Sometimes what you are meant to do in life…just finds you.
Eric White, 33, the owner of Zydeco Construction never thought he would become so successful in life, especially doing what he does. The once formerly-homeless man now owns a Louisiana-based company that builds beaches in people’s backyards. The craziest part — he is now a millionaire!
When White was 15-years-old, he was homeless for about eight months. “Growing up, things weren’t easy for me,” he told USA Today. White dropped out of school in the ninth grade and only had a second-grade reading skill. “I could hardly even spell my name,” he said.
Despite not having much of an education, white always felt that he could do construction and that he would enjoy that type of work. “I knew if I worked at it,” said White, “I could really do something with it.” White started his construction journey by working for a local construction company just to pay the bills. But later, he learned of a job opening with a Baton Rouge-based company that paid $12 hour. “The guy that I worked for there took me under his wing and taught me about the company. Within the first six months, I was managing the team,” said White.
White had ambition and moved up the ranks with various construction companies. Eventually, White started his own business, building pools, called ‘Cool Pools’.
That business was extremely successful and he ended up selling it for over a million dollars.
Zydeco Construction was the White’s next venture. The company builds beach-like “swimming ponds” that are crystal blue and have 360 degrees of sand surrounding them. Each pond is completely customizable and is outfitted with accessories, including outdoor kitchens, gazebos, umbrellas, and volleyball nets.
White says that the sky is truly the limit when it comes to creating your very own ‘dream beach’ for your backyard.
White has worked on his businesses vision from every single angle. Saying, “It’s something that for years I would think to myself, ‘What if someone could figure out a way to turn a pond into a paradise?’ I did as much research as I could and applied it to building these ponds.”
“It has always been a dream of mine to do these different things,” White said. “I am all about figuring out a way to make things happen. I can look at any situation and come up with a way to fix it. I like to stay in the market for things that most companies don’t offer, especially custom requests.”.
Each ‘pool’ or ‘beach’ costs roughly $20,000. Depending on what you are looking for in regards to customization’s, the cost can easily go up…or down.
White’s company also offers in-ground trampolines and outdoor kitchens. He also is in the business of drainage solutions and can build levees for homes that experience flooded backyards.