Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leon & Britt Rohrbaugh. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Leon & Britt, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

We started out in 2004 flipping real estate after I was done being an electrician and Britt wanted a career change from being a child care provider. We honed our skills and up-ed our tool collection over a couple of years and flipped quite a few residential properties. After a few open houses, there were several people who didn’t want to purchase the property but did want us to make their kitchen or bathroom look like what we had remodeled, so we got a MN Contracor’s license and started a small remodeling company called Homeworks of Duluth, LLC.

The projects we were getting were becoming exponentially larger & larger, so we reached out to a friend who also had a license and we teamed up and became Better World Builders. After a few years of very large residential and commercial projects, we bought out the business partner so we could concentrate on just residential remodeling and interior painting projects.

Being a mid-sized remodeling company in Duluth, MN allows us the flexibility to provide services in a multitude of areas by managing every project from the beginning to the end and supervising 16+ local companies in the area so we can accomplish nearly job that you could think of. And, quite honestly, after 19 years of doing this, we are still having a hoot! Our main focus has always been sustainable, green building practices and being good stewards of our community and our customer’s homes, and it has really paid off.

Leon & Britt, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started out in the trades in 1997 by attending the electrical program at Lake Superior College and became an electrician. After a few years of drilling holes and puling wires, I moved on to flipping real estate with my wife and it just grew from there. Better World Builders is pretty well know in northern Minnesota and we are fortunate to have an amazing reputation for doing the highest quality work at a decent price point. We have a very loyal client-base, and all of our work is word of mouth.
One thing I wanted to do with this company was provide full transparency to every client, so they know where every penny is being spent. There is no magic to what we do, and I tell everyone,” It’s your money, where would you like to spend it?” Having everyone on the same page with the finances from day one is, in my opinion, the most important part of any project.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my business partner in 1988 when we were 16. (My business partner is also my wife). Our work is a lot of fun, so we get to have a nice time (nearly) every day together at work, and then continue to have fun after we’re finished working. I wouldn’t want to do this company without Britt as the CFO and 50% partner. She’s the best.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

We really believe that we are able to be so successful and complete so many projects every year is because we have the best team in place t handle every job and any hiccup that may come along. Our work is pretty high quality (and we haven’t put out an ad in 12-13 years) and after each job is done, the customers have become friends and steer their friends our way for their projects.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bwbduluth.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterworldbuilders/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/better.world.builders

Image Credits
Images by Leon Rohrbaugh