He got shot in San Francisco. He started over in a town of 25,000 people. Today he's building a $4M business - and golfing on Tuesday afternoons.
This is what happens when a contractor stops being busy and starts building something real.
Before Contractor Freedom
- × $960K revenue - negative net profit
- × Owner doing everything: estimating, selling, scheduling, painting
- × Chasing commercial work that looked big but bled money
- × Stalled with other coaches who got him to a point and stopped
After Contractor Freedom
- ✓ $1.8M year one. $3.5M+ year two.
- ✓ Two sales reps, two project managers, full-time admin
- ✓ Booked out at a $100 charge rate in a 25,000-person market
- ✓ Revenue doubled. Prices up 30%. Life looks completely different.
Where It Started
Konrad grew up in San Francisco. His early life was hard - drugs, arrests, chaos that compounded year over year. Painting was one of the few things that gave him stability. Work he could do. Work that made sense.
In 2019, he visited family in Ardmore, Oklahoma and made a fast decision to stay. His sober date - September 15, 2019 - is the day he crossed the state line.
A few months later, he started Derheim Painting. No system. No team. A truck and the will to outwork the situation.
The Contractor Prison Chapter
The business grew. And like most contractors, Konrad wore every hat and called it hustle. Estimator. Salesman. Painter. Scheduler. Owner. His phone never stopped. His schedule wasn't his.
In 2024, he chased commercial work. Revenue hit $960K - the most he'd ever done. But gross profit was thin and net was negative. He even paid Christmas bonuses the business couldn't afford.
He was busy. He was not building. There's a difference.
"Just because you're at almost a million doesn't mean you are going in the right direction."
The Turning Point
In 2023, Konrad attended his first industry event. He saw contractors - successful ones - who were willing to share what was working. It changed what he believed was possible.
He met Jason Phillips. He attended the first Contractor Freedom Summit. He has a photo from that day hanging in his office.
When he learned DISC, something clicked. He went home the next day and fired his estimator. The decision wasn't complicated once he had the clarity.
He joined one-on-one coaching. The investment felt uncomfortable. He said yes anyway.
"I would rather commit and pay the money and really invest time with someone who's done it before, to do it really fast."
What Changed
With Contractor Freedom, Konrad locked in on what actually worked and stopped chasing everything else.
He went back to residential repaints.
Commercial work had crushed his margins. Residential, priced right, was the business he was built for.
He raised prices over 30%.
Using the F7 sales system in a market of 25,000 people. He stayed booked.
He built a real team.
Role packets. Clear expectations. Subcontractor model. He stopped being the bottleneck.
He fired fast when trust broke.
While away for his son's surgery, an employee used the company van for personal errands. Konrad let him go immediately. "If I can't trust him, I can't have him on my team."
He hired before he needed the role.
Waiting until you're desperate is one of the most expensive mistakes in business. Konrad stopped doing that.
"Hire before you actually need the role - by the time you need the person, it's too late and you're already behind."
The Results
Year one: $960K → $1.8M. Nearly doubled.
Year two: $3.5-4M tracking. Two project managers. Two sales reps. Full-time admin. Siding and gutters added. Expanding into North Texas.
From rural Oklahoma. From a market most contractors would never look twice at.
Three-year target: $6M by 2028.
What Freedom Actually Looks Like
"We have grown so much in a small rural market. My team is all rowing the boat in the same direction. If I want to take my daughter to daycare in the morning or take some time off in the afternoon to go golfing - I can make that happen. I don't have clients who are going to call me and get in the way of my own personal schedule. I really have a different life."
"My worst day is way better than any day in my past."
The Right Decision at the Right Time Changes Everything
Konrad's story isn't just about painting. It's about what happens when you stop delaying the decisions you already know you need to make.
He made a fast decision to leave his old life. A fast decision to say yes to coaching. A fast decision to fire the wrong people. A fast decision to raise his prices. A fast decision to stop chasing revenue and start building margin.
Each one compounded.
The business didn't double because he worked harder. It doubled because he finally started doing the right things now.
That's what Contractor Freedom is built to help you do.
Ready to Build Your Freedom Machine?
If Konrad can do it in a town of 25,000 people starting from scratch, your market isn't the problem.
Konrad Derheim | Derheim Painting & Home Improvement | Ardmore, Oklahoma
Contractor Freedom Coaching Client