I just spent weeks filling one position at CLB Builds — 63 candidates for a single role. That probably sounds excessive to some people. It’s not, at least not to me, because I wasn’t just hiring for a job. I was hiring for who this company becomes.
Here’s something I’ve learned the hard way: every company has a culture, whether you build it on purpose or let it happen by accident. I’ve done it both ways.
In past businesses, I mostly asked one question: can this person do the work? I didn’t spend enough time figuring out whether they were someone I actually wanted helping build what I was building. That gap catches up with you eventually. A business can survive a skill gap — you can train someone up. A values gap is a different story. Character isn’t something you can teach in a training manual.
So this time, I’m doing it differently. As CLB Builds grows, I want every hire to add to the culture, not chip away at it.
What I’m looking for isn’t complicated. I want people with grit — who put in the work even when nobody’s checking. People who’ll tell me the truth even when it’s not what I want to hear. People who’d treat a customer the way they’d want their own family treated. People who find a way around a problem instead of explaining why it can’t be solved. And people who understand that loyalty isn’t given upfront — it’s built through showing up, being consistent, and doing what you said you’d do.
Skills matter. Experience matters. But if someone doesn’t share the values this company runs on, none of that talent makes them the right fit.
You don’t build culture with a mission statement on the wall. You build it one hire at a time. Every person who joins either strengthens what you’re building or slowly turns it into something else. I’ve learned that the hard way once already — I’m not planning on learning it twice.