Darbi Shumway

Darbi Shumway joined BDR in June 2023 and sports an impressive resume containing 15 combined years in the contracting industry. She founded and grew three successful businesses from scratch and has spent the last three years as a sought-after business coach and trainer focused on the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical trades.

Darbi’s first foray into business ownership was in 2007, when she opened a retail business called Bun in the Oven Maternity & Baby. She broke even within one year and sold her profitable business at a 3X EBITDA during the great recession. Her next business was contracting, specializing in custom cabinetry, which she started in 2017. Within eight months, Darbi grew her business from scratch into a $1 million revenue company and maintained steady growth over four years. Except for installation, Darbi was the strategic company leader with direct management responsibility for business planning, sales, marketing, accounting, product design, and day-to-day operations. Her business was thriving, consistently generating 25% net profit.

A year before selling her custom cabinetry business, Darbi pursued a longtime career desire to help others by joining the home services industry as a business coach. Her success led to consistent retention with 47 companies coached, ranging in size from $1 million – $50 million in revenue. She specializes in business planning, service operations, sales, and leadership development. Excelling quickly, Darbi earned greater responsibility as a trainer, attained her factory-authorized dealer trainer certification, and built and conducted training classes for dispatching and the CSR role. In addition to service operations training, Darbi has trained in leadership and management skills for business owners and service managers.

With an infectious smile, great charisma, and a non-stop motor, Darbi is a Certified Life Coach who built her third business through referrals focusing on young adults transitioning from high school to college. Her company, Firmly Founded, assists her young clients in understanding the vastly different world of college, which provides opportunities with little guidance and lots of unsupervised time to make many mistakes. She coached her clients on preparing themselves to make intelligent choices, positioning them for a successful educational experience and a solid springboard into life. Life coaching skills are highly transferrable and will benefit any client who has the pleasure and benefit of working with Darbi.

Most impressively, Darbi accomplished all her business and contracting successes while working as a dental hygienist from 2005 to 2020. In 2013, Darbi authored a dental research paper published in the Journal of the American Orthodontic Society. She was also head hygienist for the first 10 of her 15 years, slowing down to part-time the last five years to build her contracting business.

“My life’s mission is to push myself to see what I am capable of accomplishing and lead my clients to show what is possible for them.”

Darbi believes that life is about enjoying the journey and creating experiences. Darbi loves to explore various activities outside of work and combines her natural desire to coach and lead by teaching Zumba, cycling, kickboxing, and circuit classes. She passionately believes that the most powerful thing she can show her children is that hard work can be fun and is a worthy life.

“As driven as I am, raising my two daughters was always my priority. I was up every day around 4:30 A.M. to finish my adult work before my children woke up so I could focus on them.”