They Knew Construction. She Knew How to Lead.

Melanie Barr: Welcome to She Built It. I'm your host, Melanie Bar. Pamela Disco immigrated from Peru to the United States at 19 and went on to build a multi-million dollar construction company with her husband. Today, she is president of Ziti Stuckco Repair, an Inc. 5000 company two years in a row, leading growth in an industry where few women sit at the top. Pamela, thank you for being here. Welcome to She Built It. I'm Melanie Bar. Thank you for joining us, Pamela.

Speaker 2: >> Yes, thank you, Melanie. Thank you so much for having me. You took ZD from a

Melanie Barr: family operation to an Inc. 5000 company. What had to change for the

Speaker 2: business to scale to that level? >> I had to change. My mindset had to change. My mentality had to change. Basically, that was it. One of the I I think this goes back to when the company was founded and actually my husband found it and I was always with him next to him helping him. But then he had to travel for a couple of months and it was an emergency. So I I told him you go do that and I will take care of the company and that's how I took over completely the company. I didn't know anything about construction but I do well I realized that I know how to run people and how to get products and that's what you need in order to run a company. And it was a journey that it started on 2018 and I just learned with it and we have done 4 million last year and it has been amazing. It really changed our lives. Yeah.

Melanie Barr: >> Company grew. What became the biggest constraint that you had to overcome as

Speaker 2: your company started to scale? >> I will say it is working with people. I think that even though we are different comp you know there is different industries people is a business of people it doesn't matter which industry you are on it's a business of people and you need to know about people you need to know how to communicate to your juniors to your staff how to communicate to your executives how to demand products and I think that for me you know know from le from I beginning I was the one kind of only one person you know people my husband too but then I had to run more and more and more people and that was the challenge I will say until you just find a way and I started learning I actually took like communication courses uh helped me just be a better leader yeah and just construction is so much organization and people I'm in the process of a remodel right now and it is a lot of organization and just making sure things are done on time and it's the human

Melanie Barr: element with the organizational element. >> Yes, that is true. I know >> have you found being a woman in those situations because it's very male.

Speaker 2: >> It's completely male. So you see me here I love to be super girly girl and I love outfits and things like that. My husband is and I'm short. I'm 5'2. I'm Latina. My husband is like a big guy. He has big muscles. He has tattoos. He is European but all the majority of our staff all of production they are Latin men. We have 56 teams with subcontractors we are around 80 people and at one point I was running them all of them. But I will say that I had to go through a breakthrough because at the beginning I was not accepted to call it that way. You can be especially Latin guys, they don't want to receive orders from a Latin woman.

Building trust with the team

Speaker 2: That's just not the culture. And you know what I did? I asked them for help. I need you to help me because guys, even though they have this whatever mask I will say about being macho latino guy, they want to help. So that's what I kind of like, listen, even though correct, I don't understand those things. I don't know how that works. I need you to help me help me on this how long it will take this project and I will just go with my production manager at that time and just go through it. And then he we became friends. And I think by keep doing this little by little then I earned a respect from him and from all of them because they start seeing how the company was running just with much more organization. And there was a special touch even though my husband was the one who teach me this touch. You be in communication with the customer. Let know the client. We work on exterior and these simple things matter. Like sometimes a construction you hire, you must have the experience. You hire a construction company and they don't show up and they don't even tell you. And it is that little detail that matters. We sometime here in New York, New Jersey, we have rain or snow and we you know let you know immediately at that time I was running production and I remember I will just simply let them know and that's something that just make the difference in the construction business

Melanie Barr: >> goes a long way. >> Yeah. Yeah.

Melanie Barr: >> Then construction has had that happen to them where someone doesn't show up. But so if a company will at least communicate and go above and beyond that's going to make a a big difference. >> Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. So there

Speaker 2: for the colors and exteriors materials. Oh I was just just saying there are so many details that you can just communicate with a client. Uhhuh.

