Rob Walker on Faith, Carpentry, Blue Collar Leadership, and Why Real Estate Is Really About People

Rob Walker (00:00)
The core investment that needs to be found again is you’re investing in people.

You’re investing in, you know, that banker that’s taking a risk with his money is investing in the guy that’s ⁓ putting in the back pain, the hard work, the long days, just horrible conditions. You know, that sacrifice, he’s investing in that.

Quentin (01:52)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host Q Edmonds and I’m excited to be here today. I’m excited to have my guest here and listen, you know, he has the mindset. if you don’t take the shot, you never know what’s going to happen And so I’m so glad that he’s here. He’s going to talk to us about his business and he’s been in the carpentry world for 30 years.

And we all know in real estate, if you buying a home or buying a building, carpentry is very, very important. And so I think we all know that. So I’m so glad that we get a chance to just look at things from his perspective. And so I am so happy to introduce you all to Mr. Rob Walker. Mr. Rob, how you doing today, Sir

Rob Walker (02:36)
I’m doing wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. How about yourself?

Quentin (02:38)
That’s

⁓ man, doing good, doing good. Alive, like you said, I’m above ground. I’m blessed. I can’t complain. God is giving me another day in and who am I to complain? All I got is gratitude. So very, very happy to be here today, And so look Rob, this what I want to do. I kind of just want to dive in, man. I would love for you to tell the people what your main focus is these days.

If you want to give us a bit of an origin story, kind of how you got into the business that you’re in, we love origin stories and then tell the people where you are in the world. So what you up to, your origin story and where you are in the world. So Mr. Rob, you have the floor, man.

Rob Walker (03:19)
Well, currently I’m staying in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I’m originally born, I was born in Washington, D.C., Greater Southeast Hospital. I was raised all around the Maryland area from…

Gosh, from DC to suitland to Morningside to Clinton to Temple Hills back to Clinton. A whirlwind of trouble as a kid down to Calvert County down in the countryside in Maryland. Early I’ve seen I’ve seen the full spectrum of Maryland and everything it has to offer. It’s a great beautiful state, but it’s.

Let’s be honest, it’s tough state to live in. It’s North Atlantic. It moves very fast around the DC area. It’s hustle and bustle. But nonetheless, through all that between from Maryland now here to South Carolina, I’ve stayed steady and true to my career within carpentry. Some days are better than others, but every day that you get thereafter, it’s just like you said, it’s a blessing. You’re gracious, gracious or grateful, however you see fit for.

every next day, every next opportunity. I’ve done a vast array of carpentry, anything, very little commercial work, but enough to know that that’s a whole nother monster versus residential. But I mean, my primary focus for 30 plus years has been mainly residential and now on the back end of my career. I’m looking at specializing in more specific areas, so to say, that are supported within the market.

Like right now I’m No, I’ll do handyman work this at the other small work from the every drop in a bucket is a drop in a bucket enough drops that fills the bucket, so to say. We know I looked to lean towards specializing in accent, ceilings and walls and all these glass these glassy three season rooms they have down here. But you know it’s construction is blue collar. Every day is hard. There’s you gotta have grit if you want to get through it.

Quentin (06:00)
I love it. You’re absolutely right. I definitely hear you. I love the fact you grew up DC all around Maryland. know, I’m born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. You know, live in Prince George’s County now. Interestingly enough, enough my family used to travel to Calvert County two times a week, sometimes even more, sometimes three times a week. My dad was a pastor of a church in Calvert County. Like that’s actually his first.

