Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Yanez.
Joel, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My story has been quite eventful, at least in my opinion. I was born in Mexico City and raised by mom and grandparents (to whom I can’t be thankful enough); in 2006 I was awarded a scholarship overseas to Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong where I finished the International Baccalaureate while also being able to travel to different parts of China, Vietnam, and South Korea. These two years of my life were incredibly paramount to who I am today, not only was its academic curriculum intellectually engaging and challenging but also its commitment to community service and the ideals of social justice drive much of my daily and life decisions.
Finally, I was awarded a similar scholarship at Earlham College, where I graduated in 2013. These four years felt almost like a natural continuation of the experiences above, while also being set in the very contrasting setting of rural Indiana; many of the friendships that I forged during that time remain strong to this day while its lessons on governance and decision making guide how I interact in business every day till this day.
I moved to San Diego shortly to be here for the birth of my young daughter a few days after my graduation with $80 in my pocket. As many recent college grads might agree, it turns out that a college degree does not automatically mean a job, and with the realization that the price of rent was three times as much as Indiana’s, I had to figure out how to make money quickly even if they were not the ideal jobs. However, as many others might agree, parental love can fuel and make miracles happen.
After a few attempts in the job market and the first year in San Diego that was incredibly hard, I noticed that there was room for improvement in the home remodeling industry, and it became something I felt passionate about since I come from a working family where “the American Dream”, or at least its ideals of hard work and fairness are paramount.
I started heading the operations of Millan Construction in August 2018, to make a change in the industry and how it is perceived. Currently, the largest companies subcontract most work to smaller licensed contractors (who they beat down in price constantly); some companies charge up to 5X of the improvement of the real cost while having most of the actual money go towards bonuses, commissions and marketing, I truly believed, and still believe there is a better way.
I found the power of the internet to be the great equalizer, as more information is available and we live in this internet era, it became evident to me that us, the little guys, could now play on the same field than the larger corporations. Most of our work has come from referrals or from the online marketing efforts that I have developed. By streamlining, and reducing the cost of our marketing by over 90% compared to the average cost of a canvassing team, we can offer the same quality of work, the same or better quality of materials, at a competitive or even lower cost. We are not by any means a finished operation, but we are moving in the right direction.
No man is an island and there is no way I could have gotten where I am (we are) today without my mother, grandparents, incredible teachers, friends, our hardworking staff and foremen, as well as my daughter and wife who always inspire me to be and do better.
Has it been a smooth road?
No, not at all. Plenty of struggles, but more importantly, plenty of lessons both personal and in business. However, I would not be who I am without them.
I had to wrap my head around the idea that I was not going to work in my field of study while trying to make ends meet and trying to learn how to be a father at age 24 whilst figuring out how San Diego works. Not gonna lie here, things got rough pretty fast; however, I do want to give hope to whoever is reading this: it does get better, but it will probably get a bit uglier till it does.
During 2013 and 2014 I recall donating plasma as often as I was allowed to try to provide baby formula, baby clothes, or even just daily gas money; this was, of course, the complete opposite of why I left home at 17. This was, however, no time for excuses, I had to keep going just like my mom and grandparents did in their trying times for the sake of their children (myself included).
After my first breakthrough in mid 2014 in the remodeling industry, things have been steadily getting better, though again, I am nowhere close to being done. I truly believe that the unprecedented convenience and communication of a mobile-first world will allow for many businesses to grow, as well as new skill sets that will become employable and marketable.
Business wise, remodeling and home improvement are industries that in themselves carry a bad reputation. It is understandable following decades of poor business practices and ignored consumer frustrations. I mean, when was the last time anyone took a telemarketer call willfully? This is just marketing, don’t even get me started on high pressure sales tactics. When I said there was room for improvement, I meant that there was and still is a lot.
All of the above should sound somewhat familiar to any homeowner or anyone who has done any home improvements over the last 20 years and were also facts that I had to catch up on rather quickly. In my opinion, in this industry, the biggest challenge is to provide the best customer service while dealing with unpredictable aspects of construction such as weather, delivery/arrival times, and even unexpected repairs that need to happen to complete a project properly even if they move the original project timeline.
We try to focus on one project at a time so to ensure that we can meet with customers in person on demand, as well as always being able to provide real time updates regarding each project. It is not a perfect process yet, but we are actively working on it by always listening and requesting customers’ feedback. We also try to document as much of our progress as possible.
Tell us more about the business.
Millan Construction is a General Contractor operating in San Diego County. We specialize mostly in interior and exterior remodeling, we are known for our friendly, consultative approach, our reliability and upfront honesty. I am particularly proud of how we have embraced and used technology to simplify customer interactions, display our work and ongoing projects, as well as remove any type of perceivable pressure from all customer interactions. We set ourselves apart by being a company that embraces change and evolution as gear ourselves to be a player in this digital first world, all while also trying to embody the old school business values of reliability, honesty, and effective customer service in every interaction. Long story short, by using technology we aim to provide peace of mind to our customers as they can access past projects and reviews in real time, anytime; by acknowledging and reviewing customer feedback, we incorporate it into how we frame our interactions and promote our services, resulting in a completely pressure free, yet interactive experience.
The large majority of our customers enjoy our paperless documents and the ease of having project information and updates at their fingertips. I also take pride in our attempts to learn and document the communities we work in. San Diego is an incredible place with beautiful views, and even more amazing people; we feel we can provide a unique perspective on them as contractors. I also enjoy how much I get to fly my drone and being able to share unique views of America’s Finest City as part of what we do, but that is just the icing on the cake.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I have already seen a huge shift in the first 5 years I have been in the industry; I have seen many companies come and go, including multimillion dollar ones. I have seen startups become multimillion dollar companies, rather than timing, it is about understanding the new playing field in my opinion.
I see a huge shift in both five and ten years, just as millennials become a larger sector of the real estate market, so will be the need for remodeling companies to step up and turn these houses into homes. This, plus the fact that technology use will only become further spread out to younger and older generations as well.
The rise of the internet and a mobile first world placed an increased emphasis on efficiency, convenience, and communication (preferably by text message), and as these customer expectations have spread due to the use of technology, these new “corporate values” have yet to be embraced by many operations. We will see many companies fail to adapt and therefore disappear, others will struggle but adapt and of course, there will be new, big players in town. I can see an increased focus on internet marketing and quality content (hopefully) in relevant social media channels. Transactions and interactions will become faster and shorter, while the standards of content and internet relevance will be higher; if you can figure out how to build that “old school” business trust through your internet media, your chances of succeeding will go way up.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5039 Surfside Dr, San Diego CA 92154
- Website: www.millanconstruction.com
- Phone: 6196938394`
- Email: joel@millanconstruction.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/millanconstructionincsd
- Facebook: facebook.com/millanconstruction
Image Credit:
All pictures taken and edited by Joel Yanez (me)
Picture of me taken by my wife, Brise Birdsong (who might also be featured in this magazine)
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