“There is no substitute for being authentic and genuine.”
I started Inspired Homes together with my wife, Janet, in 2012.
At the beginning, it was simply an interest in renovation. But as we took on more projects, I started noticing the same issues coming up again and again.
Homeowners would come in with ideas and expectations. Everything looked good at the start. But somewhere along the way, things would change. Costs shifted, designs had to be adjusted, and some problems only showed up when work had already started on site.
Most of the time, it wasn’t because the ideas were wrong. It was because certain things were not properly thought through from the beginning.
Over time, that changed the way I look at projects. I’ve also been involved in projects where different parties were handling different parts of the job — designers, architects, contractors. On paper, it sounds organised. But in reality, when something goes wrong on site, it’s not always clear who is responsible. Things get delayed, and small issues can become bigger ones.
That’s why I prefer to keep things clear and straightforward, with one team taking responsibility from start to finish. Today, I’m mainly involved in site operations and overall project direction. I work closely with our team and subcontractors to make sure what is planned can actually be carried out properly. Because in this line of work, what happens on site matters just as much as what is drawn on paper.
I tend to be quite direct in how I communicate. That applies to both my team and our clients. It’s not about being harsh. It’s about being clear.
If something is likely to cause problems later, I would rather point it out early. It’s always easier to adjust at the start than to fix it halfway through construction.
As a company, we place a lot of emphasis on planning, coordination, and accountability. These are not the most obvious parts of a project, but they make a big difference to how smoothly things go.
At the end of the day, my focus is simple. Do the job properly, and be responsible for what we build.
