It’s the perfect trifecta of skills and experience that sets new Valley construction company Main Home Solutions apart from the others.
The team of Mike Halim, his son Randy, and their longtime neighbor Mike Adams each provide a unique skill to the familial company.
Mike said he manages the business and makes sure the bills get paid while Randy, the company’s chief operating officer, handles the company’s technology and front-facing operations. Meanwhile, Adams contributes his 2o-plus years of experience in contracting and landscape work.
“It’a journey. There’s challenges, but who doesn’t like a good challenge,” Mike said. “We’re working them out and I got a good team here.”
Mike, who for nearly 20 years has run the Fall City-based RM Graphics printing company, decided last year that he wanted to start a construction business. Alongside Randy, the father-son duo started attending Friday meetings at the SnoValley Innovation Center as a jumping off point — gaining the confidence to start the company this past winter.
Although he’s just a senior at Mount Si High School, Randy has already introduced several innovative approaches at the business including virtual tours for daily construction updates, site maps using drone photography, scaled 3D printed models for customers and custom brackets from a plasma cutter.
“A lot of things are new to me,” Randy said. “So it’s nice to be able to learn from my dad, who has already had experience with the business world for a long time.”
Last August, Mike approached Adams, his neighbor for the last decade, to ask if he’d be interested in joining the company.
“I said ‘yeah, just tell me when,’” Adams said.
In November, Mike returned to Adams with an offer, and he subsequently quit his other job to became Main’s first employee.
“It’s funny, I always felt unvalued at that company,” Adams said. “Now I have someone who has known me for ten years and still wants to hire me.”
Mike said “it’s been a blessing” to found a company with Adams and his son, speaking highly of Adams’ skill, strength and his finesse with an excavator.
He also praised his son, who intends to study computer science with a focus on cyber security at the University of Washington next year, for bringing innovative technology to the company. Adams said Randy continues to impress him as well.
One of the innovations Randy has brought is a portal allowing customers to see a daily, 360-degree virtual tour of their home, with notes about what’s been done each day.
“From customer feedback so far, it’s been priceless for them to be able say ‘hey I don’t have to go down every day, I can just look online,’” Randy said.
He also had the idea of using a drone to take an aerial photo of a customer’s property that can be used as a project design map to share.
This summer the team hopes to provide opportunities for high school students interested in construction to work and gain experience and learn on the job.
Until then, however, the team remains hard at work.
“[Randy and Mike] are the hardest workers I’ve ever worked for,” Adams said. “I just keep doing what I know and they do what they know and it seems like it’s been a good combination.”
