Pairing an innovator and an integrator

Kevin Hussey, CEO & President of United Fire and Water Damage (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), joins The DYOJO Podcast to discuss his entrepreneurial journey. Kevin started his adventure in the skilled trades when he opened a carpet cleaning business in Colorado. Like many in the industry, that venture evolved into adding services for water damage mitigation and property restoration. 

Many growth minded professionals think that there is money to be made in water and fire damage restoration. They are right, but there are also many tough lessons that must be learned if you are going to be successful in building a company that will be profitable and sustainable. Kevin moved his operation to Louisiana following opportunities that presented themselves in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

As Mr. Hussey made roots, he continued to evolve as a person in a position of leadership and recognized his need to add an integrator. In his book Traction, author Gino Wickman talks about the importance of pairing an innovator with an integrator, "The Visionary/Integrator relationship is a two-piece puzzle. Even the most inspiring Visionaries cannot do it all, and the ideal Integrator will fill the void, seal the gap, and complete the winning formula." Kevin shares many of his thoughts in this hiring process, joining a national network, as well as the local marketing efforts that have helped them remain independent from the preferred vendor programs common in insurance claims repairs. 

Discussion Topics from TDP 44:

• His journey from carpet cleaning in Colorado to helping Blockbuster video recover from Hurricane Katrina
• Meeting a “nice Southern girl” and making roots in Lousiana
• Joining the DKI network * The challenges and advantages of hiring an “integrator” when you are an “innovator” (terminology from Gino Wickman’s book Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business)
• The alternatives to being a “program” or “preferred” vendor for insurance companies
• Creative ideas for generating work as an “independent” contractor working with plumbers, realtors, adjusters and more.
• The good idea that quickly became a bad one - starting your own plumbing company as a restoration contractor
• Using Docusketch to maximize your efficiency in estimating insurance claims

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TDP 44 Breaks and Announcements:

• We share our first reading list for 2021
• This must be the year of the podcast, we share several of the industry podcasts that have been created in 2020 in the opening introduction
• If you didn’t catch it the first time, Gerrett Stier put an amazing ad together for GMS Distribution that is hilarious and informative, this is a master-class in modern advertising
• The Intentional Restorer column in Restoration and Remediation (R&R) Magazine for January will feature a discussion of Dr. Leo Marvin’s groundbreaking book, Baby Steps, and the parallels to our professional growth in 2021

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In 2021 we will be focusing on a LIVE format and moving our release date to Thursdays at 9am PST. We look forward to our listeners being able to interact with the show more. Our first LIVE Pro vs Joe will be Saturday 1/16/11 at 8pm PST and our first LIVE The DYOJO Podcast will be Thursday 1/21/21 at 830am PST with Ken Larsen.

TDP 44 Guest:

• Kevin Hussey - www.unitedfireandwater.com
• The DYOJO Podcast - www.thedyojo.com/listen