Alumnus builds his future one home at a time
Justin Cooper said he has a lot in common with students at USU. In fact, he used to be one himself.
Cooper, a Cache Valley resident for most of his life, said he now owns his own business, here in Logan.
Cooper said he started his construction business in 1997 and received his bachelor’s degree in finance shortly thereafter.
“Everything I learned (at USU) could be applied to just about any business,” Cooper said. “They all operate the same, it’s just that you sell a different widget to a different demographic of people at a different price point.”
He said the real key to any business is who is hired, His advice is to always hire smarter than yourself.
“If you hire the right people, you can do it,” Cooper said.
As co-owner of Mt Sterling Custom Homes, Cooper said he oversees all the production, estimates and marketing that go along with building homes.
“I have individuals I oversee and communicate with all day to make sure homes are built the way they’ve been designed and the way they need to be built,” Cooper said. “We make sure costs are in line so that we know when we tell someone it’s going to cost ‘X’ amount, it costs ‘X’ amount.”
Cooper and his partner Jeff Jackson meet daily to discuss smaller issues and weekly to go over duties and make sure things are in line. Cooper said he met Jackson through the
Cache Valley Home Builders Association. At the time, Cooper was its president and Jackson was the vice president.
In 2004, Cooper and Jackson merged their two companies and expertise to design and build custom homes. Jackson’s main role is the accounting and land development while
Cooper’s is overseeing construction and quality control.
“They both have basically grown up in construction,” said Whitney Kartchner, the pre-construction manager for Mt Sterling. “They had their own companies going, and then they merged to create Visionary Homes (a residential home builder) about six years ago.”
Cooper said Mt Sterling builds about 50 homes a year in Cache Valley.
“We’re very busy, and for our industry to be busy at this time is a blessing,” Cooper said.
Cooper said he worked through college doing construction work.
“It’s always been a love and a passion to essentially take nothing and construct something you can walk away from and say, ‘That looks good,'” Cooper said. “There’s a sense of accomplishment.”
Cooper said working and going to school full time while trying to support a family was difficult. It took him six years to complete his degree. Although he saw himself working for a big business out of state, initially, he said after graduation he decided to stick around, even though he received several job offers out of state.
“My wife and I felt that we would pursue another one locally first, which we enjoyed. It was a good experience,” Cooper said. “It opened my eyes to what really can be made and done out there. It helped give me a better direction and vision of what I want to do in life.”
Cooper grew up in Wellsville where now resides. He said it’s a good place to raise a family.
“Owning any business whether large or small adds a lot of stress,” he said. “It’s a lot different than punching in and punching out at the end of the day and leaving those worries on your desk.”
Jackson said starting a business can be a slow and difficult process. “It’s easier when you have the right employees, and we have the right employees,” he said. “If we train them well and then just get out of their way, they do it better than we can do.”
Jackson advises those interested in starting a business to be sure to have a passion for what they’re getting into.
Passion and drive may be important in starting a business, but he said there are many steps involved to keeping a new business afloat.
“So many people get into business because they have a technical skill, meaning that they know how to make a widget,” Jackson said. “Owning your own business is a completely different mindset than being a good technician. You’ve got to understand a lot more than just the product you’re producing.”
Cooper said there is something to be said about hard work and a good education.
“Small decisions can really change your life,” he said. “Do what you enjoy and be the best at it,”
– audrey.moulton@aggiemail.usu.edu