Custom builder finds markets silver lining

Friday, July 4, 9:15 AM EDT

By Carole Hawkins,Staff Writer

Then she held an open house.

I invited everybody in the business that I knew, all of our friends and local Realtors, said Johnston, a homebuilder of more than 20 years.

One of her business contacts liked the unique finishes and asked Johnston to build her a custom home at St. Augustine Beach. That was the beginning of Generation Homes and of Johnstons re-emergence as a homebuilder, starting over from scratch.

Johnston, a petite and personable but no-nonsense businesswoman, came into homebuilding through the sales and marketing side of the industry, rather than the construction side.

After moving with her husband in 1982 to Jacksonville, she took a job as a site agent for Summerhomes Inc.

The company president brought ideas like total quality management to his business. He also emphasized training, including cross-training.

He trained builders on how to do sales and he trained salespeople on how to build, Johnston said. While I was working at the model, along with my training, I would go out to the job sites and talk to the plumbers and electricians, and Id ask them questions.

Nine years with Summerhomes prepared Johnston for the next leg of her career a 16-year stint with Mercedes Homes, where she became division president.

Excerpt from:
Custom builder finds markets silver lining