Melanie Barr: >> What has growth revealed that revenue alone has not shown like beyond revenue

Speaker 2: has your company grown? >> I think our goals you and you that you are able to help more families. you are able to fit more families and you are able to make a bigger impact and not only for yourselves but we are talking about like around 80. So and you how they also get better and you see how their lifestyle starts starts to yours too but theirs as well. And I think that's something that revenue doesn't fully reveal. You know, I Instagram real once that said the watch or the car is not the biggest flex. It's how many people you have on your payroll.

Melanie Barr: >> Mhm. >> Yeah.

Melanie Barr: >> Where can AI and technology create leverage in a hands-on business like

Speaker 2: construction? >> We use AI. We love AI and I'm actually even more open to use more. I just actually will have plans to meet up with an specific person so he can guide us. uh but the way we're using it right now it is uh on estimates it has our life just much easier and I will say like a speed article it just puts that speed there and we we have AI how to work together and it is not about replacing our staff it's actually about enhancing them so there is this speed of particle and we can just get estimates much faster uh than to can't we can just operate faster That's what we have used AI but uh but in in kind of like plans to automat automat to create more

Melanie Barr: automatizations right now >> just am going through a remodel myself and I used AI for the entire punch list at the very end I use it to create a budget high low medium and it just it so I'm sure I mean construction is hands-on but I'm sure AI can help just with the organization and the amount of things

Speaker 2: that are done when something is being built.

Melanie Barr: Yes. Yes, you can. Yeah. Just a faster, you know, more order, which we all love that >> and Yeah. And I'm sure it's appreciated

Speaker 2: when there's so many different details. >> Yes. And I will say also that AI using in construction, it is like because I think AI being used in other industries, but right now we are just be kind of like the ones like leading you on the industry and we do it. We basically dress buildings or we dress houses. Yeah. So people are using it too much. They are not. So just the fact that right now you are using it, it just puts you on top. So we like that.

Melanie Barr: >> Yeah. >> How do you make quality repeatable as

Speaker 2: your company grows? >> Quality repeatable. Wow. Well, we train of your work, >> right? So what we do is we are constantly training and so even if we we we our team are trained like everybody in our team is trained. So when I say that by train I mean like for the simple things again right like the cleaning something so simple but the majority of construction people they don't do it so and they are used to that because that's the industry it's there's like it's construction and but we would already families that are living in that residence or commercial buildings people that work there. So what we do is we like to as you know we client the client is living there. So we enter into the or we are outside the house into the property and we leave it exactly as nobody was there like we clean and and construction are not used to that. So what we do is we have an orientation packed and we actually sit them make them read it like and teaching like simple things cleaning nest. So and they are like are you really doing this? You really going through it? But they cannot believe it. We are a construction company. But after that they they they actually gratitude towards it because what you are doing in a way is you are teaching them order and you are teaching them to be clean and they appreciate that. Every every human appreciates that. So at the end they love it. Yeah. And as a woman and a homeowner, we're going to notice those things. And I will refer someone if they go above and beyond. If I come home and everything's clean or I walk into my property and everything looks good, I'm going I'm make more referrals.

Speaker 2: >> Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And that's what we get. We get many referrals from our

Melanie Barr: clients. Yeah. >> How has your approach to hiring and

Speaker 2: developing leaders changed as ZD has grown?

Speaker 2: >> That's very important. Actually, I will say, how can I say this? So before um and I recently I before I just you know listen words and sometimes listen to many things that really just the words were sounding good but and sometimes you were I was into it but but actually you to look at the products the person that you are hiring sometimes that person is showing you her or his best the first day the first week maybe the first month after the 3 months you're going to see really what it is and you need to look at the products not just be listening listening that doing this this this and I say I that that's the thing that I change the most on how I approach hiring I look at the products of the person and I and I just like very very what do you do like this is you know even I don't understand because this is why I hire people because sometimes there are things that I don't and fully understand but one thing I do understand are products. So I will say that because sometimes we just get how you say like in love all of these picture and words and this whole scenario but the product

Melanie Barr: is not there and that's what is important. Yeah. >> Yeah. And you're delivering too is is is so I'm sure that's that's the most important. >> Yeah. And I for a woman in construction,

