By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/YachatsNews
Chris Carlson, owner of C.P. Carlson Builders in Waldport, first started learning about home building in kindergarten. His father, Peter Carlson, was a home builder on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and he often took Chris with him to building sites after school and on weekends.
The family relocated to Waldport in 1977, and Peter Carlson immediately started building homes on the coast. Again, the son was regularly at building sites with his father, learning about all the trades and the business of building without quite realizing he was doing so.
By the time he was 15, Chris Carlson was working with his dad all summer and after school. When he graduated from Waldport High School he chose to continue working with the company instead of going in college, deciding that on-the-job training in the building industry offered a clearer path to success.
Chris Carlson became a foreman when he was 20 years old, and he hasn’t looked back. Fourteen years ago he purchased the business from his father, and in that time it has grown considerably. There were 1 1/2 office employees when he purchased the business; now there are 4 1/2 people in the office, and 7 1/2 craftsmen.
The company builds and remodels custom homes from Yachats to Newport. The business mix changes each year, but a typical year might include four new home builds and three remodels. Presently the building projects include a 10,000 square foot home, a 1,200 square foot home, and several in between those two sizes.
The company doesn’t build commercial buildings any longer, although they did in the past. The building that houses the Blue Whale Restaurant in Yachats, for example, was built when Peter Carlson owned the company.
Question: What have you done to grow the company since you purchased it from your father?
Answer: I wanted the company to become a self-managing entity, and I focused on getting the right people to cover each of the elements of the business — design, engineering, pricing, accounting, hiring and scheduling, among others. My goal was that those key people would be able to work together to complete our projects successfully on their own, without constant oversight from me. Together we have accomplished that. I have a remarkable group of people working with me. They know one another’s roles and they communicate constantly.
I didn’t do this on my own. I enrolled in a coaching program for entrepreneurs. It was extremely helpful, so much so that I stayed in the program for 10 years, only recently taking a break. I also consult with my wife, Julia Carlson, about business decisions. She runs her own successful business. Not long ago I became the chief executive officer of the company, and the role of president is in someone else’s hands. This was really the final step of reaching my goal of making the company run independently from me.
Q: Is it difficult to find subcontractors in our area?
A: There are local people in all the trades in our area. My team focuses on collaborating with our subcontracting partners, working to build honest, strong relationships with them. As a result, we seldom have trouble finding the people we need.
Q: How do you manage client expectations?
A: We’ve learned how important it is to not overcommit. Generally, from start to finish it will take two full years for us to complete a project. That includes the design of the home, which usually includes fitting it to the lot in the best possible way to maximize views; the permitting process; and the build. We must be nimble with our projects. The price of materials and supplies is volatile and that often plays a role in which projects are moving forward at any given time. Also, it’s important to me that my employees have normal work hours — eight hours a day, weekends off. I won’t jeopardize this by overcommitting.
Q: What should one be aware of when building or remodeling a home in our area?
A: One of our mantras is “build it like a boat that doesn’t have to float.” Everything about the exterior construction is most important so the house can withstand wind and rain and salt. It’s critical to choose the best exterior materials and applications. As far as remodels are concerned, deferred maintenance is the biggest issue we see. It’s easy to put off addressing a problem, but doing so always magnifies it.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not managing your company?
A: I stayed in Waldport after high school because I love everything outdoors — hunting, fishing and all water sports. The central Oregon coast offers all of that. Julia and I own a second home on Mercer Lake in Florence, and she and I and our three children spend a lot of time there in the summer. We both learned to sail about 20 years ago, and our favorite vacation is going to the British Virgin Islands. Whenever we can we charter a catamaran there and bring friends and family with us for a sailing trip in this stunning part of the world.
Tell us a secret.
I have always been interested in flying. One basic tenet of flying is that you can’t have a good landing without a good approach. I think that applies to pretty much everything in life. Every challenge or problem or issue has an ending or solution, and those endings for me will be a lot better if my approach has been respectful or informed or collaborative. I think you could say that’s my philosophy of life — I keep striving to have good landings. Also, I am going to start taking flying lessons soon in the safest plane possible.
- Kathleen O’Connor is a Waldport freelance writer who can be reached via email at kmoc8916@gmail.com