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Speaker 1: You've heard me say many times that the Houston Business

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Speaker 1: Journal does extraordinarily good work. If you are not a subscriber,

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Speaker 1: I highly recommend it. I read the Houston Business Journal

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Speaker 1: every week. I don't always get to read every article

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Speaker 1: in there. I think they do a much better job

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Speaker 1: than the Houston Chronicle at telling you what's going on

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Speaker 1: in our community, particularly as it relates to business and trends,

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Speaker 1: and they have for a very long time. I was

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Speaker 1: friends with John Beto back when he was the publisher

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Speaker 1: of the paper, and then when it changed hands. I've

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Speaker 1: talked to them over the years about a partnership. I've

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Speaker 1: talked to them about ways I can help them more

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Speaker 1: and they can help me, And how they can help

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Speaker 1: me is more introductions to business leaders because I like

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Speaker 1: to have folks on our show. We are very much

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Speaker 1: in the throes of an election right now, which means

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Speaker 1: we're talking election stuff government stuff all day every day.

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Speaker 1: But I've alway said I don't just want to be

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Speaker 1: a political show. I want to be a variety show.

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Speaker 1: And one of the things that I find very interesting

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Speaker 1: is business leaders.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: I have put the word out over the years that

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Speaker 1: I would love to talk to more business leaders. And

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Speaker 1: I find that with the really big companies, particularly public companies,

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Speaker 1: they want no part of a conversation, even though I

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Speaker 1: don't intend to talk politics. They just kind of keep

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Speaker 1: their head down. They don't want anything to do with that.

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Speaker 1: But when you get the really entrepreneurial type companies, they

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Speaker 1: love to tell their story. They're evangelical about telling their story.

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Speaker 1: So the Houston Business Journal does something every year called

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Speaker 1: the Fast fifty, and it's the fifty companies that have

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Speaker 1: had the greatest year over year growth over a two

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Speaker 1: year period in the region. So I used to reach

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Speaker 1: out to all the companies not on this list, but

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Speaker 1: on the other lists, and they would never respond, and

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Speaker 1: I think they probably thought I was trying to sell

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Speaker 1: them something, which is everybody else is trying to sell

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Speaker 1: them something.

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Speaker 2: So fine, But.

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Speaker 1: I just posted on Facebook and said, hey, here's this list.

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Speaker 1: If you know anybody on this list that would be

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Speaker 1: interested in telling their story. I find these stories fascinating.

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Speaker 1: The Fast fifty is much more a list and a

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Speaker 1: group of folks that are getting some real success and

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Speaker 1: it's happening quickly. They're very entrepreneurial in nature. One of

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Speaker 1: the things I noticed on that list, and this says

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Speaker 1: a lot about what's going on in our economy is

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Speaker 1: how many of them were in the construction industry in

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Speaker 1: one way or another. And that is number eight on

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Speaker 1: the list. Corvus Construction. Will Thornton is their president.

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Speaker 3: Welcome to the show, sir, Hey Michael, good morning.

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Speaker 1: Do you having Why do you think it is that

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Speaker 1: there are so many construction companies on this list?

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Speaker 3: Construction has uh, I mean it comes in waves. I

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Speaker 3: mean it's a it's a whole lot of it, or

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Speaker 3: or none at all. So we have, you know, years

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Speaker 3: of growth, and then we have years of trying to

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Speaker 3: figure out how to keep these guys busy. We developed

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Speaker 3: these these teams, and you cannot be in business without

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Speaker 3: the right team behind you. So we spent a lot

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Speaker 3: of time just trying to figure out ways to h

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Speaker 3: to keep our folks busy and uh and then of

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Speaker 3: course stay in front of the work and find those opportunities.

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Speaker 1: Well, what I find interesting is if if it's not

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Speaker 1: just you, if you were the only construction company booming,

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Speaker 1: it might just be that y'all are really really good

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Speaker 1: at what you do and uniquely, you know, you might

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Speaker 1: have a specialized industry. But if several folks in your

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Speaker 1: industry are doing well, that's a good sign for growth

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Speaker 1: and development in our region. What are you seeing? I

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Speaker 1: know that y'all do industrial warehouses. What do you think

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Speaker 1: is driving all this?

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Speaker 3: Is?

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Speaker 1: This is not nationwide growth? What's driving it here in Houston?

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Speaker 3: You know, the market has certainly changed.

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Speaker 4: You up.

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Speaker 3: People are are investing in industrial buildings right now. That

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Speaker 3: is that is for us, you know, so I mean

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Speaker 3: our customers. You know, they are investing their money into

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Speaker 3: industrial buildings.

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Speaker 4: And we are, you know, trying.