Rob Walker (06:26)
I

Quentin (06:27)
church that he passed that was in Calvert County. so we used to drive up to there one or two times a week. And so, man, I hear you going up around that Maryland area. Just listen, you definitely is. It raised us differently. It prepared us to go anywhere in the world. That’s what I like to say. Maryland and Baltimore, specifically for me, has prepared me to be anywhere in the world and to be able to blend in, be able to accept.

my surroundings, inspect my surroundings. So Merlin just, it prepares you differently, And so I love it. And thank you so much for talking about your journey, And I have a saying, Rob, where I say destiny has no wasted moments. Meaning no matter what we go through in life, moments kind of prepare us for where we are now. And so Carpentry for 30 years, you say tried and true to it. I grew up in DC, surrounding Merlin earlier. So I would love to know what has these moments

Rob Walker (06:59)
How do I swivel?

Quentin (07:25)
taught you about yourself? Moments in carpentry, moments in the surroundings that you’ve been in, moments about your business. Like what has these moments taught you about you? Has it taught you discipline, resolve? Like tell me, what has these moments in life, in this journey taught you about yourself?

Rob Walker (07:41)
Everything everything you can go from I mean, let’s be honest Maryland is a four season state. It’s got a little bit of everything for a little tiny say that place is on I mean it’s got it all it really does. It’s got it’s got that sweet sour. It’s got sweet taste. It’s got sour taste. It’s got an up and down left right it is It’s everything it really is

But with that being said, you know, mean, through the through carpentry and more so life than anything, because everything translates, I think if you’re passionate about what you do, ⁓ resiliency is key. Belief in self is absolute because you’re going to get moments in life that they’re going to challenge you.

They really are. And I don’t want their faith too much into it because I know some people don’t receive that as well. But you and I seem to be on a mutual page, so you’re not going to yell at me. ⁓

Quentin (08:44)
And listen, and we talk about faith here, man. So you feel free. I mean, people who follow me and they watch, we talk about it. It’s a part of who we are. yeah.

Rob Walker (08:53)
So I mean with that being said and now I’ve got a whole lot of freedom here. ⁓ No, you can be so self-reliant. You can be I mean, I’m I’m stubborn as a bull I mean I’m a tourist but I don’t believe in that horoscope all that stuff. But I mean by coincidence I’m a tourist I’m stubborn tried and true. I’ve got that grit side to me. I mean if we actually had a straightforward conversation of just the track record of life with me, it’s nothing but

trial and error, trial and error. I did. So with that being said, you got to have resiliency. You got one of the larger things. Well, the largest thing that I want to get the most important thing out of the way. Well, not out the way, but get it acknowledged, so to say. For me, it’s I can be as tough as I want.

⁓ I can grind through anything, but you’re going to hit a brick wall at some point in time in your life that you cannot punch through. I mean, I grew up on the Kool-Aid man, but I mean, in all reality, you get to a point in that where you can’t make things move. If you start to really dive into faith, really dive into faith wholeheartedly and you start to recognize that, you know, ⁓

what you’re looking for in life might not necessarily be your plan for life, but then you get moments of clarity out of out of nowhere. I mean, it’s a big wheel thought that I’m pretty articulate, but at the same time, these ideas that come up and I think most entrepreneurs and people in positions of leadership, some of these bigger thoughts, they got to contribute that to a higher power. I mean, I’d like to think that most people would have contributed to God, but

for God for one person might be off or another, but I mean, I’m not looking to find the splitting of the difference. I’m looking for the common ground, if that makes sense. So I mean, for faith for me to get this far that is unequivocal. I mean, I’ve gotten myself into spots in life where I should have never got through it.

but God don’t grab me by the back of my collar, pulled me out of it, gave me an opportunity. And at that point, it’s my responsibility to learn from my mistake, not repeat the same mistake again and carry on. So you’re looking at faith, resiliency.

Dependability if you make a promise to a man you better follow through with it and life happens So if you don’t follow through with a promise for whatever it is You have a conversation You have a straightforward conversation that hey No excuse

I’m sorry, I follow through. This may be the cause of it, but at the same time, I made a promise I couldn’t cash in on. And I’ll tell you right now, I don’t make many promises in life, but the ones that I do, I’ve broken very, very few of my promises in life. that’s, I think that’s a small smidgen of what I’ve done that God’s graced me with more opportunities that I don’t really, I’m not qualified for. I don’t deserve. I mean,

I got a high school education. ⁓ I’m a very articulate person for someone that only has a high school education that’s skated through high school.

