IF I HAD A HAMMER

Thirty-two years ago, Jeff Lynch was working as a building project manager, going from gig to gig working for two different general contractors over several years. He liked the position but, after his last two employers failed, he found himself looking for work. Feeling secure in his skill set, Jeff began to think of starting his own general contracting business. After running the idea by his wife, Joan, who was the Midwest Regional Director for Savitransport Inc., he hung out his shingle. Today—3,800 jobs later—Lynch Construction and its 24 employees operate out of a new 28,000-square-foot facility in Lake Bluff.

“My first year in business, I did small miscellaneous jobs, but nonetheless, I was driving an income,” Jeff recalls. “Then I realized if I was going to move the business forward, I couldn’t be doing all the physical work myself. And I also realized the backbone of residential contracting is great carpenters. I had done some projects with a local carpentry contractor who loved the work but didn’t like the business side of things, so he closed his doors and he and his crew became employees of Lynch Construction.”

In time, Jeff leveraged his client roster and amped up his sales and marketing efforts to land bigger projects. He branched out, designing and building one-off spec houses, and when the home building boom went bust in 2008, Jeff pivoted and redoubled his efforts in the remodeling, renovation, and custom home building sector. “We are diverse enough that when the economic swing happened and people were not leaving their homes and building new, we kept all of our people employed,” relates Joan, who left her day job to join Jeff full time in 1998.

Lynch Construction has executed a range of projects over the years, but for Jeff, one of his greatest pleasures has been the opportunity to work on some of the North Shore’s most significant historic homes, residences designed by the likes of noted architects such as David Adler. “For me, the Chicago metropolitan area has the finest collection of homes in all styles—with the exception of adobe—of anywhere in the country. And people here are proud of their homes. If I was just a home builder and not a remodeling specialist, I would never have had a chance to see these places.”

“We also work for several prominent, talented architects from Chicago, Lake Forest, and Milwaukee. We have built wonderful relationships with them and take their work and make it come to life for homeowners throughout the North Shore.”

After more than three decades in business, Jeff and Joan have no intention of slowing down. “We really enjoy what we do and don’t want to just stop and retire,” says Jeff. “We want to keep building the business. That’s why we went from an 8,500-square-foot facility to our new 28,000-square-foot operation in September of last year. We’re in this for the long haul. We’re now mentoring our son as well as grandsons of other long-term employees. “You know, my father was a CPA and when I started out, he asked me, ‘What’s your business plan?’ I said, ‘Dad, I’m going to get up tomorrow and make a dollar more than I have in my pocket today. That’s the plan.’ And here we are—the phone rings. It rings all the time.”

For more information, visit lynchconstruction.biz or call 847-295-1825.