Story

nOwner: Jesse Katz

nLocation: Home-based business in Hardin Valley/Pellissippi Parkway area

nContact: 865-936-4901

nWeb site: www.tnhomecraft.com

By Lesli Bales-Sherrod

bales-sherrodl@knews.com

Jesse Katz was working full time when he decided to build his own home on his own time. When he finished and showed everyone pictures of the 2,400-square-foot Cape Cod, complete with 1,100-square-foot shop area, people asked him a pointed question.

"They said, 'What are you doing? You're wasting your time working for somebody else,' " Katz recalled in an interview last week. "My home was like a thesis project."

That is how Katz came to open Tennessee Home Craft general contractors in 2004.

"There is a lot of red tape working for companies, and I got over it," said Katz, who has a bachelor's degree in electronics from ITT Technical Institute. "I wanted to spread my wings and do what I'm good at, which is working with my hands and solving problems. And nobody would let me do that."

Tennessee Home Craft can handle everything "from the ground up," Katz said, from new construction to remodeling to repair work. The business also can do light commercial jobs.

"We've done a lot of secondary work, where people have had to fire their contractor," he said, noting all the stories he has heard about other contractors taking customers' money and not finishing the jobs. "We come in and pick up the pieces and make their dreams come true. That's probably half of what we do."

Katz holds a state general contractor's license in addition to a Knox County business license. His services are listed on the Web site, www.tnhomecraft.com, under the headings of additions and remodels; appliances; carpentry and cabinets; cleaning services; concrete, brick and stone; electrical, telephone and computers; flooring; handyman services; heating and cooling; home construction; decks and landscape; moving and storage; painting and staining; plumbing; roofing, siding and gutters; walls and ceilings; windows and doors; excavation and dump truck services and structural repairs.

"We're probably the most versatile home improvement (business) out there," Katz said. Of course, Katz couldn't do it all by himself. He works with subcontractors, two of whom help him regularly.

"It takes a team," he said. "It's sort of like a home network of craftsmen."

Katz takes a lot of pride in Tennessee Home Craft, which he stresses is drug- and alcohol-free and does not employ illegal immigrants.

"I don't want anything to do with that, and I don't see that changing when you can find a good, hard-working American," Katz said.

Tennessee Home Craft also is building a reputation because, in a business where 80 percent of general contracting jobs go over budget, Katz said, Tennessee Home Craft is in the 20 percent that has not. Plus, running the business out of his home in the Hardin Valley/Pellissippi Parkway area keeps overhead low.

"We are accumulating a wealth of referrals and happy customers," he said. "Happy customers: that's all we have."

Tennessee Home Craft averages about 75 customers a year, though last year the number was fewer because the projects were more expansive. The time Katz and his subcontractors are on a job depends on the size of a project, but the average is about three months, he said.

"Having a son two years ago changed everything," Katz said of Jacob, who will be 2 in November. "It makes you work even harder."

Quitting his job was "scary," Katz said, but he credits his wife, Regina, with giving him the confidence to strike out on his own. She now helps him with the office work of Tennessee Home Craft.

"She knew I could do it even when I wasn't so sure I could do it myself," he said of his wife of 10 years. "I was always anticipating a lull, a slow-down, but it hasn't happened in three years."

Katz's goal is to continue to grow Tennessee Home Craft while keeping his focus on satisfying each and every customer. Asked what makes his business unique, Katz points to Tennessee Home Craft's successful track record.

"We're doing what people want done," he said. "That's a hard thing for some contractors to do, but we've mastered the task. We're drug-free, educated and we show up; those are all attributes that I think are hard to find."

To schedule an appointment with Katz, call 865-936-4901 or fill out an inquiry form through the Tennessee Home Craft Web site, www.tnhomecraft.com.