Justin House
Business Background and Timeline
Learning Web Design and Development
During the summer of 1996, I wanted to start an online business, however, I didn’t have the capital necessary to hire a web developer. In early August ’96 though, I read a book on HTML, and then began building the website myself, all in Notepad. After doing so, and seeing how the web was growing rapidly, I decided to lean into web design and start my own web development company along with a college friend, Jamie Kruze.
Jamie taught me soooo much as he was a programmer and database developer, but even then I was still very “wet behind the ears.” It wasn’t until he took an incredibly high paying job in Data Warehousing that I really had to buckle down and thus seriously dive into website design, development, as well as sales and marketing. Admittedly, I was scared, but after looking back, it was the best thing ever to happen to me. When presented with the option of sinking or swimming, I decided to hydroplane.
I researched every article I could, from learning graphic design to SEO and everything in between. It was at this point that I became a research junkie, and still continue this madness today. I absolutely love to learn — it keeps my mind well engaged, which is obviously good for the brain.
Grounded Group Was Formed
In late 2003, I changed my company name to Grounded Group, a web company that focused on high-end website design and marketing. For the first several years I designed and developed websites for all types of businesses, working with a variety of web software solutions, e-commerce platforms, etc. This made it challenging though because every system was vastly different, so it made it incredibly difficult to become proficient with the tools I was using. For instance, if a client requested that I add a certain feature to their website, or troubleshoot a particular problem, it would take me hours upon hours to figure it out. Naturally, I couldn’t pass this cost onto the client, which contributed to a then unsuccessful business model. On top of that, I was a Jack of All Trades, but Master of None. This had to stop!
Specializing in WordPress
Then in 2005, after a lot of research, I stumbled upon WordPress. At the time it was just a blogging tool, but from all the comments I read on various web development forums, it would likely become the best Content Management System (CMS). After working with it on a couple websites, and loving it, I decided to become a WordPress specialist. This meant not using any other Content Management Systems in efforts of really getting this program down. As a result, I was able to build websites much quicker, as well as troubleshoot issues faster. I still wasn’t necessarily making a profit though because I was trying to serve too many industries, but at least I was no longer losing my @$$.
Starting to Niche Down
Come December 2007, I was seriously put to the test. One of my earliest clients (from 1998) wanted me to revamp their real estate website. In the past, we built a system that allowed them to easily add properties to their website without any coding, created with a programming language called Cold Fusion. CF was great in the late 90s and early 2000s, but it was largely overshadowed by PHP (WordPress is built on PHP) as it was much more stable and powerful.
So, tasked with this challenge, I designed and developed one of the first real estate websites built on WordPress that not only allowed the client to add articles and pages to their website, but also add listings. I focused on making it really simple and user-friendly, where they didn’t have to guess where to go in their website admin area to update pages and properties. Additionally, it was using WordPress’ blogging power to add listings to their website, and subsequently, they started ranking at the top of Google for very competitive keywords. It was at this time (2008) that I decided to hunker down and focus specifically on real estate companies. This is when I started actually making a profit, even during one of the worst real estate crashes in history. I rode this wave until 2013, but eventually got tired of it because I wasn’t into real estate…I was just doing it for the money.
Back to the Drawing Board
For the next several years, I went back to creating WordPress websites for all companies and organizations, and to be honest, it was well welcomed. It gave me a chance to be consistently creative, as well as learn about a variety of industries. It was exciting again. I was passionate. But, the problem I was experiencing before with regards to not specializing in a certain industry made it rather difficult to prosper. While I really wanted to help all these companies, I sincerely didn’t feel equipped enough to move the needle forward for them. Plus, it was always very difficult to get content from the client (e.g. text, photos, etc), which would seriously slow down projects. Often for months and months. Additionally, from all the research I was doing on business development and marketing, the one thing that I kept seeing was that I needed to niche down. I just didn’t know where.
Picking the Right Niche: Automotive Detailing Shops
2020 rolls around, and I landed my first auto detailing client. While I had built other automotive related sites over the years, this was my first detailing shop. I came to find out that I really respect and like this industry as I’m certainly into cars and motorcycles. Moreover, I didn’t need to rely on securing photos from the client because I already had access to hundreds of awesome images of vehicles. This was huge! After finishing their website, getting the client to the first page of Google, and making him very happy with my services, I started thinking about locking into this industry. However, I was already planning to go after another market (was thinking about home builders for a couple years), but I would have been facing the same challenges before, namely not getting quality content and/or photos from the client.
Given that said client was happy with my services, he later hired me to manage his Google Ads and SEO, later getting him to the top of Google for a variety of searches, not just auto detailing. For instance, I have since secured him the top spots for his city, namely: paint correction, paint protection film, clear bra, ceramic coating, etc. I even got him to the 4th spot for window tinting, and it’s continuing to climb positions.
Going After It
After witnessing this success and validating my services, in late 2023 I decided to wholeheartedly target the auto detailing industry. I completely revamped my logo, brand and website in efforts of catering specifically to auto detailing businesses. Then in January 2024, I began adding two articles to my website each month, educating car detailers about how to create a business plan, secure business insurance and then begin marketing their businesses. I almost started writing posts about the best detailing products to purchase, but this was and is something I knew nothing about, so I didn’t write on the subject. Instead, I leaned into what I know most about: website design, WordPress, marketing, advertising and SEO. Fast forward and now I’m adding articles every Monday and loving it.
