INTERVIEW WITH EXCAVATING COMPANY PRESIDENT // What it's Like to Own an Excavating Company
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2024
- Today's Down & Dirty is from when I was down in Ohio with Fechko Excavating (check them out here! www.fechko.com/) I got the opportunity to sit down and talk with John Fechko and interview him on what it takes to start and grow an excavating company. I also included some of our regular conversation outside of the interview because it had a lot of really valuable information!
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This guy is amazing! The school of hard knocks starting/running a business. When you have a company with people and equipment, as I did too, you find quickly that both can bankrupt you. Choosing the best equipment and people are key! It’s tough because your mistakes cost $$$. Again, GREAT interview!!
Thanks for watching! This is one of my favorite videos to date. John was an incredible resource.
im 19 started working for a company about 4 months ago on the blast crew on a major highway job, went to another job doing some blasting, running skid steers and haul trucks. im not to fond of haul trucks just because i would rather be learning something else but i make the best of the time i have in it, i observe anything and everything around me try to see how things are done all over the job site wether it be how the excavator loads, how the dozer operator does things, the sub pipe crew and how they go about things, anything i can see i try to learn something from. even though I am not doing whatever it is I might be trying to learn from I still feel like any sort of thought on what is going on may help for when I possibly end up doing any of those jobs. ALSO I love the videos man keep it up!
This is the best attitude to have and will serve you well. Too many people waste the opportunity to learn when driving a haul truck. You get to see both the cut and the fill from one seat. No other position on the job gives you that chance. Good for you my man. Thanks for watching brother!
People like John are going to be successful, he has the drive and will to make things work. Cool interview.
Drive is a major component to his success. He was a really awesome guy to sit and chat with.
I work for a highway department. I was blown away when he said pipe layer's learn and end up knowing the most. I e been here 30 years and it's true. I have learned more about everything being in a hole laying pipe than on any other crew here.
Books only teach so much. The skilled trades really do require hands on experience to really understand how and why everything works the way that it does. Thanks for the comment!
These interviews are awesome. Would be great if you could do more.
Best video yet I love the interview videos. From laborers to foreman’s to supervisors, I love this content it really paints a big picture of the way the whole job runs even in the office.
Thank you! I really appreciate you watching.
Keep them coming! Loved this
Thanks Greg!
Pure gold !
Thank you for this interview
Absolutely! Thanks for watching!
Great interview. Enjoyed listening to the gentleman being interviewed. Just goes to show, you can be successful without a college degree. Just have to be driven to go after what you're passionate about.
Thank you! I really wanted to demonstrate that exact point. If you are smart and threw them you don't need to spend $50,000 on a college education
I also liked his shrewd humbleness by saying he'd prefer to hire people smarter than him all day long. That's a sign of intelligence you can't buy.
14:48 great words of wisdom, always do quality work that stands out.
100%. John is a wise man in many ways.
Awesome interview! Thanks for the video! 👊
Thanks man!
Loved The interview and as a Union operator for over 20yrs it makes me sad that they went union and he didn’t feel it helped. But realistically to many people are here just for the money. And you you gotta have passion for what you do. To me I love doing this shit.
It definitely gets in your blood and you are hooked for life. I love the dirt! Thanks for watching brother!
@@DieselandIron No problem love it keep them coming
Hey man, great video, he spoke measures. You asked brilliant questions and I took a lot of knowledge from this video!
Thanks Toby! I really appreciate it!
Super duper good 👍
Got to have vision people 👌💪🤙
Amazing video! As always I loved the talk about college... I currently have 2 buddies that tell me “dude you need to find something to go to college for, you better go while you’re young and have the chance. When you get older you won’t be able to” and I just tell them that I don’t have anything I would like to go to college for and that I’m not going to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to say I went to college and do go take something I don’t have a desire for. Great interview man!
I'm glad this helped give you some confidence in choosing the non college path. That was one of my biggest goals with this series of interviews. Thanks Brayden!
This guy hiring? Jesus, super cool & down to earth. You can easily tell he knows the trade through hands on "in the hole" experience. Great video man, thanks once again
I could sit and pick his brain for hours. John has so much wisdom to give.
This video is literally my inspiration for the next 5 years. I will follow through. Thank you.
Go get it my man!
@@DieselandIron Update: It's taken a bit longer than expected, but I start as an excavator operator on a pipe crew Monday. Thank you sir.
14:40 that is my sole belief since I started in this industry. And looking back I see how many options I had because of that belief. "If you do good work you will get noticed"
Too many guys stand around playing on their phone during down times and then wonder why their career's never go anywhere.
A true inspiration. Would love to have a conversation with this guy.
I spent over an hour and a half chatting with him outside of the interview. He's an absolute wealth of knowledge yet he's super humble.
That’s awesome! I could tell!
I’d love to hear how his company got into more complex municipal work like laying pipe without having prior experience.
