Toucan Talks
EP17 - Bill Simpson: The Art of Custom Shower Renovation
Have you ever imagined what it's like to reinvent yourself in your sixties and thrive? Our guest, Bill Simpson, did just that, and he's here to share his inspiring journey. From engineering to ministry, Bill's career path is unique. Now, he's the proud owner of Refined Renovations, a company that specializes in crafting custom, low-maintenance showers!
Bill's showers aren't just ordinary. They are a blend of innovative design and practicality. He uses acrylic bases with PVC shiplap walls, adding frameless doors, rain heads, and niches based on personal preference. These showers are not only beautiful, but cater to a variety of customers, including those with handicaps.
We're not stopping there. Bill not only tells us about his business, but he also provides some valuable pearls of wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs. Drawing on his own experience of starting a business during the COVID era, he emphasizes the importance of learning from others, networking, and sharing best practices. We also explore his 19 different professions he has had over the years. You don't want to miss this one!
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Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co
Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.
Have you ever imagined what it's like to reinvent yourself in your sixties and thrive? Our guest, Bill Simpson, did just that, and he's here to share his inspiring journey. From engineering to ministry, Bill's career path is unique. Now, he's the proud owner of Refined Renovations, a company that specializes in crafting custom, low-maintenance showers!
Bill's showers aren't just ordinary. They are a blend of innovative design and practicality. He uses acrylic bases with PVC shiplap walls, adding frameless doors, rain heads, and niches based on personal preference. These showers are not only beautiful, but cater to a variety of customers, including those with handicaps.
We're not stopping there. Bill not only tells us about his business, but he also provides some valuable pearls of wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs. Drawing on his own experience of starting a business during the COVID era, he emphasizes the importance of learning from others, networking, and sharing best practices. We also explore his 19 different professions he has had over the years. You don't want to miss this one!
Get more from Toucan Talks!
Watch on YouTube
Follow on Instagram
Subscribe to our email list
//
Meet your hosts and learn more about Kickstart Collective at kickstartcollective.co
Kickstart Collective is a creative marketing agency based in Wilmington, NC. We offer our clients a creative advantage through creative content and marketing strategies.
Welcome to the Two Can Talks podcast brought to you by Kickstart Collective. Join us as we talk to local Wilmington business owners about what has led to their successes, challenges and more. No question is off limits as we bounce from topic to topic.
Speaker 2:And this podcast is brought to you by Kickstart Studios. Kickstart Studios is Wilmington's newest video podcast studio, equipped with multiple camera angles and an in-house producer. Creating a high quality video podcast has never been easier. Don't let the tech and gear learning curve hold you back from jumping into podcasting or creating video content any longer. Our team takes care of it all for you, so you can focus on the message you want to share. You simply show up record and receive the final product. No more wasting time setting it up and breaking down the gear, setting up lights or doing sound checks on your own. Our in-house producer will have everything set up and ready to go for you. Check us out at Kickstart Studios. Welcome to the Two Can Talks podcast. I haven't been on in a while, and today I'm here with Bill Simpson and Bill. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Why are you here?
Speaker 3:What are we doing? Ah, what are we doing? Ah, well, we want to encourage other business owners. Ah, we laughed about my story. Yet varied career in doing lots and lots of things and, uh, I think my story Luke is more of, I think I've, from educational standpoint and the things I've done, experiential that I have you know, done a lot of things worked, had my own companies, worked for a couple of Fortune 100 companies and I just see all of my experiences and education.
Speaker 3:None of that was ever wasted, even though I'm not doing anything mechanical engineering right now or in ministerial you know kind of vocation, but I think everything I've done in my past, I don't think any of those experiences wasted. Education doesn't. None of that was wasted. So it's, I think, everything as we go through life. I think it's all valuable, it's all part of who we become as we get older and I'm doing that quickly. I'm getting older yeah.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:I'm going to be 65 soon, so you look great for 65.
Speaker 2:Good Thanks, but you're not 65 yet.
Speaker 3:No. I got six weeks or so. Hold on to it. Sixty-four is a good age.
Speaker 2:Well, before we jump in and get into the questions and I'll kind of explain to people. You know, that's Bill, that's who we're talking to today. What we generally do here is we drop these chips Down from the top. If it lands on a one, we pull a question from one can. If we land on two, drop it from two can. So we have business questions and then more fun. Get to know your questions. And just a reminder we are sponsored by more than clay, so more than clay pottery. They make coffee mugs. She makes plates.
Speaker 3:Do they do custom coffee mugs? Yeah, I have been in search for the perfect coffee mug with a small opening because you know it cools off quickly with the large open. They make all these big open coffee cups. Well, you're going to have to come and take a peek.
