On January 1, 2022, Michael Nesbitt took full ownership of Springfield-based Nesbitt Construction. Since 1977 Michael’s father Bill has been at the helm, with Michael joining the company full time after college, and rising to the rank of president in 2017. While the plan was for Michael to continue the business upon Bill’s retirement, when the pandemic hit in 2020, Bill took that as an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day workings of the company and really throw the reins to Michael. The paperwork was drawn up and the sale was finalized mid-pandemic. “The pandemic definitely sped up the succession process,” said Michael Nesbitt. “Taking the risk in the middle of a global pandemic, with market and materials instability, was really a leap of faith.”
Since taking ownership, Michael Nesbitt has refined strategies for the company. “The role of the contractor has evolved to where front-end input from the contractor is tantamount to successful projects. The collaborative design process leads to increased efficiency and cost savings for the clients throughout the course of the project,” said Nesbitt.
Embracing this process has allowed Nesbitt the time to focus and expand business within commercial and industrial construction and remodeling. And there’s no sign of the company slowing down any time soon. “We’ve increased our volume since before the pandemic,” said Nesbitt. In fact, over the past three years, Nesbitt’s per year project volume has more than doubled.
“We’re excited by this continuous growth as it was one of my main goals when taking over,” said Nesbitt. He noted that Nesbitt Construction does a lot of new construction and large-scale remodeling. In both types of projects, “It is key to ascertain a client’s goals early on, figuring out budgets and scheduling to ensure the project fits the client, while making the whole process come off as seamlessly as possible.”
One advantage to being around since 1977 is that everyone in and out of the industry knows the name Nesbitt Construction. With that comes a degree of respect and the ability to create and sustain relationships with the area’s top architectural, engineering and design firms. This means the right design team for each and every project is just a phone call away for Nesbitt.
In May of 2023, Nesbitt received the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification from the state of Missouri. This certification will give Nesbitt Construction opportunities to work closely with municipal, state and federal entities, plus larger corporations looking to support minority-owned businesses. “We’ve always worked in both the public and private sectors, and that won’t change,” said Nesbitt. “The MBE Certification is a growth strategy I had planned on ever since I thought of succeeding my father, all thanks to my mother’s heritage.”
While the reins at Nesbitt Construction may have passed from father to son, one thing will always remain the same at the company and that is the small business, family-oriented culture that is at the heart of Nesbitt Construction. “I enjoy the small business culture and environment as it allows for a good work-life balance.”
