long they’ve been in business, about something specific related to the job like how long they have been painting or what they charge for a square foot. If a guy doesn’t know what he charges for a square foot to paint, he probably hasn’t been doing it that long.

SW: Is there anything that you think a homeowner should beware of?

JD: My thing is that you have to careful about who you hand cash to and who you unlock your door for. Just make sure you are comfortable with whomever it is that is going to do the job. The best advise I can give is to protect yourself and be safe. Have a phone interview first if you’re not comfortable. If you don’t like the way the guy speaks, then you probably aren’t going to like the way he acts in your house. I’m willing to do a phone interview with any customer, come out and do an onsite interview and do a second visit if needed with any customer, all before the job starts in order for that customer to feel comfortable.

SW: Justin, what do you like to do in your free time?

JD: I have three children and when I’m not working I’m playing with them. My oldest is 7, the middle child is 4 and my youngest is 3 months old. If I have time when I’m not working and not with my family, I like to go the bar and watch a sports game, go fishing, and clean out my truck because I take pride in the way my truck looks when I pull up to the job.

I’m a pretty simple guy. I like spending time with my family, I like working and if I have a Saturday that I can watch a college hoop game, I’m happy.

SW: What music you play at your truck?

JD: It depends on who is in my truck. If it’s just me, I listen to country or classic rock. If I have one of the young guys with me, I never know what we will be listening to by the time we get to corner. They all like to move my stations. But I’m cool with anything really.

SW: What is your favorite band?

JD: I really like the Zack Brown Band ,its a country artist. I like to listen to music that I can relate to and he always sings about family or getting out with your buddies. I like that.

SW: What does the perfect day with your family look like?
So for me it would be just getting everyone’s day started, going to work, coming home, helping to cook, having dinner with my family and then getting some silly time with the kids. I love it when I get home, lay on the floor and all my kids jump on my back.

SW: What motivates you to succeed?

JD: Not to sound like a broken record but it’s my children. You wake up everyday and you have to get the bills paid and have food in the refrigerator. My middle child is starting karate this year, my oldest wants to play soccer this year, and we want to take a nice vacation.

What motivates me is paying my bills, continuing what my father started and trying to take it to the next level.

SW: Who has inspired you in life?

JD: My father, he laid the map of what I wanted to do. He was hardworking, honest and very funny.
As far as a sporting figure or something like that, I’ve always liked Brian Dawkins. I think he was the same kind of hard working, leave it all out there type of guy. On the field when he was at work, he worked hard and when off the field he was always a leader. I like that about him.

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If you’d like to sign your business up for ServiceWhale, visit our website or give us a call at 866-977-3897 to speak with a customer service representative.