EP 9 · 2021-05-24 · 44:38
From Sweeping Floors to Director of Construction: Two RCS Alumni Launch PMco During COVID | Andrew Doucet & Craig Duininck
Two RCS Construction alumni explain how complementary blue-collar and university-real-estate backgrounds led them to launch PMco — a one-stop construction, leasing, and property-management firm — during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AD
Andrew Doucet, P.GSC
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:04Intro and guest bios — Host introduces Andrew Doucet (Gold Seal PM, 15 years at RCS) and Craig Duininck (Saint FX, executive real estate cert, PMco property manager). Both co-founded PMco; Andrew clarifies his bio-listed Dalhousie credential was a 10-week course.1:43Craig's path: hockey, Saint FX, and the Sobeys Award — Craig moved from the US to Ontario at 15 for the OHL, chose education over pro hockey, fell in love with Nova Scotia's network culture at Saint FX, won the Sobeys Entrepreneurship Award, met mentor Doug Doucet at the award ceremony, and leveraged that relationship into his first real estate and construction role.8:30Andrew's path: lawn-cutting to Director of Construction — Andrew arrived in Halifax wanting to be a chef, dropped out in two weeks, started cutting Doug Doucet's lawn, was pulled onto an RCS job site for a week, caught the PM fever watching supers manage sub-trades, rose from labourer to lead hand to foreman on night shifts, built the Small Jobs/Custom Projects Division, and earned his Gold Seal — giving him formal credibility to match his field experience.19:55Advice for young people entering construction — Both guests argue all education paths are valid, urge youth to work a summer on-site before committing, push back on the 'just blue collar' narrative, and note that Atlantic Canada's construction industry uniquely blends white-collar and blue-collar roles. The message: get on a site, be a sponge, and take every opportunity that lands.29:53PMco: the one-stop-shop model — Craig explains PMco launched August 2020. COVID shifted tenants from new builds to smaller renovations, creating an opening. PMco offers leasing, small-to-mid construction fit-ups, and property management as a single-contact service. A live Hammonds Plains example illustrates how one client was guided through site selection, lease negotiation, design, and construction — with ongoing management to follow.39:30Community involvement and closing — Andrew describes his roles: former CANS Developing Executives chair, mental health board co-chair (IWK Great Big Dig, Festival of Trees). Closes with social handles (Instagram: @pmcoinc, LinkedIn: PMco Incorporated, website: pm-co.ca) and reflections on Atlantic Canadian community solidarity.
// THE INTRO
Host Daniel Arsenault sits down with Andrew Doucet (Director of Construction, RCS Construction; Gold Seal PM) and Craig Duininck (co-founder, PMco; Saint FX real estate grad) for a 45-minute origin-story double-interview. The first half traces how both men were separately mentored into the industry by Doug Doucet (owner, RCS Construction) — Andrew through sweeping floors and working his way up from labourer to foreman to director, Craig via winning the Sobeys Entrepreneurship Award and cold-calling his mentor on graduation day. The second half pitches PMco's integrated model: find the tenant, build the fit-up, manage the property — a single point of contact across the full commercial real estate lifecycle. The pandemic served as a catalyst rather than a deterrent: reduced new-build appetite created a renovation wave that perfectly matched PMco's small-to-mid-size commercial construction sweet spot. Themes include the value of boots-on-the-ground experience vs. formal credentials, the power of mentorship in the Atlantic Canada construction community, the construction industry's need to shed its blue-collar-only image, and how a niche integrated service model can outmanoeuvre larger, siloed players.
// THE LESSONS
See all 12 lessons ▸A mentor who says 'I don't have a role for you, but come in and we'll figure it out' can change your entire career trajectory — maintain the relationship from first contact.
“he said i don't have a role for you but come in we're gonna figure it out”
Starting in small-jobs construction forces you to estimate, manage, and supervise simultaneously, building a broader skill base than specialising on large projects from day one.
