You might know Mark Bowe from his hit TV show, “Barnwood Builders,” which follows Mark and his team as they salvage old barns and cabins—and transform them into beautifully restored structures.

Last week, PracticeLink got to know Mark, too, at the annual PracticeLink company meeting held at our headquarters in Hinton, West Virginia. 

At the meeting, Mark shared the three principles he lives by. They're good reminders whether you’re shoveling coal, hosting a TV show or recruiting physicians. 

PracticeLink director of marketing operations Sarah Elkins shares a laugh with Mark Bowe of Barnwood Builders.

Work hard 

When Mark was about to finish high school, he told his dad that he wanted to be the first person in his family to go to college. His dad agreed to the plan—as long as Mark figured out a way to pay for it.

So to the coal mines he went in order to earn enough to pay tuition.

Nine-hour shifts underground. Striking unions. More nine-hour shifts laying block. So it went, until Mark earned $10,000—then off to college he went. When the money ran out, he headed back to the mines to earn more. 

Mark learned this hard work from his dad, who always worked two jobs—and who encouraged Mark to work right along with him from a young age. 

Eventually, Mark earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from West Virginia University—and a master's degree after that.

Mark Bowe (center) with PracticeLink founder and CEO Ken Allman and family.

Be kind

Early on, Mark and his team walked away from some major networks because they wanted the crew to fight more. But for Mark, the relationships among his team were more important than the potential for ratings.

Then came the meeting at the DIY Network. He noticed immediately that the network’s style was different than others he'd seen. The boss called everyone by name and asked about their kids, their vacations and their work projects.

“You can be kind and make money,” Mark says. “It’s not an either/or thing.”

Holding out for kindness worked.The DIY Network told Mark they’d take the team as they were, no extra drama required.

Barnwood Builders is now the network’s #1 show and has transformed DIY from a background channel to a destination channel. People began, for the first time, tuning in on Sunday evenings specifically to catch Mark and his team.

Take pride

When Mark was a kid, he often went on jobs with his dad. After one job in the 1970s, his dad saved some money for the pop machine at a service station.

In went 50 cents. Out came…nothing.

“You’ll have to call the 800 number on that machine,” said the gas station attendant when Mark's dad complained. “It’s not my machine.”

“Put your seatbelt on,” said Mark’s dad to his son. The older Bowe threw his truck in reverse, rammed and toppled the machine, and drove it all the way to the back of the shop.

Mark’s dad’s response? “It ain’t my machine; you got to call that 800 number.” 

Later, down the road, Mark asked, “Why’d you do that, dad?”

His simple answer: “That man had no pride.”

Mark learned that day to take the opposite approach of the service attendant. The attendant wasn’t willing to put forth any extra effort in order to make a problem right. And, as Mark says, “If you don’t take pride in it, what’s the sense of doing it? If you sell or service something, then you need to own it.”

Following these principles—work hard, be kind and take pride—have helped Mark, his business and his team achieve success. We hope sharing them helps you, too!