Brian has been in the construction business for 21 years. He started his first construction company in the Des Moines area in 2007 and his company became Brighton Homes in 2013. Brian is currently serving as the President of the Home Builders Association of Des Moines.
As the business owner, Brian spends time in the office taking care of the typical business management activities, but frequently he can be found on the job site helping to get done what needs to be done.
If he could do one thing all day long, he would trim. “That is my passion, that’s where I come from. I would hang cabinets, make a built-in or a fireplace mantel. If I could pick one thing, that is what I would do all day.”
“I think a lot of things go into an extraordinary home. The decision about two years ago, to employ people that actually do the physical labor in the home was the first step. I felt like having our own staff to do the framing portion and the trim portion took away a lot of the worry. These are two of the most important factors in a new home. From my perspective, extraordinary means it's more than just a means to an end. At the end of the day, it’s a legacy. I want to be able to drive my son by a project that we completed when he is old enough to understand, and I want it to look as good that day as the day we built it.
“When you walk into a home that we have built, it feels different. It feels like there’s been more put into it. More care, more time, the little touches and attention to details then you would see in most houses you walk into. That defines extraordinary to me—when it just feels different when you walk in.
“Obviously, a happy customer is the end goal. A happy customer when we turn over the keys, but also five years from now. We get to be pretty good friends with the customers we build for. It can become a long process when you consider the time from design to construction through the warranty process.
“It can be an 18-month to two-year process and we are talking often, so you need to like your builder. Obviously, budget and price are important. But having someone with a good relationship and one you can trust allows the rest to fall in line.
“When it comes to making sure we are taking the steps to make an extraordinary home, the fortunate thing for me is, I’m blessed to have the employees I have. I don’t have to beat quality into the guys every day. They show up and they care about what they do every day. Which is why having employees has been very rewarding for me. It's not like I need to tell them what I expect for quality. They just get it. They care, and they want to do their best every day on the jobsite.”
Favorite childhood toy: "My first remote control truck, I played with it until it fell apart."
Favorite tool: "The skill saw because I like cutting things. On the trim side, my favorite tool is the router because it can do some really cool things."
