The Living Your Legacy Podcast
From $100 Gigs to $100K Remodels: Stephen Deubel's Epic Rise
Mon, 02 Jun 2025
Stephen Deubel, a veteran general contractor, media personality, and entrepreneur, brings over three decades of experience to the world of construction, home improvement, and community advocacy. Initially starting out as a handyman watching VHS tapes from Home Depot, Stephen quickly transitioned into large-scale home remodels, eventually building a highly respected firm. With a natural entrepreneurial spirit and a heart for service, he leveraged his media presence to educate homeowners and empower others in the trades, all while growing a platform rooted in authenticity and learning.In this episode, Stephen shares his inspiring journey from humble beginnings to his ambitious mission: building container home communities for homeless veterans. Through innovative housing solutions and partnerships across the country, Stephen is turning a dream into a movement. He discusses the power of pivoting, the importance of purpose-driven work, and how legacy is about creating change that lasts beyond your lifetime. The episode is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and social impact through construction.CHAPTERS02:35 – Learning on the Job Without YouTube04:54 – From Handyman to Radio Host07:21 – Facing Fear and Embracing Growth09:02 – Getting Discovered by TV Networks11:04 – How Container Homes Became the Future13:12 – Building the First Veteran Container Community15:05 – What Legacy Truly Means to MeConnect with Stephen:PODCAST WEBSITEBoxcaruniverse.comEMAILSteve@boxcaruniverse.comALTERNATIVE WEBSITEIdealhomeimprovementaz.com
Chapter 1: How did Stephen Deubel start his journey in construction?
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Legacy Makers. Sat with me today is Steven who has a fascinating journey and even more fascinating an impactful mission that we're going to dive into and an epic story how he went from hanging a few picture frames as a handyman
to building a very successful well-known and big remodeling firm he's remodeled hundreds of homes charged you know hundreds of thousands of dollars so a big jump from hanging a few pictures welcome to the show great to be here rudy thank you for having me of course so i know you're up to a lot you you know you have radio tv podcasting uh obviously building your company uh and you're on a big mission which i think is super awesome
which I'll let you share. But I'm excited to dive into this and obviously your main TV episode too. So let's start from ground zero. How did you get into all this? You were doing a bit of handyman stuff. You were telling me online. You take a gig, you go to Home Depot, buy a VHS and watch how to do it right before YouTube existed and then turn up the next day and get out and just knock it out.
Because when somebody starts out, no one knows everything right away. I mean, you learn as you go and you have to be open to learning it. You also have to be open when people criticize you because that's a big part of learning. Feedback loop, right? Exactly. A great feedback loop. So that's how I started. And I did that through, you know, several, several years.
Actually, we did that while I was working a regular job. So I was trying to build my business. And then finally, I was asked to do bigger projects. So then I went and got my contractor's license. And I started doing bigger and better things. The reason that I started it was originally because I saw too many people in the Phoenix market, homeowners that really didn't know how to do things.
And they were hurting themselves. I mean, seriously, falling off ladders, being rushed to the hospital and things like that. And one of the things that I wanted to do, I wanted to give back to the community. I think that's where my feeling started doing that. So I said the best way to do that is that back in my other life, I was a mobile DJ.
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Chapter 2: What challenges did Stephen face while growing his business?
So dealing with the public, I always liked to be able to turn around and create music. an environment with music to make people put smiles on people's faces. And that's what I wanted to do. If I could turn around and start a radio show about home improvement and show my passion and desire to make them understand
how to do things right and if you can't do it yourself call a professional like i'm the i'm a professional so obviously it was a twofold yeah teach them and if you don't think you could do it call me so that's part of how to generate it leads for my business well well i think what's interesting already i do want to before we go any further one thing you said right away which i love about entrepreneurs is they have this like
say yes and then figure it out later kind of attitude right but but and often it's like you know it can be nerve-wracking but that it leads to a lot of success i find you know like a lot of people i know myself included you you know you you you kind of go along with it say yes and then you're determined to figure it out and then it leads to this whole new business or new idea or career right
Yeah, I mean, one of the things that I always felt like when you go... First of all, if I go into a person's home, even if it's just to hang a picture or do a complete tall house remodel, it's important for them to understand that I know what they want to do and that I view it as a privilege to come into their home and make these changes and create their dreams.
Chapter 3: How did Stephen transition from handyman to media personality?
Chapter 4: What innovative solutions is Stephen providing for veterans?