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Speaker 3: To to keep up with them, and and and then

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Speaker 3: of course you know we are offering them different services.

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Speaker 3: But the industrial warehouse boom has been very strong.

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Speaker 4: In Houston.

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Speaker 3: And uh, you know we do have you know, slow

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Speaker 3: downs and dips, but uh, you know, the demand is there.

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Speaker 3: We certainly think that it's a that our customer sees

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Speaker 3: it as a as a strong study investment.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about what exactly y'all do if if you

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Speaker 1: get the call, what why does somebody call Corbus?

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Speaker 4: What? What?

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Speaker 2: What project do they need done?

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Speaker 1: I noticed your your h your tagline is Corpus Construction

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Speaker 1: on on.

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Speaker 2: Time, on budget.

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Speaker 1: But if somebody calls you what what is most likely

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Speaker 1: that what what is the one sweet spot that you're

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Speaker 1: most likely to be doing?

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Speaker 3: Uh for our customer. We will do anything for our customer.

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Speaker 3: I mean, we build the warehouse, we build out the

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Speaker 3: in tiers, we have the service department that uh that

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Speaker 3: services those in tiers, and and and and and the

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Speaker 3: maintenance and the capital improvements. But if you're one of

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Speaker 3: our customers, you know, we don't want to only do

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Speaker 3: a little bit of your work. We want to do

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Speaker 3: all of it and do all of it very well.

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Speaker 3: So I think what's unique about about what we do

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Speaker 3: is that we uh, you know, we try to pick

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Speaker 3: up every call. We are there for for our customers.

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Speaker 3: You know, early in the prim in the primary budgeting

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Speaker 3: part of it, we are I mean, I mean my

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Speaker 3: father he liked to to to tell me, regardless of

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Speaker 3: the size, treat every project with the same urgency and

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Speaker 3: uh and when there's a problem, you attacked the problem

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Speaker 3: without blinking. And I mean that has been our success.

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Speaker 2: So you grew up in the business, yes.

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Speaker 3: Sir, Yes, sir, I should have my father and and

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Speaker 3: and my wife's Steve and Sara and Sarah Thornton. Here

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Speaker 3: we we run the business together.

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Speaker 2: So did your did your dad start the business?

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Speaker 5: Actually, the business was started and and Michael, this is Steve,

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Speaker 5: good morning. Uh, the business was started by Trammel Pro Company.

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Speaker 5: And there's a long, convoluted story about how that happened.

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Speaker 5: But I was actually hired by them to run the company,

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Speaker 5: and fairly soon thereafter purchased it from Trammel Pro Company.

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Speaker 2: And how long ago was that?

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Speaker 5: My higher date was January first, nineteen ninety two, and

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Speaker 5: I purchased a company in ninety four.

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Speaker 2: It would be my dream. I won't tell them they

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Speaker 2: need to do it.

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Speaker 1: I don't push them to it, but if that was

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Speaker 1: how it turned out, it would be my dream that

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Speaker 1: my sons, who are presently seventeen and eighteen, would want

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Speaker 1: to join me in my business and that we could

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Speaker 1: work together all the way.

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Speaker 2: I think that is.

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Speaker 1: I see that a lot of restaurant families do that.

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Speaker 1: I see that, and I think it is you get

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Speaker 1: to spend time together. I know it's hard, but you

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Speaker 1: get to spend time together in a way that's very hard.

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Speaker 1: If you have different if you have different jobs in

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Speaker 1: different places. You know it's not all positive and it

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Speaker 1: can create some difficulty and maybe some awkwardness at Thanksgiving

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Speaker 1: on occasion, but that would be my dream is to

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Speaker 1: get to do that whole with me. For just a moment,

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Speaker 1: we're talking to Will Thornton of Courvis Construction. If you

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Speaker 1: are not a Houston Business Journal subscriber, I think you

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Speaker 1: can still go on and find the Fast fifty. It's

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Speaker 1: interesting to see what industries the guys are in that

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Speaker 1: are seeing great success right now in construction.

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Speaker 2: This one in particular.

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Speaker 1: There are several companies on there which I think bodes

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Speaker 1: well for our region.

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Speaker 2: More committed one.

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Speaker 6: Is the day of everyone thinking they could actually live

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Speaker 6: the American True.

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Speaker 2: The Michael Berry Show, Will Thornton is our guest.

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Speaker 1: They are number eight on the Fast fifty with the

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Speaker 1: Houston Business Journal, and Will Thornton is the president of

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Speaker 1: the company.

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Speaker 2: His whole family works there. Will.

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Speaker 1: I can't help but notice you have a stutter, and

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Speaker 1: yet you have absolutely no fear doing an interview.

