Larry Clay of Clay Construction: Foundation to Finish- Building Your Company and Brand

“You must have a number of stories, based on your experience, of how you are going to build a better home so that your clients are going to have piece of mind and less issues.”

He may make being an award-winning custom homebuilder in Vancouver look easy, but it wasn’t always that way.

Today, your guy, Larry Clay, owner & operator of Clay Construction talks behind the scenes of what he overcame to be the recipient of the prestigious Grand Georgie Award for best custom home.

It was October, 2009 (if that doesn’t give you chills….)

…an accident, a planning glitch, then, the Great Recession…and re-inventing himself.

He became the reluctant custom home builder. Reluctant because he had been a custom builder before, and spec houses were more straight forward.

How do you sell your client on the added cost of high-performance homes? (I’m asking, answer below)
It’s all about the language with Larry Clay, he captivates his clients with his vision, not the price tag.

Last year, he met one of his mentors, Harold Orr, who schools his new student Larry on vapor barriers (and me too, I’m still scratching my head).

The marketing isn’t just hiring it out. It’s knowing your building science, walking the walk, and going for the big awards.

Larry’s big four for fellow contractors: Leadership, awards, education and working on your brand.

But Larry asks: If you could start your business over, what would you start doing sooner, what would you stop doing sooner?