Perfecting The Process
During this whole period I wasn’t accepting any new detailing clients as I definitely wanted to document, polish and perfect this service. While I’m a ways off from solidifying it (e.g. still learning better ways to run cheaper and more effective ads), I’m seeing better and better results. I also witness where I could have done things better, which will always be the case.
On that note, in the beginning of 2025, I will be taking on my next auto detailing client and will likely later accept a maximum of 4 for next year. However, I don’t want to take on too many as it’s crucial that we serve everybody with complete attention and that they experience the success they deserve. Plus, we’re still serving legacy clients (one from 1998), and want to continue helping them, but I’ve whittled this down to a few of our best customers. If you’re interested, you can join our Waiting List here. I will be picking the most suitable clients from this list.
Hobbies and Interests
Music
In 1999, I got heavily into DJn. For the last two decades, I’ve been hyper-focused on turntable trickery, from scratching to trick mixing. And I still absolutely dig it.
In February 2020, a month prior to Covid hitting rampantly, I started investing time into my drum machine, making ‘live’ beats, therefore no looping. Then when Covid officially hit Colorado, I went full ham on it, practicing 10-15 hours a week, consistently. Two years later and I then began learning the keys, with the same passion, practice and work ethic. I even got up to 15-20 hours a week of jamming, but had to revert back to 10-15 for various reasons. Additionally, I’ve been building a music studio in my home, which is about 50% complete. Music is my true calling.
Skateboarding
When I was around 6 years old, I got into skateboarding. Heavily. My mom saw how passionate I was about it, so she started taking me to the skateparks in Southern California every week. I’m 55 years old now and I still skate on the regular. In fact, I was at the local skatepark yesterday, exactly 4 years after I broke my hip at the Frederick, Colorado skatepark on Veterans Day 2020. Yep, I’m still all about it, and I love the friends I’ve made over the years and the community overall.
Cooking
Okay, I’m seriously into cooking, from traditional American dishes, to Asian, Indian and most definitely Mexican. Creating killer meals is where I’m probably spending the majority of my money. Given that I’m usually sitting down given the nature of my business, it’s crazy fun to be in the kitchen, running around, grabbing this and that, cooking this and that, all while listening to awesome music. It seriously puts a big smile on my face. On top of that, my dog likes to watch me get animated, but more so prefers looking for opportunities.
Camping
Honestly, I haven’t camped in a while, but when I was, it was literally every week from the first day of Spring to nearly the end of Fall. I haven’t used a lighter to start a campfire since 2019 as I began using Firesteel and my knife to spark the tinder, then follow that up with kindling and finally fuel, AKA the big pieces of wood. It’s a process, a challenge, and I love, love it. Overall, camping helps me reset. My favorite sound, to this day, is leaves blowing. It’s incredibly therapeutic.
Motorcycles
Years ago, I had three Honda CBR 600 sport bikes (not simultaneously) and to be transparent, I was a madman! While I love riding super fast, I knew if I kept it up, I wouldn’t be writing this right now. Fast forward, and now I’m looking at buying a Kawasaki KLX300R trail bike, then later as I improve, either a GasGas EC300 or a Beta 300RR enduro bike. This way, I can still ride relatively fast, but mostly on the dirt.
Given that I live in Fort Collins, I’m only about 10 minutes from the base of the local mountains, hosting numerous fire roads, trails, single tracks, including soft and hard enduro terrain. I can’t wait to get a dirt bike, but unfortunately, we’re heading into winter, so I won’t be able to ride said trails for a few months or so. Ugh, I seriously can’t wait.
Church
This is one of my favorite things to do every week — that is, when I go every week. I love hearing the message, interacting with the members, and learning how I can serve others. Honestly, my thoughts are pretty self-centered throughout the week, but on Sunday I tend to put God first. I need to get back to attending small group sessions during the week though as it helped me with progressing as a person, as well as getting more involved in the community. When I’m neck deep into it, it really helps me think of and serve others more.
Animals
I start off everyday by watching animal rescue videos. These videos speak to my heart bigtime! I could be in a bad mood, have heavy issues weighing me down, but when I see a dog, cat or other animal being rescued, it melts my heart and brings me such peace. Eventually, I’m going to start fostering dogs and possibly cats. That is, when I get a ranch style house with minimal stairs and a large backyard. The place I reside right now has several stairs, which is sometimes challenging for my senior dog, Kaya. Given that Kaya is the one that really made me care about animals as a whole, the name of my forthcoming foster home will be called Kaya Care.
That’s it. That’s pretty much me. Oh, and I seriously love to joke around with people.
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Thank you, Justin, for helping to make our new website exactly how we hoped it could be: bright, fun, informative and interactive. We would love to continue working with you!"
You could search for 20 years and not find a web designer as good as Justin. People are BLOWN away by my site!!! So thankful. I hope everyone gets a chance to work with Justin.
The results are so good!"
One of the *BEST* things about Justin and GroundedGroup was their ability to take my requirements and wants and turn them into a beautiful warm inviting site. He uses themes, colors, and texture to give your website depth and make it more inviting to users.
Thanks again GroundedGroup and Justin.!!!"
