Rick Heagarty has spent 25 years building a vertically integrated constellation of home improvement companies across Middle Tennessee — from civil engineering and land survey all the way through exterior remodeling and custom closet installation. In this conversation, Jeremy and Rick cover what drove each new business category, how Rick thinks about company culture and client selection, what's fueling the custom closet boom in Nashville right now, and what every homeowner should do before signing any remodeling contract.

Whether you're a homeowner planning a project, an entrepreneur thinking about expansion, or simply curious about what 25 years in the construction industry teaches you — this episode delivers.

• Why Rick built four companies instead of one — and how listening to customer pain points drove every expansion decision
• What vertical integration looks like in practice for a Middle Tennessee home improvement business
• How Rick defines company culture — and why he thinks the Sam Walton "customer is always right" philosophy is wrong
• The structural reason Nashville homes are running out of storage (it has to do with municipal setbacks and the bonus room replacing the attic)
• Why custom closets are the fastest-growing home improvement category in Middle Tennessee right now
• How to read a contractor bid, check references properly, and protect yourself before any project begins
• What Rick means when he says a "no" from a homeowner just means "no right now"

"Culture is how you feel when you walk in the building. Our people feel like it's theirs — they're happy, they feel trusted, and they feel like they have a voice."

"That old Sam Walton line — that the customer is always right — couldn't be more wrong. It really pigeonholes you and pushes you into a corner trying to fix something that's unfixable."

"Houses are getting bigger, but the footprint of the house is not. When I was a kid, the space over the garage was the attic. But today it's called the bonus room. People have lost a lot of storage inside of their homes."

"It's really easy to start a job. It's very difficult to finish it within the expectations, the timeframe, and the budget that the customer wants it done in."

"You're letting people into your home. It's an intimate setting. You want to be able to trust them. You want to know that they do good work and you want to know that they can finish."

"We want to break it out. We want to tell them exactly what they're getting for the money they're spending."

"When someone tells us no, that doesn't necessarily mean no forever. It just means no right now."

Podcast & Host:

• Unscripted Home Improvement Podcast — H&H Construction
• H&H Construction — Cookeville, TN