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Speaker 3: Honestly, I think my stutter made me a great salesman.

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Speaker 4: I used to bother me when I was younger.

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Speaker 3: It was it was the you know something that I

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Speaker 3: hated doing when when when I was younger, I believe

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Speaker 3: that people that are successful that you take a weakness

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Speaker 3: and you turn it into into something good.

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Speaker 4: People they trust me.

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Speaker 3: I think that maybe that stutter is a part of

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Speaker 3: it that they see that I don't have a big ego.

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Speaker 4: I'm not super proud.

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Speaker 3: You can talk to me, you know, you know, take

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Speaker 3: something and make it good, take everything and make it good.

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Speaker 2: Well.

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Speaker 1: What I find interesting about that is there were other

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Speaker 1: people in the company who could have done the interview, and.

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Speaker 2: You stepped up and did it.

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Speaker 1: If you told me, Michael, this year I added three

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Speaker 1: hundred million dollars to the company's bottom line, I would

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Speaker 1: be less impressed by that than the fact that you

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Speaker 1: stepped up said yep, I'll do the interview for our company.

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Speaker 1: You had to know that at some point in the conversation.

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Speaker 1: This is radio, which is a lot harder if you're

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Speaker 1: in person. You can use your hands to get to

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Speaker 1: get a sentence finished, and you're not the first person

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Speaker 1: I've told this to. It's just something that I deeply

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Speaker 1: admire for you to do that and know that at

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Speaker 1: some point in the interview, I'm gonna go humhm, this

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Speaker 1: guy's got a stutter, and not everybody deals with that

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Speaker 1: very well I have. I mean, I could not tip

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Speaker 1: a bigger hat to you. I admire that so much,

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Speaker 1: I really do. And I've said this to many people

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Speaker 1: who if they call in callers, know that if you

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Speaker 1: call our show and you have a stutter, you're getting

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Speaker 1: a little extra time and a little extra pat on

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Speaker 1: the back.

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Speaker 2: Because that's brave.

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Speaker 1: Like that would be like me trying to get out

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Speaker 1: in the middle of the floor and dance and everybody

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Speaker 1: what because I cannot dance, and yet just saying, you

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Speaker 1: know what, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: push through and do it. Did you say there was

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Speaker 1: a young lady there with you? Is she she's part

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Speaker 1: of the group too.

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Speaker 4: Yes, Sarah here she's in charge of kicking her.

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Speaker 7: But every day, that's how I want to And what's her.

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Speaker 6: Vice president and council?

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Speaker 1: Okay, So so she's the lawyer and that's Sarah. Is

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Speaker 1: that Sarah with an H or no age?

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Speaker 6: Okay?

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Speaker 2: With an age with an H?

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Speaker 4: Ramon? All right?

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Speaker 1: And then we got Will he's the president. Then we

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Speaker 1: got Jock ewing a ka Steve, he's the dad.

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Speaker 2: He's this is he the CEO?

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Speaker 6: Oh?

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Speaker 4: Yes?

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Speaker 2: Okay? And then was there one more?

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Speaker 4: No judge the three of us?

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Speaker 2: Okay, yeah and there Uh.

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Speaker 5: They do have the next generation though, they've got a

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Speaker 5: ten year old and a six year old.

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Speaker 2: Start them early.

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Speaker 1: My boys have been coming into our studio recording with me,

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Speaker 1: hanging out with Ramon and Ramone's boys come here. In fact,

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Speaker 1: during the summer, they spend every day with us here

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Speaker 1: and they're coming in and out and we make them

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Speaker 1: record stuff.

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Speaker 2: And the earlier you can start young kids.

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Speaker 1: I ask people all the time when I meet their kids,

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Speaker 1: I will say, what does your mom do for a living?

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Speaker 1: And she might be the head of a law firm

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Speaker 1: and they have no idea, And I scold them on

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Speaker 1: that because your kids need to understand. Guess what that

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Speaker 1: trip to the theme park and those clothes you buy

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Speaker 1: and the house you live in that has to be

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Speaker 1: paid for somehow? Understand what you do? Will let me

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Speaker 1: go back to you. I spoke to Mueller Inc. Which

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Speaker 1: is one of my show sponsors. They're in the steel

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Speaker 1: building business. They fabricate stell buildings, and he said that

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Speaker 1: they are just booming right now. I spoke to him

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Speaker 1: a couple of days ago and he said they're booming

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Speaker 1: right now, and he said a lot of this was

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Speaker 1: pent up demand and the thought that Trump might win

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Speaker 1: has caused people to say, you know what, if Trump wins,

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Speaker 1: the floodgates open and we're not able to get stuff

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Speaker 1: for months. So people are on that bet starting to

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Speaker 1: open up the lower fifty basis points down in the

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Speaker 1: in the interest rates, several things working together. Well, how

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Speaker 1: much of what you're seeing in y'all's business is because

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Speaker 1: of is because the economy looks to be turning around

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Speaker 1: if Trump wins, versus interest rates versus just long standing

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Speaker 1: clients that just happened to be building something right now.

