Position: Builder/Developer
Company: Jordan Traditions
What they do: Build custom homes, develop neighborhoods
Revenue: About $6 million
Next goal: Begin retailing custom furniture
Larry Jordan built his first house for his wife, Gay, and himself in 1956. And in a way, he’s still building homes for himself.
“I began to discover other people liked what I like,” Jordan says.
What he likes are historical elements, fine craftsmanship and attention to detail. Cypress wood is a favorite for Jordan, much as it was for Louisiana’s early settlers. He often buys cypress wood that’s been salvaged from old buildings or the bottoms of streams and turns it into cabinets or floors. Handmade bricks, hand-blown glass windows and antique knobs and hinges are employed to create an authentic, historical feel.
A woodworker, Jordan says he enjoys hanging out with craftsmen who work with wood and learning more about their trade; in turn, he says they do some of their best work for him.
“They like to show off for me,” he says. “It’s fun to work with somebody who appreciates what you do.”
Jordan formed Jordan Traditions with his son Alan in 1998, and Larry says they’re both entrepreneurs at heart, which is putting it mildly. Larry says they plan to start two or three businesses every year, some of which will be unrelated to building homes. He says a Web site is in development for an unnamed furniture company that would sell the sort of antique-looking cupboards, islands, entertainment centers and other items that have gone into Jordan-built homes over the years.
“There’s a difference between gambling and speculating. When you speculate, you have some control over it,” he says. “[If a business] doesn’t work out, we won’t ride it very long.” Jordan says if they’re conservative and “don’t go way out on a limb,” the money will follow.
Comments
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)