Meet Brad Szolowicz | Father, Husband, and Residential Contractor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brad Szolowicz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brad, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
At first I was inspired by the small business owner I was working for. He seemed to have a great work/life balance and was clearly doing very well for himself. I wanted to live a life like that, which is when I started the process of founding my first business at 24 years old. Once I was on the path, I realized what really motivated me was the idea of doing things in a way that I thought would be the most efficient to accomplish whatever goal I was after.

What should our readers know about your business?
I run a general contracting business that focuses on home construction and remodeling. I have always had a passion for building things ever since I was a child. There is just something about turning a vision into a tangible thing that has always amazed me. I am proud of a lot of things in my life, with my family being at the top of the list. As far as projects, I can say hands down the project I am most proud of is the family cabin we built in Happy Jack, AZ. The house itself is amazing, but the memories we get to make there are what really matter the most.

The home contracting business has so much opportunity and can so so many different directions. We are excited to see what the future holds as more and more opportunities and different paths present themselves to us.

We definitely had some hard times. I founded the business in 2005 and had a lot of home building projects in my pipeline until 2007 hit. Once the economy crashed, I watched everything I had worked for just disappear basically overnight. My wife was pregnant with our now 16 year old and we were broke. My Dad called me one evening and offered me an opportunity to get into the cell phone tower space. I went from running my own home building construction company one day to working for my Dad the next. As everything in life goes, it was all part of a bigger plan for me. That opportunity lead me on a path I didn’t even know existed. I started a second company in that industry and working in leadership roles after that which taught me so much about managing teams, large sized projects, and just how important clear lines of communications with your customer really are. There are always going to be things that come up in a project. If the lines of communication are open, it makes it far easier to navigate the issues as a team to collaborate and find the best path forward. After a while in that industry, it was time to get back to my roots in home building construction.

Today we focus heavily on communication and providing a great experience with our customers. Construction is a challenging industry, but I have found that just being open with customers and the great trade partners we work is critical to a successful outcome for the finished product and providing an enjoyable customer journey from start to finish.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I think it would depend on the friend, but for me it would revolve around sports and outdoor activities. I love to play golf so we would find a nice course or two in the foothills with views of the city to showcase just out amazing Phoenix really is. We would spend a couple of other days hiking around some of the trials here in town. We might make a run up to the cabin in Happy Jack for a night or into Sedona to enjoy that tourist destination.

You can’t go wrong with a good authentic Mexican dinner with a fresh margarita.

We would also have to do a backyard afternoon with something cooking on the smoker, a game on the TV, and the kids splashing around the pool. I’d have to have my competition winning BBQ friend over to make sure dinner turned perfectly.

Finally, depending on the season, we might check out a Cardinals or D Backs game.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to recognize my wife Alicia. She has been so incredibly supportive at every step of the way. Her love, support, and belief in me has always helped me push forward to find success in whatever it is I take on as an individual and for us as a family.

Website: https://www.sonoranvalleyhomes.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonoran_valley_homes/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558198965399

Image Credits
Brad Szolowicz
Alicia Szolowicz