Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuck Moore.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Chuck. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ll take you back to the beginning – it was 1985 and I was five years old hanging out with my grandfather. He was a hardworking man who gave up farming to become a carpenter. He worked as a groundskeeper and carpenter for a family in Barrington Hills. I remember one day he came to our house to help my dad build coops for the turkeys that we were raising at the time. I really wanted to help in a bad way. So, my grandfather gave me a drill with a bit and said: “drill a hole on the x’s that I made on that board.”
My grandfather planted the seed and I had no idea at that time. Fast forward to when I was a junior in high school and got my first summer job as a carpenter/labor. That’s when I really caught the bug and decided it was what I wanted to do for a career. I worked my way up the ladder over the next 10 years – working for a family owned custom home builder, then going to carpenter school, and eventually working on subdivision developments. When I first started on my own, it wasn’t that one day I decided to start my own business.
I was sort of forced into it when the market crashed in 2007. It ended up being a great thing because it may not have happened otherwise. In 2007 I started working for myself just winging it… at least at that point in time. Once I felt like I was more established – not just with a family and permanent residence but with some growing pains/lessons behind me (more about that below) – it was time to take it to the next level. I incorporated in 2014 and officially named the business after my two kids, Drake and Joslyn. I will give my wife props for the name “Drajo” as she creatively came up with that!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When you start a business from the ground up or when you are working for yourself or by yourself, there’s going to be challenges for sure. When I first started on my own it was in 2007. The housing market crashed and work for a carpenter literally dried up. I had spent the last ten years of my life building a skill that was too valuable to throw away or quit.
I really didn’t want to be or do anything else and it was a struggle to keep this dream alive. I called up other contractors, former supervisors, and anyone that I had done side work for in the past to try to secure work. I took on freelance projects and drove long distances. I made signs and put them up at busy intersections and left flyers in mailboxes. Whatever it took to get by.
Also, the job itself is not only physically challenging but mentally! From reading blueprints correctly, to actually building what’s on paper, to improvising what’s not on paper. This job requires you to see downstream of what a building or custom piece or even a particular phase in a project is supposed to look like. I continue to develop new skills as home trends change and evolve. I have had to learn to work smarter, such as understanding how long it will take to build something and how that feeds into the estimate and project plan.
Additionally, up until this point, I had been focused on the craft and had to learn the business side of it all – which is its own beast to tackle. I have had to learn the hard way that I can’t be everything for everyone and anyone. You must know who you are, what you do (and do not) do well, who to work with, who to work for, what to sub out, and what to walk away from. Working in someone’s personal space, their home, can be stressful and I have had to learn how to navigate how each client lives.
It has not an easy road by any means. What I have come to realized and accept is that challenges are inevitable and the best way to overcome them are to tackle the ones that you know you can handle head-on. The ones that are a little tougher, it’s always good to have a mentor or someone who can help answer questions along the way. I believe at the beginning of anything there are struggles and if you pay attention and learn from those struggles it prepares you to avoid obstacles ahead.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Drajo Contracting & Design story. Tell us more about the business.
Drajo Contracting & Design specializes in residential renovations. I included ‘design’ in my company name because that is one thing that sets me apart. There are a lot of guys that “do what I do” but simply execute on someone else’s plan or design. You don’t have too many carpenter contractors that can draw a design and then build what they draw.
Drafting the majority of my jobs adds that little bit of extra time into understanding what it is that I am building. I could easily hire or have the client pay for an architect to come up with something. However, I allow my clients to collaborate with me – the person who is actually building what they want to build.
I am known for my custom pieces; vanities, cabinets, doors, tables, register covers, feature walls – the possibilities are endless. I enjoy that I enable my clients to maximize a dead space, address the odd cavity in a room, have a custom size to fill up space, or even incorporate the unexpected like a curved door. I also love working with the reclaimed material and try to incorporate a little rustic flare in whatever I do. My clients like that they are getting local handmade, custom pieces.
I am most proud of how far I have come since embarking on this journey. I am thankful for my clients who trust me with their home, rehire me, and refer me to their friends and family. I am humbled that my business continues to grow and thrive in the community that I live in.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 847-450-3779
- Email: drajocontracting@gmail.com
- Facebook: @drajodesign
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
