Parade of Homes featuring the best of new homes in Manitoba, Canada
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/378148
>> since he was a youngster, randall Homes' Jason Jaquet has been surrounded by floor plans, schematics and saw- dust from project sites. "building homes was something I grew up with," Jaquet says. "I was always involved, right from a young age. When your father starts a company from scratch and is so passion- ate about what he does, it's hard not to get involved. As time went on, it became more and more a passion of mine." that passion bloomed when Jaquet was in his mid-teens and his father, randy, offered him a job. "that's when I started working at job sites to learn the business from the ground up. It wasn't much of a stretch. When my dad asked me if I'd be interested, he didn't have to push me. I said yes right away." Over the next several years, Jaquet dedicated himself to learning ev- ery facet of the business. When he was his late teens and studying at university, his dad asked if he'd like to be a site supervisor. "Of course, I said yes. From that point in time, I would study, and then when I was finished, I'd go back in to work. I didn't think of it as a job — I just loved to do it." now 40, Jaquet's love for the work has only grown. With his dad taking a more limited role, he's assumed responsibility for overseeing day-to-day operations of randall Homes. but even with the increased work load, he still can't wait to get up and go to work in the morning. that's because his father prepared him well for the challenges he would face. "right from the start, I had to prove myself and learn all aspects of the industry. Over the years, my dad nurtured and trained me, and that allowed me to gain all the knowledge and experience I needed to take over from him when he felt the time was right." that time is now. As he moves forward, Jaquet says he'll continue to draw on the lessons his dad taught him — and to rely on his continued feedback. "no question, my dad still continues to teach me, and I'm still learning," Jaquet says. "When he speaks, I lis- ten." And then he applies that wisdom, adhering to foun- dational principles on which his father built the com- pany. "most of all, he taught me that it's critically important to always make the effort to take care of people — your staff and, of course, your customers," he says. "We have a great team — from the office to draft- ing, production and all the way out to all our man- agers. Just as Dad has done, my plan is to continue to surround myself with great people who are good at what they do. We're really big on the team aspect here. When you have a great team surrounding you from the office on out to the site, it makes your job so much easier. I know the job will be done right, and that customers will be taken care of." that last area, superior customer service, has sus- tained randall Homes for more than three decades, along with a commitment to delivering value, choice and quality, Jaquet says. "In business, all you have is your name. If you don't have a good reputation, you don't have anything," he says. "We don't build homes for awards; we build them for people to enjoy living in them. At the end of the day, we want them to walk in to their home and say, 'I get all this for that price?' "With randall Homes, it's all about providing value, affordability and choice. Our customers always get to choose, we never tell them what to do." As a father of three boys ages 13, 10 and seven, Ja- quet's ultimate hope is to have one of his sons take over the company. "my boys understand what I do for a living and they enjoy what I do," he says. "I won't pressure them to be- come part of the business. I wasn't, so I won't do that with them. but it sure would be nice if one of them would take over for me so we can have a party to cel- ebrate over 60 years of success when I'm 70. "I've never thought of what I do as a job. Hopefully at least one of them will think that way, too." "No question, my dad still continues to teach me, and I'm still learning. When he speaks, I listen" << randy Jaquet (seated) passed on his passion for the business to son Jason. Parade of Homes Fall 2014 35 185 des hivernants at Stonewood courts