Nov-2017

86 87 market is what we do–we’re really good at it, and the market is really hot for that.” Of course that market was not always as hot as it is today, and like many in the home construction sector, the Great Recession forced CG&S to adapt to a new normal.“We had a pretty strong pipeline, and so 2009 and ’10 weren’t that hard,”Davis recounts.“2011,’12, and ’13 were really our struggle years. So,we did what everyone else did–we tried to get as lean as we could and we worked on promoting other busi- ness avenues.We still focused on the design-build side, but we also put a lot of attention on marketing repairs and maintenance–window replacement and those kinds of remodeling projects; things that people still needed to do to their homes, but were less expansive.” According to Davis, being in the Austin area also helped mitigate the damage of the downturn.“The Austin market didn’t expand as much as the other markets did, so it didn’t collapse as hard,” she relates. And our rebound happened more quickly than the rest of the country because a lot of people moved here, a lot of people wanted to start businesses here; healthcare and the tech industries were growing, so that helped create a rebound.Also,we have a huge university and we’re a state capital, so we have all the state employees here.” Today, business is booming.“In 2016,we probably did 60-70 projects,”Davis says.“This year,we’re seeing fewer projects, but our project size has gotten bigger –from $175,000 to $300,000. So,we’re doing fewer projects, but larger ones.” Davis believes that CG&S Design-Build differenti- ates itself from other construction firms in the area in that it is a “true”design-build company.“What I mean by that is we’re not a construction company that part- ners with designers or architects; we have designers and architects in-house, so we essentially have our CG&S DESIGN-BUILD own architectural firm, as well as a construc- tion company,” she states.“And I think that people are attracted to a design-build model where they can get everything under one roof.And we have a history and somewhat of a legacy here in the Austin area, so we can provide a sense of stability and longevity. We promote that and we help people feel comfortable and safe in their decisions.” Davis reveals that one of the company’s current challenges is adapting its products and services to the next generation of home- owners.“We have a whole newMillennial generation coming up and I think that people in our industry have to understand that that generation is very unique; you have to understand who they are, how they think, how they buy, and what is important to them.” She adds that paying attention to the “next disruptive technology,” is equal- ly important: “How people live in their homes is going to be very different. Now, the buzzword is home automation, but I think it’s going to be even greater than when you walk in and tell a little comput- er to do XYZ. So, I think paying attention to the future, understanding how technology impacts our world and how you work that into the client’s needs and wants, is im- portant to know.” Another challenge, as Davis looks ahead, is finding enough skilled and willing workers. “I’m concerned that we don’t have enough of a workforce to sustain our building growth,” she admits. “And that has to change; there has to be some big dynamic shift of focus in building up our workforce so that we have enough people interested in the trades, working in con- struction,working with their hands.That’s one of those things that you can’t farm out to another country.And if the students aren’t