Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcais Lawson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Marcais. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Born and raised in Greenville, TX, I grew up in a family rooted deeply in construction. I spent many days working alongside my father, grandfather and brothers in the family business. As a child, I always had a passion for residential design and design in general. At the age of six, I learned how to use a scale and began designing floor plans on paper. A lot of my plans at that age didn’t have the best function or form, but it was the beginning of a lifelong venture that would ultimately lead me to where I am today.
My father is a pastor so I grew up in church. I was the drummer for the church and as such, they would pay me $25 – $30 per Sunday. When you’re a kid, that’s a lot of money. Now I’ve never been into many materialistic things, so I would save my money and buy things that were of interest to me. I bought my first home designing program from Walmart for like $50 or so. It was installed on the family computer so my time was limited, but from there I began working with 3D models and trying different materials etc. which allowed me to see the home as I designed it. This was a big accomplishment for me because drawing elevations from a floor plan at that age was a non-existent practice. The functionality of my homes began to improve, but I still had a long way to go. I still remember one plan where the laundry room was the size of a bedroom, and while I was on the right track (and could’ve made it into a large utility room), that would never fly in this day in age as all it contained was a washer and dryer…but I still laugh at it sometimes.
Around the age of 17 or so my brother gave me his first laptop and from there I was able to work even more intently on my designs, because now I could install the software on my own personal computer. When I graduated high school, and joined the work force, I would often times take my designs to work and get feedback from my coworkers. I knew I was still a long way from where I needed to be, but nowhere near where I used to be…so positive or negative feedback was useful to me. Around the age of 20 or so, I remember one of my coworkers asked me “have you ever thought about making this a career or selling your own plans?” To me, that was something only the elite of designers and architects could do. “You had to have copious amounts of money to make something like that a reality.” This is what I thought and as such, I kinda blew off the idea of doing it as a career.
I left Greenville and moved to Mesquite due to my schooling and my job being in Arlington. I attended ITT Tech to study CAD Drafting. During my time at ITT, I had a teacher who was a licensed architect. I asked her one day to look at a plan I’d been working on for a few weeks. She studied it for a while and said “The only thing I’d change is the location of the stairs. I’d move them back a little so the front door swing and traffic don’t interfere, but other than that…. I like it! It’s a really good plan!” Those words stuck with me, and for the first time, I actually felt this was something I could really do. I began intently studying the works of Dan Sater as I’ve always loved Mediterranean style homes, and no one designs Mediterranean like Dan Sater. I began driving through areas like Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, Rockwall Heath, Addision, North Dallas etc. to marvel at the vast array of custom homes of various sizes and styles. I had no idea who the designers and architects were who designed these masterpieces, but to this day, I still gaze in awe at their creations.
When I graduated from ITT, I went on to work for Vulcraft in Dallas. From there I went to work for Stromberg Architectural Products, Inc. in Greenville. Both places offered me vital skills needed to be my own boss and run my own business. At the time, I didn’t know why I was there because I knew I just wanted to start my own business, but it was necessary for me to be in those places at that time. In 2011 I began thinking harder and harder about what I needed to do to start my own business. In 2012 I officially started SML Custom Homes in a one bedroom apartment in Greenville, TX. All I had was a computer strong enough to run AutoCAD and that’s it. No 3D programs or anything…just AutoCAD. Line for line, I drew my floor plans and the elevations were drawn in the same manner; line for line with projection lines. It took me 3 years to get my first phone call or even client. I was working my day job at Stromberg’s while building my business at home. Since then I’ve designed multiple custom homes as well as several stock home plans which I sell directly on my website. The 2016 and 2017 year have been my most successful years with several plans going into construction. In 2015, I changed the structure of my business to LLC., and in doing this, I also started a subsidiary business, SML Demolition & Deconstruction, LLC. Both work hand in hand because often times I’ll have a client who wants to build but needs the current house demolished. By establishing both businesses to work with each other, we’re able to help our clients from both ends of the spectrum.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road thus far has been far from smooth. They say nothing worth having is going to come easy, well this was especially true for me. My first clients didn’t come until after 3 years of being in business. I’ve had clients who have really tested me as a designer and made me work harder than ever before. While starting this business, I was working an 8 – 5 job as a Drafting Supervisor. So I would work all day, come home and take an hour break, then work on building my business for the next 6 hours or so. Several nights I’d be working past midnight, only to have to wake up early the next morning for work. A lot of social time was sacrificed to start my business. There are things I know that I can’t do over again, moments that will forever be lost due to starting my business, but life is all about choices and sacrifice. There are consequences to every action, and those consequences for me involve time lost. On the other hand, the consequences of NOT following your dreams are far worse, so you just have to pick which side you’re going to be on. Being an independent business owner and entrepreneur is NOT something for everyone. Many people who work day jobs and don’t have to work long hours starting a business will never understand the sacrifices that have to be made. Many times, I wanted to go to events with family or friends on the weekends, but I had to meet clients or finish a set of plans for a client. And I’m not saying this as regret or to scare people, but anyone seeking to be their own boss needs to understand the tremendous amount of time you MUST put in to your business. It will test and strain you physically, emotionally, and mentally. It will test your relationships with family, friends and significant others…so it’s definitely not something for the weak minded…but to answer the question, no the road has not been smooth at all. Many times, I felt like giving up, but that wasn’t an option because at the end of the day I always said “If I don’t make it in my business/career, no one will be able to say it was because he didn’t try.” Quitting has never been an option for me, and I’ve never quit anything in my life…so I’m not about to start now.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I founded SML Custom Homes, LLC in 2012. We specialize in creating custom home plans of various size and style. Our custom home plans are designed specifically for one client and are not duplicated or sold to anyone but the client themselves. In addition to custom home plans, we also provide stock plans. These plans are designed with no specific client and are sold to anyone in the United States.
One of the things we are known for is a high level of detail in our plans. We’ve had contractors from the Dallas area up to the Bonham/Sherman area who have used our plans either for construction or bidding purposes. One thing that’s always mentioned is the amount of detail and information in our plans. When a set of plans are created, we try our best to give the contractor and client as much information as possible. And this applies to each page of our construction documents. When a contractor gets a set of plans from SML Custom Homes, they may have a few questions, which is to be expected, but overall, they are very pleased with our plans.
We take great pride in listening to our clients’ needs and creating a home that they’ll want to live in for years to come. Our clients have the final say, because it’s their home…and as the owner and operator of SML Custom Homes, I don’t stop until each facet of my client’s home is met with satisfaction. I believe our attention to detail and personal connection with each client is what sets us apart. We’re not in the business of making a quick sale. If I’m not happy with it, I know my clients won’t be…and this is where our attention to detail becomes crucial.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas and the DFW Metroplex area is a great place for a business like mine. Texas is one of the more resilient states when it comes to economic downturn, and construction in Texas is always in demand. Dallas and the DFW Metroplex area are constantly developing new communities and subdivisions. Dallas is such an economic gold mine, I don’t think it really matters what business you’re in and what product or service you offer. There’s so many people looking for so many services, and there’s more people than service providers…and plain and simple truth is that no ONE business can satisfy all the people’s needs. So even if someone were to enter into a market that was already saturated and well established, a little hard work and dedication is all that’s needed to obtain success in a city like Dallas.
Contact Info:
- Address: SML Custom Homes, LLC
1217 Hemphill St.,
Greenville, TX 75401 - Website: www.smlcustomhomes.com
- Phone: 903-217-3541
- Email: smlcustomhomes@gmail.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SMLCustomHomes
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