Young guns shoot for success with new joint business ventures

[June 08, 2022]  

When three young entrepreneurs, all with deep roots in Logan County decide to put their heads together as well as their ambitions and dreams, the outcome will surely be good for the community. This summer, three such fellows, all under the age of 30 are doing just that, and as expected, the business community in Lincoln is going to benefit.


Left to right: Levi Curry, Colby Leith, and Ty Tucker on the day the three closed on their new property at 1112 Keokuk in Lincoln.

Ty Tucker, Levi Curry, and Colby Leith, fondly referred to as “young guns” by Tucker are indeed “shooting” for something bigger and better and have hit the target with a recent purchase of an empty business property in the northeast part of town. The three have purchased what was once a farm supply store, also a print shop, and most recently a manufacturing facility for running gears for the large seed containers used today in transferring seed into planters in the field.



The property, located at 1112 Keokuk is tucked between the Timbercrest Veterinary Clinic and a large building that is currently being transformed into two new businesses including a new laundromat in town.
 

The property owned by the three young guns sits on about two acres and has three buildings that will eventually be transformed into an auction house for Tucker and Curry, a new location for Dean Leith Plumbing for Leith, plus self-storage rental units for the public. There are also plans to build a fourth building on the property that will also be storage units. One of the trio’s three businesses, CT Power Washing, will remain in its current location at the former Bode Welding Shop on Sangamon Street in Lincoln.

So, how did these three come together? Curry and Tucker say that they have been friends since they were kids, and they’ve known Leith for quite some time. Curry and Tucker began working together a few years ago and started up the power washing business as well as the auction service.
 

They have also worked together on "flip houses” and rental properties, and it was while doing work on one of these projects that they came to have Leith join their efforts. Tucker explained that Leith was doing some plumbing work for them on one of those properties and the three were talking about the business ventures of Curry and Tucker. Leith said he would be interested in getting involved in some future investments with the two. That’s what happened. Then as time went along, they began talking about the situations they were in with their individual businesses.

Colby Leith is the son of Mark and Mindy Leith, and the grandson of Dean Leith who started Dean Leith Plumbing. For the past several years, Colby has been working with his dad in the plumbing business and is interested in taking over the business fully when his dad is ready to pass the torch.

Dean Leith Plumbing is located on Broadway Street downtown, but the business is outgrowing the building.

The new purchase on Keokuk Street will become the new home of Dean Leith Plumbing. It will provide more space for merchandise and people.

Tucker has been auctioneering since he was 14 years old. He has other business interests as well including the flip houses, the power washing partnership with Curry, and he works for ME Realty in Lincoln.

Tucker and Curry went in together to form the original partnership and both are involved in the power washing and the auction business. Tucker said that the Bode welding shop property was a good location to start but it had its pitfalls. While it works well for the power washing, it was not working out all that well for auctions. The draw back was the space needed for on-site auctions. Tucker said that the space was limited and indoor options were just not available.

With the new space, there is plenty of room out front for wagons for outdoor options, and an indoor option could be made available it the weather turns sour on auction day.

Tucker said that he has a lot of different interests and he had thought of the auction business as more or less a hobby, but that hobby is growing into something much bigger, and he’s okay with that too.

While the site is still a work in progress for the retail and shop space as well as many other aspects, Tucker already has his first on-site auction booked for Saturday, June 11th. On the day of the interview with Tucker and Curry the back shop area was filled to overflowing with the items that will be auctioned off and work was underway getting everything sorted and set up on wagons that will be pulled out into the front lot on auction day.

Curry is another one who has multiple interests including his full time job as a line man for Ameren. He started out in the power washing business at the suggestion of his dad, Rob Curry. Levi said that Rob had suggested to his son that there was a need for that type of service, and that it was something that perhaps dad and son could get involved with together. It didn’t quite work out though, because Rob experienced some health issues that meant the hard work associated with power washing was not going to be in the cards for him. But, Levi continued on with the plan, again as a sideline job to supplement his full time job with Ameren.

On the day of their interview, it was supposed to be all three guys together at one time. But, a plumbing emergency took Colby Leith out of the equation for the moment. He called Tucker at the time everyone was supposed to meet at the new location and reported that he was down in a hole covered with mud and wouldn’t be able to make it.

Tucker said that is the type of work ethic that makes all three of the guys optimistic about their future endeavors. They are keeping their priorities straight and are giving their full attention to growing the three businesses in this new partnership.

Tucker is from Lincoln and as stated earlier he began auctioneering when he was 14 with the support of his parents Scott and Kelly Tucker. His brother Cody is also an auctioneer. Tucker is now 25 and looking forward to the future and seeing the growth and success of all three businesses.

Curry is also a Logan County native. His dad is Rob Curry and his mom is Lisa Berschneider. He too is 25 and looking forward to many years doing just what he is doing now. He noted that when he was in high school, he knew what he wanted to do. He had told teachers that he was not going to college because he wanted to be a lineman and a degree was not required. Some of his teachers had scoffed at this saying that success is tied to a college degree. Curry said that isn’t always the case. There is a demand for people who are willing to do manual labor jobs and after all, you don’t call a doctor to fix a broken water line or power wash your combine.

Of the three young entrepreneurs, Leith is the “old man” at the age of 27. He has grown up in the family business starting with watching and tagging along as a kid with his granddad and dad. Now, he is just a few days away from getting his official plumbers license and is looking forward to growing his family legacy in a new location.

The interior of the main building is still being cleaned out and re-modeled to suit the plumbing business and it may take a while to get all that in order, so don’t look for Dean Leith Plumbing to be moving from its Broadway Street location immediately, but eventually it will all come together according to the master plan.

In the meantime, Tucker is looking forward to utilizing the space for the auctions starting next week.

Good luck to all three guys. It looks like the newest set of young guns in Lincoln are on the road to greater things and we should all look forward to seeing what they do in the future.

[Nila Smith]