Bradley Eckburg

This is an extension of my resume and your consideration is greatly appreciated. Here, I attempt to showcase my work while introducing you to a piece of who I am.

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for”

- Sean Patrick Flanery

Tech-Savvy and Creative

The images below represent my comfortability with utilizing technology to render a multi-million dollar concept kitchen and carry out the high quality execution of turning this project into reality.

While my rendering capability is something I am quite proud of, bringing the idea to life is where the rubber meets the road. It is easy to look at these images side by side and appreciate the similarities. However, the months in between these images required significant attention to details, problem solving, and constant motivation to “do it right.”

Leveraging Value

In addition to the complexity of designing, bidding, processing, managing, and completing these high-end custom houses, I have also found success in production level homes. While utilizing my tech skills in a different way and combining them with my goal of accuracy and efficiency, I created this bid tool to allow each client to independently select their options while simultaneously seeing live pricing and renderings of their personal selections. To earn this work, it is important to stand out. I created this tool to allow accurate and efficient decisions to be made, as well as something unique that my competitors did not. I know that value comes in many different forms. This creation allowed me to earn enough work from this client that I was able to buy the product at an even better price than the initial bid due to the increase in volume. This has given me pricing power over my competitor and increased profits.

(Click the button to see this tool for yourself! Note: Using “excel for the web” works best for this tool)

Functional Spreadsheet with Live Renders

Critical Thinking & Creative Problem Solving

A single page resume? Where do I show my work and prove that it’s not all just hearsay? Ah-ha! Creative solution: Place a QR code on my resume that links to my website where I can showcase my abilities while giving some personal insight into who I am.

Situation: A new potential client has given you the opportunity to earn their business. They will be doing the same project on repeat at roughly 100 projects per year with no end in sight. You have built some rapport with this client and shown that you embody the reliability and attention to detail that they are looking for. You present your bid of $21,000 per project with pictures and a description of the work just to find out that they have a budget of only $13,000 per project. They have another company offering the same solution at this price. This opportunity is too good to pass up, you need the business, and you know it can be done for the price they are currently getting. How do you get your bid to a competitive price and not lose profit while offering enough value to make switching to you worth it for the client? After all, they have a 20 year long relationship with your competitor and only just met you!

Critical Thinking

Breaking down the problem: Is my bid “apples to apples” with my competitor? Am I offering more than is necessary to reach that budget? What is the bare minimum and how can I achieve that without forfeiting quality?

Requirements: Budget is $13,000 for the same value (could be slightly more for additional value). I must add value to out-bid my long term competitor.

In the moment response: In an attempt to identify any other objections, I asked the client, “If my price was exactly the same, based on what you have learned today, would I earn your business?” They said “YES.”

Recognizing the demand: By the client being interested in using me instead of my long term competitor, there must be a “pain point” or a reason they are willing to make the change. If everything was perfect, they wouldn’t be looking at other options. Through follow ups, I was able to identify that my competitor was not able to keep up with their pace of work.

Solution

The way I overcame this situation was by investigating my competitor’s product and recognizing that the product I offered was substantially higher grade. I then went on the hunt for a product of a similar grade to my competitor.

When getting a quote I realized my pricing was still too high. Using the quantity of the projects that were expected to be done annually with no end date, I reapproached the supplier for a more competitive price. When recognizing the scope of the work, they were happy to assist in a better price. While pitching my final bid, I still offered the original product and showed the differences in product and how it could increase the value, however, I then had a price they were happy with.

I overcame my competitor by offering them a bid tool to compliment MY prices and displayed my resources to keep up with their pace of work. The cherry on top was that my profit margins were bigger once these orders started rolling in, as my supplier was happy they were getting so much new business!

My “Why”

While it is rare for me to lack motivation, we all have those days that feel like a punch in the gut and like it might be time to just throw in the towel. This is when I remind myself of the reasons why I do what I do. My competitive nature creates a drive to be better than the next guy, but sometimes there is no “next guy”. Better yet, I will just compete against myself! But wait, this too has its limitations as it can get lonely and can remove any surrounding point of reference for growth. When my internal motivation fails, I lean on my “why”.

I am happily married and Jen has pushed me to be a better man than I ever thought I could be. To fail means I didn’t just let me down, I let her down as well. I know what she would say…. “You didn’t fail unless you gave up before you tried everything you could to succeed.” She is the voice in the back of my mind saying “Keep Going” and “You’ve Got This.”

As a young kid I was golfing with my grandpa and his buddies. One of them asked me if I had a girlfriend… I simply said “no.” He replied with, “Good, get a dog before you get a girlfriend.”

“Why?” I asked him.

The wise man said, “Lock your girlfriend and your dog in the trunk of a car for an hour and see which one is happier to see you when you open it!”

While I have zero intention to test his theory, my dogs are always excited to see me when I get home, no matter how tough my day has been. My wife and my dogs are always a great reminder that the tough days are worth it.

While this may be my immediate family right now, the dream of being a father and raising a family with my wife has encouraged major lifestyle changes for myself. I consciously make a decision every day to be the best version of myself I can be… for my friends, dogs, family, employer, and even for myself.