Bob McCarthy

This transcript has been edited for clarity, readability, and flow. Minor adjustments have been made to remove filler words and improve structure while preserving the original meaning and intent of the conversation.

Henry Harrison:
Hello, Bob. Thank you for coming on Entrepreneurs, Business and Finance, the podcast.

Bob McCarthy:
Good to be here.

Henry Harrison:
Bob and I became friends through mutual connections and through Entrepreneurs’ Organization. He’s part of the Fort Worth chapter, and I’m in Dallas, but we’ve attended events together across both chapters.

He’s also been a client of mine, so we have a great relationship.

Bob has an incredible success story—how he became an entrepreneur, real estate investor, family man, and someone deeply involved in charitable work alongside his wife.

Let’s start at the beginning—how did you get into business?

Bob McCarthy:
Honestly, I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was a teenager, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

I started by mowing lawns. I got more jobs than I could handle, so I hired my friends to do some of the work and made the spread.

My mom told me that wasn’t right, and I told her, “It’s absolutely right—I landed the job.”

Then I got married two weeks after high school and had a child. Failure just wasn’t an option.

I got tired of working construction in the cold in Maryland, so I moved to Texas and became a carpenter and cabinetmaker.

Henry Harrison:
And then you started your own business.

Bob McCarthy:
Yes—after getting fired.

I was talking about starting a cabinet shop with coworkers, and my employer didn’t like that.

So I called my dad in Germany and asked to borrow $2,500. He said yes.

That gave me tools and about two weeks of groceries. I started my business on my front porch.

About a month later, I got kicked off my own porch for making too much noise and opened my first shop.

Henry Harrison:
And that business grew significantly.

Bob McCarthy:
Over 14 years, we grew it to:

• 485,000 square feet of factory space

• 260 employees

• About $35 million in revenue

We built store fixtures for companies like:

• Barnes & Noble

• Bombay Company

• Men’s Wearhouse

All across the U.S.

Henry Harrison:
What made the business successful?

Bob McCarthy:
Simple:

• Do what you say you’re going to do

• When you say you’re going to do it

• At a fair price

In 14 years, we never missed a ship date. That became our reputation.

Henry Harrison:
And you focused primarily on commercial work.

Bob McCarthy:
Yes. Commercial clients understand:

• Specifications

• Timelines

• Quality expectations

We eventually evolved into building entire stores in our factory—shipping them and having them assembled on-site.

That scaled into national accounts.

Henry Harrison:
You’ve also faced major challenges.

Bob McCarthy:
Absolutely.

One big one: we bought a 500,000-square-foot factory to scale for Bombay Company—then 30 days later, they stopped building stores.

I had leveraged everything.

But I had been pursuing Barnes & Noble. I told them the truth—we needed work or we’d go bankrupt.

They gave us two stores.

Henry Harrison:
And that didn’t go smoothly.

Bob McCarthy:
Not at all.

We mixed up shipments between Houston and Austin—total disaster.

But I called them immediately and owned the mistake.

We fixed it, left crews on-site to help however needed, and made it right.

Henry Harrison:
And their response?

Bob McCarthy:
After chewing me out, they said:
“In 40 years, nobody has responded like you did.”

Then they sent 17 stores by fax.

That became a $20 million-a-year relationship.

Henry Harrison:
That’s a powerful lesson.

Bob McCarthy:
Yes—run toward the roar.

If you make a mistake:

• Own it

• Fix it

• Communicate clearly

Most people don’t do that.

Henry Harrison:
You eventually sold the business.

Bob McCarthy:
Yes, to Leggett & Platt in 1997.

After that, I took time off and raised my five kids as a single dad.

Then I got back into business—general contracting, manufacturing, and later acquired a high-end millwork company.

Henry Harrison:
And that led to major projects.

Bob McCarthy:
Yes, including:

• Mandalay Bay (Las Vegas)

• Montage Beverly Hills

• High-end residential projects

One project alone was $13 million, and we had to triple the company in nine months to deliver it.

We did—and made $5 million on that job.

Henry Harrison:
You’ve also had some difficult ventures.

Bob McCarthy:
Yes, like a concrete company I invested in.

It struggled for years:

• Low margins

• High risk

• Constant operational issues

It was a 10-year grind.

Eventually, I exited and focused on a uniform company I had owned for years.

That business grew from $1.8M to $12M in three years—and was far simpler.

Henry Harrison:
That’s a great lesson in focus.

Bob McCarthy:
Exactly.

Struggling businesses consume all your energy.

Sometimes the best move is to get off the ferris wheel sooner.

Henry Harrison:
Let’s talk about your charitable work.

Bob McCarthy:
My wife and I are deeply involved in several nonprofits.

We believe everything we have is a gift, and we’re called to give back.

Some initiatives include:

• A 23-acre ranch in Aledo focused on teen mental health and suicide prevention

• A horseback riding ministry for abused girls

• A homeless support organization in Fort Worth

We lost a neighbor’s 12-year-old son to suicide—that drove us to act.

Henry Harrison:
And you bring business discipline to nonprofits.

Bob McCarthy:
Yes—you have to.

If you don’t run a nonprofit like a business:

• You can’t sustain it

• You can’t help people long-term

That includes:

• Cash flow management

• Budget discipline

• Operational structure

Sometimes I’m the voice saying, “We can’t give money we don’t have.”

Henry Harrison:
That’s incredibly valuable.

Bob, thank you for sharing your story—and for everything you do.

Bob McCarthy:
Thank you, Henry. I appreciate it.