No MBA.
No BS.
The Owner has to know what's actually broken. Most don't, because they're figuring out some out-of-left-field issue that kicked 'em in the gut at 8:30 on Tuesday morning. 15 years of owning businesses before I had real books — yeah, I'm that guy too.
Grew up in Sheridan. Played college basketball at Arkansas Little Rock — graduated in 2003 with a business degree. Got married to Timie in 2004. Twenty-one years and two kids later, we're still figuring it out together.
The basketball thing matters because it's where I learned what a real team looks like — and how fast it falls apart when accountability gets soft. I've never forgotten it. It's the same in a trades shop. The CEO sets the standard, just like Head Coach.
In 2020, I founded Disaster Masters Restoration. Multi-location restoration company. Three locations: Hot Springs (HQ), Northwest Arkansas, and North Little Rock. 20 people across the team.
I built it from zero. I've made every mistake a trades owner can make, and I've fixed most of them. The ones I haven't fixed yet are what I'm working on today.
That's the reason I started The Jake of All Trades. Most fractional CEOs talk in the past tense — what they did at companies they no longer touch. I talk in the present tense. The lessons are fresh, not preserved.
22 years, the short version.
Graduated UALR — business degree
Got the degree, but let's all say it together — "I never use it."
Married My Wife Timie
Best decision I ever made. Periot.
16 Years Building Businesses
Built and ran multiple businesses from zero. Sold the ones that were ready. Learned what works the hard way.
Founded Disaster Masters Restoration
Started with a truck, a dream, and an LLC. Now three locations, 20 on the team, full-service restoration.
Launched The Jake of All Trades
Fractional CEO services for trades owners who want to build their company the right way — not by trial-and-error like I had to.
I'm not a consultant.
I'm not a coach.
I am the solution to your problems.
Four things I won't bend on.
Direct, not diplomatic.
If you wanted soft, you'd hire a coach. I'll tell you what's broken and what to do about it. Sometimes that includes things you don't want to hear about yourself.
Action over theory.
Every meeting ends with solutions to implement. No need to waste your time with pretty talk.
The Owner is the bottleneck.
Until you accept that, nothing else changes. The work starts with the owner — every time.
Stay in my lane.
I help blue collar trades. That's it. SaaS, agencies, ecommerce, real estate — there are 5,000 fractional execs who do that better than I will. I don't take work I'm not built for.
Married to Timie. Dad to Hudson and Hendrix. Hudson works with me at Disaster Masters — father / son and employer / employee at the same time, which is its own ongoing conversation. Hendrix is a working actress (Stranger Things, A Friend of the Family, George & Tammy, Unbelievable, Charming the Hearts of Men) who also plays volleyball in her time off the set.
I tell you all of this because the businesses we build don't sit in isolation. They run alongside the rest of life. Your customers, your team, and your family all see the same person. Anyone selling you a strategy that ignores that is selling you a strategy that won't work for long.
If we're a fit, you'll know it in 15 minutes.
First call is free. No pitch. We either fit or we don't.
Book the call