Jose Sandoval was born in El Salvador and came to the United States when he was 10 years old. His father moved his family here because he thought he could provide his family with a better life. So the family moved to Santa Ana, Calif., to pursue the American dream.

Sandoval loved sports growing up in California, especially soccer, which he still plays today. When Sandoval turned 19, he moved back to El Salvador to graduate from a prep school there, and while there, he met his future wife.

After Sandoval got married, a friend living in Rehoboth Beach encouraged him to move back to the United States and helped him secure a job as a cook in the evening at Big Fish Grill. He worked there for a few years while doing drywall installation and painting during the day. 

Sandoval saw greater possibilities to be able to work for himself in the drywall and painting business, so he left his job as a cook and started his own business in 2005. He named the business after his oldest son, Donovan. His wife, Karen, is his partner and runs the back office.

At that time, he had just two other employees, and the three of them worked hard to develop a reputation for being customer-focused and doing quality work. Sandoval’s business has grown substantially since those early days, and today he does work for a number of both national and local custom-home builders in addition to some commercial work. 

As Sandoval can attest, it is very demanding to start and grow a business like his, but he doesn’t consider it work.

“When you enjoy what you do, it’s not really work, and I love what I do,” he said. 

The key to the growth at Donovan’s has been the people who work there. In addition, members of his extended family play an important role in the success of his business. He says it’s important to pay people well, but even more important to treat people well.

“I always treat people the way I would want to be treated,” he said.

He says that starts with his supervisors and cascades down through the rest of his company. He feels fortunate to watch his business grow and is grateful for the team of people he has been able to assemble. 

As Sandoval looks into his crystal ball, he sees Donovan’s continuing to grow along with the community. He appreciates the community that has shown his family and his business so much support. As a result, he feels strongly about giving back to that same community and does so in a variety of ways. With his love of sports, he enjoys sponsoring children’s soccer and basketball teams.

He has also played an important role in helping the homeless in our area. When a group of small houses was built in Georgetown to provide a place for people to call home, Sandoval and his employees provided the materials and the labor to help make that community a reality. 

What Sandoval finds most rewarding about his business is being able to see satisfied customers. Following his lead, his employees are always willing to take that extra step to please their customers.

“I hear from our customers all the time, they are very happy with our work and will make sure to recommend family and friends if they need painting or drywall work done in their homes,” he said. “It fills me with pride to hear people say that and know they trust us to come do work in their homes.”

Sandoval’s biggest challenge is ensuring a healthy work-life balance. His business is very demanding, with schedules changing constantly, and he is always available to his people to ensure they have what they need. At the same time, it is a priority to Sandoval to support his son Donovan, who is a pre-med student at the University of Miami, and to be present to watch his younger son Fabian play sports. 

When asked what advice he would give to his 18-year-old self, it would be to never give up on his dreams. Sandoval has learned that building a business requires hard work, and there will no doubt be obstacles that get in the way. But Sandoval has a strong belief that honesty and hard work will be rewarded.

“If you give of yourself, you will always receive back even more,” he said.

It’s great advice for raising a family and building a business, both of which Sandoval knows how to do very successfully.