Zdenek Ulman – Marine Diving Service

Zdenek Ulman is a diver. He runs a successful diving business up in New York City area. Before that, he started and ran a successful construction company. Before THAT, he didn’t even live here in the US. He came to visit only, and then spent 15 years as an illegal alien – while starting and running a successful construction company.

Zdenek is a great example of Blue Collar success. Tenacity. Hard work. Craftsmanship. Job Quality. Pushing your body to perform.

In this episode, Z (that’s his nickname) talks about coming to America, starting a business (then a second, then a third business), LEARNING ENGLISH, getting out of his comfort zone to start his painting company and facing challenges head-on.

We learn how to properly pronounce his name, and some interesting stories from both his construction days, and as a diver.

Z has future plans as well.

Fascinating story, and I hope you enjoy hearing it as much as I did.

Connect to Zdenek:

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zdenek-ulman-0a997233/

LinkedIn Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marine-diving-service/

Website: https://www.marinedivingservice.com/  – You can find pictures, videos, links to social media, etc.

Additional Notes:

Zdenek sent a few things to me, to share here.

First, a memory card with pictures to use for the YouTube vide.

Second, two issues of “Boating On the Hudson & Beyond” for which he writes articles.

Third, a genuine “Marine Diving Service” T-shirt!

This story in the image below is the one mentioned on the podcast.

And the T-Shirt Zdenek sent me:

The Blue Collar Voices Show
The Blue Collar Voices Show
Zdenek Ulman - Marine Diving Service
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Matt Radford – Husband, Father, Roofing Consultant

Matt Radford is a roofer. He’s worked as a roofer, he’s owned his own business as a roofer, and now he is a roofing consultant.

He like many of us, has had challenges and been beat around a bit by life. But he kept getting back up.

Matt started out stacking the refuse in the dumpster on the jobsite, and has worked hard ever since.

Matt and I connected on LinkedIn, I really don’t remember how right now, but he messaged me about being on the podcast. After vetting him, he seemed like a good fit for the show.

We had a nice hour recording. We cut up a little, and I deleted a few things where our honesty would just be too much for the sensitive types. 🙂

Hope you like this show!

Connect to Matt:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattradford1977/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattTheRoofer/

Roofr: https://roofr.com/

The Blue Collar Voices Show
The Blue Collar Voices Show
Matt Radford - Husband, Father, Roofing Consultant
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Peter Erdei – Erdei Designs

Peter Erdei builds high-quality custom pieces. And of those pieces, many of them are very high end, unique and stunning tables.

As is most destinations in life, Peter arrived at this one after experiencing many different things in life.

We talk about some of those experiences on the show.

Matter of fact, we talk about a lot of things. I talk with Peter about the long hours he puts in, how his business actually got started (a little urgency!!), getting traction to start his business, learning more about the craft of finishing, and more in-depth knowledge about wood.

We talk about constantly learning, learning from even apprentices.

We talk about where his best employees come from.

We talk about his approach to designing a table, matching design to a customer’s visual preference and usage.

Peter tells you and me about his second business – creating slabs from trees (carefully selecting just the right wood).

One of the things that come across to me is that Peter takes the finishing of the wood very seriously. He approaches this aspect with patience and fastidiousness. He is not willing to rush this aspect and builds up a multi-layered finish with multiple components.

Hang on a second, did he just say, “Walrus Oil”?

Peter wants his pieces, his tables, to be more than just something functional – he has a strong concern for creating a great environment for his customers with his work.

I asked Peter to talk about his future business goals. One of them? “To be one of the best shops in the world that creates custom pieces.”

Peter is building an apprenticeship program that includes everything from sweeping the floors to an entire shop process for getting a product out the door – including packing it.

Peter has a couple of young kids, he brings them to the shop, they like to make things.

What is something Peter thinks you should do? Choose your own destiny!

I was curious about what impact the Internet and social media had on growing his business – Peter doesn’t hesitate to talk about effect these have had on his company growth.

I absolutely recommend checking out his Instagram account. HOLY CRAP there are some amazing projects on there!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erdeidesigns/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-erdei-30b51a134/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erdeidesign/
Website: https://erdeidesigns.com/

The book that Peter uses as his guide when it comes to finishing:

Understanding Wood Finishing: How to Select and Apply the Right Finish – by Bob Flexner

(Amazon Link CLICK HERE if you want.)

The Blue Collar Voices Show
The Blue Collar Voices Show
Peter Erdei - Erdei Designs
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