Quentin (12:49)
No, I hear you, I often say on this podcast, especially, you when you talking to somebody, you know, like us, somebody who’s open to the statement, there’s a scripture that says, ⁓ we make our plans, but the Lord determined the outcome. And so we out here, we make our plans and we think we know what we’re doing. But I love how you say, sometimes God snatch you by the collar and be like, wait a minute, I know you had your plan, but listen, let me kind of redirect you because this outcomes will be different than what you expected.

Rob Walker (13:09)
Haha.

Quentin (13:18)
And so, I definitely hear you on that. And I think sometimes we just have to be malleable and flexible, especially within business, especially our real estate investors and real estate world. We all know that there’s moments when we have to pivot and pivot fast. So there are times that you have to be malleable and flexible because things doesn’t go the way you expected them to go. And I think that’s one of the common goals.

of being in business, being in real estate is that that’s exactly what happens. And so I want to talk to you a little bit, Rob, about KJR carpentry, man. I would love to know what is your next real goal, man? What are you looking to solve a scale next?

Rob Walker (13:58)
Well, with KJR Carpentry, because that’s an acronym for my daughter, my wife, or unfortunately, maybe ex-wife to be, yada yada yada, and my

itself, but at the same time, mean, an acronym, you could call it kill joy Rob, if you want. ⁓ it really doesn’t matter. That’s a one going joke with the three of us. mean, it, a little salt on the wound. don’t care. mean, it’s, well, that goes back to making, making mistakes and taking ownership of it.

Quentin (14:16)
Hahaha!

Yeah, yeah. ⁓

Rob Walker (14:31)
You know, if you got a little bit of bite to your tongue and your 24 year old daughter throws, hey, it’s killjoy Rob, you know, you know what young lady, I’ll take that. I’ll take that all day long. Maybe I deserve it. Maybe I don’t, but that actually teaches me a lesson to have a softer tongue in certain moments, so to say.

Quentin (14:49)
Yeah.

Rob Walker (14:50)
Well, the next goal, the next goal would be to obtain stability to where I can keep it a company. I mean, because right now, like I told you prior to I’m down in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this is a it’s a different monster down here, different region of the world. I’m very much so in a 15 minute city. I mean,

If you ask me personally, I tell you this is the blueprint for a 15 minute city. And with that being said, it’s how many small fishes are in a big pond where, I mean, let’s be honest, real estate controls that front end of the business. You’ve got corporate money. You’ve got corporate money on the shoreline. ⁓ You’ve got real estate agents all around, investors all around, and you have to be able to make noise.

enough noise to get those people’s attention to actually make impact. And that’s where I’m at now is I’d like to see my company grow from individually owned and operated at 50 years old. I’d like to see within four to five years, maybe able to step away from my business and find the right men to be able to run the business as it expands and give me more men and women opportunities and from all walks of life.

You know, from veterans, veterans that are that are looking for another another moment of service within their life, something productive and. And what’s the word I’m looking for?

I mean, because I’ll be honest, veterans, those that have served, have natural leadership skills, not all of them, but solid ones, just like in carpentry, real estate, a leader is a leader. Whether you, I mean, I’m sorry, most leaders don’t even want to be leaders. just, you’re a leader by default because you see an action that needs to be implicated and you just, you take action.

Quentin (16:37)
Yeah.

Rob Walker (16:41)
So that’s what in the future, I’d like to see my company expand to individually owned and operated to self-sustaining, a self-sustaining company that I can step away from and just give oversight to. You know, just make sure that step in every once in a while is, we staying on the purpose of what the business is? Are we staying on the mission of what the business is? If we’re doing those things and the quality of the work is where it needs to be, then it’s great.