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Speaker 1: I'm trying to get a sense of where that demand

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Speaker 1: is coming from.

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Speaker 3: Sure, yes, I mean so we see you know, different

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Speaker 3: sides of it, you know, doing the interiors there there

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Speaker 3: there's also a lot of a renewal work that that

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Speaker 3: that happens. Regardless, my customers are starting to build against

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Speaker 3: I mean, I mean over the last year, you know,

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Speaker 3: everyone did slow down. There was a lot of uncertainty.

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Speaker 3: The interest rates did you know, kind of squeeze the

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Speaker 3: margin out of out of being able to develop a

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Speaker 3: building and make any money. We we we are hoping

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Speaker 3: to see you know, more growth in the manufacturing US.

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Speaker 3: Being in Texas and in Houston has has been very

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Speaker 3: good to us. We've been seeing a lot of companies

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Speaker 3: from out of Texas, you know, coming here, very very

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Speaker 3: interested in investing their their money here. It's a little

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Speaker 3: bit of a it's very much of a mixed bag.

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Speaker 3: It's not coming from from from one source of revenue.

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Speaker 3: But we certainly do see the momentum right now, and

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Speaker 3: we are hoping for a very business friendly UH leadership.

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Speaker 1: Talk about UH hiring, talk about employees, because that seems

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Speaker 1: to be for a lot of folks, the restaurant industry especially,

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Speaker 1: but everybody. Hiring skilled labor seems to be the biggest

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Speaker 1: challenge to growth right now.

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Speaker 4: Hiring skilled labor is very difficult right now for us

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Speaker 4: to do what we do.

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Speaker 3: We decided many years ago that we had to control

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Speaker 3: the labor. So we actually have a self performed arm

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Speaker 3: of the business that where we're running you know, one

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Speaker 3: hundred and to to one hundred and fifty hourly guys

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Speaker 3: for our self performed work. And the reason why we

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Speaker 3: have to, you know, to to do that as opposed

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Speaker 3: to summon it out, is that if you don't have

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Speaker 3: control of the labor. You cannot control the speed of

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Speaker 3: a project. You cannot control the quality of a project.

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Speaker 3: When you need to to get labor quickly, it's too late.

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Speaker 3: So so so you have to to always be hiring,

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Speaker 3: always be be building your labor force. We are trying to,

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Speaker 3: you know, train up some of the of the young

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Speaker 3: foreman to take uh bigger positions in the company. I

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Speaker 3: mean those will become our future superintendents and then and

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Speaker 3: then and then and then and then our project managers.

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Speaker 3: But labor is the most difficult and expensive part of

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Speaker 3: this business.

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Speaker 2: And where do you find that labor?

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Speaker 3: I'll find them. A lot of it is word of mouth.

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Speaker 3: If I talk to any subcontractor during the day, I'm

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Speaker 3: always asking them who who is good?

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Speaker 4: Who who might be looking? Uh.

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Speaker 3: We have a lot of a lot of folks that

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Speaker 3: will start through a third party group and and we'll

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Speaker 3: see if they are a good fit for us, and

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Speaker 3: then then we will hire them out.

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Speaker 4: All right.

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Speaker 3: We have a lot of people that have also come

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Speaker 3: to work with with with.

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Speaker 4: Their family and a lot a lot of.

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Speaker 3: Young guys that have come to work for for their family.

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Speaker 3: So in the in the field side of it. You know,

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Speaker 3: we have several, uh general, several generations of of a

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Speaker 3: skilled labor coming out of the field, and and we

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Speaker 3: very much encouraged that, and and we very much you know,

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Speaker 3: try to pair our more skilled u foreman with some

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Speaker 3: of the lesser skilled entry level guys that we see

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Speaker 3: potential in and then and then we will give them

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Speaker 3: their own crews.

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Speaker 2: Hole with me for just a moment.

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Speaker 1: We're talking to Will Thornton, the president of Corbus Construction,

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Speaker 1: Steve Thornton, the CEO, and Sarah Thornton with an H Ramon,

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Speaker 1: the vice president and council Corbus Construction number eight on

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Speaker 1: the Houston Business Journals Fast fifty.

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Speaker 2: More with them, Joe Biden became mentally impaired.

