Ep. 02 | Lane Thurman – eso.projects

Lane Thurman worked as a cook for 20 years before transitioning to home services. While working at a local preschool, he built their maintenance system from the ground up, creating scheduled cleanings, distributor relationships, and referral forms for teachers. He noticed a lack of service providers who wanted to genuinely help their community, so he decided to fill that need. The transition happened gradually around 2019 to 2020, starting as a way to pay the bills and eventually becoming his full time business.

“I saw the need in the school and was able to start helping out where I could. And then it actually slowly evolved into just doing that by itself. And then I ended up leaving that job and it became a, oh, this is what I can do and this is now what it's going to be.”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman named his company eso.projects after the Spanish expression eso, which means something like wow or that's it. His wife is from Venezuela, and in her family, gift giving is a big part of celebrations. When you share a gift and the recipient opens it, feeling that genuine connection, the expression eso captures that excitement and gratitude. Lane wanted his business to evoke that same feeling of genuine care and connection.

“When you share that love and that experience of giving a gift to somebody and then you open it up and it's, you know, a really just like you can feel the connection that they went through, it's a very exciting feeling like, hey, wow, this is amazing, like thank you so much. It's that expression in Spanish, eso.”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman says the biggest mistake he made early on was not learning to say no. When he started eso.projects, he worked seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., taking every job he could. He quickly learned that overbooking leads to burnout and it is okay to set business hours and turn down work. He now emphasizes that running a business is already hard enough without making it worse by overcommitting.

“I came into doing this with a 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, taking everything I could, not saying no, and have quickly learned that it's okay to set business hours. It's okay to say no. Don't overdo it, man. This is already hard enough. Don't make it worse.”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman has three kids ages nine, four, and one and a half. He says balancing business and family is difficult but comes down to finding the middle ground and putting intention into both. He believes many business owners watched their parents hustle without spending enough time with family, and he is trying to break that pattern. As long as you care enough to prioritize both and act intentionally, the value shows up every day in your business and your family.

“It's hard to be able to show up for my business, make it as successful as I dream it of being, show up for my family. I got to find the middle ground. As long as you care enough to be able to find that middle ground and put intention to it, then I think that it becomes easy and it becomes worth it. I see the value in w”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman says homeowners should always get multiple estimates and not just compare cost but what is actually included in each estimate. One contractor might charge more but do significantly more work. Beyond quotes, homeowners should check websites, read reviews, and ask friends and neighbors for referrals. Even if a contractor has great reviews and detailed quotes, that does not mean their communication is good or that they will show up on time. Do your research and do not just let anyone into your home.

“Always get multiple estimates. And once you have those estimates, compare what, you know, not just cost, but like what are you receiving for this estimate. Educate yourself. This is your biggest investment. Call around. Talk to your friends. Have you heard of this business? Ask for referrals.”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman warns homeowners to watch for contractors who do not communicate well or interact with the homeowner during the job. If a contractor comes in, does the work without talking to you, and leaves quickly without offering any knowledge about how to care for the work properly, that is a red flag. Most service providers who care about their work will be excited to share knowledge and help homeowners maintain what was done. An uncomfortable or overly brief interaction often leads to problems down the road.

“If you've got somebody who's come in and who's like, all right, I'm ready to get to work, and then they don't talk to you, they don't interact with you, they go in, they do their work, they leave, it's a very short, it's almost uncomfortable, six months down the road you're probably gonna have an issue.”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman uses contracts because they protect both the homeowner and the contractor. He insists on having everything in writing, whether in a contract, text, or email. If a homeowner wants to change something or do something differently, he puts it in writing. This creates a clear paper trail that protects everyone involved and ensures accountability. It also allows both parties to walk away cleanly if the relationship is not working out.

“Have everything in writing. You wanna change this, you wanna do this differently, put it in a text, put it in an email. It protects the client, it protects the business owner, and at the end of the day that gives the, as a homeowner, a paper trail.”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman welcomes accountability and is open to hearing when he has made a mistake. He says he is not always perfect and has had customers who were not 100 percent happy with a project. However, he values constructive criticism because that is how he can grow and improve. One of his core values is accountability, and he asks customers to provide proof or specifics so he can understand what went wrong and do better next time.

“I'm open to it. I need to hear it because that's how I can grow. Any time anyone should talk, I'm like please feel free to let me know how I can, I mean that's one of my biggest values is accountability. Come on, put the blame on me, but you need to come with proof because I need to understand how I messed up.”Lane Thurman

Lane Thurman went to Florida for a week to visit his dad and got engaged to his now fiancée. However, he was burnt out the entire trip and could not fully enjoy the vacation. He worked a full week before leaving, slept only two and a half hours, then got on a train. He was frantic and stressed out the whole time, realizing only weeks later that he had been completely burnt out. He now focuses on taking time off and not overbooking himself, and he plans to take another week off in April and actually disconnect.

“I couldn't enjoy my vacation at all. I loved my wife and I enjoyed engaging to my, or asking her to marry me, but in the back of my mind there's a burnt out, freaking out, what's the business going on. I was burnt out, I was overdoing it.”Lane Thurman