I've been trying to justify a trip down to see John again but haven't had the chance yet.
When a successful gives you an example of something he was not prepared for (eg - "...and then it rains for the month of July.") - please follow that line of thought. For example, you could have asked: "How do you now prepare in the event it rains the entire month of July?" These are the SPECIFIC details that will make you successful.
Great interview. I wish it was longer.
Thanks Dan! I appreciate that.
@@DieselandIron I live one town over from where they are located. My son is graduating high school and wants to be an operator.
@@danmcgivern1345 tell him to go in and apply. John and everyone at that company are very approachable and they are a great company to work for. He could have a very successful career working at Fechco
@@DieselandIron I will let him know. Thanks
Yup this guy gets it !! I love that he’s NOT a fake blowhard like a lot of the guys around my area! 👍
He's an awesome dude
You must not have a degree and have a small insecurity about it.
I’m a veteran, have a business degree, and I OWN an excavation business. Did it all just to be able to flex that hard 💪🏼😎
Thank you for serving! That's awesome you got your degree and own an excavation business. I have a degree in business marketing, started out in banking and hated it so moved over to pursue my passion which is excavating. I want to get the word out there that college isn't the only way to be successful. That's great you have a degree, but you definitely don't need one to own an excavating business and be successful at it! Do you feel your degree has helped to get you to where you are or do you think you would have been fine without it?
@Hello Freeman
So how did it feel risking your life for the bankers and over-inflated bureaucrats who used you to get the job done, and would use you again? 🤔 😅
16:19
So I'm 17 and a senior in highschool, I don't plan on going to college, I want to work in construction and start a business. I am really interested in excavating. Do you think this would be a good career choice? Will it be in demand? Would I be able to make 6 figures. Also, if I start at 18, do you think I could start an excavating company at 22? I'm super eager to succeed in whatever I choose.
This is a great career to step into and don't let anyone tell you differently. Working for a company you can easily pull down $60-80k a year and if you pull some serious hours you can pull $100-120k a year. Mind you this all depends on where you live, what you're doing etc. but six figures is absolutely attainable without owning your own company.
I would highly recommend you start working for a small or mid sized company to learn the trade. Spend 2-5 years learning all the in's and out's of the trade in whatever area you want to specialize in (underground, drainage, roadwork, residential etc). During that time get online and start educating yourself on how to run a business. You don't need college to learn this. TH-cam and some targeted Google searches will give you all the education you need. By the time you feel comfortable enough in the trade to go out on your own you'll also have a great education on how to start and run your business. Starting your own company by 22 is 100% doable but you will need to work hard and keep your head down to do it. I've got faith brother. You got this!
Edit: When you finally start your business and become successful, you better swing back over here and update us!
@@DieselandIron Wow thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. I live in upstate New York so I believe that's a good spot for excavation work. So glad I found your videos.
@@adamsalvione225 absolutely! Feel free to reach out with any questions. Check out Dirt Boss's channel if you haven't already. He's in your neck if the woods.
@@DieselandIron I will, thanks again
I’m in greater Toronto area. Started at 27 yrs old March 2017 with excavating company, non union, as a pitman, low 20s$$ per hr, holding the laser for the operator digging basements.I never played with my phone. The owner of the company was a full blown developer(old school Italians). It sucked standing in the heat or mud and such, but after 6-8 months I started using machines helping with engineered fill. I had mini excavator experience from working for a basement waterproofing company in my early twenties . I was their best younger operator, but I switched to a union company after the fourth year because of $$. I don’t need anybody to babysit me, I pretty much run the show on the sites I work on now, and I’m making 42$an change per hr. I offered my friends jobs when I was working non union for crappy pay but no one wanted to come work, now everyone’s jealous and wants a job but they don’t have any experience so I can’t really help them
How's the work like in Toronto for equipment operators? I'm in the OE in Alberta but I'm originally from Toronto.
There’s always going to be lots of work you in Toronto if you’re a good operator. It seems impossible to find any good help. There’s lots of shale to jackhammer for these condos downtown, endless highway repair work, and subdivisions going up all over the place. What kind of work you like doing? We’re contracted to the Toronto region conservation so I’m in the creeks and streams doing alot of shoreline erosion control projects. They do more work in the winter when the waters at its lowest so always busy year round. We also do alot of site prep for developers. Are you planning/thinking of coming back to Ontario?
That's the one thing about this industry. You have to have the drive and willingness to work. If you have that thing you will 100% be successful. Thanks for sharing your story brother!
Saludos soi operador con 30 años de es periensia ahora vivo en Albani NyYORK soi natural de PR operador ekipo pesado me gustaría trabajar aki en USA pero no sé inglés 👍💯 CAT número 1
¡Gracias por mirar hermano!
I could use six more hours of this.
The man has wisdom!
Who the hell is this
A highly successful dirt company president...
Lmao. Fetcho. Horrible company to work for. Got tan outta Columbus.
What makes you say this?