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Speaker 5: The Michael Berry Kamala was born.

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Speaker 1: That way, We're talking to the Triumvirent that leads Corvis Construction,

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Speaker 1: which came out number eight on the Fast fifty Houston

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Speaker 1: Business Journals list of the fifty companies seeing the greatest

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Speaker 1: year over year return for.

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Speaker 2: Two solid years.

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Speaker 1: And Corvis Construction is in industrial warehouses and interiors of warehouses.

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Speaker 1: Will we were taught Will Thornton is the president. Will

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Speaker 1: we were talking about labor and particularly the skills, the vocations,

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Speaker 1: the trades. What are you find in the most trouble

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Speaker 1: attracting right now? I'm assuming y'all sub a lot of

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Speaker 1: that out. But when you're looking for where to get

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Speaker 1: things done, which tends to be the one that brings

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Speaker 1: you the most difficulty, the greatest challenge, which trade?

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Speaker 4: Sure?

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Speaker 3: I mean what I mean this may not be across

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Speaker 3: the word for everyone, but when we struggle with are

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Speaker 3: are our highly skilled dry wall.

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Speaker 4: Foreman? Uh?

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Speaker 3: Those those those are the type that can lead crews.

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Speaker 3: I mean I mean that that that can lead you know,

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Speaker 3: ten twenty people on the job site who can do

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Speaker 3: do do do the layout very very very precisely. The

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Speaker 3: guys that that could run production uh uh track costs? Uh,

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Speaker 3: you know, maintained that at the the production rates that

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Speaker 3: we went and into our price with guys that can do,

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Speaker 3: you know, very high quality work and do it quickly.

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Speaker 1: Well, let me ask you this. I never heard of

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Speaker 1: supply chain being a degree that you can get in school.

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Speaker 1: But it sounds like Sarah, at least of the three

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Speaker 1: of you, isn't Aggie maybe more I'm not is she

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Speaker 1: I am? I figured I figured with the howdies you

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Speaker 1: must be where do you do you do you hire

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Speaker 1: these kids straight out of school? Or where do you

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Speaker 1: find the folks that understand project management in this sort

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Speaker 1: of thing.

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Speaker 3: We would prefer to hire guys out of school that

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Speaker 3: that have not been contaminated and do not have the

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Speaker 3: ego that a lot of that a lot of folks

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Speaker 3: do coming out of really you know, big companies. We

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Speaker 3: we want guys that that can hustle. We want guys

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Speaker 3: that can follow up. We want guys that can be

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Speaker 3: persistent and I can teach them anything if if they

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Speaker 3: can have those simple qualities.

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Speaker 1: So for parents out there, Will Thornton is the president

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Speaker 1: of Corvus Construction. They were number eight on the Houston

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Speaker 1: Business Journals Fast fifty of fast growing companies. For parents

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Speaker 1: out there who have a kid, boy or girl who's

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Speaker 1: a teenager and they say, you know, I could see

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Speaker 1: this being something my son or daughter grows up to do,

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Speaker 1: what would you encourage people you all have kids between

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Speaker 1: you there, what would you encourage parents to start teaching

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Speaker 1: kids in their teenage years and for young people to

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Speaker 1: start developing skills.

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Speaker 3: In any type of actual work. I mean if they could,

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Speaker 3: if if your kid likes to build something such as

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Speaker 3: there and mine. I mean, I mean my six, my

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Speaker 3: my my ten year old who at age six started welding.

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Speaker 3: They kid loves to build stuff. I don't know if

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Speaker 3: he's going to be the one that we send off

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Speaker 3: to college, but I'm certainly going to be uh encouraging

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Speaker 3: him to uh to come on board, uh and build

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Speaker 3: out his own spot.

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Speaker 4: But uh, kids.

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Speaker 3: That that enjoy being outside, that enjoy uh uh making

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Speaker 3: things happen, accomplishing something. I mean, it's as if you

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Speaker 3: can teach them how to finish something, you know, finish

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Speaker 3: a day's work, and I mean they can and come

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Speaker 3: back and do it again and again and again until

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Speaker 3: they see something built and see something that they're very

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Speaker 3: proud of.

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Speaker 4: I strongly encourage that.

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Speaker 1: Steve Thornton is the CEO of Corpus Construction. Steve, when

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Speaker 1: you were growing up, if I'd asked you when you

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Speaker 1: were eighteen what you wanted, what you were going to

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Speaker 1: be when you were fifty, what would.

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Speaker 2: You have said?

