Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua McDowell.
Joshua, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Laurie, my business partner and I worked together at RH, where we developed a friendship that would last the test of time. I was recruited from there to work for a Hong Kong-based manufacturer who was building a store in Dallas. I hired Laurie to assist me with the management of that store. During the process, I hired a general contractor to do the buildout of the store. That general contractor then asked me to come work for him to increase growth and run his overall operations. I asked Laurie to come with me in a business development role and we ended up working there for nearly four years. After entertaining the purchase of that business in late 2015, our path leads to starting our own business instead, so Laurie and I took that leap. Our first client was Gene Street, a famous restaurateur here in Dallas. He gave us our first project, Streets Fine Chicken going into what was the building that housed the first Black-eyed Pea on Cedar Springs and then introduced us to many new people and clients.
From Laurie’s townhouse, we formed the company, within a few weeks, were being approached for multiple projects from Drybar to Brewed and Pressed and many others. We could only handle so much at that time, but we moved our offices to a small storefront less than 1000 sq ft near Highland Park that we were able to rent from another General Contractor. We then stayed in that little office for nearly a year with eight people, five us in one room that was smaller than my current individual office is today. We eventually moved to the Design District in 2017 and rented an office and warehouse that has housed us for the last 3+ years. Next month we move to a building in East Dallas that we purchased late last year. Our growth over the last five years has been amazing. We now have an office of 22,000 sq feet and over 40 employees. We truly got to where we are today by hiring the right staff of people, they come from all walks of life, all religions, ages, races, political affiliations, etc. which I think is super cool, no cookie cutter stuff. Nearly all of our business comes via referral, so we have to do a great job to keep the business flowing. Our team embodies that excellence.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Overall the business has been a smooth road. When you operate with integrity and you put your employees first, business is easier. Our operating structure is pretty flat and we value a truly open-door policy. We encourage individuality and people to speak their minds. We put our employees first so that they have the confidence to make a decision and their happiness comes through to the customer interaction. I believe that if you put your employee first, they will put your customers first as a result. The struggles we have had are what every company can experience, what do you do when a customer doesn’t pay you, what do you do when a major pandemic hits the world, how do you make decisions for the greater good?
Please tell us about JM Construction Solutions.
We are a commercial general contractor who specializes in interior finish out projects and small ground up as well as the occasional municipal project, sometimes we sneak in a fun residential or even restoration project. The restaurants, bars, retail and office projects we complete are designed by some of the best designers and architects in town. We focus on the small mom and pop and small regional corporations and not the big box or chain style businesses. We are different in that we stick to that niche and only work in Texas. Most contractors bid work all over the United States and focus on any project they can win. We prefer to be involved with our customers from the site selection process, budgeting through to construction. We hold the customer’s hand as much as they want us to. We can and will help them with any aspect of their project even if it’s outside of the normal scope of construction. I once learned to make pizza in a wood fired grill. There is nothing we can’t or won’t do to help our customers.
We set ourselves apart by approaching each project as a consultative stance and not just about the lowest bid or pricing. We treat our employees and sub-contractors as if they are our family and our customers too. Having a full-service construction team, we can take care of all their needs from service at existing locations, to full remodels. We also have a sister IT company, Cloud Group for networking, internet and IT work as well as a metal company 1937 Metalworks for any decorative metal projects.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I am not sure if I had to start over, I would do anything differently. I might not have spent so much money remodeling our rental office before buying our own building, maybe. Other than that, I am fortunate to be where I am and the team we have.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1937b Irving Blvd Dallas, TX 75207 and 4015 Scottsdale Drive Dallas, TX 75228
- Website: www.jmconsol.com
- Phone: 8884381840
- Email: josh@jmconsol.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jmconstructionsolutions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jmconsol/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JMConSol
Image Credit:
All photos belong to JM Construction Solutions
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