Today we’d like to introduce you to Randall Blackwell.
Randall , can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in North Carolina. I always had a dream of moving to California and being self-employed. I joined the navy at 20 years old with hopes of getting stationed there. I joined for three years active and three years reserve. I was in the medical field and my first duty station was at Camp Lejeune N.C. three hours drive from home.
I did not give up on my dream. When I came up for discharge I told them I would give them three more years active duty for San Diego.
The Navy agreed, so off to San Diego I went. I spent the next three years at MCRD again with the Marines. I got out of the navy after six years in San Diego where I wanted to be.
I always wanted to be self-employed and I did a lot of research. Seamless Rain Gutters just kept coming up and seemed to be a good fit for me. I love working with my hands. I love working outdoors. Every day I get to go somewhere new, and I always get to finish what I start. I really do love it.
Shortly after my Discharge from the navy I met and Married the love of my life, My beautiful Wife Molly.
In 1991 we had our first child, a son Wyatt. Right after his birth we had some family who moved to Southern Oregon and they talked us into coming up for a visit.
We fell in love with the area We knew it would be a trade lifestyle for money, but we really felt like it would be a great place to raise children. Long story short,We moved to Oregon, Medford Ashland area where we started a new rain gutter company. We lived and worked there for twenty years.
While we were living there we had three more children. 5 years after Wyatt we had a girl, Elise then two years after that another Boy Swede and finally five years later another Girl Shyla.
After 9/11 it was tough to make ends meet people just were not comfortable and this really effected there spending. We tried for years to move back here. We tried selling our property, but times were tough, and no one was buying.
In June of 2011 I put the property on a long-term lease with a friend and we finally moved back to San Diego. We started over again bringing all of the knowledge that comes from working in the rainy north west mountains of Oregon It rained nearly every day for three solid months every year for twenty years.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In 1996 still in Oregon I fell through a hand rail moving a refrigerator and broke my back. This was very tough at first but after a few weeks I was out hanging Rain Gutter with a back brace on. I had a family to feed and did what I had to do. It really slowed me down for a few years but eventually I did recover.
When we first moved back here I use to go to the Home Depot and Lowes parking lots two or three times a week and just pass out cards to anyone and everyone who looked like a contractor. We also developed fliers and would go around neighborhoods where we were working and put them at all of the homes that did not have rain gutter I could always come up one or two jobs that way.
While I was waiting for a test date for my Contractors license I also build my own web site and did all of the SEO Myself. I knew nothing about that. I would just read and do little by little we finally made first page of google.
A couple of years ago I had it all redone into a modern up to date web site but a professional.
On June 26th, 2013 I had a scaffold collapse at a job I was doing and I fell around 12 feet and landed on my right side in a pile of broken up bricks. This resulted in a class 10 tear of the rotator cuff hip injury and neck injury. I had surgery on September 26th, 2013.on my Shoulder and in Oct on my Hip. This was a rough injury with a slow recovery. Two months after the surgery. I had to go through 18 weeks of physical therapy.
During this period, I had my Wife and Son helping me work. They would hold the gutter in place while I went along and did the work with my left hand. Eventually I started working with my right hand again and am now pretty much back to normal.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Century Raingutters story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a licensed and bonded contractor with over 27 years experience. Our background includes 20 + years as a gutter contractor in Southern Oregon. IT IS THIS EXPERIENCE THAT SETS US APART. We understand exactly what it takes for any gutter system to operate at peak efficiency. We strive to produce a high quality “lifetime” product with exceptional craftsmanship at a fair and competitive price All work is custom-tailored to your needs, NO PREFAB CORNERS. We treat every customers’ home as we would treat our own. We take an artistic approach. Rain gutters really can be much more than functional, they can also be very attractive and when intended, even become a focal point of the home utilizing decorative chain drops & rain barrels.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck favors hard work.
Pricing:
- As far as pricing, every job is a little different however as home improvements go, seamless rain gutters are relatively inexpensive when compared to other types of home improvements.
Contact Info:
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