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Speaker 5: At eighteen? Let's see, my first major in college was

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Speaker 5: marine biology that lasted through the first field trip down

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Speaker 5: to the Florida Keys. My second major was physics, and

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Speaker 5: that lasted maybe a semester, and then I went into

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Speaker 5: construction management with an emphasis on construction and surveying. I

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Speaker 5: thought I wanted to be a land surveyor until I

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Speaker 5: graduated and saw the economic benefits of going the other

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Speaker 5: way and going into actual construction instead of surveying.

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Speaker 2: Where'd you go to school?

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Speaker 5: Southern Technical College in Marietta, Georgia?

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Speaker 1: And did you so? Did you start there with marine bology?

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Speaker 1: They had marine biology there?

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Speaker 2: Transfer?

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Speaker 5: No, I transferred. My mother was She was an English

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Speaker 5: professor and was very insistent that if we went out

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Speaker 5: of state we go to a private college, and if

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Speaker 5: we went in state, it had to be as a

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Speaker 5: state school. So I actually started at a little school

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Speaker 5: called Rollins College in winter Park, Florida, and quickly found

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Speaker 5: out that I was one of the very few, if

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Speaker 5: not the only, kid without a trust fund waiting. Yeah,

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Speaker 5: I had to go learn how to do.

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Speaker 1: Something that's always kind of kind of an awkward moment.

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Speaker 2: What brought you to Houston work?

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Speaker 5: After I graduated, I got a job in a place

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Speaker 5: called East Lake, Ohio, which is on Lake Erie. And

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Speaker 5: that's the one and only lake I've ever seen freeze.

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Speaker 5: So I got a call from a headhunter who said,

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Speaker 5: would you like to interview for a job in Pasadena,

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Speaker 5: which immediately it's out California, and it's now it's in Texas.

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Speaker 5: But I had two older brothers who were here in

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Speaker 5: the war business, and so I took the interview to

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Speaker 5: come get a free weekend to come.

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Speaker 3: Hang out with them, and.

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Speaker 5: Enjoyed it so much that I accepted the job, knowing

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Speaker 5: that it would be a short term.

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Speaker 2: Pull with me right there, just get me here.

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Speaker 1: The Thornton family are the triumvirant leadership of Corvis Construction,

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Speaker 1: number eight on the Houston Business Journals Fast fifty.

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Speaker 5: More than we will restore the American Republican.

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Speaker 4: Your support, we will make America powerful again.

448
00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:54,240
Speaker 1: Will, I'm going to go back to you and ask

449
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:58,000
Speaker 1: you the question. Will Thornton is the president of Corvis Construction.

450
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 1: They were number eight on the Houston Business Journals Fast

451
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:07,840
Speaker 1: fifty companies that are seeing explosive growth Right now, when

452
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 1: you guys are looking to hire for people out there

453
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,200
Speaker 1: considering a career change, I know you'd like to hire

454
00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,359
Speaker 1: kids straight out of college. The law firms take the

455
00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 1: same approach. They want to be able to teach you

456
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,840
Speaker 1: from the earliest stages. But for people out there looking

457
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,280
Speaker 1: and saying, and I say this all the time, get

458
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:29,159
Speaker 1: out of retail, get into things that you don't think about,

459
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,280
Speaker 1: things that you don't interrupt, interact with the warehouses, the

460
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,440
Speaker 1: commercial construction. These types of businesses have a lot more

461
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,439
Speaker 1: money to pay you in a lot more upside. But

462
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,040
Speaker 1: when you talk to folks out there that are looking

463
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,159
Speaker 1: to make a career change, what kind of people are

464
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,639
Speaker 1: y'all hiring right now as lateral hires, as folks that

465
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 1: are leaving, And how do they make that happen?

466
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,680
Speaker 4: Is it? Sure? Yeah?

467
00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 3: I mean I like to hire people that I like.

468
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:05,320
Speaker 3: I like to hire people that are persistent. I mean

469
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 3: sometimes I'll hire people without even knowing where they're going

470
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:08,680
Speaker 3: to go.

471
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 4: But I but, but, but but but but.

472
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,960
Speaker 3: I know they called me twenty times and and they

473
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,800
Speaker 3: text me every other day and they really want the job.

474
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,119
Speaker 3: And I mean those are the you know type of

475
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,399
Speaker 3: guys that I'll find a spot for them. We we

476
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:23,160
Speaker 3: know how to keep.

477
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:27,560
Speaker 1: People busy, and we know we need yeah, yes, yeah,

478
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,159
Speaker 1: we we know we need good people.

479
00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:33,520
Speaker 4: And uh and you know, skill set. I don't don't.

480
00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:36,119
Speaker 4: I don't really you know, stress out about that. I

481
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 4: I like guys that that that that can follow up.

