MTLContractors.ca: a labour of brotherly love

You could call MTL Contractors a labour of love for founders, co-owners and brothers Zack and Jesse Jurkowski. `

Love not only for skill and craft of home renovation, but also for teaching others the ropes through their online presence.

“Something that we really pride ourselves in is community over competition,” says Jesse. “We love to help out other guys in the industry and bring this old industry into the new age.”

The Jurkowski brothers come by their passion honestly, as third-generation residential contractors, proudly operating in Montreal.

“We’re building on 75 years of experience—so it’s a bit of a family legacy for us,” says Zack. “We like to say that construction runs in our blood—it’s something that was passed down from grandfather to father to us. And we hope to pass it down to our kids someday.”

Building community, one post at a time

Before mtlcontractors.ca ever existed, the Jurkowskis had Jesse’s personal Instagram account.

“I would see other contractors posting [videos] and thought, ‘hmm, why won’t we do that,’” Jesse recalls. “It started off with me just trying to push our business and then kind of took on a life of its own.”

That “life of its own” included everything from lighthearted day-on-the-job videos to how-to tutorials helping would-be handymen through the gauntlet of home repairs.

“I would say that we’ve managed to cultivate a community,” says Jesse. “It’s something I didn’t have myself when I was starting out 20 years ago. We’re able to share the knowledge that a lot of tradespeople hold in their heads and then watch people build themselves up.”

Building up business capacity with .CA

Eventually, the brothers decided that, in order to bring their business to a new level, they couldn’t be the ones doing everything. So, not only did the MTL Contractors team grow, but so did their online presence.

“I think, in this day and age, you can’t afford to not have a website. It’s the first impression of you when somebody finds out about your company,” adds Zack. “At the end of the day, I feel like clients don’t choose you based on your qualifications alone—they choose you based on who you are.”

To the brothers, their website is the best salesperson they could ever ask for.

“It’s always on, it’s available 24/7. You don’t have to coach it, you set it up… and it just does its own work,” say Jesse. “So, I think a website’s a no-brainer as a first step when setting up your business.”

.CA means proudly local

For a community-rooted business, a .CA domain seemed like the obvious choice. In fact, says Zack, it “screamed local.”

“I think picking a .CA for us was kind of the only option—we’re born and raised in Montreal. We’re proud Canadians, proud Quebecers,” he says.

“Our .CA lets people know that we’re not some faceless, nameless corporation. We’re neighbours and members of their community,” Jesse adds. “We want people to get that message when they’re visiting our website.”

Leaving a lasting mark

In addition to their top-notch workmanship, the Jurkowskis are keen to see their online presence help grow the business.

“A lot of companies in the construction industry are really old-school. Something that’s given us a leg-up is being open to the concept of social media, having a website and using it to connect with people. That’s what’s going to spread us nationwide,” says Jesse.

But to the brothers, awareness of their business is great but so is leaving a lasting mark through the hard-won information they share via channels like their blog.

“Having a blog has really increased the amount of people who can see us and get to know us and our expertise,” says Zack. “Being able to share knowledge with people, then watch them have success on their own—it just feels like you’re making a tangible impact on the community and it’s a beautiful thing.”