Damien Starkey, CEO, World Construction Inc.
Damien Starkey, CEO of World Construction Inc., talked to Invest: about the importance of having the appropriate infrastructure, systems, and processes in place to manage growth. He highlighted how higher interest rates and the ensuing higher cost of credit have incentivized people to spend more on their current homes instead of buying new ones, a factor that has become a growth driver for the company.
What have been the most important contributions of World Construction Inc. to the Jacksonville construction sector since its founding 30 years ago?
World Construction has been multifaceted since my father-in-law founded it 30 years ago. The business has gone through various periods with different target markets. My father-in-law built the business on a lot of government contracting for the state and the city, where we did a lot of infrastructure work at places like the airport. When I took over the business five years ago, I shifted focus toward new construction and large-scale remodeling after noticing a hole in that market.
We have endured 30 years thanks to not being a one-trick pony. World Construction Inc. is both a general contractor and a roofing company. Diversifying and paying attention to how the markets and the economy move locally and nationally are key to that. It is not a bad thing for contractors to have a niche, but being able to change with the times as the economy and technology move is the only way for a company to survive, especially a multigenerational company.
What are the most important milestones that World Construction Inc. has reached in the past 12 months?
The biggest milestone and what I am most proud of in the past year is completing the overhaul of our systems and processes. That has had an impact on our company, our subcontractors, and our clients. Its effect on our company’s ability to communicate with customers has been a game-changer that has allowed us to scale much more effectively.
Moreover, we have lots of big projects, including the many historic renovations we do. For instance, we restored a beautiful 60,000-square-foot building located in downtown Jacksonville that was originally built in 1918. We have also done a lot of historic work in the Springfield area near downtown, which has many houses that were built in the 1900s.
What areas of World Construction’s product and service portfolio will be the main growth drivers for the company moving forward?
We have experienced a big population growth in the Jacksonville area over the past few years, which means more money in the area. People have been investing more in their houses over the past few years because current interest rates have made money expensive to borrow. Because of that, many people who would have bought a new house are not doing it. They are instead spending more on their current house.
People find themselves in a place where their house is worth more than what they owe on it. They have a lot of equity in their home, so they invest in their current home instead of buying a new one. Because of that, they do major renovations that they would have maybe not done in the past. That has caused the biggest growth in that facet of our business.
What are the most important opportunities for World Construction Inc. to grow in the Jacksonville construction sector?
We will continue to capitalize on the systems and processes that we have in place to handle much more work volume while providing the same level of service and communication. Having the proper infrastructure, systems, and processes in place to scale and handle more work is fundamental. The biggest hindrance to growth for other people in our industry is that they can only handle so much work.
Once a business learns marketing and the effective means to get more business, it needs to be able to support it. Things eventually bottleneck, so lacking that infrastructure can quickly destroy what you are trying to build because there is no way to manage it properly. That can cause work quality and communication with clients to go down.
How is the Jacksonville construction sector capitalizing on the population growth and corporate expansions and relocations taking place in Northeast Florida?
We have seen a lot of growth in international attention. Various investor groups and people who we work with are buying different types of properties depending on their targets. That may include motels and hotels, office buildings, and warehouse and industrial space, among others. We have had a big influx of folks who belong to international investor groups, whereas that used to be more centered on people from around this area.
How is World Construction leveraging emerging technologies to provide a transformative approach to real estate development and construction?
The main platform that we use is called Buildertrend, which is not just project management software but also a CRM. It also allows us to manage leads as well as all our subcontractors and clients in the same platform. That gives clients a lot of visibility around their projects, which allows them to participate. That is especially attractive for international clients who can know exactly what is going on at their projects through pictures, videos, logs, and scheduling.
What are the primary challenges that the company faces in Greater Jacksonville?
As we continue to grow and take on a greater volume of work, we need to ensure that we are constantly improving the training process for our internal employees and project managers. We need to ensure that everyone is on the same page as we shift around to accommodate that continuous growth. Challenges tend to morph, so we need to pay attention to those changes to prevent them from getting out of control. Keeping the pulse of what is going on in the different areas of the business allows us to manage those challenges much more effectively.
What are the top priorities for World Construction Inc. for the next two to three years?
We are looking into developing neighborhoods instead of doing individual custom homes. That will remain a big driving force in Northeast Florida as all the areas surrounding Jacksonville continue to grow quickly. Many places that used to be considered “out in the country” are not that anymore. Those areas are growing quickly as a lot of money is put into them. We plan to continue growing our relationships with clients that share those goals and that are doing more development in those areas.