482
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:40,159
Speaker 5: Sometimes.

483
00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:43,480
Speaker 3: You know, all we do all day long is solve

484
00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:47,600
Speaker 3: problems and and and to solve a problem, there may

485
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 3: not be a way to do it. So I want

486
00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 3: guys that will just come on board and help me.

487
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:53,240
Speaker 4: Figure that out.

488
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 3: Sometimes you got to call the city thirty times in

489
00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:58,280
Speaker 3: one day to make them happen. Sometimes you got to

490
00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:00,600
Speaker 3: call a subcontractor twenty times in a day to make

491
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:05,080
Speaker 3: something happen. There's always an excuse, and we want guys

492
00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:05,760
Speaker 3: to overcome that.

493
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,479
Speaker 1: I served on city council from one to seven, and

494
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,720
Speaker 1: I was very quickly known as the guy that you

495
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 1: called if you had a real estate issue, because a

496
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,720
Speaker 1: permitting issue, because I was the very pro real estate guy.

497
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:21,320
Speaker 2: And it would make me crazy.

498
00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:23,960
Speaker 1: People would call they were trying to get a project online,

499
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,800
Speaker 1: hand keys over to a tenant. This was you know,

500
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,600
Speaker 1: there were two years into this process and there had

501
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,040
Speaker 1: been all this positive press about you know, this kind

502
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,400
Speaker 1: of company's coming to town or this kind of restaurant

503
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,080
Speaker 1: or this kind of retail or whatever else, and the

504
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,760
Speaker 1: city was holding them up because the bath because the

505
00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,600
Speaker 1: toilet was three inches closer to the wall or further

506
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 1: from the wall than they wanted, and it just it

507
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,680
Speaker 1: made me crazy. Sarah with an h vice president and

508
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:52,880
Speaker 1: lawyer at Corvus Construction. Let me ask you if you

509
00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:58,920
Speaker 1: were king for a day and there were no political considerations,

510
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:03,560
Speaker 1: if there was a governmental whether it's tax or legal

511
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:09,360
Speaker 1: change that would just open up the economy and unthrottle

512
00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,800
Speaker 1: businesses and you could make that. What would that change

513
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:14,520
Speaker 1: be without regard to who would be.

514
00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:15,160
Speaker 2: Upset about it?

515
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:18,720
Speaker 6: If I could do that for Corvis, it would be

516
00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:19,600
Speaker 6: fixed the permitting.

517
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, at the city typically.

518
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,560
Speaker 7: Yes, yes, at the city level, the county to some

519
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,520
Speaker 7: I like, I like to see you do that on

520
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:34,200
Speaker 7: the tax side too, Okay, yeah, I mean if I

521
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:37,800
Speaker 7: am king, Yeah, I think if you if you even

522
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 7: think about all the different avenues where we pay taxes through,

523
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:43,600
Speaker 7: it's just mind boggling.

524
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,240
Speaker 1: So you know, you know the frustrating thing about that

525
00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:55,600
Speaker 1: is that cities and business districts and counties and even states,

526
00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:59,400
Speaker 1: they will talk about business development and they will raw raw,

527
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:03,080
Speaker 1: look at what we've done. We brought this business here.

528
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:08,360
Speaker 1: Oftentimes the business came despite them, and they will throw

529
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,720
Speaker 1: tax incentives at businesses, which I don't mean to suggest

530
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,720
Speaker 1: aren't important, but for every new business you try to

531
00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,560
Speaker 1: lure here, and I'm all for it by giving them

532
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,560
Speaker 1: a tax advantage over the long standing businesses. What people

533
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:25,160
Speaker 1: don't tend to understand that are in government because they

534
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:26,880
Speaker 1: don't think the way y'all do. They don't have to

535
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 1: meet a budget. They just raise taxes and we're seeing

536
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,600
Speaker 1: that happen now. What they don't understand is you could

537
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 1: grow your existing stable of companies that are busy here

538
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:41,080
Speaker 1: if you just got out of the way. And it's

539
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 1: not that these permits it. You know, I used to

540
00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:46,200
Speaker 1: tell people, I'm not going to help you get a

541
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:48,400
Speaker 1: permit that I don't believe you should get, or that

542
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,840
Speaker 1: you're cheating or is going to endanger somebody. I'm going

543
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 1: to speed the process up, and that's all people ask for.

544
00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,880
Speaker 1: If cities would invest in permitting officials that are that

545
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,200
Speaker 1: are the ambassador of the sea, it would be amazing

546
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:03,320
Speaker 1: the growth we could see.

547
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 2: But they won't do it. They don't think on that level.

