When Blake Presson, age 24, graduated from high school in 2018, his plan was to pursue a career in law, either as a lawyer or in law enforcement. While he did major in criminal law at the University of North Texas, in his junior year, around 2021, right after the pandemic had broken out, a friend presented a job offer in his sales-based organization.
“Long story short, I worked there for a couple of years and learned a bunch of great things,” Presson said. Some of the skills he learned included how to market himself, how to build a brand and how to build a team, all of which he would use in starting his own business .
Fast forward a couple of years, while he was making decent money in sales, he felt it was time to “go all-in” on himself. “So that’s exactly what I did,” Presson said. He founded Reel Construction and Concrete in January 2024, which specializes in concrete asphalts, custom pools and metal buildings. Today, he employs four salespeople and around 45 construction workers.
“This year to date, we’ve done $1.25 million in sales this year with construction. We have about $6.5 million in contracts sent out waiting to be signed. So we’re going to fall probably just under eight figures this year in revenue, which is incredible for pretty much my first full year,” he explained.
The first thing that Presson credits to his success is not an action but an attitude. “You can take classes for it, you can read books on it, but [you need] willpower and the commitment to really go all-in on yourself … business is a mindset,” he said.
In addition to having the right mindset, he said, it’s critical to surround yourself with the right people.
“If you’re surrounding yourself with people who are constantly shooting down your business ideas and your goals and things of that nature, then you’re unfortunately not going to make it,” he said.
From an early age, Presson began to surround himself with savvy businesspeople and other young people who owned businesses so that he could emulate them. “I wanted to hang around people who influenced me to make good decisions, not going out and spending hundreds of dollars at the bar on a weekend when I could be working,” he explained.
Stick With It
Presson didn’t make much money when he was starting the company, and he said that while it can be a little bit demoralizing not to see big paychecks, you have to go in with a realistic attitude. “If you stick to it, you get through the hard times,” he said.
He’d heard from mentors that he would need about six months before he’d see much success, and that was exactly when things began to shift. “After about six months, once you stick with it, that’s when you start to see the breakthroughs happen,” he explained.
Location, Location, Location
Presson, who grew up in the pricier suburbs of Northern California, is also aware that running his business in Texas plays a big role in its success — not only because the cost of living is cheaper there but because the Dallas metro area where he works is growing.
“I think it’s one of the most sought after communities in the country right now. People are moving every single day. There’s new subdivisions going up every single day and new apartments going up every day. It’s crazy. The amount of business and opportunities that we’re getting out here,” he said.
While there is a lot of competition, his company is gaining a reputation for doing good, sound work, making it rise to the top.
Finish and Follow Through
Although Presson did not end up in a legal profession, he chose to finish his degree because it felt important to him to stick it out.
“I heard from a mentor of mine that if you’re constantly chasing the next shiny object that pops up, then you’re never going to complete anything. You’re never going to commit yourself to something. So he recommended that I stay in college,” he said.
Presson was glad he did. “I had that huge sense of relief and accomplishment like, yeah, I really did this. I stuck to it. I put my four years in, graduated, and it made me feel really good knowing that I could commit myself for four years to something that I honestly didn’t want to do,” he said.
He parlayed that attitude into his business. “If this wasn’t panning out the first six months and I saw another opportunity in a different industry and if I were to jump ship, then we wouldn’t be seeing the success that we’re having now. So I definitely think that it translated into a lot of areas of my life.”
Don’t Forget About the Trades
As a young person looking into a future where the workforce will be dominated by more jobs with things like artificial intelligence, Presson wanted to remind other Gen Zers that there are plenty of jobs in the trades, and in areas like sales and marketing.
“For instance, with construction in the South, air conditioning (AC) is a huge thing. There’ll always be a need for repairs on your AC. We’re always going to need someone to help with the trades,” he explained.
However, he does recommend picking a career path you’re really passionate about.
“Go work for someone, go learn a trade, see if you really like it, get your hands dirty and actually do the physical work,” he said.
Get In the Trenches
Another factor in his success is that he’s not just a boss who sits in an air-conditioned office while his employees do the hard work.
“I’m getting in the trenches with my crews, and I’m getting dirty almost every single day to show them that I actually know what I’m doing. I care about the process, I care about them for working this hard,” he said.
While he is younger than some of his own employees, he said that doesn’t seem to be a problem for his employees. “If you’re treating people with respect then they’re going to respect you in return,” he said. Plus, he pays them competitively.
Set Long-Term Goals
Presson isn’t stopping here. He has a five-year plan to grow and eventually sell to a private equity firm, but he’s aware that will take a lot more work.
“That comes with building systems, building a culture, building a team and having assets under your belt. We’re in Dallas right now. We eventually want to branch down to Austin, to Houston and really just kind of take over the state of Texas,” he said.
Pay Yourself Last
Perhaps the hardest — but necessary — part of building and running a company, Presson said, is that you should prioritize paying your overhead and your employees first, which means paying yourself last.
“Make sure that everything is paid for before you get a paycheck yourself. That’s where a lot of business owners fail. And I learned that from a mentor of mine who absolutely crushes it in his space, making sure that your [employees] are taken care of because again, that’s where the loyalty is built,” he said.
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