Meet Derek Epstein | Founder, Dependable Painting & Remodeling

We had the good fortune of connecting with Derek Epstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derek, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in an average middle class family in a town called Parkland, Florida, a small up and coming town located right near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My family worked hard to provide me and my brother the best life and education they could. When I was around 8 years old my world was flipped upside down. My parents got divorced. This was hard on me and my brother, and was really a significant turning point for me looking back. Unfortunately, by the time I was 12 I fell in with the wrong crowd and began to use drugs and party daily. I eventually quit high school and got my GED so I could start college early. I finished my associates degree and started Law school at Nova. Before I could finish the first week of class, I had fell into full blown drug addiction. This would continue for the next several years. Eventually, I was spiritually, emotionally, and financially crushed. I hit rock bottom. I strongly believe I have a fire inside me, that screaming voice, that tells me I was put on earth to make a difference. The only reason I believe I made it through addiction. I had to make a change. Luckily for me, my now wife, who I had been friends with for almost 20 years, was visiting town and was in disbelief that the last time she saw me I was in Law school and now I was at rock bottom in the throws of drug addiction. She was coming out of a bad relationship and starting over. She dragged me out of Florida, and moved me to Atlanta. I was literally walking into the job that I could barely keep when she said I am leaving to Atlanta now, you are either coming or I am going without you. I got in the car and left with the cloths on my back. I was desperate to change. We had basically no money, nowhere to live, and a beat up old Jeep when we arrived in Atlanta. We slept in a tent (in an army campground), our jeep, and a storage unit but we we were determine to start over. I quit drugs, for good and began rebuilding my life. I spent a few years working hard at various corporate jobs and then started Dependable Painting and Remodeling. I had always painted as a side job and was doing so while working my corporate job. I have always been an entrepreneur and had 2 small business in the past. While they were both relatively successful, my drug use forced me to exit those prematurely. I knew that had it not been for my wife, Tina, helping me there was no way I would have got my act together. I wanted to show the community and others that nothing beats helping others! Its is the fastest way to success, When you think about the needs of others, you do not focus on all your problems, and instead focus on solutions. While they are solutions for them it gets you into a mindset of solution based thinking. It gives you the mindset of “how can we make it happen” instead of the “the woe is me” mentality. My company has grown, employing over 35 People today, running a 501C3 non-profit, Depend on Dependable Foundation, and helping the community simply by being committed to the basics. All business are in the people business. Their problems are what turns them into customers and your ability to identify and solve them are what determines your success. We take the same approach with employees, I want to focus on them and their goals so they will help me achieve mine, It’s a win, win. Today I pour my entire being into growing my company so I can impact as many people as possible. I am beyond committed. I am die-hard. I know that the bigger my brand and company gets, the more people we can help. I started a Youtube Channel, called “Dependable Motivation, Inspiration, and Success” dedicated to helping others succeed. I have found the more I focus on others, the more I grow as a brand and as an individual.  We take that same passion and instill it across our entire organization. Although my journey was hard, it has made me who I am today. I hope to inspire everyone to be the best they can be. I believe you can always do more, we are capable of doing way more than we think. I have overcome very challenging obstacles, and trust me, I am not special, If I can do it you can do it. I am determine, dedicated, and I never give up. The only time we lose is when we quit!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Plain and simple it is what we call “The Dependable Difference”. A commitment to providing the very best customer service, before, during, and long after the job is done. Our goal is to provide the easiest, smoothest, most stress free contacting experience on planet earth. We believe when hiring a professional, you should get a professional job (that’s the give in), its everything else that creates an exceptional experience. When we started it was just me going out and doing the work on each project. Eventually I hired a helper and began to train them to continue the job, while I went out and looked for future work to keep us flowing. For the first year, we took all and I mean all (and then some) and reinvested into the company. We wanted to have the best branding, advertising, and customer service in the industry. Today I am just as involved with my company as ever. To many times, owners want to back off and focus on “the good life”. The lesson I learned is Scale. You need to build a model that you can scale. The more you can scale, the bigger the company gets, and most importantly the more people you impact and the more people we can help!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Between 5 kids and a busy company, my wife and I cherish every opportunity to go out and have a good time. I would definitely show them Red Top Mountain State park and Lake Allatoona. Such a relaxing and beautiful area. The lake life community out there is awesome. I would then take them downtown Atlanta to a restaurant called Poor Calvin’s. My wife took me there for my birthday and the food and service is the best I have had, hands down. I would definitely recommend a ride of the iconic Atlanta Ferris Wheel as the views are amazing. Last but certainly not least, check out Amicalola Falls State Park, it is great exercise to hike to the top of the massive waterfall and the views are breathtaking.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife and best friend Tina, who literally found me at my worst and refused to give up on me! I owe my success, and my life to her. Today we have 5 beautiful children, a thriving business, and a life beyond my wildest dreams. It is a real life example of the power of helping others. She was starting over when we reconnected and together we agreed to take on the world. I would also like to shoutout my father, who has stood by me through thick or thin and has helped pushed me to become the entrepreneur I am today. Lastly, Jesse Handsman, my Sales / Production Manager and the entire wonderful team at Dependable Painting & Remodeling, who are simply the very best. They show up day in and day out and I truly appreciate them from the bottom of my heart!

Website: www.dependablepaint.net

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dependable_painting/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-epstein-975560232/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DependablePR

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOLdc-IUwaqZPWkOEzvAVyQ