Speaker 2:Okay, she's got a little studio space. You're going to take a look. She does happen to be my sister, but any orders, any orders. I will be 10% off with the code more than clay, no with the code Two can, two can talks. Like the bird, I have to look at Joshua's producing like am. I saying the right thing. It's been a while. Two can talks. Use the code. Two can talks. Don't use the code more than clay at more than clay, that wouldn't make sense. Um so, everyone knows what we're doing here.
Speaker 2:Every knows what we're doing here, and then, I think me and you will just figure it out. All right, let's go Cool. Well, um, real quick before we start. Right, you've had a lot of businesses. I have talked about that. Yep, what business are we talking about today?
Speaker 3:Well, let's talk about the one I'm currently in. Yeah, so when I uh got into my sixties, I even taught high school for a couple of years. Wow, I am not a high school teacher, that was not for you. No, uh, but I am just not to blow worshiping teachers. They worked so hard for so little pay it's nuts. God bless teachers. Uh. But I got in my sixties and my career is kind of probably halved between ministry stuff and engineering and I just couldn't find any positions in either one of those roles in my early sixties. So I thought I've got to reinvent myself. So I tapped in some super early experiences, uh, building homes when I put myself through college, which is NC state, yeah, red, white, and we are the best. I won't do the whole thing.
Speaker 3:Go pack, go pack, heck yeah Go pack, um so just the building career and uh looking at needs and what's going on in our community and the renovation stuff. So yeah, I started uh refined renovations, ilm, and uh kind of focused on doing pretty much everything and over the past three years have realized I want to focus on primarily one thing. So not now. I am the custom shower guy who doesn't use tile.
Speaker 2:Nice Customs Whole new approach to showers. Whole new approach to showers. So we'll get into that uh as we go through the episode. I love uh renovation stuff. I love showers Well yeah, my wife loves when I take showers because I don't smell anymore when I'm done. Um, but no, I do. Do you, do you put?
Speaker 3:your dog in the dogs in the shower, not in my showers. Okay, you could in my showers, in your showers. Yeah, I have your shower. I got tile and a little bit of yeah, we'll, we'll figure that out.
Speaker 2:Okay, Maybe by the end of this episode I'll have a new shower, Maybe.
Speaker 3:I'll have a contract. Maybe you'll have a contract, maybe make it a new coffee mug.
Speaker 2:It's be a sweet deal, so I dropped that in from the top and let's see if it flops off or it goes down straight.
Speaker 3:Hey, this works great I said it, that's on me.
Speaker 2:I'll do it another way.
Speaker 3:Oh easy.
Speaker 2:Easy, easy Is that stall.
Speaker 3:Two, Two, All right. So this which can is this this is the uh, we'll find out Okay.
Speaker 2:Okay, I know what I read All right, here we go. Yeah, starting off, as these are like fun questions, okay, so it's hot. Take what's your spiciest opinion that most people disagree with, so this doesn't have to be with, uh, with business person opinion. This could be. Like. You know, I hate macaroni and cheese because it's disgusting or okay, you know, by most people just agree with Spicy. Spiciest opinion.
Speaker 3:Oh, people disagree with Well it's not that, it's okay.
Speaker 2:It doesn't have to be super spicy, it doesn't have to be food related, and I don't want to go political. Um, I would love for you to go political. I don't think my wife would love that Okay. This is on the internet.
Speaker 3:That's all the more reason to go political action Um. The earth is young and God made it look old the way he created it. Oh okay, cause if I'm creating something, joshua, I'm going to make it. I'm going to fake you out, right? I like this? Yeah, so.
Speaker 2:Okay, I like it, that's.
Speaker 3:I've never heard that opinion before.
Speaker 2:So it is a unique spicy opinion. That's my story. Let's do it, I love it All right. We're going again, drop again. Okay, let's see if we can do it. Okay, come on over. Come on over, let me get a touch. Oh, another fun one.
Speaker 1:Party.
Speaker 2:question this is called the party, can, I think is what we dubbed it. Is that correct?
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:We're still working for people that have been following along since the beginning. We about every week saved him. We really got to get Joshua a mic.
Speaker 3:And that is happening, yeah, so okay.
Speaker 2:Be our Jamie you know, All right, oh, this is a good one. Where's your favorite local go to place for whatever? Like you like to go out and grab a drink somewhere, grab food somewhere.
Speaker 3:Go favorite, go favorite local, go to place. I would have to say New Anthem Brewery, new Anthem Brewery.
Speaker 2:Yeah, which one?
Speaker 3:They're hazy Well that's a great question.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So they're, their beers they're, and I'm a any I big guy.
Speaker 1:New England.
