Kimball Conover

I started in construction as a laborer. Grunt work, early mornings, Arizona summers spent on concrete that could cook an egg. Over the years I worked up to project manager, then superintendent, running crews and jobs building million dollar custom homes and answering for everything that happened on site. I was good at it and I liked it.

Then my hands stopped cooperating. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and the physical side of the work stopped being something I could count on doing for the next thirty years. That was a hard thing to accept. I had built an identity around being the guy who could outwork anybody on site.

So I built something else instead. I taught myself marketing, then software, then how to run a business from the owner's side of the desk. Four companies later, I'm still working with the same people I always have. Contractors, builders, tradesmen. I just help them from a different angle now.

My wife and I have four kids, which means most of what I do is measured against one question: does this let me be around for them? That's why I build companies that run on systems instead of on me being everywhere at once.

If you're a contractor and you've ever felt like your marketing guy was speaking a different language, that's why I do this. I've been on your side of it. I know what a real lead is worth and I know what a bad month feels like.