There was the one time he got a job in high school at Kroger that lasted all of a couple of weeks. “It was kind of hard to get hours at my other job during the winter, so I went to Kroger and got a job,” he recalls. “I just couldn’t stand working inside. Plus they had this two-sided mirror the manager watched all the employees from. That just pissed me off.”
Save for Kroger, Humerick’s career and life up until this point have been defined by uncompromising focus. And not just in the moment. He remembers things. Conversations, important decisions, how it felt to do a certain job. And he often recalls these things later on in conversation.
In identifying why he has been so successful as the owner of Nashville-based Humerick Environmental Construction, you could point to several things. He’s proficient with heavy machines, learning how to operate well before his teens. He’s compassionate, treating his employees like family and making contributions to both community and international charities a priority.
But more than anything, it’s his mind. His focus and intelligence have made him an extremely savvy and adaptable business owner. Two very good things to be when working construction, let alone relocating an established firm to a new state in the calm before the recession.
“I always wanted to be out on my own,” Humerick says. “I like the fact that if I make it or I don’t make it, it’s all on me.”