Speaker 3:IPAs hazy. Yeah, and they are the king of New England hazy. However, I prefer the original location on Dock Street. Yeah, but they don't have the amount of taps they need on Dock Street.
Speaker 1:Where's the cameras? That the camera, yeah.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, um the new location, so adjacent to what True Blue has a place beside them. Uh, it's nice, but they use submarine toilets in there and I I hate it for my wife when she has to go. Pee Gotcha, yeah, but their beer is amazing, which creates frequent journeys to the restroom to the submarine toilets in the restrooms.
Speaker 2:Well, that's what happens sometimes. I don't. I haven't been in there in a while, but uh, their beer is delicious. I just can't drink as much beer as I used to be able to. Why is that? It's a mess. Is what my stomach?
Speaker 3:Oh, no, yeah, I know you need to go doctor about that. I, I, I horrible, we've got it, we've got it kind of figured out it's the East.
Speaker 2:Oh, that kind of messes.
Speaker 3:Can you do one and you're okay? Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like intermittently Okay, I just can't drink beers like Well, they've got some great beers.
Speaker 3:They're like 8.5, 9.1.
Speaker 2:So you only need one Right Sure. I just have found my solace with wine.
Speaker 3:I understand, so I enjoy both equally. Yeah, can I do that? Yeah, I think so. Let's see what happens.
Speaker 2:Nope. Well, you know what the problem is. We have to look at this peg.
Speaker 3:Oh, look at that peg. That's the peg that's sending it off the board. Look at that peg. I'm going to remove that peg.
Speaker 2:Is that a risky move? We'll down a peg. Oh my gosh, that was a good theory. I mean, the peg had nothing to do with it.
Speaker 3:Hey, there we go. You're the first person ever to take a shortcut on our show.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:So into the business question, let's do it. What advice would you give to a person either about to start a business or early on in their business ownership journey?
Speaker 3:Oh, that's a great question, since I am three years into my latest business journey. Yeah, I would say have someone help you assess your strengths and your weaknesses and shy away from your weaknesses unless you're going to bring somebody into your business to cover those. But certainly build on your strengths and try to leverage those as much as you can.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, that's good advice. So who is that person for you in this last business venture?
Speaker 3:Oh, to help me, yeah, my wife, yeah, yeah. She says you're great at this, this and this. Yeah, go do that. So that's what I've done and, yeah, continue to try to leverage all of my strengths, which are plethora, so of course You've had that story passed.
Speaker 3:But no, seriously. So even the kind of engineering mind launched this of going there's got to be a better way to build a walk and shower than tile. Sure, I hate tile, right, I hate tearing it out, I hate putting it in, yeah, cleaning it, the grout all of it. So that's what took me down this journey of how I'm naturally wired. I mean, it popped out this way, right, three brothers and they don't know how to handle you know which end of the hammer to hold, right? So, mechanical I mean. My education, natural abilities led me down this path, and so to find a product and a way to put it in that's definitely waterproof, low maintenance, lasts forever.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And then the design. I like to design things. I kind of I don't know I got a little bit of flair of decorative.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So how do we make a bathroom really pop?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And customize the whole thing.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:For a great experience.
Speaker 3:So, anyway, I'm just. I think it's tapping into everything I've done, you know, over the years.
Speaker 2:I love it. So here's the reveal then.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because we haven't told people what kind of showers you make yet, yeah, so they're not tile, they're low maintenance, right, they're decorative. Yes, they're beautiful. They're beautiful. What do we?
Speaker 3:have Soft. What is it? It is an acrylic base Okay, with shiplap walls that are made out of PVC.
Speaker 1:And actually.
Speaker 3:I can do. It's a reversible board, Okay, so it can be be board and run vertically or shiplap run horizontally, although I just did one where I ran the shiplap diagonally. Ah, that's a really wow factor, yeah. And then you use these really cool shower hardware yeah, always put usually rain head wand somewhere. Yeah, different niches depending on what the client wants. Yeah, and about two years ago a woman said I need a niche to put my foot in to shave my legs. Yeah, oh, that's a great idea. So I always put one in.
Speaker 3:Oh lower niche Lower niche yeah, nice. But they often say too low yeah, so I've had complaints. Now my niche is too low, yeah, that sounds like a personal problem.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't fix.
Speaker 3:Post construction yeah.
Speaker 2:We're just going to have to figure that out.
Speaker 3:I'm asking them now are you sure, Put your foot up in the chair, yeah, Isn't that more comfortable? But and I tell you what really makes them pop, luke, is the, the frameless shower.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So the doors and try to put a hinge door in everywhere I can. Yeah, Some places it's just impossible because of the location of the toilet or size of the bathroom and has to be a slider.
