The Buresh family has a long history in home construction; Dennis Buresh has owned Contemporary Builders Ltd., a contracting company, for 50 years. His son, Brian, has over 20 years experience in doing millwork for others. For several years the family had dreamed of constructing a millwork shop that would allow them to better serve the needs of their customers. The shop would enable them to source their own millwork and provide excellent quality products to others in the construction trade.

In April 2008, Brian began searching for an ideal location to rent for the business and it appeared everything was going smoothly. However, Brian had no way of knowing what type of disaster lay ahead in the coming days and the effect it would have on the community and his family’s new business.

In mid-June, just when Brian thought he’d found an ideal property to rent for the new business, torrential rains began and continued for days, turning the Cedar Rapids metro area into a ravaged flood zone. The city of Cedar Rapids and affected neighboring towns were the topic of national news reports for several weeks. City residents and business owners watched in horror as their homes and businesses were swallowed up by the rushing rapids of the Cedar River, which finally crested ten feet above flood stage. Most of the downtown, including historical neighborhoods and older riverside industrial areas, were under water.

After several days the waters began to subside, revealing massive destruction, with many areas of Cedar Rapids resembling a war zone. To his dismay, Brian’s proposed business location was under water and no longer a feasible site to rent. He went back to his search, only this time a location within the city was not available to him because so many displaced businesses had snatched them up. Brian needed help with legal, financial and business start-up issues, including advice on where to locate.

Brian heard about the Kirkwood Small Business Development Center through their financial institution. He knew he needed some professional business start-up guidance to bring his dream to reality, so he set up an appointment with Regional Director Al Beach.

Brian took advantage of Al’s extensive business planning knowledge. During their consultations, Al gave Brian a template to assist him in creating his own business plan. With Al’s help, as part of the planning process, Brian determined:

• Market opportunities and risks associated with the venture
• Alternative legal structures
• Methods for assessing the benefits and costs of rent-versus-buy alternatives
• Valuing the business, including where to obtain necessary information
• The need for accurate, high quality financial statements for decision making.

Because of the Buresh family’s extensive research and hard work, combined with assistance from Al Beach, they were able to locate and purchase an ideal location at the BECCA Industrial Park in Urbana, about 30 miles from downtown Cedar Rapids. They built their 5,400 square foot heated facility with in-floor heat for lower utility bills and started operations in September with five employees.

The company was established as a free-standing division of Contemporary Builders Ltd. and it manufactures and distributes high quality mid- and high-end millwork to wholesalers and retail customers on a just-in-time production schedule. Officers are Dennis Buresh, President; Brian Buresh, Vice President/COO; Bradley Buresh, Vice President.

Brian is thankful for the invaluable assistance from the Small Business Development Center that enabled him to put together a very realistic business plan. The total cost of land acquisition and building construction was $357,500. He and his family were able to put 20% down and finance the remainder through a combination of a standard commercial loan and a LIFTS loan through the State of Iowa.

Hills Bank & Trust commercial banking officer Brad Joens assisted the Buresh family throughout the loan process. He was pleased with Brian’s industry knowledge and quality business plan as well as with the assistance provided by the Small Business Development Center. According to Brad, “When clients work with Al and the SBDC they become well educated and understand the important steps in starting and operating a business. Buresh Architectural Millwork is a great example of this. It was evident from my initial appointment with Brian that he was well informed, as he provided a comprehensive business plan. I am confident that the Bureshes will continue to use professional resources and their business plan to evolve into a successful company.”

The Buresh family realizes that with the effects of the flood on area property, the demand for their millwork will be at an all time high. They credit Al Beach and Brad Joens for helping to make this dream become reality. Brian says, “The SBDC helped me to put together a very realistic plan to start our business. I think that after going through the process, it gave me a solid base to start a good solid business. From real estate to financials, to overhead cost to future growth of the business, after going through this with Al, I couldn’t imagine not starting a business in this manner. Thanks for all the great help, Al Beach; I would recommend your help to anyone considering starting a business.”

Buresh Architectural Millwork is proof that with some good solid business guidance, a negative event can produce a positive outcome.