A Conversation With ... Shannon and Jana Lee

Tell us about your company.

Shannon Lee: SR Lee Inc. is the official name of the company. And under that umbrella, there are three companies. LeeCraft Woodworks is the custom-cabinet side. We do our own custom cabinetry, finish details, furniture … primarily (for) our own projects. Then there’s SR Lee Properties, our commercial property division … and then … Rock Solid Construction is our main enterprise. Rock Solid is a remodeling contracting company founded in 1995. We do probably 90 percent residential remodeling, and we have 10 employees. We try to stay in a 40- to 50-mile radius of Springfield, but depending on the project, we have gone to Table Rock Lake and Lake of the Ozarks.

We have another company we haven’t utilized much, LeeCraft Homes. We’re looking into some options there.

Tell us about receiving the Builder Member of the Year Award.

S.L.: It was very, very humbling. I was totally surprised.

Jana Lee: He was shocked.

S.L.: I guess surprised is a little bit of an understatement. I look at all the big names … of my predecessors (who) have been given that award, and it’s really a high mark for me to try to maintain. … And it gives us another level of credibility. We’ve been steadily growing … and it’s a reward for all the hard work.

Shannon, as the chairman of HBA’s Remodelors’ Council, tell us about issues the council helps its members handle?

S.L.: Accountability is a big thing. Members are held to a certain standard so that (consumers) are assured that we have insurance and we’re reputable, and we’ve been doing business for a minimum of two years. We try to promote the fact that there are reputable people, unlike all the stories that seem to make headlines or the news. We have a little more than 250 years of (industry) experience on the council.

What goals do you have for your company?

S.L.: Well, I want to keep growing (and) if people need remodeling, I’d like for our name to be their first thought. … There’s a lot of very good people out there. I’d just like to be the first thought (when there’s) a remodeling project, or, in the future, a new home to build.

J.L.: We do have aspirations to maybe even develop someday. That’s something that we have talked about because a lot of the developments are so limited in the styles that they will allow. We would like to be able to develop something where not every home has to (be the same).

S.L.: … I have issues with being dictated as to exactly what the roof has to look like, the color of the brick, and the driveway has to be here … those are personal issues. I would like a lot more freedom.

Some people say the new-homes market is slowing down. How does that affect your business?

S.L.: It helps us on one side, because it kind of reinforces the thought in some builders’ minds that they don’t really want to be in remodeling, because as it slows down, some of them will try their hand at it and decide ‘this is not what I want to do.’ Remodeling, traditionally, has not had the peaks and valleys like new home construction does. A lot of our large projects … were done at times when interest rates were very high and the economy was at its lowest points.

J.L.: … I can see maybe a neat return to … not a lot of unused space just for the sake of having so much square footage, but making the most of the square footage you have. That’s something we do in our remodeling. … Look at how you live and the spaces you use. Maybe you could knock (a) wall out and enlarge two rooms so they flow together. Or maybe you could do some built-in storage. That’s what we do a lot of with our custom cabinet shop … because you can utilize every square inch … of the space that you have.

Tell us about your family.

J.L.: Our son, Jeremiah, works here. He began as a clean-up person. We didn’t give him any fancy title to start with. He decided … he wanted to work for us full time about five years ago. He became a carpenter’s helper … so we put him next to good carpenters so he could learn. About six months ago, he decided he wanted to keep this as his career and work toward taking Rock Solid over as we branch out into other things. He’s the vice president of sales and is working with a business coach. Our daughter, Jessica, is here part time as our afternoon receptionist. She’s at Missouri State University, planning to go into their nursing program to be a nurse practitioner. Then we have 5-year-old, Emma. It’s hard to tell whether she’ll be interested in coming into the business. Shannon’s mother, Mary, is our morning receptionist, handling bookkeeping and things like that. Jeremiah’s wife, Jennifer, is having a baby in December, so we’re also about to become grandparents.[[In-content Ad]]