Zero+Zero=100

Q

uintas McCorkle had just sold an attic insulation job and was feeling good about how his day was going. Then he got into his old Nissan to leave the customer’s home and his car wouldn’t start. He realized he wasn’t going anywhere—both literally and figuratively. His car wasn’t working and he’d no doubt have to spend the commission he just earned on repairs. 

“I was like, ‘I’m back at zero,’” he says. “The only thing that kept me going was thinking it can only get better.”

It did. 

At 35, McCorkle is CEO of The Home Doctor, a home improvement company based in Falls Church, Va. The company is on track to earn $14 million in revenue this year. 

His car also got better. He drives a 2023 Dodge Charger, but he hung on to his old Nissan. “I had to keep the beater,” he says.

McCorkle’s days of being stuck in a cycle where he couldn’t win for trying are long gone but not that long ago. After graduating from Clarion University in Pennsylvania where, in 2012, he was a nationally ranked college wrestler, he started canvassing for a home improvement company. 

“I didn’t think I was going to do it forever, but here I am in home improvement 12 years later,” he says.  

The Path to Business Success

It sounds like he had a clear path to success, but just six years ago he was still struggling. He felt undervalued at work, his self esteem was low, and his drinking excessive. “I was in a bad state.” he recalls.

That’s when he started canvassing for The Home Doctor. After several months, the canvassing team was disbanded and it looked like he was back to zero again. But he was asked to stay on as a salesperson by Phillip Gehrig, the company’s founder and CEO (who remains involved in the company). “I had negative $347 in my bank account and I had to go home and tell my wife that I was moving to all commission,” he says. “My first month in sales was training and I kind of sucked. I remember walking up to the townhouse we were renting that we couldn’t afford and my wife said, ‘You either bring home money this month or we’re done.’” 

His sales improved.

Around this time he  adopted what he calls his “learning mentality,” spending an hour each day learning something new (he’s a big fan of podcasts). “I tell my team, it’s not always about closing. It’s about learning. That’s what helps you close,” he says. 

Back at the office, his efforts at self-improvement led him to help with collections. 

“I know how to collect money because I’ve been collected on my entire life. I know all the tricks,” he says. The company gave him a 1% commission on collections, and he earned several promotions. Those sent him into the field where he talked to customers and vendors and learned about installation issues, labor and materials costs, and the company’s strengths and weaknesses. And his sales went through the roof. He was promoted to COO, and this August, to CEO. 

“Once you get a little bit of success you just want to keep going,” he says. “If you decide you want to change your life, you can.”

(Quintas McCorkle was recognized this year by Pro Remodeler as one of the industry's best and brightest 40 Under 40 young professionals.)