Chief Creator, Spillman Homes

When Jeremy Spillman was a teenager, he felt lost. When he was a sophomore in high school, he dropped out. By the time he was 17, he had been sent to prison for four years. After watching people go through the doors just to come back in — and an altercation with a prison-lifer that would try to kill Jeremy — he knew this wasn’t the path he was meant to be on. 

Now, he has a beautiful family and he owns his own company, Spillman Homes, where he makes home renovation visions come to life. 

Jeremy starts his day around 4 a.m. He’ll work on the creative process of designing his company’s next round of houses or a project they’re currently working on. When the rest of the office shows up, they will discuss “hot-list items” that need to be discussed and trouble-shoot the situation. The rest of his day will consist of estimating, appointments, and meetings with the experience managers in the field. When there’s a free moment in the day, the team will invest it in creating and fine-tuning processes and making everything as systematic as possible. And, it’s a lot of work.

Jeremy says: “I don’t think people realize how much work it really takes . . . We design a product, manufacture or build the product, manage the business side behind it, manage the compliance side behind it, sell the product, and then we warranty the product.” He adds that his team spends a minimum of one year with each client as they work on designing, planning, and building the project. 

But regardless of what the client wants, Jeremy comes with enthusiasm and plenty of ideas. “When others thought our renovation project was next to impossible, Jeremy went the extra mile to make our dream a reality,” clients Brian and Christine Grace say. “He shared our vision for our home while bringing his own ideas, creativity, and expertise to the project.”  

No matter what Jeremy’s doing, he hopes to change lives — being able to do this is his reward. “We all have life events that give us the unique ability to bring something special . . . The reason I revealed my trials and failures is that I want to use it as a platform to help our youth who are lost and struggling just like I was,” he says.

Age: 39

Fun Fact: Jeremy hates adhesive bandages — even if he’s getting blood drawn, he does not want any Band-Aid.