For most of my life, my Dad owned his own business. He was a carpenter and could build anything from a child’s rocking horse to furniture to kitchen cabinets. If someone asked for something specific, he just figured it out. He had that rare combination of skill and problem-solving that made people trust him with their projects, no matter how unusual or challenging.

But what I remember most about those early years wasn’t the finished products. It was the people.

Lessons From the Shop

I used to spend time at his shop before school and on weekends, helping out however I could. Looking back now, I realize I was getting an education in business that no classroom could have provided. I remember three things about that time very vividly.

The Sawdust

First was the sheer amount of sawdust. It was my job to clean it up, and there were mountains of it. Literally everywhere: on the workbenches, the floor, clinging to tools and hanging in the air. I thought it was torture at the time. Now I understand it was my introduction to the reality of business. There’s always cleanup work. There’s always something unglamorous that needs doing. But if you want a functioning operation, you do it.

The Applications

Second were the job applications. My Dad would get them in the mail, and I used to go through them and tell him who he should hire, usually based on how many spelling errors I found on the application. My Mom was a teacher, so grading papers came naturally to me. I was maybe ten years old, completely convinced I was an expert in hiring.

Looking back, I was doing something that probably bothered more traditional business owners: I was judging people on a single piece of paper. But my Dad listened to my observations and then did something much more important. He looked past the paper entirely.

The Real Lesson

Third, and the most important thing I learned from my Dad, was how he treated people. If someone wanted to work and he needed help, they usually got a chance. Not a guarantee of a job for life, just a chance. And when he gave someone that chance, he actually invested in teaching them.

I remember one person who came to work and struggled with reading a tape measure. Instead of getting frustrated or letting them figure it out, my Dad grabbed whatever scrap wood or cardboard was close by and drew the markings, then explained what each line meant. He didn’t assume someone was incompetent. He assumed they just needed to be taught.

Dad didn’t care if there were “gaps in their employment” or if they’d cycled through three jobs that year. He didn’t spend time investigating why someone’s resume looked messy. He cared about one thing: Did they show up? Did they try?

He hired a lot of people over the years. Some of them worked out and became part of his regular crew. Some of them didn’t. But every single one of them got a fair shot.

The Construction Industry Problem

Years later, when I started working with construction companies and skilled trades businesses, I kept hearing the same frustrations from owners.

“We can’t find good people.”

“People don’t want to work anymore.”

“The turnover is killing us.”

But when I dug deeper, I found something interesting. These weren’t companies struggling because good people didn’t exist. They were struggling because they were approaching hiring the same way most traditional businesses do: obsessing over resumes, credentials, and checking boxes. They were so focused on finding the perfect candidate that they were missing the people who actually wanted to work and had real potential.

I saw business owners who got it, who understood that in construction and the skilled trades, showing up and trying actually means something. But they didn’t have good support finding people. The options were headhunters charging a full fee per hire or temp agencies that never wanted you to keep anyone. They didn’t have a partner who understood their world.

Starting Edisto

That’s why I started Edisto Consulting Group.

I watched my Dad give people real chances when no one else would. He showed me that hiring isn’t about perfect resumes or ticking boxes on a job description. It’s about recognizing potential. It’s about caring enough to teach someone. It’s about understanding that effort and willingness matter.

I wanted to bring that same approach to the construction and skilled trades world, an industry that, frankly, operates differently than corporate America. Your people are working with their hands. They’re learning on the job. They’re dealing with real deadlines and real challenges every single day. The traditional hiring playbook doesn’t work for you.

Edisto exists because there are thousands of business owners out there who get this. Who know their people matter. Who understand that the difference between a thriving company and a struggling one often comes down to whether you have the right team. They deserve a partner who cares about this as much as they do.

Our Philosophy

Everything we do at Edisto is built on the foundation my Dad laid down in that carpentry shop:

• Work with people who want to work. We’re not looking for perfect. We’re looking for effort, reliability, and willingness to learn.
• Invest in your people. The best hiring decision in the world means nothing if you don’t support your team once they’re onboard. Our job is to bring you people worth investing in, and our process is built to show you who they really are before you spend an hour interviewing.
• Use common sense. No complicated contracts. No corporate jargon. Just straightforward partnerships built on what actually works for your business.
• Understand your world. We specialize in construction and the skilled trades because we respect how different your business is from others. You have different challenges. You need different solutions.

The Bottom Line

My Dad taught me that good hiring decisions happen when you combine practical sense with genuine care for people. He showed me that taking a chance on someone, really investing in their success, creates loyalty and builds strong teams.

That’s not just a nice philosophy. For construction companies, it’s a competitive advantage.