Meet Ellie: The Newest Member of My Guys
Our Newest Team Member
So this is Ellie. She's our newest hire, though her job description is pretty loose. Mostly she supervises from a distance, keeps morale up, and makes sure we don't take ourselves too seriously.
I was thinking about getting her some official My Guys gear—maybe a collar with the logo, or one of those little jackets so she looks the part when she's out here "working."
Here's the thing though: having a puppy at work isn't just cute. It says something about how we run this business. About the freedom that comes with being owner-operated. About building something on our terms instead of someone else's.
And honestly? That difference shows up in the work we do for you.
The Freedom of Owner-Operated
One of the benefits nobody tells you about starting your own business: you get to decide what your workday actually looks like.
For Chris and me, that means Ellie gets to hang out while we're working. She doesn't do inspections. She definitely doesn't crawl under houses. But she's part of what makes this whole thing worth it.
We're not answering to corporate quotas. We're not rushing from job to job because some regional manager three states away needs to hit their numbers. We're not on a schedule designed by people who've never met our customers.
We built My Guys so we could do excellent work without all that pressure. So we could take the time to do things right. So we could actually enjoy what we're building instead of just grinding through it.
That might sound small—just bringing your dog to work. But it's actually everything. It means we're in control of how we operate. And that control is what lets us prioritize quality over speed, relationships over volume, and doing right by our neighbors over hitting some corporate target.
What Big Companies Can't Offer
You're not bringing your puppy to work at Groundworks. Or Heli Tech. Or any of the big corporate crawl space companies.
Not because they don't like dogs. But because that's not how those operations work. You've got crews running all day, hitting appointments back to back, trying to close as many sales as possible before the week's out. There's no time for anything that doesn't directly contribute to the numbers.
And look, I get it. That's how big companies have to operate. When you've got regional managers and shareholders and overhead spread across multiple states, you need volume. You need crews moving fast. You need every appointment to count.
But here's what that means for the actual work: corners get cut. Cleanup gets rushed. The crew at your house is already thinking about the next job because they've got three more lined up today. They're not thinking about whether your crawl space will still look good in five years, or whether the next contractor who goes down there will be able to work comfortably.
They're thinking about getting done and getting to the next one.
When you're owner-operated and you get to set your own pace, you can actually care about the details. You can take the time to do it right. You can treat someone's home the way you'd want yours treated—because you're not racing against some corporate metric that has nothing to do with quality.
Why We'll Never Be the Biggest
We could grow faster if we wanted to. Hire more crews, expand into more territories, take on way more jobs than we do now.
But that's not what we're building.
The moment we start chasing growth for growth's sake, we lose what makes this worth doing. We'd be managing people instead of doing the work. We'd be scheduling jobs we can't personally oversee. We'd be trusting crews we didn't train ourselves to represent our name in someone's home.
And honestly? We've both seen how that plays out. We've cleaned up after those crews. We've found the shortcuts, the trash left behind, the "good enough" mentality that happens when nobody's really accountable.
So yeah, we'll never be the biggest crawl space company in Central Illinois. We're fine with that. We'd rather be the one people trust. The one that shows up when we say we will, does what we said we'd do, and leaves your home better than we found it.
Quality over quantity. Every single time.
What This Means for Your Home
When you call My Guys, you're getting Chris or me. Not a crew that was hired three weeks ago. Not whoever happens to be available that day. Us.
We'll be the ones who come out and do the inspection. We'll be the ones crawling around in your space, figuring out what's actually going on. And if you hire us to do the work, we'll be there on the job.
That's not how most companies operate anymore. Most places, you talk to a salesperson who's never done the actual work. They send a crew you've never met. The company collects the check and moves on to the next one.
But we live here in Mahomet. We've lived here our whole lives. When we work on your crawl space, we're not disappearing to some corporate office afterward. We're going to see you at the grocery store. At our kids' football games. Around town.
Our reputation isn't just a business thing—it's personal. If we do sloppy work or cut corners, we're going to hear about it. And we should.
That accountability changes everything. It means we can't afford to rush through jobs. We can't afford to leave messes behind or skip the details. Because the work we do reflects directly on us, not on some faceless corporation.
When you hire a local, owner-operated company, you're hiring people who have to live with the quality of their work. And that matters more than any corporate guarantee ever could.
The Mahomet Difference
Jeff and I have been friends since fourth grade. Both born and raised right here in Mahomet. This isn't just where we work—it's home.
That means when we say we care about this community, it's not some marketing line. We're raising our families here. We're invested in what happens here. When local businesses do well, when neighborhoods stay strong, when people take care of their homes—that matters to us personally.
Supporting local isn't just about keeping money in the community, though that's part of it. It's about working with people who are genuinely accountable to their neighbors. People who can't hide behind a 1-800 number or a corporate policy when something goes wrong.
When you hire us, you're hiring guys who've lived here their whole lives. Who know this area. Who understand the specific challenges Central Illinois homes face. And who have to look you in the eye next time we run into each other at the coffee shop.
That's the Mahomet difference. That's what local actually means.
Life, Work, and What Actually Matters
Ellie doesn't know anything about vapor barriers or crawl space encapsulation. She doesn't understand moisture mitigation or floor support systems.
But she knows about loyalty. She knows about showing up every day with energy and joy. And she reminds us why we're doing this in the first place.
We're not building My Guys to get rich or to become the biggest company in the state. We're building it so we can do work we're proud of, serve people we care about, and actually enjoy the life we're creating.
That means sometimes our puppy comes to work. It means we take the time to do things right instead of racing to the next job. It means we prioritize quality and relationships over growth and numbers.
And honestly? That's exactly how we want it.
Book A Free Inspection Now
Your crawl space problems aren't going to fix themselves. But they are fixable. Let's get it done — the right way, permanently.
Or call us directly (217) 863-9559
Want to Work With a Company That Actually Cares?
If you need crawl space work done in Central Illinois—encapsulation, drainage systems, floor supports, or just a thorough inspection to see what's actually going on under your house—give us a call.
You're not hiring a corporate machine. You're hiring Chris and Jeff. Two guys who've lived in Mahomet their whole lives and genuinely care about the work they do.
We'll treat your home the way we'd want someone to treat ours. Because our reputation isn't just business—it's personal.
Reach out anytime. We're right here.
