Brandon Miller wants you to know: it’s not like HGTV.
He’s talking about his job as a general contractor with Peak Remodel & Design Solutions of Rochester, which he co-owns with his brother Gary Miller.
But even though their work isn’t like what you see on TV, it’s still robust and interesting.
“It’s remodeling so anything goes,” Brandon Miller said. “Anything can happen. There’s always adventures. You never know what you’re opening up.”
Miller sometimes finds himself playing the role of psychologist and, other times, as marriage counselor when he’s working on a home remodel with clients. And that’s OK, he said.
The Miller brothers launched Peak in 2017, and it was their second go-round at starting their own business. The first, a roofing company, lasted four years before folding.
This time around, things would be different, they decided. They had far more experience working for a Twin Cities contractor, Mike Sowers, and knew every aspect of the business.
And indeed, this time it has been different. Since 2017, they’ve expanded several times, with growth seen in their physical office space, employees and clients. They are now in a 14,000-square-foot office in Pine Island, and have grown from four employees to 35.
They work with multiple subcontractors too, and do about 300 jobs a year, Miller said.
What’s on their agenda? Everything from roofing, siding, windows, decks, sunrooms, additions and bathrooms. Miller likes to say they do anything except landscaping and home construction.
The brothers are 50/50 business partners and their rule is, “If we don’t agree on it, we don’t do it,” Brandon Miller said. “And it works out pretty well for us.”
With their business, Brandon Miller said they wanted “complete control,” and to guarantee that they would have one of their own Peak employees on every job site.
“It’s a transformational experience when you go to remodel your home,” he said. “We wanted to offer more of that transformational experience for our customers.”
They haven’t “made it” yet, Brandon Miller said, adding that they’re “always working toward the next checkpoint. We’re always changing things, and customers are changing. Interest rates are changing, ways people pay for projects are changing. We’ve made it isn’t something we say.”
“We feel good about what we’re doing,” he went on. “But we know we can always be better.”
He gauges their success based on how smoothly projects run, and feels they’ve been successful when they move a project from start to finish with happy customers.
For other, new entrepreneurs, Brandon Miller cautions there will be good days and bad days. He likens owning and growing a business to a relationship, saying it matures and takes hard work.
“Anything worth doing takes hard work,” he said. “That’s the best though.”
And while he loves his remodeling work, Brandon Miller said the bigger reward for him is running a business and watching his employees grow.
“Roofing, siding and remodels are great, and I enjoy them,” he said, “but I wouldn’t be happy just being the guy out there doing that. I like watching people grow and evolve. I like managing a team, helping them through hard times and seeing them when they get big wins.”
As for the “hammer and nail side” of things, Miller said there’s joy to be found there as well.
“It’s the same concept,” he said. “I love looking at a house that’s in distress. It hasn’t been taken care of, and making it beautiful again and helping people love their home again.”