“Building homes for people is a very special opportunity.
As long as our people feel that way, they they will do a good
job.”
That was the message David Weekley, chairman of David Weekley
Homes, brought to area home builders at a recent meeting of the
Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia.
At the gathering, held at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center
in Peachtree City, Weekley talked about how he started out as
a small builder. The company, which is headquartered in Texas,
entered the Atlanta market five years ago and is now the country’s
second largest privately-held builder and the No. 20 builder
overall.
Noting that the building business is “about enhancing people’s
lives”, Weekley said his company’s focus is on “our
building team, our customers, and out communities”, adding
that the payoff comes when the “values of the people and
the values of our company match”.
“I don’t know if there’s a more important business
in the country than building,” he told the large crowd in
attendance. “If you do a great job, you can change people’s
lives.”
Emphasizing that his company gives a lot of attention to customer
service, Weekley said that “communications is hugh. Ninety-nine
times out of 100 when there’s a problem, it’s because
of a problem with communications.”
He advised builders whose companies are growing to “get
out of the way and let your employees grow. Don’t focus
on money, always focus on your customers, and keep learning.
Profitability is the end result of doing our job right.”
Commenting on the Atlanta market, he said that Atlanta is a
very tough market. “There’s lots of competition, but
Atlanta can be a great long term market.”
Weekley began his home building company when he was 23 years
of age, and since 1976, he has been recognized twice by Inc.
Magazine as having one of America’s 500 fastest-growing
companies and three times by Fortune Magazine as amount the “100
Best Companies To Work For.”
In 1986, he was the National Association of Home Builders’ Builder
of the Year. In 2000, David Weekley Homes was ranked Highest
in Customer Satisfaction among new home builders in the Dallas/Ft.
Worth area, according to J. D. Power and Associates, and the
company received the same honor in Tampa in 2002 and Austin in
2003.
David Weekley Homes has earned well over 500 honors in the areas
of product design, marketing and management and closed almost
$1 billion worth of new homes in 14 different cities in 2003.
Sponsors for the meeting where Weekley spoke were Arrow Exterminators
and Builders Insurance Group.
The Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia serves builders
in Fayette, Coweta, Spalding, Meriwether, Heard, Pike, Upson,
Lamar, Butts and Jasper Counties. More information about the
group can be obtained by calling the association office at 770-716-7109.