Quentin (16:41)
Yeah.

Rob Walker (17:09)
but if it needs to be intervened, I have enough experience with service to community, service to homeowners and the industry that I’m in that I can recognize a problem and clean it up. But I’d like to see that expand from there, because from there, I have multiple other businesses and let’s say foundations. mean, foundations that I’d like to help build in this area to help support the area. And more importantly, like we talked initially, ⁓ I’m blue collar.

Other people are white collar. You have finance, you have actual production. Neither one of them can do nothing without the other. You can have all the ideas, all the money in the world if you don’t have someone to help build that idea. You have nothing and vice versa. You can have someone that has all the know how, how to build and construct. If you don’t have someone that can actually…

have that initial conversation to open the door of opportunity. You need that and then you need that next part. You need the actual, you need the backing. So hopefully it works out. Like this is an opportunity to get into an avenue of that. So from, you know, I’ve got one business I have and I’ve got seven more right after that I’d like to start off.

Quentin (18:25)
Yeah. Yeah. No, Rob, I love it, man. I love everything you’re saying. And I want to ask you because you brought up service and servitude. I want to know why is service and servitude so important to you,

Rob Walker (18:40)
I think that’s what makes the world go round. I think that’s the key. mean, for me, it is very much so faith based. I mean, that’s instilled as a kid. mean, I was a juvenile. I’ve been every spectrum. For everything that Maryland is, I’ve been that full spectrum and then some of, know, saint, sinner, sin 10 times more. know, it’s one of those things where

Take faith out of the equation and you just ask, what’s the purpose of life? Ask the person what the purpose of life is. And I would look to be able to tell them fully and confidently that purpose of life is to take the gifts that you were given, practice them, perfect them as best as you can. And really wholeheartedly, those are the things that you’re gonna naturally enjoy because you have confidence in yourself that you can perform.

But with that being said, you don’t put those things in a box and keep them for yourself. You actually share it with other people to make a positive impact in their life. And that’s where you’re going to find joy, fulfillment, success. I mean, we’re in a world where… ⁓

Where money without money. You know the wheel doesn’t spin, but people will forget. I think people often lose sight of. That let’s go ahead and call it the game, the game of life. You lose perspective of what the real game of life is, and that’s to make positive impacts in people’s lives. Of course, today’s day and age. mean money is needed, of course, but money.

You look at money, money is only a tool. Yeah, you can collect it, you can hoard it, you can burn it, you can waste it, you can save it. So many things you can do it at the core of it. It’s only a tool. And if we we actually start to idolize that money now becomes an idol. Now we’ve lost all perspective. And this is I mean, very much so alignment and faith. But even for the people outside of faith, you lose perspective of what money actually is.

then I mean you’ve lost all, you’ve lost your purpose, you’ve lost your mission, and then you’re just, what is it? It’s pointless. I I think the real estate market, you take the real estate market, you take blue collar, any of those industries, finance, all three of those things have one thing in common, and if you ask me what they have in common, it’s not.

Quentin (21:08)
Yeah.

Rob Walker (21:26)
No, the salesman, he’s not committed to the sale. If he looks at the core of it and does it right, the finance company is not looking at the financial backing that’s needed is the core of it or the investment. No, their return is at the investment or the blue collar. It’s, know, my pain for a little bit of money gain. Those aren’t the investment.

The core investment that needs to be found again is you’re investing in people.

You’re investing in, you know, that banker that’s taking a risk with his money is investing in the guy that’s ⁓ putting in the back pain, the hard work, the long days, just horrible conditions. You know, that sacrifice, he’s investing in that.

that guy that’s putting all those pains for a little bit of gain, he’s investing in the family that’s going to maybe move into a house, maybe expand, maybe giving another guy an opportunity to run a small business. mean, you definitely need big business in life, but you actually, in my opinion and theoretically, I’d…

I put Elon Musk right to the hot seat on that one face to face. You need more big business, or I’m sorry, you need more small businesses than big business, if that makes sense. If it’s too many big businesses, then you become disassociated or disconnected with your actual purpose and mission and the people that you serve.