Speaker 3:But we don't do dual sliders, gotcha. I do only a fixed panel and one side slide. So the idea is to create as much room as possible Right Inside the shower for your elbows. Yeah, and the fun part is a lot of these fiberglass units, which is often what I'm replacing, right, so a fiberglass shower or a fiberglass tub and shower unit is. I can look at that and go, oh, I can actually come out further than what that shower was, right, and instead of a 32 inch shower, I make it 36 inches wide, which is all the difference in the world. Sure, and enjoying your shower, absolutely there you go.
Speaker 2:So are these as far as, like the pangos, are they pretty easy to get in and out of. Like the to actual get in the shower.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh. Yeah, like big curbs, like you would do no low curbs two inch curb and I can put in a low profile with you know that's a half inch, wow, yeah. If they want. Depending on you, know I can't do that in a slab house, but in a framed house. Yeah, I can certainly do that. Yeah, which makes it easy for getting in and out.
Speaker 3:Oh great, yeah, yeah, I've done several for handicapped folks, yeah, veterans, elderly yeah, I just did one about six months ago and I had to go back and tweak something for as a nurse at the hospital and she had just torn her ACL. So she said there's no way I could lift my leg over the tub that used to be there, right. Yeah, so now she's just got an inch lip walks in her shower and it looks nice.
Speaker 1:Looks nice yeah.
Speaker 3:It's safe because they're. They got a lot of texture on the bottom. Yeah, that's awesome and they're comfortable. You stand in one of those things it's just comfortable. Yeah, your little feet just go oh thank you, it's a full experience.
Speaker 2:Thank you for the shower?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and the walls are soft. Yeah, you know, if you slip fall in the shower, you land on this lovely PVC ship that wall. Yeah, and the wall pushing is too hard.
Speaker 2:Okay, not enough, that's.
Speaker 3:Joshua, who has been?
Speaker 2:He's yeah, he's been on site.
Speaker 3:He's been on site to see how the magic happens. Yeah.
Speaker 2:What I'm thinking is that, honestly, probably Kate, for your public utility authority should probably sponsor you, because people are going to be using so much more water now that they're enjoying their showers.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's a great point. Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say the inspection department.
Speaker 2:No, no, I think I've never interacted with you. Wait, did I say, can we? Cut that All right Well before we get in trouble.
Speaker 3:and Kate, your public utility authority pays you a lot of money for all the extra water you're going to do Okay, we're going again, let's go again, okay, kind of shortcut I think we had more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is just, we had more success doing Like what do you want to talk about? Just put it in the slot. You'd like to talk about?
Speaker 3:Oh and we're back at one. Back to business. It's the loneliest number. Okay, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:What's the best business advice you've received?
Speaker 3:I have received. Yeah, don't do that.
Speaker 2:In reference to what Lots of things. Just got a lesson on song size. Yeah, just some. I said no, I don't do that, don't do that I was.
Speaker 3:I was pursuing opening a wine bottle shop with lots of tasting machines in it, yeah, and the lenders said, no, don't do that, we're not going to give you the money. And then COVID hit. So that was, that was good advice. You never know how prophetic the advice might be.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I would say listen to the advice of others. Yeah, absolutely Especially if they're trusted people. Exactly, yeah, talk to someone who's in that business, right, I would say it's really a fit for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, that's that's. I would say, yeah, don't do it.
Speaker 1:It's or get out, yeah.
Speaker 2:Get out now. Get out now, why you can. Cut your losses and run. So that you brought up an interesting point. It was a tiny little sub point, but talk to someone else within the business yeah, like within the industry, and that's the thing that I feel like a lot of people might be nervous to do when they're getting into the industry. They don't want to approach someone else because of competition or you know, or whatever it may be, but have you ever gone into a business?
Speaker 2:venture and and you know, went to seek out the advice of someone else that owned a similar business.
Speaker 3:Oh, I did that with with the wine bottle shop. Okay, yeah, there's three others here locally, one's doing better than the other two, but I just went in and told them hey, here's what I'm thinking about Now. Obviously I didn't want to be in their neck of the woods, so I was in another part of town which everybody kind of felt like well, you're really not going to be taking any business from us so they were all great, super helpful.