Speaker 2: what has a woman being in construction taught you about leadership, authority, and trust? >> A woman in Okay. It has that I can, you know, like a little bit personal here, but I was born with one leg shorter than the other one. I had I went through age eight had a very tough childhood. And then I also became a drug addict at the age of 17. And I was on drugs from 17 to 24. I felt I lost seven years of my life completely. And I was on cocaine and marijuana and alcohol. I was also surrounded with I had very toxic relationships and I >> felt as for me and that I of course went out party and I will not be right now talking to you. He probably I will be dead on any street in New York. But there was one thing that as a woman I took a look and I was like you know I was able and I had hope and actually it was perfect but at that moment I just had this book. It was a book called Dinetics. It is the science of mental health the modern science of mental health by Elleron Hoverbert. I read it. Mhm.

Reactive mind

Speaker 2: >> Uh it talks a reactive mind. How the reactive mind it is this part of the mind that actually stores all your traumas, your losses, your negative thoughts, unwanted behavior and even though you are aware of it or not and it's just making you make the bad decisions in life and I was making all of the bad decisions. So um for one moment I just didn't believe in myself and then I start doing all of these dynamic sessions and I just was able to completely change my mindset. I start believing in myself again and I start saying what I was I start doing what I said I was going to do and all of these pool of life in a way that I felt drugs, toxic relationships, uh surgeries took away from me started coming back and I will say like good energy or life force and that so as a leader answering to your question I will say that you can do

Melanie Barr: it. >> Thank you for sharing that. H how did

Speaker 2: you get book? Did you how did you book? >> Oh, actually I found it because I was walking on 57th Street and 8th Avenue and I already heard about it and there was this fair but at that moment I remember it was a Saturday 12 and you know New York these streets they closed 57th Street and I was like I was done. And I was completely broken. And I said, "God, please help me." And somehow I turned around and I saw Dynetics. So it was like a booth on the street, you know, like in New York like fair. And I was like, and I just went there and I knew that I just had to buy the book, read it, do the sessions, you know, it

Melanie Barr: was just this bit that I had. Yeah. >> So amazing. I love that you followed your intuition and that you listen to yourself because it's it's hard to do and from a place the place where you amazing where you are today.

Speaker 2: >> Thank you so much Melanie. I appreciate it. Yes. Um yes and I think about women just to follow our intuition is so important because it's just going to

Melanie Barr: take us very high. >> Today we've talked a lot about business and your journey. What do you do today to make sure that you're finding and living your joy? What do you do outside of work to make sure that you're finding

Speaker 2: your happiness? >> Well, I do a lot of volunteer work. I like to help. I do a lot of volunteer work. I believe that that you know there are millions of there probably that are just like lost or or even like people with their own drug. doesn't have to be like drugs, you know, and that are stuck in life and are not achieving their maximum potential. And I like to just share my story. I am also an advocate for Dynetics, the modern science of mental health and and you know just share so much with them uh so they can also change lives and achieve their dreams, achieve their goals. life doesn't have to be about and I'm going to say it is it's not only physical pain it's also emotional pain so many people suffering from anxiety depression fears >> uh or even lack confidence and and with dynamics there is so simple that you can do in order to just get rid of your reactive mind and live you know happily and at your which is something I was able to to achieve and I would like others to have as well. So yeah, and we like to travel a lot.

Melanie Barr: >> And thank you for sharing your story with us.

Speaker 2: >> Oh yeah. Travel. Yeah. Thank you for with us because we're everyone's going through something. So it gives it gives hope to for whatever they're going through that they're able to work through it and that there is a path

Melanie Barr: forward. >> That that is right. and especially you listeners because I believe entrepreneur people have that extra that extra thing that we have and we are kind of fighters and if anybody on these you know lines that listen I I'm sure there's millions of people out there who are you know that you can go you can come out at the other you know at the tunnel where there is a lot of light and where you can actually achieve your dreams and your goals. Thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing that story and for inspiring all of us. Please share with us how and where we can find you

Speaker 2: >> in Instagram as Pamela Dixo and also the company CDS taco repair and the book Dynetics the modern science of mental health. You can get it in Amazon.