Meet Ian Porter | Residential Contractor and Builder

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

Hi Ian, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
There were really three main reasons for starting my business. The first is the large and growing demand for contractors as the housing market continues to be hot and the amount of people going into the field of construction is declining. I think the opportunity for those with construction knowledge and contacts is only going to grow over time. The second reason I started my business was out of a frustration with the amount of people taking advantage of the amount of work available who really are not qualified or licensed to perform the work they are taking on. There are a lot of people calling themselves contractors these days who really don’t know what they’re doing. Last but not least I am passionate about building things. Most of my day is spent working on houses, thinking about how to improve the product I bring to the marketplace, and dreaming up projects I want to do in the future.

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?
I took a long and winding route to get to where I am today but I’ve known this was the field I wanted to be in since I graduated college. I was a real estate agent in my mid 20’s and I started working with investors who were flipping houses and buying rental property. I spent as much time as I could with them and I would scout properties for the ones that lived out of town and even meet contractors to get bids. About a year into being an agent I started buying properties of my own to flip and that’s where I really dove into construction full time. I used this experience to get a job with a custom home builder in Atlanta and spent 3 years learning under him as a project manager. Today I’m a licensed contractor and I still flip houses as well as doing remodels for clients. I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned that might not stand out in my career progression is that I’ve pushed myself into many situations in my career that I really wasn’t qualified for but I was willing to take the risk and outwork everyone else until I figured things out. What I would hope stands out about my brand is that I am truly doing what I’ve always wanted to do and what I was meant to do. I have a passion for building things and I really pour myself into every project no matter how big or small it is.

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?
One of the first things I usually take visiting friends to see is Ponce City Market. As someone who loves architecture and construction it’s such an impressive place and something that we’re really lucky to have in Atlanta. My fiancé and I live in Kirkwood so we always take friends and family to our favorite spots in our neighborhood like Urban Pie, Elmyriachi, and Perc. We also love to take people that haven’t been here before to the Beltline. There are so many great places to stop and eat or have a drink on the Beltline and it’s another really unique feature of Atlanta.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that helped me get to where I am today but the first that comes to mind is my former boss Luke Tilton. He hired me as a project manager when I was barely qualified and taught me so much. He really took a chance hiring me and it truly changed the trajectory of my career.

Instagram: @porterconstructiongroup