Yeah. So in theory, I mean, if I had to sum it up, I just want everyone to be able to eat, you know, no one needs to live a lavish lifestyle, but I mean, everyone deserves the chance to have, you know, the bare bones, basic necessities in life. I’m sorry. no veteran on the face of this planet that serves his country should be homeless. No, drug addicts, this, that, and the other, you know, they

Quentin (23:01)
Absolutely, nah man.

Yeah.

Rob Walker (23:25)
You got to put the work in, of course. You got to do those things for self-correction, but you don’t need to be put in an area where minimum wage puts you into a point of fight or flight. that puts people in survival mode. a continual cycle of no matter how hard you work, you’re not going to get that opportunity because the finance side of it doesn’t support what you need to sustain yourself.

Quentin (23:51)
listen, if someone wanted to get in contact with you, reach out to you, collaborate with you, how can they get in contact with you,

Rob Walker (23:58)
Alright, my company name is KJR Carpentry LLC. My name is Rob Walker. You can reach me at 843-424-2881 or 843-424-0585 as well as my email address at [email protected]. I do have a website, but I mean that’s another thing I got to go back to work on my website.

Quentin (25:06)
There you go. We got it. Absolutely. Absolutely. So listen, y’all seen it. Get in contact with KJR Carpentry. I hate to do this, but I do not want to miss an opportunity. want you, we’ve seen the card, but I do want you to read the information because we’re transcribing it because I want people to be able to click it in the show notes. So read the information off the card for me again.

That way we have it in our show notes as well.

Rob Walker (25:34)
All right, so I have, it’s KJR Carpentry, LLC. My motto is craftsmanship and care your home deserves. I mean, I stand on that all day long. I service the Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas of Horry County, South Carolina. My email, you can reach me at KJR Carpentry, ⁓ 49 the numbers at gmail.com.

and you can hit me on my business line at 843-424-2881 and yeah, local, licensed, bonded, all that fun stuff. Set up and ready to play, but definitely one of the ropes because this is construction is construction and life is life. It’s fight or flight and I’m not a flight type of person.

Quentin (26:24)
Love it. Well, listen, man, let me tell you three things to you. First, thank you for your time. Thank you for being here. Secondly, thank you for your story, for your authenticity. And lastly, man, thank you for the way you think and bringing that mindset to this platform. I appreciate you, Rob. Thank you for being here,

Rob Walker (26:40)
No,

and vice versa. I this is an opportunity that, you know, I’m not qualified for the room, so to say. If you look at the platform of real estate and finance and investment fuel and this, that and the other. But at same time, it’s the opportunity is that that’s God sent to me at that point. So I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for you for opening that door opportunity for me, exceptionally having the great communication back and forth to people that have never met in their life.

To be able to have that, that dynamic and that free flow of that, that actually, that’s not only an opportunity, that’s reassurance to me from the heavenly father, that there’s good people everywhere that have visionary, visionary ideas, open minds, open hearts, just everyone being able to actually hear each other and listen to two sides of the coin. Because let’s be honest,

There’s more than two sides of the coin. You get it balanced enough. You look at all the bridges on it. There’s so many more sides and it’s it’s nice to able to get an opportunity to own a platform for that actually to be heard and conveyed. So forever grateful. Want to what they would call a Friday the 13th.

Quentin (27:58)
Absolutely, man, absolutely. Well, listen, y’all heard Mr. Rob. You got the story. Listen, go to the show notes, get in contact with him, but definitely make sure you are subscribed here because we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people. So thank you, Mr. Rob, for being here and everyone else. Listen, y’all have a fantastic day.

Rob Walker (28:17)
Thank you, Quetin