Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Stone.
Sara Stone
Hi Sara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
Charles and I have known each other since childhood and reconnected about 8 years ago. We got married, I worked as an RN (charge nurse for many years), and went PRN. Charles was working for the husband of a nursing buddy of mine doing remodeling. Long story short, we got tired of working for someone, tired basically of giving our lives away and not being appreciated. This, of course, was at the end of covid and other tragedies in between that. Charles had a history in construction, his father was a master carpenter, among many other things, and Charles had grown up framing houses with his father’s company. I also grew up in the construction business (my uncle owned his own construction company). With kids, life, and so much happening, we decided to take a leap of faith and go out on our own. We had something different about us, a woman in the construction field, not just doing paperwork but hands-on right next to our spouse. We became a husband /wife construction team. Clients loved it, and yes, especially women. Being a woman, I can relate to dealing with just men in the field. Let’s be honest at times, men lack the finesse to talk to customers that are women in a way that doesn’t feel degrading or that they are dumb and don’t know anything. This has been a rough year. We lost both our mentors this year, my uncle this past December and Charles’ father this past April, so it’s like we are keeping their dreams alive but still creating our own.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The first year was the easiest. It fell into place. Did we make tons of money? No, but we were in the positive, which is a win when starting your own company. This year has just been rough. The loss of our loved ones and having to go through financials and arrangements really took a toll on us. However, when working with your best friend and companion, you make it through because the other person always has your back. I can not express how important that is in a business and a marriage. It saved us in so many ways. Plus, we have three kids, and any parent will tell you it is a disaster without adding anything else to the equation. We are learning a lot; we have been blessed to have had wonderful customers on this journey. I won’t lie and say everyone has been a peach, but we have had more positive than negative, and it’s almost like we learn with the customers. So no, it has not been a smooth road, but what dream is. We keep going, learning along the way, and hope to leave a positive mark.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I chose artist/creative because we are making works of art. It is just different from the way others may perceive or define art. We are creating masterpieces. Whether it be an update to an older kitchen or making a dream space for you to sit outside and enjoy, it sounds funny, but in 20 years or more, someone is going to be looking at something we built with our own hands, and it’s creating a legacy a name for ourselves. Charles and I are the proud owners of WELSS 2019 LLC. WELSS is an acronym for our family; Woody(Charles’s childhood nickname), Emma(youngest child), Liliana(middle child), Sitara(oldest child), and Sara(me). We are a family-owned construction/remodeling company. It is all based around family; our children help with the business sometimes, but we don’t subcontract our work, and if you do any work with us, you are somehow tied to us. My uncle’s long-term employee Beto, whom I have known since I was 15, has come to help us with jobs. Beto saved one of our jobs, my uncle passed away while we were finishing up a job, and if it wasn’t for Beto stepping up and lending not only a hand but knowledge, I might have just fallen apart and given up. My ex-husband Jesus (Sitara’s dad) does our demolition clean-ups for us; when I mean we are a family business, we are, and our ties run deep. Family, that is what we are proud of the most. We are hardworking and honest. Who we are as people, is what sets us apart from other companies. Our family, our relationships, these are the lasting relationships we build with our clients, and our community.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check?
Mentor knowledge and books that have been passed down to us. Also,we are in several construction sites on Facebook, which is a wealth of knowledge on what to do and who not to be—hanging out with other family-owned business’ picking their brains, and learning from their triumphs as well as their mistakes. Most of all, it is just not having the mindset that you are done learning. It is so not true. We are always learning from our projects and at the end of each one. Charles and I pow-wow on what we did right, what we could have done differently, and ways to learn moving forward. There are some great podcasts on youtube; you have to be careful about who you listen to, but definitely, some seasoned construction gurus that don’t just explain the construction part but the business part. That is vital when you are trying to balance work and profit. This is a hard business; you won’t succeed on talent alone.
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