Speaker 3:And then I went, you know, further out, did other larger city, charlotte, and then began to. I was talking to, for example, the wine tasting machine manufacturers. I said, okay, who's doing my model, who's going to have you know, who has multiple machines Right? And so, for example, there was a Place in Charleston.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:And they were again super, super helpful. Yeah about staging it before someone said no, you can't do this right, right, which was the banks right, multiple banks. Yeah, I mean probably good people to listen to Well they were, they and, and they came back and said the only problem, mr Simpson, is you have zero experience running. Any kind of wine business silly. Yeah, I've been drinking it for 40 years.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 3:Drink over 40 years and look at all the other job I'm almost a psalm, yeah, but so they were much wiser than I sure. But that's a good point I had never had run retail either right.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, that's helpful probably, but I mean, I don't know, I ran rain retail either. But, I like what you said there too, like you even went outside of your own market, like right. If you are nervous to speak with people within the same market as you're in, go to the next town over or go to yeah, you know, a big town or bigger city Removed. Go to Raleigh, go to Durham, go to Charlotte, you know, go to Charleston.
Speaker 3:I tell you I Failed and, as you're talking, I think I did not immediately go To one of those stores owner and say, okay, what's it gonna, what does it take?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Here's something about was it take to be successful. Yeah, kind of a person what knowledge, experience and and they would probably say well a Need to have worked in a bottle shop, sure, for a long time, or have some you know experience somewhere in the wine industry right before jumping in. And as well as they could, probably could save me a lot of money and time to say nobody's gonna give you an SBA loan if you've never been in the wine industry, sure? So I would just say you know you got to talk to people.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah both people who know you and who know the industry. Right, right absolutely Makes sense, as well as continuing talk to people and share best practices. That's it what's working, what's not working networking yeah, absolutely. Yeah, how can I improve profits?
Speaker 2:Yeah, why wouldn't you I?
Speaker 3:don't know, joshua, why wouldn't we? He doesn't see any reason. He doesn't have a mic, so they didn't hear what he said but we can interpret it honestly.
Speaker 2:We just kind of we got to get a new board, we're gonna get a new board.
Speaker 3:I think a steeper angle from my engineering.
Speaker 2:I'm saying I think you're right, no, uh, not a steeper angle. What More? Yes, a less steep angle.
Speaker 3:I think with a lower cosine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you're right. They could go to the same spot. Well, it works every time. All right, I Like this question. Okay, I'm about to sneeze, potentially so okay, everybody watch out? Not one way, maybe not in this business. Refined, yeah, renovations yeah, I alone. What has been your biggest challenge? Uh?
Speaker 3:God. You know my biggest challenge was beginning in COVID and the whole supply demand issue where I had a tough time getting materials right, especially like the core of the, the design, this PVC shift lap, yeah. But I had some challenges with glass and you know prices, lumber prices and everything going up.
Speaker 2:So the challenge is probably just materials, sure pricing and availability like coming out of that that time you it hasn't gotten better, or has? Have you found that you're still dealing with some of those it's gotten?
Speaker 3:better. I've discovered Alternate methods, okay, of of securing product. Okay, going straight to the manufacturers of the distributors, okay, so that's been helpful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when you were saying like alternate methods, I was like yeah, they don't lock anything up.
Speaker 3:Stacks of studs.
Speaker 2:Which is great. Yeah, I just uh, yeah, I got big vending machine.
Speaker 3:Back the truck up.
Speaker 2:You're gonna have so many people after you after this podcast.
Speaker 1:I they're all coming for you.
Speaker 2:Well, that's. I mean Good advice, I mean contact. If you're having trouble like tracking down supplies that you need, yeah, why don't you go straight to the source? You know you don't always have to rely on your big box retailers.
Speaker 3:Well, and that's been incredibly valuable because I have relying on the two big box stores in town. Yeah, and I couldn't get product, so I Don't remember how I found the numbers and the people to contact, but yeah yeah, I can. I can buy product directly and compete with the big box stores if I wanted to, there you go.
Speaker 2:Do you feel like you've been able to develop somewhat of relationship with those companies yet?
Speaker 3:Oh, absolutely, and they're really friendly. I was surprised these national distributors I'm never happy to send me product when I'm buying, you know, small portion compared to maybe what they send to the big box store. Yeah, I did in the in the height of COVID, I kind of saw what was happening and I did purchase the full supply. They were sitting throughout the country to the orange box store Gotcha. Now wasn't that much product but it was all. They were sending them right for the next quarter.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I bought it all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that means you save my business, you had a lot of showers.
Speaker 3:I did install yeah.
Speaker 2:I did, so y'all better get on the list. Yeah it's the thing. It's the thing get you know all right, let's, let's drop a few more.
Speaker 3:Okay, please, please, please, please stay on the board, on the board, there we go, whoa another.
Speaker 2:This is serious, serious questions. All right, this one's a specialty question for you.
Speaker 3:I like special questions.
Speaker 2:We have alluded to this quite a few times and we don't need a list of what each thing is, but how many prior professions. I'm a person that I'm a person that appreciates this, because in my short span of adult life, I have lots of professions, so I appreciate it.
