He Retired His Wife a Year and a Half Into His Startup

Daniel McCaulley is a licensed professional engineer and the founder of Ultimus Engineering, a faith-based Texas firm doing MEP, aquatics, and structural engineering across 22 states. He built it to run on relationships as much as technical skill. He retired his wife a year and a half in, and he shuts his phone in another room from 5 to 7:30 every night to be with his kids. — CHAPTERS — 0:00 Intro 0:43 Raised on Competition 2:46 The Outsourcing Joke That Became a Company 3:20 Why Engineers Are Bad Communicators 7:43 The Early Grind and the Easiest $300 He Ever Made 10:28 Pivoting to Construction 15:04 Faith, Family, Then the Work 20:22 Remote Work Is a Privilege Not a Right 25:42 Fitness, Push-Ups, and Toddler Rave 32:22 The Hard 5 PM Cutoff 36:55 Taking Market Share Without Losing the Culture 42:24 What He'd Do Differently 45:12 Why Most Businesses Fail on Cash Not Craft 51:04 Why He Won't Compromise on Who He Hires 54:43 Where to Find Daniel — GUEST — Daniel McCaulley, Founder of Ultimus Engineering Ultimus Engineering: https://ultimusengineering.com — LISTEN — Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7HMfYp3... Newsletter: https://margintheory.beehiiv.com Margin Theory: https://margintheory.co — FOLLOW — LinkedIn:   / realjakeerickson   — ABOUT — Margin Theory is a media brand and financial operating system for owner-operator businesses doing $1M to $20M. Newsletter, podcast, and community plus the fractional CFO and bookkeeping services that turn the system into outcomes. #MarginTheory #BusinessPodcast #FractionalCFO