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'A fireplace in a hearth room adjoining the kitchen has been a very popular feature'

Q: How do you describe the company?

A: Shodeen Homes is a family owned and operated firm that has designed, zoned and developed several award-winning master planned communities for over 55 years. We have won national awards and rank high on several homebuilder reports. We also live and work in the communities we build, my door is always open to any Shodeen homeowners. Pride in our family business, working directly with our customers and providing quality workmanship is and always will be our top priority.

Q: From a business outlook, who do you look up to?

A: My father, Kent Shodeen. He brought me up in the home building business. I started out in grade school mowing the lawn at the model home. In high school, college and beyond, I worked my way up the ladder as I learned from each experience.

Kent built his first home in 1961, he has done an enviable job building his family business and has become a very well-respected and successful businessman. Since joining the family business in 1982, I have adopted Kent's founding premise to offer every homebuyer the most value for their investment, and to be vested in the community in which we build and live.

Q: What will your company's main challenges be in the next year?

A: To stay ahead of the curve with regards to ever changing technology.  There are so many options to consider when making sure we are delivering the best value, energy efficiency and technology in our new homes, and throughout the community.

Q: What was your first paying job?

A: Sales of parabolic solar collectors. My experience fresh out of college encouraged my father, Kent to hire me for new construction home sales.

Q: Do you have a business mantra?

A: Treat your homebuyers fairly and consistently. I stand behind our written care and maintenance manual and warranty booklet 100 percent.

Q: What is one interesting fact about you or your company that most people may not know?

A: My grandfather arrived on a boat from Sweden as William Sjodin. As an adult, his name was not easy to pronounce so he changed the spelling to the phonetic, Shodeen. We all really love the old world spelling, so we began using the original spelling of Sjodin as a marker on our office buildings.

We also began a custom home division known as Sjodin Custom Homes.  There is a lot of family pride and respect for our heritage, so it's been great to incorporate that into our family business.

Q: What's the hottest trend in your industry?

A: A fireplace in a hearth room adjoining the kitchen has been a very popular feature. Indoor/outdoor fireplaces between the hearth room and screened porch have become increasing more popular and our new model home at Mill Creek will feature this popular option.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: I enjoy most everything around water: Boating, golfing, floating and skiing.

Q: What keeps you up at night?

A: My creativity keeps me up at night. I keep a pad of paper on the nightstand.

Q: If you could put your company name on a sports venue, which one would you choose?

A: I'd rather not have our family name on a sports center. I prefer to be known for the homes, buildings and communities our family has designed and worked on together.

Q: Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?

A: In 2016, Shodeen Homes is enhancing its website to be more interactive for our prospects and homeowners. We are also upgrading our sales and estimating software to make us more effective, increase communication with homebuyers during the process and overall become more user friendly.  

We anticipate hiring a few additional people in 2016 as we prepare for growth, in particular the development and grand opening of Elburn Station.

Q: What is one funny thing that has happened to you in your career?

A: In 1986 I was creating custom plan changes of the family home portfolio. I added a master suite over a garage for a homebuyer. When the home was being framed, I was asked to stop by and verify that the design was everything I wanted it to be. Upon arrival, on the second floor, our construction manager and I bent over together to look through the door opening blocked by the roof rafters.

After we stopped laughing, he then told me he was going to remove the garage roof and reframe.  The lesson I learned was invaluable and my father was very understanding about my expensive on the job education.

— Kim Mikus

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