Image Builders & Associates fast-tracks business success

by Clarissa A. French

SBJ Staff

In 1995, Image Builders & Associates Inc. went into business with "about a thousand dollars, an old truck and a credit card," said owner and Vice President Dave Everhart.

Now almost 4 years old, the general contracting company that specializes in fast-track commercial projects anticipates revenues of $30 million by the end of the year.

The company has an average completion time of 14 weeks or less on projects valued at $500,000 to $1 million, according to owner and President Elmer "Bud" Everhart.

"Last year we did a $1 million job in four weeks and did a $2 million job up in St. Cloud, Minn., in 16 weeks in the dead of winter up there, and that's unheard of," he said.

Image Builders began in Springfield in a tiny building with seven employees, includ-ing the three owners. As it grew, it moved, first to a garage on East Division, then to a house up the street, then to a 5,000-square-foot rental space in Nixa, Dave Everhart said.

In July, the firm held an open house for its new 10,000-square-foot building at 1752 N. Deffer in Nixa.

The Image Builders story begins like many a startup: Bud Everhart, Dave Everhart and Gerald Beard, three men with years of hands-on experience in various aspects of their shared industry, decide to join forces and form their own company.

But that's where the "typical" startup story ends. In its first year, Image Builders brought in $3.9 million