Moving day can feel like a storm. We sat down with Anne Smith of College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving in Asheville to unpack how her team turns chaos into calm through mindset, leadership development, and community-rooted service. From the moment they step on-site, their mission is simple: reduce stress. Anne explains why HUNKS—Honest, Uniformed, Nice, Knowledgeable, Service—is more than a catchy acronym; it’s the operating system for hiring, training, and customer experience. We get real a...
What does it really take to turn a two-person hustle into a durable, people-first business? We sit down with Maja, co-founder of Carolina Outdoor Lighting, to trace the arc from answering irrigation clients’ lighting requests to building a design-led brand known for craft, culture, and steady growth. From the first two-day crash course to a recent acquisition in Brevard, Maya shares the decisions that mattered most—and the ones she’d make sooner if starting over. We get practical about hirin...
Imagine walking into a home that felt chaotic yesterday and feels peaceful today. That’s the promise behind luxury organizing done right, and we brought back Jess Reed of Green Mountain Space to unpack exactly how her team delivers one‑day transformations, even across seven counties in Western North Carolina. From the first consult to the final label, Jess shares the systems, values, and leadership habits that turn a deeply personal service into a scalable, resilient business. We talk throug...
What if the biggest block to your team’s performance isn’t strategy, but unspoken tension? We sit down with hospitality business coach Christine Smith to unpack how emotional intelligence, honest conversation, and patient self-trust can transform culture and results. Christine works with owners and small teams to clear friction, create safe spaces, and align people around goals without forcing anyone to hide behind a role. We trace the arc from intuition to execution: how to listen to your b...
What does it look like to grow a local contracting business without billboards, gimmicks, or chaos? We sit down with owner-operator Ryan Wooten, who went from a single excavator to a respected residential grading and retaining wall company by doing one thing uncommonly well: finishing what he starts and making clients glad they hired him. Ryan opens up about turning down septic installs that slowed the crew, tightening his focus to driveway work, excavation, and boulder or block retaining wal...
What if your contractor experience felt more like a five-star hotel stay than a gamble with your calendar and patience? That’s the challenge Cedric Merrills took on when he left wedding photography to build WOW 1 Day Painting in Asheville—a company that pairs speed with hospitality and backs it with systems anyone can understand. We talk about the surprising power of basic promises kept: estimates delivered before leaving the consultation, photo updates during the job, clear walk-throughs at ...
Buying or selling a home shouldn’t feel like a blindfolded leap. We sit down with Will King—former teacher, now owner of Highside Home Inspections—to unpack how steady maintenance, clear education, and intentional planning reduce anxiety and create real value in every step of the real estate journey. From pre-listing inspections that prevent last-minute chaos to simple fixes that quietly raise sale price, we explore the small moves that make a big difference. Will pulls back the curtain on e...
Ever wonder why a $150/hour service call doesn’t mean the owner makes $150? We pull back the panel with Thomas Fleming, president of Strategic Electrical Solutions, to explore the real economics of the trades—7,000 hours of experience, a daunting license exam, payroll and workers’ comp, trucks and tools, and the thin margins that still have to fund safety, training, and great service. Thomas blends three decades in the field with nights teaching at the community college, turning education int...
What if your logo could sell for you every day—quietly, consistently, and everywhere your customers go? We sit down with David Riddell of Big Frog Custom T‑Shirts to unpack a decade of growth powered by flexible production, community presence, and relentless follow-through. From single-shirt solutions to thousand-piece runs, David explains why a retail, touch-and-feel experience reduces guesswork, builds trust, and turns branded apparel into a high-ROI channel that outperforms many ads. The ...
What if a remodeling company could also be a recovery engine for families and a launchpad for veterans? That’s the story Brad from WNC Built brings to the table—a ground-up look at how service, sales, and culture can scale a local business while delivering real impact in Western North Carolina. We start with the work on the ground: additions, kitchens, bathrooms—and the heavy lift of Rebuild Haywood, a grant-backed effort helping homeowners who’ve hit their FEMA and insurance limits after Hu...
