How I Wound Up Owning Half

So the bad news is that I have been extremely busy this entire week, but it is for a good reason. I now own 50% of Gear’d Development based in Cincinnati Ohio, it is a crazy story that seemed to fall into my lap but when I really look at it it is because I took chances and just networked.

It all basically began when I bought my first property in Cincinnati, I closed on the house and flew out there the next week. I researched before my trip and during my trip about not only general contractors but also subcontractors in case I had to go that route. I set up appointments with ten different contractors in one day, yes ten!! I was in Cincinnati for less than 24 hours from the time I hit the ground till when I had to be back at the airport. During my interviews with the 10 contractors, I narrowed it down to two of them Chris and Steve. They were both amazing and gave great feedback on the project and on ways I could save money, they even pitched in ideas about the floor plan. Now some people may think that they are trying to upsell me out of my budget but luckily I previously worked as a carpenter for a general contractor for a few years so I was able to tell that they were just both very excited about getting to work to see the final outcome.

I ended up picking Chris to do the job because he had a personal recommendation from someone I have come to trust greatly and also because Steve’s employer was having so many issues that it just seemed like trouble. However, I knew Chris could only handle one project at a time so I stayed in contact with Steve and promised I would have a job for him soon. This put the pressure on me to make sure I had a project because I value the worth of my word to others. We would talk a couple times a week so I could get a better understanding of how his pricing worked. During these conversations I would hear about how his boss was running things and I felt that his weaknesses were he was not using Steve in the right way, he was not involved enough since it was a start-up contracting business, he was too involved with other companies he owned that did not tie back into the contracting business, and he had never worked as a contractor or done any of his own work before.

I then began to tell Steve that if his boss ever became interested in selling the construction business to give me a call, I told him this multiple times over multiple phone conversations. Long story short there was a fall out between the two over how to run the business and where things were going wrong and Steve gave me a call and asked if I would be interested in partnering up and starting a general contracting business with him and the guys he employed at the other business. I agreed and we worked out a quick deal and decided he would be paid a set salary and I would be paid off the net profits of the company up until I matched his set salary and then we would split the rest 50/50. I did this deal because I would be handling all the ordering, marketing, scheduling, and general office work since I live in California and he would handle all bids, project management, and even swing a hammer himself on jobs. Plus I am employed full time as a paramedic and this is his only source of income. This may not seem fair but I find it to work out for all parties so everyone can thrive in the long term. So without further ado, I present Gear’d Development! We offer many packages to investors and always work with investors closely to be completely transparent. Feel free to call us at 513-449-0724.