Have you ever thought of starting your own construction company, or of launching a new division of your current company? Either way, it’s a giant leap full of opportunity, and risk. 

In this week’s podcast episode, I talk with Peter Worhunsky, the President & CEO of Live Oak. We explore the move to start his own company. Peter shares how he maintains healthy relationships with his business partners. How he navigated the decision to start a business with his family. How he made the transition from employee to owner. The importance of a thorough business plan, and how that plan has changed since the launch of the company. How to seize opportunities, balancing ego and humility. We also cover how to manage the physical and emotional stresses of launching a business. 

Those who are thinking about starting a business or launching a new division of a company will find this episode insightful. Take the time to listen to this episode! 

Discussion Points:

0:00 Introduction 
3:04 Why Peter started his own company 
3:51 The process Peter went through to get to starting his own company  
6:40 Approaching people to become business partners 
7:34 Things Peter looked for in business partners  
9:36 Retaining talent as a CEO  
11:21 Discussing beginning the business with your family 
12:48 Crossing from being an employee to a business owner  
13:35 Immediate obstacles upon launching the business  
14:18 What Peter learned in the financial aspect of the business 
15:50 Benefits of a business plan 
17:01 Significant changes from the initial start of the company to where it is now  
18:15 Being hyper opportunistic while eyeing the long-term goals
22:03 Risk management  
24:38 Obstacles that Peter didn’t anticipate 
26:23 What Peter would do differently if he were to go back  
27:55 Understanding the difference between a plan and reality 
29:35 What COVID taught Peter and how he’ll apply it to a non-COVID environment
30:40 Balancing ego and humility 
32:41 Peter’s focus on growing his business
33:57 Maintaining healthy relationships with business partners
34:32 Managing one’s self and the stresses that come with business
35:24 What to do to keep the long game in mind
36:30 Respect for people in the construction space

About the Guest: 

Peter Worhunsky is a construction industry veteran with over twenty years of field and office experience. He grew up around construction, watching his grandfather and father run a construction company. In 2019, with his partners, he launched Live Oak and serves as the company’s President and CEO. 

Resources: 

• Do Your Project Executives Need to Become Better Leaders? Book a 10-minute call with Eric Anderton (https://10minutes.youcanbook.me/) 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

• Born of This Land (Autobiography of Chung Ju-jung, Founder of Hyundai): https://www.amazon.com/Born-this-land-life-story/dp/B07YNZF25Z/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=born+of+this+land&qid=1621619465&s=books&sr=1-1

Connect with me on LinkedIn. For more podcast episodes, you may also visit my website. Tune in and subscribe to the Construction Genius: A Leadership Master-Class Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Thank you for tuning in!