Podcast hosts Dow Smith, left, and Joey Rhyne discuss the origins of the company and some of its early projects in the first episode, “Starting a Business in a Little Red Truck.”
Put on your hard hat and plug in your headphones. Dow Smith Company has launched a podcast.
From the Ground Up is our new podcast, which features people we’re interested in, projects we’re working on and all the nuts and bolts of the design-build business. Episodes will be released every other Tuesday on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Listen to the debut episode below with President & Owner Dow Smith and Partner & Design-Builder Joey Rhyne discussing the company’s origins and some of its early projects.
Dow recalls the company’s very first job in January of 1992. It was the renovation of Building 661 at the Smyrna Airport. It was a job he took for the late Colonel Steve Fitzhugh and current Executive Director John Black.
“I was working out of a red Chevy S-10,” Dow remembers. “That was my office and my sole piece of equipment.”
After he completed that job, Dow decided to upgrade his office from the pickup truck to the building he’d just renovated.
Frank Crosslin, a friend and mentor of Dow’s, gave him some advice early on: Don’t use initials in the name of your company. Crosslin, who owned Crosslin Supply Company, contended that if a company’s name had initials, he was never sure who he was dealing with.
“So, I chose to go with Dow Smith Company,” Dow remembers.
Crosslin told him, “I think that’s a good call because I know exactly who you are and I’m willing to give you credit when I know who you are.’”
Dow set out making a name for himself and his company in Middle Tennessee. In 1996, he built the Smyrna Bowling Center. In 1997, he did an addition on the Smyrna Post Office. In 1998, he built the Murfreesboro Post Office on Memorial Drive.
In January 2004—12 years after Dow started the company—Joey joined the team. His first project was for Sloan’s Motorcycle.
“I came in as a young 26-year-old,” Joey says. “And quite honestly, I was scared to death.”
Since then, the two have continued to grow the company, taking on hundreds of religious, medical and commercial projects. The company has built a solid reputation that is known throughout the region and the industry.
As they reminisce during the first episode, there are lots of laughs and even a moment or two when Dow gets choked up, thinking back on Crosslin’s mentorship and the trust of his early clients. With 30 years of experience, Dow also offers some wisdom and advice.
In future episodes, Dow and Joey will discuss the process Dow Smith Company uses to work with clients, and they’ll bring in guests to dig deeper into topics related to the company, construction and Middle Tennessee.
Listen to From the Ground Up with Dow Smith Company on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
