At age 53, Sue Heltzel made a major career change that took her 1,000 miles away from home and into a new profession she knew nothing about. A successful car saleswoman for 10+ years in South Dakota, Sue left the comfort of her secure job and surroundings to join her two sons as co-owner of a remodeling company – Putting on the Fix.
Leap of Faith
As the first and only woman salesperson in a small town South Dakota car dealership, Sue distinguished herself in a male driven market with record sales. When all three of her children moved to Texas, Sue and her husband did some serious self reflection and decided to join them to be near their family. Sue also has siblings in Texas with whom she is close. She admits it was extremely difficult to walk away from a successful career and travel across the country to a place that was completely new to her, especially when her husband, Don was not due to arrive in Texas until several months later.
But this leap of faith has turned into a wonderful new opportunity that Sue enjoys very much. Her sons always dabbled in fix & flip property ventures but in Texas they established a new business that focuses on remodeling projects. In the tight economy, customers are more apt to remodel existing homes than purchase a new dwelling so business is quite strong.
Family Affair
While working with family can be a challenge in and of itself, Sue had additional trials like adjusting to a new community, acquiring a brand new skill set and the demands of hard physical labor.
Sue’s new job does not keep her behind a computer all day. She is right in the thick of things, painting, tiling and demolishing work sites to prepare for the remodeling projects. Sue’s youngest son is the contractor and does the day-to-day job bidding and serves as the main remodeler doing the construction work. Her other son has a day job so he lends his expertise by assisting with the marketing and company website and also helps on the job sites when he can.
The challenge with a family business is communicating effectively and regularly. The Heltzel’s have a nightly phone conference to talk about the projects in process and in the queue. With multiple job sites, it can happen that they don’t see each other in a given day.
On the Job Training
While Sue’s sales and professional relationship building skills certainly come in handy for the new business, learning to set bathroom tile is a completely new challenge. Sue dove right into this new opportunity with a can-do attitude that is infectious. She admits she is addicted to the TV design and remodeling shows and has taken many classes and workshops to learn the basics from reinforcing walls to setting ceramic tile.
Currently, Sue does a lot of the finishing details while her son and husband handle the larger construction but she has had her fair share of demolition work which is very demanding physically. She commented that often a customer will be surprised to see a woman remodeler show up for the job. But often they appreciate having her female design perspective so having a woman on the team has been an asset to the business.
Room for Growth
While Sue continues to add skills to her remodeling repertoire, building the business is always a concern for the Heltzel family. Sue attends networking meetings and Chamber of Commerce events and is a member of the Better Business Bureau. The company website has been a great way to expand business complete with a blog that offers remodeling wisdom and tips. The Heltzel’s value their community partnerships with organizations including: Texas Trees Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, A Brush with Kindness and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. They are firm believers in giving back to the community and providing assistance to those in need.
Going Green
Putting on the Fix is committed to green remodeling, an all-encompassing approach that emphasizes making a home healthy, comfortable, and efficient. Consideration is given to indoor air quality, energy conservation, resource conservation, reduced material waste, and the use of products that are better for the environment and for people.
The Heltzel’s believe that implementing eco-friendly practices to the remodeling of your home/business will help to preserve our environment for future generations by conserving natural resources and protecting air and water quality. Green building strategies are good for everyone’s pocketbook by reducing maintenance and replacement requirements, reducing utility bills and lowering the cost of home ownership, and increasing property and resale values.
Future Plans
Sue and her family have a vision for their business and a strategic plan to see it grow. They want to employ some additional remodelers to expand the team and offer insurance and benefits to their employees. The plan is for both Heltzel sons to work full-time in the business as well and to grow their clientele and visibility in Dallas Fort Worth and surrounding communities.
The company’s foundation is based on respect, trust, integrity and communication. The Heltzel’s believe communication is essential to the success of a project. They listen to their client needs and work hand-in-hand with them to ensure detailed craftsmanship and full satisfaction.
Sue has taken on a challenging and exciting new career in her 50’s and working with her family has provided an opportunity for each of them to play to their strengths. In a career field where you rarely see women, Sue has once again distinguished herself and found her new career niche.
Quote:
“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” Sue Heltzel
Sue’s Advice and Action Steps:
- Being a woman in a male dominated career field can be very rewarding.
- Never stop learning new skills.
- If you have a family business, divvy up the strengths and assign job tasks accordingly so everyone plays to their forte.
- Change can be good – don’t be afraid to take a risk.
Resources
Putting on the Fix www.puttingonthefix.com
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