The Accunet Ambassadors | Andy Renner | JRL Improvements

From Side Hustle to Full-Time Success: The Andy Renner Story

How one man turned weekend projects into a thriving home remodeling business built on relationships and trust

When Andy Renner made the leap from employee to entrepreneur in April 2020, he couldn’t have picked a more uncertain time. COVID-19 had just shut down the world, and walking away from employer-provided health insurance seemed like financial suicide. But sometimes the best opportunities emerge from the most challenging circumstances.

The Organic Beginning

Renner’s journey into home remodeling wasn’t born from a grand business plan or a childhood dream of swinging hammers. Instead, it grew organically from the most relatable of circumstances: being a young homeowner with big dreams and a small budget.

“It really started out by remodeling my own spaces and learning how to do that,” Renner explains. Like countless homeowners before him, he looked around his first house and saw potential everywhere – cabinets that needed painting, floors that had to go, spaces that could be so much more with just a little vision and elbow grease.

What began as necessity-driven DIY projects in his own home gradually evolved into something more. Friends and family members would visit, see the transformations, and inevitably ask the question that would change his life: “Can you do something like this for me?”

For years, Renner lived a double life – full-time employee by day, weekend warrior contractor by night and on weekends. He spent countless hours helping friends and family tackle their own home improvement dreams, all while maintaining his primary career and the security it provided.

The COVID Pivot

By early 2020, the side work had grown substantial enough that Renner was seriously considering making the transition to full-time remodeling. Then the pandemic hit, and conventional wisdom said to hold tight to any steady employment you had.

“I told my wife, I said, I’m an idiot if I walk away from health insurance right now, you know, at a time of complete turmoil,” Renner recalls.

But something unexpected happened during those early months of lockdown: the work kept coming. And not just a little more work – significantly more. As people found themselves spending unprecedented amounts of time in their homes, they began to see their living spaces with fresh eyes. Suddenly, that outdated kitchen or cramped bathroom wasn’t just an inconvenience – it was a daily reminder of what could be better.

The home remodeling industry experienced what Renner diplomatically calls “a windfall.” With travel restricted and entertainment options limited, homeowners redirected their discretionary spending toward making their spaces more functional and beautiful. For contractors like Renner, it created an opportunity that was impossible to ignore.

“I kept getting more work, more and more and more work,” he says. By April 2020, it became a “now or never” moment, and Renner made the leap to full-time entrepreneurship with JRL Improvements.

The Relationship Business

What sets JRL Improvements apart in a crowded field isn’t necessarily the quality of the work – though that’s certainly important – but rather Renner’s understanding that home remodeling is fundamentally a relationship business.

“People have to be comfortable letting somebody you don’t know on a personal basis into your home, into your life, maybe around your wife and children or when you’re not there,” Renner explains. “We’ve all seen Dateline specials and heard horror stories about other people letting others into their home that had a bad experience. Ultimately, it’s about trust.”

This philosophy extends beyond just his direct client relationships. When hiring subcontractors for specialized work like electrical or plumbing, Renner applies what he calls the “family test”: “Would I feel comfortable with these guys being in my home around my wife and my children? If the answer is no, they’re not my subcontractor.”

The approach has proven remarkably effective. Renner’s business operates entirely on word-of-mouth referrals. There are no billboards, no radio ads, no phone number emblazoned on the side of a truck. Just satisfied customers telling their friends and family about their positive experiences.

The Art of Managing Expectations

One of the most challenging aspects of the remodeling business is helping clients navigate the gap between their Pinterest dreams and their real-world budgets. Renner has developed a diplomatic but honest approach to these conversations.

“You can remodel a bathroom for fifteen thousand dollars. You can spend one hundred twenty thousand dollars,” he explains when discussing the wide range of project costs. The key is understanding the client’s goals: Are they remodeling to sell the house quickly, or are they creating a space they’ll enjoy for years to come?

For clients planning to sell, Renner advocates for more conservative choices that will appeal to broad market tastes. For those staying put, he’s happy to install that purple bathroom vanity if it brings joy to their daily routine. The distinction matters because it affects both the investment level and design choices that make sense.

Renner has also developed what might be called the “fifty-fifty rule” for renovation ROI: at best, homeowners should expect to recover about fifty cents of home value for every dollar spent on improvements. The other fifty cents should be viewed as payment for the pleasure and convenience of having exactly what you want in your home.

The Details That Matter

Perhaps the most telling example of Renner’s approach comes from a seemingly small moment during a fireplace mantel installation. While working in a client’s living room, he paused to ask if they’d like an outlet installed on the side of the mantel for holiday decorations.

“The skies opened up and sunshine rained down,” recalls the homeowner. “We were like, oh, my God, that is brilliant.”

That outlet now gets used year-round for seasonal decorations, and the story has become a favorite example of the difference between a contractor who follows a script and one who thinks ahead to how spaces will actually be lived in.

“I don’t want you to look back and go, I wish we would have done this, or I wish we would have done that,” Renner explains. “When the walls are up and you’re physically walking through the space, you need to envision how you’re going to use it. Where’s the couch? Where’s the TV? Because right now it’s easy to do something as simple as an outlet.”

Lessons in Specialization

As JRL Improvements has grown, Renner has learned the value of knowing what not to do. Drywall work, for instance, is firmly on his “no” list – not because he can’t do it, but because specialists can do it better and faster.

“From very early on, I realized that I do not enjoy this, and I would just rather pay somebody else to do it,” he says. “When they’re doing drywall, clients just say, I can’t believe how fast they got that done. It probably would have taken me a minimum of triple the time to do what they did.”

This philosophy extends to other trades as well. While Renner handles many aspects of remodeling work himself, he’s built a network of trusted specialists for electrical, plumbing, and other technical work that requires specific licensing or expertise.

The Future of JRL Improvements

Success in the remodeling business isn’t just measured in completed projects or revenue growth. For Renner, it’s about the relationships built and maintained with clients who trust him with their homes and dreams.

His business model – small, lean, and focused on quality relationships – has proven sustainable even as demand has remained high post-pandemic. The personal approach that started with friends and family has scaled effectively because it’s built on principles that work regardless of how the customer found JRL Improvements.

“I take a lot of pride in what I do,” Renner says. “I really enjoy the client base that I have. You develop a relationship with them throughout the project.”

Looking ahead, Renner continues to focus on what has made JRL Improvements successful: thoughtful communication, quality work, and the understanding that inviting someone into your home to make changes is an act of trust that should never be taken lightly.

For homeowners considering their own renovation projects, Renner’s story offers both inspiration and practical wisdom. Whether you’re contemplating a small bathroom update or a whole-house transformation, the right contractor isn’t just someone who can do the work – it’s someone who understands that your home is where your life happens, and every detail matters.

JRL Improvements specializes in interior remodeling projects throughout the Dallas area. As Andy Renner puts it, they help homes “go from being what they were to what they should be.” For more information about JRL Improvements, contact comes through referrals from satisfied customers who’ve experienced the difference that relationship-focused remodeling can make.