Meet Jim Averill III | Roofing & Siding Specialist – Construction Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jim Averill III and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jim, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process for starting my own business actually stemmed from the desire to be self-employed following my own decision making process.

After college, where I acquired a geology degree, I moved back to the Midwest where I was offered an opportunity to work for a Subaru dealership. I had a passion for mechanics and Subaru’s especially, so I thought it might be a good fit. However, my values and those of a large corporation could not be forced to align. For example, I would provide simple services as a courtesy to customers, such as a windshield wiper replacement or, in one instance, simply remove a USB cable tangled up in a drive line as a customer relationship tool. I was often reprimanded for doing so, being that the corporation had a minimum payment requirement for any service at $150, even if it only took me seconds to complete. I could not align with this corporate environment.

As a change, I moved back to Colorado to try my hand in the Oil fields where my Geology degree would naturally lead me. Long hours of data logging for little pay was not a great start to the experience. On top of this, my entry level position was not respected by others charged with decision making. I would advise the director that the data suggests we had hit our target zone and there is no more extraction available any further down. Disregarding the data and my professional opinion, the rig director ordered further drilling. Six months later, there was nothing to show for it besides hundreds of thousands in wasteful rig expenses.

Situations like this continued to occur. I realized I would never be satisfied until I was calling the shots that I knew were the right moves. So I started working as a handyman fixing sinks, laying tile– and eventually installing metal roofs. This led us to today, where I own and operate a multi million dollar metal roofing company in Gunnison, Colorado. As well as a multi million dollar sheet metal manufacturing company: Axtell Mtn Construction & Gunnison Sheet Metal & Roll-Forming.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
It was not easy to start, but there was not any time to think about being scared or excited about it– because I was too busy working. Everything got set aside. My priority was succeeding- growing only increased this need for hustle.

I think what sets us apart is how many family and friends I have taken into the business. Often times, people say don’t work with your spouse or friends, but I find that this is our recipe for success. Most of my close friends work for our business, and not just work — but take pride and personal purpose from it. I couldn’t imagine not sharing the reality of running this business with my spouse on top of it all, it’s a big part of our lives. I have had many friends and family join the business, and only once has it really backfired, and maybe that friendship was not built to last anyway.

I started this business while living in a camper behind my future office managers house. I lived in my mechanical shop with my Fiance for 5 years following that. We only just bought our first house 7 years after the business was started. It takes time, but the American Dream, or the opportunity to work for yourself in this country, is alive & well if you put in the work and continue learning through the process.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Crested Butte, Colorado is our sister city. It is the last great ski town, in that, it still has soul instead of the Disney world energy you may get from other corporate owned ski towns. Crested Butte was recently bought by Vail Resorts, but independently owned ski mountain, Monarch Mountain Resort is not far away.

Crested Butte has good skiing but also breathtaking hiking in the summer, literally and figuratively. We suggest Lupine Trail for hiking or Green Lake Trail for a longer day. The wildflowers are stunning come July.

Our favorite place to eat is Ryce Bistro, or Slogar for some swanky Nola atmosphere fried chicken. There is a movie theater run as a non-profit by young locals called the Majestic Theater — a great place to fill a dinner & a movie night — often debuting local and small films.

Most importantly, keep Crested Butte weird by brushing up on local traditions and legend, and remember the Leave No Trace public land use principals to keep our public lands beautiful.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to a resource where I found direction, motivation & comradery: Ramsey Entre-leadership organization. This takes the shape of a podcast, books, conferences etc. I first heard Dave Ramsay on the radio where I was taken in by his unforgiving honesty & inherent wisdom of leadership. So as I was getting my business off the ground, I had the radio show to laugh with, relate to and take guidance from – I trusted if I follow this road map of financial management and dedication, I will find my end goal which is financial freedom. When I first started working for myself, I bought my first $400 ladder on a credit card… this year, we paid off our commercial building. Dave Ramsey’s resources continue to aid me in running my businesses, managing my team and even upholding my personal relationships. Of course, some of my own values and conduct may differ from the Ramsey way, but it is useful to use the Ramsey recipe for success and add my own spices to the mix. Thanks Dave, keep it up!

Website: axtellmtnconstruction.com gunnisonsheetmetal.com

Instagram: axtellmtnconstruction gunni_sheet_metal

Facebook: axtellmtnconstruction

Youtube: @GunniMetal

Image Credits
Site Glass Sunset Photo Courtesy of Mackey Bowlin 360 Productions