Speaker 3:Why don't we count? We'll count as the most. Okay, I do have a lot of years. No, you got a lot of years to go to catch me, so yeah, okay you have the potential being the king.
Speaker 2:All right, let's let's take a, let's take a moment of silence.
Speaker 3:And are we gonna run through? I need to run through them.
Speaker 2:All right, go ahead.
Speaker 3:Okay, so we're talking post college, post college. So train company sales engineer, smaller sales engineer, firm seminary student missionary in West Africa, field director of the mission Must have been a good missionary. Was what, pastor Missionary, a bubak law on? Okay, that's the language of Senegal, west Africa, let's see. Okay, six is pastor Yep, interim pastor. That's gonna be okay pastor.
Speaker 3:Okay, seven different job title Leadership consultant, eight, let's see what I do after that. Nine, back into a Design engineer program engineer would do energy sales engineer with Johnson controls. Pastor, that's 1111. Oh, this is moving to Wilmington. Head of a nonprofit by the Alliance founder and director of a nonprofit. Yeah, and it was. It was very nonprofit. It went from a nonprofit to a non-revenue to a no-profit. Let's see Uber driver.
Speaker 2:Uber driver. Uh-huh, gotta, everyone's got a little Uber driver, yeah, I.
Speaker 3:Don't guess I'll count lift too, but okay, yeah, yeah, I'll leave it over there. Let's see school teacher, home Depot employee. That's 15 Author podcast. So I had a published a books and a podcast. Okay, and wedding efficient okay, yeah. I do about 25 weddings year a year. Love that's a great business. And owner of refined renovations. That's not. That's. That's 14. That's 19, 19, that's 19, 19 yeah could we say about the DIY?
Speaker 2:yeah, new, new adventure, yeah, so explain, explain that, okay so. I'm not, and then we'll count it as 20 20 that's a good number. I like that and I need to quit yeah, well, hey, 20 is a great number to stop how many you have. I'll let you explain DIY showers and okay all right.
Speaker 3:So when I post pictures of the showers and work on social media, I get friends from other cities who say, oh gosh, can you come to Charlotte? I wish you lived in here and there and you don't do our shower. And between that and realizing I would like to monetize this creation. I can't patent anything on it, yeah, but to monetize it better, it's decided with your help. That would create a course DIY showers, teach people how to do this, sure, and then seek sponsorship and affiliate marketing. Yeah, the manufacturers that I used to monetize.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so he's getting it set up right now.
Speaker 3:So if you're a handy person and yeah you want to do your, you can make your own amazing, tile-free walk-in shower that your neighbors will be so jealous of. There you go. Or if you're a fireman, policeman, emt, anyone who wants to create a side job you can be the custom shower guy in your community. Yeah, as long as it's not my community.
Speaker 2:Yes, I will cut you as we said earlier, yeah if you are looking for part-time work, this could be for you. You can make it rain, shower, shower, rain.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, we are those people so, so keep, that'll come out soon that's coming soon, youtube.
Speaker 2:Be on the lookout. Diy showers, diy custom showers, diy custom showers yeah, that's right. Diy custom showers yeah, we just talked about this.
Speaker 1:No, diy custom showers yeah yeah just Mike, he doesn't have a mic.
Speaker 3:I didn't hear that that's why great videographer though, oh yeah and all around he's been working. Yeah, he's been working with you he has all of your videos you're going to publish yeah, I tell people that since I got into my early 60s, I spent virtually every day in a bathroom somewhere.
Speaker 2:I love it. I've spent every day of my life in a bathroom, at some capacity, I'm sure.
Speaker 3:Well, not the whole day no, no, I do the whole day. I'm in a bathroom the entire day. You might want to go to the doctor get that checked out there's something weird. Josh has filmed me in the bathroom in the bathroom all day.
Speaker 2:You heard it here first, you need a mic. Let me count up. Well, count mine. Okay, I'm not gonna get the 20 right, but I already know that. All right. So church staff employee okay was probably the first one. A school photographer slash school photography sales guy oh, like the pictures. Yes, yeah, yeah, really riveting job. Anyways, back to church employee different church okay, yeah, different, different church different role, okay. Okay, I mean, if you could be a missionary in a field director, I can be two different that's a great point yeah, coming from that, I went to charter captain.
Speaker 3:Yeah, out of chart is that same thing a skipper?
Speaker 2:yeah okay, gilgames Island yeah yeah, so charter captain it was yeah, they were at least three hours out of charter captain. I went to mean a friend of mine started a like videography photography marketing business, okay, and then I left that business to start this business with Laura kickstart collective. Well, she had already started it. I just kind of jumped in. Okay, I have commercial property management. Yeah, that's the current thing okay, you're doing that now yeah, currently doing that, okay, and that I think that's it. I think that's it.