What happens when a banking executive and a registered nurse decide to completely reinvent their lives at age 55? Dale and Stephanie's journey from comfortable careers to launching Cedar Direct, a specialty lumberyard in Western North Carolina, offers a masterclass in mid-life entrepreneurship and business development. "Pine is fine but cedar is sweeter" might be their catchy slogan, but the story behind Cedar Direct reveals the grit, planning, and relationship-building required to establish...
Justin Berger takes us behind the curtain of home inspection entrepreneurship, revealing how his business evolved from a simple scheduling concept to the comprehensive team-based approach that's driven 20% year-over-year growth for Home Inspection Collective since 2017. What sets this conversation apart is Justin's refreshing honesty about the entrepreneurial journey. He candidly shares how self-awareness transformed his business approach when he realized he wasn't "the best home inspector i...
What happens when you take a leap of faith, leave behind a successful business, and start over in a new community? Lyn Mabry, founder of Designing Spaces by Lyn, did exactly that when she followed her dream of living in the mountains of Western North Carolina. After 25 years in the design industry and a thriving business in Louisville, Lyn handed her company to her team and ventured to a place where she knew just one person. Her story of rebuilding from scratch offers powerful lessons for en...
What happens when you launch an architecture firm on the very day a recession begins? For Brent Campbell, founder of BCA Architecture and Design, that seemingly terrible timing in 2007 became the foundation for a thriving Asheville-based practice that now employs eight people and handles projects ranging from custom homes to commercial buildings across Western North Carolina. Joining host Bill Gilliland, Brent and fellow architect Erin Foy share the remarkable journey of building their firm ...
What does it take to build multi-million dollar luxury homes in today's challenging market? Doug Peterson of Peterson Builders TX pulls back the curtain on his third-generation construction business that's thriving in the competitive Texas Hill Country. Doug shares candid insights about the risks and rewards of scaling a construction business, revealing he would have grown faster had he known then what he knows now. His refreshing perspective on balancing ambition with execution comes from y...
What does it take to transform specialized skills into a thriving business while maintaining your sanity and creating a workplace people actually want to join? Spencer from Coastland Tree Works reveals exactly that in this candid conversation about his entrepreneurial journey. After honing his craft through a comprehensive apprenticeship in Germany, Spencer returned to America with technical expertise and a vision for a different kind of tree care company. Three years into business ownership...
Derek Prince takes us behind the scenes of his entrepreneurial journey as founder of Pro Property Services, Asheville's premier exterior contracting company specializing in deck construction, siding, roofing, and log cabin restoration. But this isn't just a story about building physical structures – it's about building multiple successful businesses with intention and purpose. What makes Derek's approach unique is how he's transferred principles from competitive bodybuilding into business le...
Carving out a specialized niche might seem limiting, but for Garfield Jones of Paver Perfection, it's been the foundation of his entrepreneurial success. Broadcasting from Palm Beach - what Garfield calls "the paver capital of the world" - this episode delves into how focusing exclusively on paver restoration created a thriving business that commands premium prices while fixing other contractors' mistakes. Garfield doesn't mince words about the hard lessons he's learned running a growing ent...
Brett Hulsey's journey from college newspaper staffer to media company owner defies conventional wisdom about print's demise in a digital world. As owner of Holsey Media Group and WNC Business Magazine, Brett shares how he transformed a small publishing operation into a thriving enterprise with approximately twelve magazine titles serving Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. "I'd worked for over a decade on the digital side of the publishing world where everything seemed to be ...
What does it take to build a thriving business in a traditionally blue-collar industry? Jeremy Gunn of JBG Painting reveals the surprising answers in this candid conversation about entrepreneurship, employee retention, and creating real value. Starting just four and a half years ago with nothing but a desire for independence, Jeremy has built a painting company that stands apart from competitors by focusing exclusively on high-end residential work. Unlike the typical contractor model, his te...