548
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,760
Speaker 6: Well, I have a lot of hope, despite our differences,

549
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,440
Speaker 6: that may Or Whitmer does what he says. He was

550
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,520
Speaker 6: at at luncheon and NAOP luncheon last week, and he

551
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:21,440
Speaker 6: talks a good talk on getting the permitting issue fixed.

552
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,440
Speaker 6: So we have differences, but I hope he's hope he

553
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:24,920
Speaker 6: does it.

554
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,320
Speaker 3: There are some some individuals you know, on that side

555
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,160
Speaker 3: that will you reach out.

556
00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:36,040
Speaker 4: And extend, and we certainly appreciate those people.

557
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,360
Speaker 1: It is it's a question of priorities, and it's a

558
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:45,240
Speaker 1: question of direction. It's not true that every permitter is bad.

559
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,080
Speaker 1: There are plenty of good when I don't know if

560
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:49,960
Speaker 1: Bobby Oaks is still there. He was there when I

561
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,200
Speaker 1: was there, But Bobby Oaks was a guy.

562
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:53,520
Speaker 2: If it is he still.

563
00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:57,680
Speaker 3: There, I've not talked to him in a while, but

564
00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,280
Speaker 3: when I was running my own permits, he held me

565
00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:02,080
Speaker 3: many many many times.

566
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:07,760
Speaker 1: Bob Bobby's Bobby's approach was the codes are here to

567
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:10,880
Speaker 1: protect the public, and I'm going to make sure to

568
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,720
Speaker 1: protect the public, but I'm also going to make sure

569
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 1: that I help you get to that point. You know,

570
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,640
Speaker 1: when when a company tries to comply because people are

571
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:21,880
Speaker 1: trying to comply, They're not trying the same thing with

572
00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,800
Speaker 1: the tax code. People are trying to comply, and when

573
00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:27,440
Speaker 1: you when you come in and you've told them what

574
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 1: to do. This was the one that really always chapped me.

575
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,680
Speaker 1: The worst is when you come in and you've told

576
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:34,920
Speaker 1: you know, you've read tagged it, and they you say

577
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,320
Speaker 1: fix this, and they go in and fix it, and

578
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:39,600
Speaker 1: then they get an approval over here and they get

579
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:42,760
Speaker 1: to the end and then they say no, that that

580
00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:45,320
Speaker 1: didn't meet code. And now you've got to rip all

581
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,520
Speaker 1: that out. That's time and money and that is that

582
00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,680
Speaker 1: is very, very very stressful. Oh my goodness, Ramona has

583
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:53,320
Speaker 1: just told me we are out of time. You guys

584
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:55,280
Speaker 1: are great. I wish you the best of low Do.

585
00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,719
Speaker 1: Y'all know my friend John Wycoff, he's a show sponsor

586
00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,320
Speaker 1: in Buddy of Mine Wycoff Development.

587
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:07,400
Speaker 3: I have I believe that I've budgeted some deals for

588
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,200
Speaker 3: him in the past. We really appreciate your time, Michael.

589
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,840
Speaker 3: If there's anything that my team could cut ever do

590
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,959
Speaker 3: for for a group that needs help, please keep us

591
00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:20,320
Speaker 3: in mind.

592
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,040
Speaker 1: We would love to That would be Camp Hope. And

593
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:25,360
Speaker 1: you just made a mistake by telling me that I

594
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 1: will be in touch.

595
00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:26,800
Speaker 2: You guys are great.

596
00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,720
Speaker 1: Sarah with an h. Steve the jockying of the of

597
00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:32,360
Speaker 1: the Thornton family. Thank you, guys. I appreciate your time

598
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:34,880
Speaker 1: and for the rest of you. If you know one

599
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:39,360
Speaker 1: of the companies on the Houston Fast fifty or if

600
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,320
Speaker 1: that is you, reach out because I love to tell

601
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:46,280
Speaker 1: these stories. We are a variety show, not a political show.

602
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,720
Speaker 1: We just happen to be a variety show that talks

603
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,320
Speaker 1: about a lot of politics. But if I can help

604
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,160
Speaker 1: somebody find a job, make a career, move, you name it,

605
00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,479
Speaker 1: I enjoy that. I enjoy the heck out of that,

606
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,360
Speaker 1: and and that's what I interesting. We do the show

607
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 1: that we find interesting, and we hope you do as well.

608
00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: That was Corvis Co r v US Construction. They are

609
00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:12,759
Speaker 1: number eight on the HBJ Fast fifty, and we'll be

610
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:14,840
Speaker 1: talking to some others.

611
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:20,200
Speaker 2: On that list coming out. I mean not right now,

612
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:21,480
Speaker 2: but I just mean generally,