“you ate what you killed right so you really had to be estimating managing supervising whatever you're wearing so many different hats”
Take every CANS (Construction Association of Nova Scotia) course available early in your career — they count toward Gold Seal and compound into a recognized credential without a formal degree.
“every cans course i took over those years all counted”
Gold Seal certification resolves the credibility gap for blue-collar operators who lack a university degree — it 'puts a stamp on it' that peers and clients respect.
“i was always concerned with not having the schooling background and just having boots on the ground background that i wouldn't be taken serious”
In Atlantic Canada's small-market construction scene, your professional network is stickier than any credential — it's what keeps people from leaving the region.
“it's hard to leave when you start building a network because the thought goes where do you what do you do next”
Recasting a 'small jobs division' as a 'custom projects division' changed client perception and attracted first-time business owners willing to spend their life savings — naming matters.
“people were kind of getting taken back by why am i dealing with a small jobs division this is my life savings”
COVID-era renovation demand (tenants adapting existing spaces rather than building new) is a legitimate market entry window for a small-jobs construction firm.
“instead of opening new locations they were looking to renovate put a little bit of money staying where they are adapt to covid”
Bundling leasing, construction, and property management under one contact eliminates the landlord–tenant–contractor triangle of confusion and becomes a genuine competitive moat.
“we're the one contact the tenant is dealing with us on the leasing side and the landlord the developers dealing with us on all the server side”
Business owners should delegate property maintenance and small construction to a specialist so their mental energy stays on revenue-generating work.
“they should or can be making money doing what they're really good at and then hand it off to us”
Young people entering construction should work one summer on-site before choosing an education path — direct exposure to site dynamics is irreplaceable orientation.
“work a summer job get on as a laborer be a sponge take it all in and see every aspect of it”
The construction industry in Atlantic Canada uniquely fuses white-collar and blue-collar roles — neither exists without the other — and both sides experience imposter syndrome.
“you got a real unique enmeshment of like white collar and blue collar and one doesn't happen without the other”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Story · 3:36
“i really fell in love with being out here the vibe of nova scotia”
Story · 6:30
“in my last year i won the sobeys award for business entrepreneurship”
Story · 7:26
“when i met doug i kind of told him i'm doing this i don't know if i'm going to go back”
Story · 11:12
“i'm sitting on the stairs of pizza corner with my uncle”
Story · 12:16
“i was actually cutting doug's lawn every sunday to make a couple bucks”
Story · 13:38
“so that was 15 years ago and probably the first half week i was like this is what i want to do”
Framework · 14:25
“so after i started on the different job sites i started working my way up”
Story · 15:38
“the opportunity came that as rcs grew they needed a small jobs division”
Story · 17:09
“the first larger job i did was probably pizza gogo and i basically designed that on the back of a napkin”
Emotional · 19:21
“it put a stamp on it because i always felt yeah the gold seal definitely put a stamp on it”
Hot take · 20:29
“small jobs in construction i don't think there's a better place to come out of”
Hot take · 24:32
“with pmco we focused early on different software and technologies so we can scale quickly”
Hot take · 25:38
“we really got to kill the narrative that this is not business or professional”
Framework · 31:07
“we really noticed a shift when covid hit”
Framework · 34:16
“there's that disconnect of the landlord and the contractor and the tenant”
Emotional · 41:55
“i love the saying if one of us goes to war we all go to war”
All 12 lessons from this episode, on one page.
Sent to your inbox. The receipts included.
// FEATURED BUSINESSES
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
CANS courses count toward Gold Seal certification
Confirmed: All CANS education and training courses are Gold Seal accredited. CANS offers 60+ programs annually. Gold Seal candidates require a minimum of 25 construction-related training credits; CANS credits apply at 1 credit per 3 hours of training up to 10 credits per course.
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
// PROJECTS NAMED
Pizza GoGo fit-upEl Mercado restaurant buildRCS Bedford office buildHammonds Plains commercial lease (unnamed practice)
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · WZK97j_QT4c