Speaker 3:I've had like yeah, seven okay, well how old are?
Speaker 2:you 33 oh gosh yeah you'll catch, you'll surpass me maybe I and I with those seven, I've probably have another five like side hustles that I've done.
Speaker 3:You have 32 years to do 13 more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I might get there, maybe not that's not, as maybe I'll settle down a year. Maybe I'll settle down no one every two years.
Speaker 3:Maybe I'll settle down I'd buy a seat. 20 is not, yeah, a good number 20s.
Speaker 2:Look where you are now, yeah great, all right, let's drop one more. Okay, oh gosh, it's hard to be serious all right, I this one. Thank you, chrissy and Jack. Chrissy and Moscow sorry, I'm a setter maiden name she added this one during an episode is a rushing cow? I don't think so. Oh, now her husband that she married. His last name is Moscow, not Moscow, oh, oh, and MOSK a mocal with a s okay, moss cow okay anyway, she write all the questions.
Speaker 2:No, she just wrote this one. Oh, I think you need to add this okay, good, let's so we appreciate your input because this is a great question. What not? I'm not gonna ask you about your spirit animal. Spirit animal you've you ever heard of spirit? No, okay, let me explain to you what a spirit animal is, and then I'll ask you this question. Oh, spirit animals, like an animal that you like most resemble like if I was a spirit animal, what would I be like?
Speaker 3:what a brown bear oh wait, she wrote that question no, no.
Speaker 2:So what's the question? The question is what is your spirit food, the food that most represents you as a person? A tall salad, a tall salad. Yeah, you got a little bit of everything. Yeah, lots of different lots of different.
Speaker 3:None of it is good on its own Okay, and it's not delicious together Okay, but it's got a lot of junk in it.
Speaker 2:It's got a lot of stuff. Yeah, it's got a lot of stuff. We're talking tomatoes. Yeah, we're talking onions. Yeah, we're talking definitely.
Speaker 3:Olives, olives, carrots, carrots. Yeah, that's a raw soy bean At a mom-a.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you were trying to say anemones like under the sea, exactly.
Speaker 3:Just trying to pull one over on you. Yeah, cheese, all that.
Speaker 1:Everything's in there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I love it, I love it. And unless you have good dressing, ah, it sucks yeah. So, my wife is the dresser. There you go.
Speaker 2:Man Look at you.
Speaker 3:It's out of here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks, tammy. Thanks Tammy for making Bill everything that he is.
Speaker 3:She's my blue cheese, that's it, that's it.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, I think we're going to wrap up on questions. We've got a few closing questions we ask everyone. So we're not quite done just yet. We already talked about this a little bit, but so what can people expect from you? Next, Maybe talk about the custom DIY showers and then what you you know envision for refined renovations, moving forward.
Speaker 3:Yeah, good question. Well, I think that the thing really next is the DIY showers just empowering people, envisioning people they can do their own shower, or if they just simply go I don't have time, I don't want to do that they can find a contractor and let them, you know, go through the course and they can learn how to do the shower Right. But I really am excited about empowering and giving opportunity to like first responders, people who do have time because they're doing this 24 hour shift work or whatever Sure they have time for another job and they can both bring magic to people's showers as well as create a you know, a good living for themselves.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But for do it yourself, shoot. You could probably get a gorgeous shower. You're doing it and spend 3,500, maybe $4,000.
Speaker 2:That's really cheap.
Speaker 3:That's cheap and that you're adding. What? 25,000 in value?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You're selling your home.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Somebody comes into a home and sees the kind of walk in shower with his beautiful hinge door and no tile and maintenance free and they just go yeah.
Speaker 1:I want this.
Speaker 3:This kind of thing if you Airbnb, go to an Airbnb or you know, and you rent it out and you go look in the master suite and go, oh honey, come check out the shower. Right, it's fantastic. Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so keep your eyes peeled for the what is it, Joshua?
Speaker 3:DIY custom showers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're all saying it together com DIY custom showers. It's fairly new. It's fairly new. I don't think the URL is even live yet right.
Speaker 3:No, it was actually birthed about an hour ago.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we will be there. You own that URL, right?
Speaker 3:I do Okay, just making sure we're not saying it Along with about 30 others.
Speaker 2:Go get it. Loves me. Yeah, you're one of their highest-paid clients.
Speaker 3:I am they're thinking about changing the name to Go Billy, go Billy.
Speaker 2:Go Billy. So keep an eye out for that. It's coming soon. And also if you're in the Wilmington area and you don't want to do it yourself, you don't want to DIY. That's what DIY stands for. If you're wondering, do it yourself, you can hire a refined renovation.
