Owner, Justin Thyme Homes

I’m Desiree Johnson, founder of Justin Thyme Homes. I’d like to share how I went from being a marketing director, flying all over the world and managing brands for Fortune 500 companies that included Dr. Pepper, T-Mobile and American Airlines, to becoming a general contractor and owner of my own construction company. I feel lucky to be based in Richardson and I hope that my story inspires other women who are looking to reinvent themselves.

f you had told me twenty-five years ago that I would be a General Contractor, I would have laughed uproariously. But looking back, most of my life and work experiences seem to have been preparing me to become a GC. My story began when I was a kid and my dad worked for some large international companies. We left the United States when I was three and moved to Puerto Rico, then to Brazil and finally to London. I spent twelve years abroad with my family, returning stateside when I was fifteen. As such, I became fluent in Spanish, a skill which would benefit me greatly as my career trajectory changed.

Fast forward to 2004 when my husband Brad and I built our first home in the Texas Hill Country. I designed the home to scale on graph paper and then, with string and spikes, staked out every room – all while carrying my son Hatch in a Baby Bjorn on my back. I wanted to see how the home would fit within the trees, the land and the view. As a result of that early planning visit, I ended up flipping the entire layout of the house for the sake of a big oak tree.

As much as I loved that home, we had to leave it behind as we embarked on a new journey when we were transferred to Dallas for Brad’s job. We knew very little about the metroplex but wanted our new home to be close to Brad’s work, which was in Richardson. I was consulting from home so had no commute. We also wanted a great school district for Hatch. Our realtor kept taking us to newer neighborhoods further north, showing us generic homes with nice big closets.

Much to our realtor’s dismay as he attempted to steer us elsewhere, we ended up buying on Flat Creek Drive in Richardson’s desirous Canyon Creek neighborhood. It fit our criteria and we loved all the big trees and the fact that the homes weren’t “cookie cutter.” It was truly a blessing…we’ve never lived anywhere so friendly and inviting and so were able to make friends easily and quickly integrate into the community.

Over the years we have purchased rental properties and moved twice more in Richardson. In those houses, I overhauled everything from foundations to layouts, electrical, plumbing and more, all while making the homes beautiful and juggling my corporate workload. As friends and neighbors saw the results of the renovations, they began to request my services. I attribute their enthusiasm not only to my design choices but also to my ability to re-imagine a home and provide creative space solutions with better layouts. Sometimes the new vision requires making big changes such as taking out walls or moving entire HVAC systems.

About ten years ago, while my husband and I were still renovating homes as a side business, I began to realize that my corporate job was coming to an end. For the first time, we were so busy with renovations that we had to hire a general contractor to help on one of our homes. What a poor experience that was! The GC didn’t proactively communicate with us, didn’t manage the budget accurately, and completely lacked creativity, a skill I took great pride in on my own renovation projects.

Shortly thereafter I remember saying to Brad one night, “You know, I am really good at this renovation business. I know I can deliver a great experience, especially for women who like proactive communication and a partner to bounce ideas off regarding their design choices. Plus, my corporate job is coming to an end…I don’t know when, but it’s coming.” Soon after that pivotal conversation, I began formalizing my company and stepped up my side renovation jobs in preparation for my departure from the corporate world.

As fate would have it, most of my marketing team and I were let go two and a half years later. Thanks to that earlier conversation with Brad, I was ready! Even though the pay didn’t initially match what I was used to earning in corporate America, I’ve never regretted the change to business ownership. Home renovation and remodeling is my passion. It combines my previous business and management experience, my foreign language aptitude, and my creative skills.

Now that I have my own business, I find it easy to manage complex schedules, deadlines and multiple crews. I over-communicate with my clients. If a customer emails me, it’s rare that I don’t respond within an hour. To minimize monetary surprises, I create detailed up-front budgets (which I walk a client through before a contract is ever signed).

In this industry, being successful means having a great crew and I’ve worked with some of my regular team members for more than eight years. Because I am fluent in Spanish, I can effectively manage and easily communicate with some incredible crews who are most comfortable speaking in Spanish.

Our business model allows us to be highly competitive on pricing for larger renovations, especially with whole home gut jobs or large kitchen remodels. Women in particular love working with us because we are able to help with design choices in a very accommodating style.

I chose Richardson as a place for my business because of its location and proximity to home. I like to show up on site almost every day (often multiple times a day), so living close is key. But more importantly, I love owning a business in Richardson because the city is filled with people who are down to earth, genuine and just really good people. Over the years, I’ve worked in Lake Highlands and other areas in the metroplex, but I don’t find the clientele quite as reasonable and as easy to work with as those living here. I end up becoming friends with so many of my Richardson clients and that just hasn’t happened in other cities.

I absolutely love owning a construction business right here in Richardson. I wouldn’t go back to my big corporate job for the world. I’m glad I had that career, but now it’s time to stick to jeans, tennis shoes and the opportunity to beautify home after home in Richardson. If you’d like more information about my business, Justin Thyme Homes, visit http://JustinThymeHomes.com.