Chasing Sunshine: The Gomillions' Move to Bradenton

Dan and Erika Gomillion are looking into a brighter future after making an emotional move to the Sunshine State and settling in Bradenton.

When the world shut down in 2020, many businesses struggled to survive. But for Erika and Dan, co-owners of their homebuilding company Burning River Builders, this crisis ignited a bold jump from Cleveland to sunny Bradenton.

"During the COVID disaster, a lot of our commercial accounts pretty much went dead," Erika recalls. "People stopped going to the offices. They didn't want to commit so much money to projects moving further because we did a ton of office building remodels and maintenance. So, business was not going well."

As projects dried up, so did their finances. They had children to provide for, and the pressure was on. And a single question lingered in the air: Now what?

Amidst this downturn, Dan saw an opportunity to relocate and start anew.

"He always wanted to move somewhere warmer," Erika says. "He moved down here within three months and was like, 'I think we should live here. The quality of life is just better.'"

As Dan had gone ahead of his wife and children to set up everything, so the family was now separated by 1,000 miles. The separation was gut-wrenching, but this was a family determined to survive.

"We sold everything, including our building, equipment, and supplies, and left our home in Cleveland behind," Erika adds.

After several months, Erika and her children had an emotional reunion, bringing the Gomillion family together once more.

Before long, the family noticed another big change after settling in Bradenton.

"The vibe is really laid back," Erika said. "Everybody's more content. There's not a lot of pressure to keep up with people or to have a certain image. And there are so many more people; the population is really big, but the range of socio-economic demographics is so vast that you get a lot more diversity."

Dan's journey into construction began long before Burning River Builders.

"He started doing construction at 18 years old," Erika shared.

In a surprise revelation that few people know, Dan was also a homicide detective, a far cry from his work slinging hammers and concrete.

Erika explained, "It got to the point where he wasn't being paid well and was busy enough doing construction. When we knew we were going to get married and have kids, he stopped police work and just went full-on into construction."

This background has shaped Dan's approach to business. "He's very honest, transparent, and extremely knowledgeable," Erika notes. "He always wants to stay ahead of the client, stay on schedule, and get things done the right way so we can move on to the next job."

Despite their success, Erika remains humble.

"I think part of being from the Midwest and being brought up by small business owners instills a certain work ethic," she reflects.

That work ethic and sense of determination are what led the Gomillions to the Bradenton area, a place they now call home.