Choate Custom Homes, Milford, Mich.
Type of business: custom builder/remodeler/developer
Years in business: 20
Employees: 12
2006 volume: $5.2 million
2006 starts: 5
John Choate takes pride in the highly detailed custom homes his company builds in southeastern Michigan. But until a couple of years ago, he didn’t have a way to demonstrate those projects to a wide audience, other than through his Web site and direct-mail materials. Then he and his staff developed a $35,000 trade show booth that stops home and garden show attendees in their tracks. Made of African mahogany, the 10-foot-by-20-foot booth represents a study in a theoretical Choate Custom Homes project. Local architect Michael Miller assisted with conceptual drawings, which Choate and his team refined to their needs. Then they handcrafted the booth, using the same care they would on a site-built project. “It was a challenge to build,” he says. “With the miters, crown moldings, and trim, it has a thousand-plus pieces. It has to look like it was built on site.” But it also has to be assembled and disassembled, as well as adjusted to different conditions—the spot Choate gets at a show could be on a left corner, a right corner, or no corner at all. It takes three days to put together, with four people working, and one day—“one very long day,” he says—to take down.
The booth has made its way to 10 nearby home shows so far, generating over 20 solid leads. When not in use, its parts are housed in a 28-foot trailer, making it easily transportable. Choate is planning on growing his company beyond Michigan, and he hopes to attract far-flung customers by taking the booth on the road. “The homeowners are [at the shows] to see the subs’ and builders’ work,” he says. By giving them the real thing rather than photos or drawings, he brings his work to life and sets his company apart from the crowd.