And they were hurting themselves. I mean, seriously, falling off ladders, being rushed to the hospital and things like that. And one of the things that I wanted to do, I wanted to give back to the community. I think that's where my feeling started doing that. So I said the best way to do that is that back in my other life, I was a mobile DJ.
So dealing with the public, I always liked to be able to turn around and create music. an environment with music to make people put smiles on people's faces. And that's what I wanted to do. If I could turn around and start a radio show about home improvement and show my passion and desire to make them understand
how to do things right and if you can't do it yourself call a professional like i'm the i'm a professional so obviously it was a twofold yeah teach them and if you don't think you could do it call me so that's part of how to generate it leads for my business well well i think what's interesting already i do want to before we go any further one thing you said right away which i love about entrepreneurs is they have this like
Chapter 5: How does Stephen define legacy and its importance?
say yes and then figure it out later kind of attitude right but but and often it's like you know it can be nerve-wracking but that it leads to a lot of success i find you know like a lot of people i know myself included you you know you you you kind of go along with it say yes and then you're determined to figure it out and then it leads to this whole new business or new idea or career right
Yeah, I mean, one of the things that I always felt like when you go... First of all, if I go into a person's home, even if it's just to hang a picture or do a complete tall house remodel, it's important for them to understand that I know what they want to do and that I view it as a privilege to come into their home and make these changes and create their dreams.
Well, and I love your entrepreneurial story. And I love featuring this, like... You know, you went from probably earning $100 to hang a few pictures, right? To a $100,000 house remodel. Easy. Yeah, yeah. That's a big jump, right?
It's a big jump.
It's not a 10x jump. It's not even a 100x jump, right? It's even bigger. It's thousands. So what experience do you have, like, for anyone listening that's maybe in the earlier phases of their career? They're in the $100 hanging picture frame phase, right? And it's like...
you know you thousand x and now you're doing these major projects and now you're on an even bigger mission to help the homeless which we'll talk about in a minute but it can seem daunting up front right like if i had spoke to you when you were hanging your first picture and said hey one day you'll be doing 200 grand renovations you've gone no way you know right like tell us about how that journey's been well it's been it's been it's been a journey that i think
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Chapter 6: What can new entrepreneurs learn from Stephen's experience?
Chapter 7: How does Stephen view failure in the entrepreneurial journey?
Chapter 8: What future projects does Stephen have in mind?
how to do things right and if you can't do it yourself call a professional like i'm the i'm a professional so obviously it was a twofold yeah teach them and if you don't think you could do it call me so that's part of how to generate it leads for my business well well i think what's interesting already i do want to before we go any further one thing you said right away which i love about entrepreneurs is they have this like
say yes and then figure it out later kind of attitude right but but and often it's like you know it can be nerve-wracking but that it leads to a lot of success i find you know like a lot of people i know myself included you you know you you you kind of go along with it say yes and then you're determined to figure it out and then it leads to this whole new business or new idea or career right
Yeah, I mean, one of the things that I always felt like when you go... First of all, if I go into a person's home, even if it's just to hang a picture or do a complete tall house remodel, it's important for them to understand that I know what they want to do and that I view it as a privilege to come into their home and make these changes and create their dreams.
Well, and I love your entrepreneurial story. And I love featuring this, like... You know, you went from probably earning $100 to hang a few pictures, right? To a $100,000 house remodel. Easy. Yeah, yeah. That's a big jump, right?
It's a big jump.
It's not a 10x jump. It's not even a 100x jump, right? It's even bigger. It's thousands. So what experience do you have, like, for anyone listening that's maybe in the earlier phases of their career? They're in the $100 hanging picture frame phase, right? And it's like...
you know you thousand x and now you're doing these major projects and now you're on an even bigger mission to help the homeless which we'll talk about in a minute but it can seem daunting up front right like if i had spoke to you when you were hanging your first picture and said hey one day you'll be doing 200 grand renovations you've gone no way you know right like tell us about how that journey's been well it's been it's been it's been a journey that i think
to get started with and how you can progress and why you get referrals from your existing clients is that if you are on a mission that you want to be able to do it, not just in construction or remodeling, but anything, you have to know that you have to have confidence in yourself. to know that this is what I can do this, no matter what. And yes, I'm going to be able to need to reach out.
And you have to make it a long-term goal, but you have these short increment steps you have to go through when you start, and you have to be committed to those. And yes, you... You're going to have failures, but failures are nothing more than a step back and learning, well, I need to take a different road.
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