Speaker 3:You can, and I think I just revealed how much profit I'm making when I make one of these showers.
Speaker 2:Well, you can still hire them, but yeah, and it's. Time and experience are worth lots of money. They are, and you know the old story of someone, henry Ford. Of Henry Ford, no, I don't know.
Speaker 3:You don't know that story?
Speaker 2:I don't think so.
Speaker 3:Oh, so Maybe I do. I know, maybe he's Edison. No, who did the wiring? Who taught the light bulb? No, no, the first. Ford plant made it automated.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:And I don't know this. I forgot the design engineer. Who did, you know, made it all work and several weeks into it the plant shut down. So Ford called this guy. I should know who that is. He came in and had one part. He was like change of fuse, oh yeah, and you know whole plants back up.
Speaker 2:You know that story. Yeah, yeah, keep going.
Speaker 3:And he charged him $10,000. Ford said what? He charged me $10,000 for a fuse. He said, yeah, the fuse cost $2. And the know-how of where to put the fuse cost, you know, $9,898.
Speaker 2:That's it, that's it, that's it, yeah, yeah. So you have to have the know-how, the experience behind it Indeed. So that's one final thought you want to leave our listeners with.
Speaker 3:For the sake of our small business industry, we've got to have conservative leadership. Local, national, we've got to have conservative leadership.
Speaker 2:And why is that?
Speaker 3:Because liberal leadership is going to ruin the small business industry. He's going to ruin capitalism. They're trying to move us towards socialism, which will kill every business, especially small businesses. Oh, vote conservative.
Speaker 2:There we go.
Speaker 3:And realize nationally that every committee is ruled and led by whoever controls the votes in the House and the Senate.
Speaker 2:There you go.
Speaker 3:There you go. So that's that's life advice, that's life, that's life advice. And buy low and sell high.
Speaker 2:In everything, yeah, in everything, in everything, especially your bathroom packages.
Speaker 3:Not so much there. Okay, pay lots, pay lots, pay lots, pay lots.
Speaker 2:But if you do, you will be buying low and selling high. If you get one and then you go to sell your house, exactly, thank you. If you buy the whole package yeah it's going to be way less. Oh, it is Than paying a retail, new shower and a new house.
Speaker 3:And if you're like me and you're progressing chronologically, chronologically. You don't want to keep lifting your leg over that tub.
Speaker 1:And who uses tubs.
Speaker 3:Yeah, come on, luke, do you even bathe your kids in the tub, do I? Uh-huh? No, does Laura? Yeah, she does, but do you need two tubs? I probably not.
Speaker 2:No, we definitely don't.
Speaker 3:No, no, we definitely don't need two tubs, zero tubs, and we have a nine month old grandson.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're just not going to bathe him. Tough luck, kid. Yeah, not putting him in that shower with a wand. Yeah, great time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just close them down. Yeah, all right. What's the best way to get in touch?
Speaker 3:Um email.
Speaker 2:Okay, what's that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, for business purposes, refined renovations, ilm, our airport at Gmail If you want to talk life ministry bill Simpson dot org at Gmail and you can go just kind of see my resources, books and articles, things on bill Simpson dot org.
Speaker 2:Bill Simpson dot org. And then, but your Gmail is what Bill Simpson dot org at Gmail, at Gmail. Okay, okay, see how I did that.
Speaker 3:See how I did that. I kind of go Bill Simpson dot org.
Speaker 2:What is that?
Speaker 3:So they go to that yeah.
Speaker 2:I got you. Yeah, okay, that's smart. My email is my email at email and I was like you didn't think that was a thing.
Speaker 3:It is A lot of people question it. Yeah, yeah. Well, here I am. Here I am.
Speaker 2:Awesome bill. Well, it's been fun catching up, absolutely I it's been fun working with you thus far on launching. You're going to be you're going to be an influencer now.
Speaker 3:Been great working with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, mainly working with Josh, yeah.
Speaker 3:Josh work just allows me nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, invoice is on the way. Invoice is on the way, ok.
Speaker 3:Minimum won't be as much fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's been great up to this point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, Well, thanks for coming on talking to local business for the Wilmington area.
Speaker 3:Thank you for developing Toucan's talk.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Brilliant.
Speaker 2:Until next time, until next time, until we see him all over YouTube, all over.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cool, all right, thanks everybody. We'll see you next time. Take care.
Speaker 1:Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Toucan Talks Brought to you by Kickstart Collective. If you loved this episode, be sure to subscribe wherever you watch podcast and follow Kickstart Collective on Instagram at Kickstart Collective.