Meet Joe Lech | Wallpaper Installation Specialist

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

Hi Joe, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The cliche is “I didn’t want to have a boss”. The realization is that all your clients are your boss. And your ability to self-motivate is your boss. The difference with these bosses is the creative autonomy you get in how you structure the business, your day, and your life. And once you reach a baseline of comfort, financially, you can consider experimenting and making more mistakes for the sake of growth. You will inevitably learn on the go, and keep doing so. There’s utility in every mistake. Guess that was more of a lesson than a thought process.

The basic thought process is that every job I’ve ever had working for someone else, I’ve seen a ceiling that feels impossible to break through. You’re constantly hoping your boss sees your potential and then there’s another rung up the ladder. You’re often at the mercy of many things you can’t control. Often there’s not another step up and you waste a lot of time learning the hard way that there’s little path forward. Your potential feels like a caged animal. Your value feels like a ghost. That may sound cynical, but it’s mostly true if you feel you have unseen potential and value. Your boss doesn’t have any interest in elevating you to their level and beyond, so the ceiling problem eternally remains, as long as you’re part of someone else’s machine. Running a business is about reclaiming autonomy. There’s nothing wrong with working a “normal job” for a boss of course, in fact I have more respect for people that do than ever, because I think what I’m doing now is easier. But everyone’s cut from a different cloth in regard to what makes sense for them. You have to want it. Besides, I’m probably unemployable at this point.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Some wallpaper installers like to fancy themselves “artists”. Clients do say sometimes “you’re an artist!” Alas, it’s not true. There is certainly art involved but I consider myself a technician. The New York guys call themselves mechanics. Very confusing at first. But there is certainly artistic visualization and technique involved, no doubt.
My business has essentially become a conglomerate of everything I’ve ever done. It’s funny how life leads you to that equilibrium. The hustle has come from many jobs. Running the business side of things came from my wedding photography business. Interpersonal relationship dealings have come from just about everything. And I like being physical, so there’s no shortage of that. I often get to listen to music and podcasts while I work, so it’s not a bad fit with my temperment.
As far as getting to this place, the answer is going to be a painful cliche. One day I decided to ignore the world and every distraction for one week, and I said “I’m going to build this business this week and there will be no made up excuses as to why it doesn’t work”. I decided there will be no alternative this time. It’s a lot to say, but the stuff I did in one week, and the results it yielded, is probably something people sell in courses. I didn’t know exactly how it would play out, I was just possessed and left no stone unturned. I suppose you have to become possessed.

Obviously a lot of the seeds you lay take time to develop, but it starts with relentless action. And eventually you can ease up a little and take some breaks. But any good machine still needs to be nurtured and maintained. You just can’t break for too long if you want to keep it going. The thing that you created, that you think you own, ends up owning you.

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?
I’ve grown to love this city in a strange way – it has everything but a beach. But they’re not far: the beltline is one of the best infrastructure ideas I’ve ever seen. It’s the equivalent to an inner city boardwalk. You get trees instead of sand. Atlanta is such a vibrant city, it’s hard to pick one place. There’s a pocket for everyone. Shoutout to Rev Coffee in Smyrna, Great shop to lounge, read, people watch, get work done. Great staff, food and drink.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is a strange answer, but I’d thank my mom for showing me an amount of struggle equal to the love she gave me. I try to remind myself more with each passing day that life is a blessing compared to what she went through. Yet her love was unwavering. She passed with a ton of debt that I had to shake the predatory loan sharks off from. That will light a fire under you.

2nd shoutout to Dion’s pizza in Albuquerque. My high school job where I learned to hustle. The whole job was in a sense a microeconomy. You had to get good at salads if you wanted to make subs. You had to get good at subs if you wanted to heat slices or work the register. You had to get good at that to make the pies with the cool kids. I wanted to be a cool kid. But mostly I wanted the pay bump. I love pizza.

Website: VandelayWallpaper.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vandelaywallpapercompany?igsh=eDd1bDRwYTFzOWNv&utm_source=qr

Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/vandelay-wallpaper-smyrna-4

Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/E3vVfFtsuBFNVUa86?g_st=ic