Walking into Lewis Builders' office is like being transported to a whole new place. Everything is so modern, their hospitality is incredible, and EJ toured me around The Barnyard, where they are quite spread out amongst. He showed me their Elements showroom, which was beautifully tasteful, as were all the other places we visited. Once we sat down, he started off by disclaiming that he prefers to be a more informal person. There's a time and place to be formal and professional, but if you really want to get to know someone, you can't just talk to the wall they built up and hope some personality slips through the cracks. Letting your guard down and being transparent with a person is the first step in someone getting to know you.

Now getting into things. He talked about how construction is more of an old man's game, and how Lewis Builders is kind of that new age touch that it may need. It can really help a new demographic of people get into building or remodeling and have a better, more seamless experience with their home. EJ grew up working in construction with his dad, and after 12 years in the industry, he decided it was time to step away and try something different. He ended up at Clemson University for marketing, where he met his wife, Jayme Doneza. From there he joined Sherwin-Williams, and something interesting about them that I bet a lot of people don’t know is that they practice something called “promote from within.” It means that they want the people who are representing and selling their brand to actually know what they’re talking about, so you start off learning the product from the ground up and build your way to the top. It's humbling, but EJ said it’s what really taught him the importance of constantly developing yourself and understanding every level of a business if you actually want to grow and succeed. Funny enough, even though he tried to move away from construction, it ended up pulling him right back in but this time on the commercial side, where got to expand beyond just the building process and dive into the legal and regulatory side of thing: contracts, permitting, compliance, all of it. Butterfly effect, because that’s still knowledge he draws on today.

Jay, EJ's father-in-law, was looking to build his forever home right here in Carmel and was utilizing LB's services to do that. EJ & Jayme came out from South Carolina to visit, and when EJ started talking to the crew, he realized how much he really liked their team — charismatic, not stuffy — and ended up moving out and building a position with Lewis Builders himself. Beyond the people, EJ really loves what Carmel attracts: high-quality clients and relationships that go way back, with a lot of trust behind them. Even so, EJ believes it's still so incredibly important to have work based on a contract.

What really sets LB apart is that they are one big team with a lot of strong yet various traits, like a big group of superheroes — they do the whole process for you and are with you every step of the way. Most firms hand you off between an architect, a builder, and a designer, and you end up managing the gaps yourself. At LB you get transferred internally instead, meaning tighter budgets, fewer surprises, and more personalized communication across the team. He also mentioned their business model lets you default from all their resources to incorporate any services you’d rather use instead. Say you already have an interior designer you’ve worked with in the past but still want the rest of what LB offers, they’ll work with that designer to make your experience tailored and yours, no “package deal, all or nothing.” They're also very direct with their supplier, Elements, so you get the lowest price possible. One thing I noticed about EJ is that he is very humble — he talked about knowing your bandwidth and accepting that you can't always be the best, without being too hard on yourself. In terms of Lewis Builders' Chamber membership, EJ said they're very intentional about what they pay for: "If it doesn't serve you, let it go." Over the years, LB has built real relationships, not just with fellow Chamber members, but with the whole Chamber staff, and EJ says they’ve consistently felt so connected to the local business community. It's given them way more than just exposure and networking. For a company that’s thoughtful about where they put their money, that says a lot. Obviously, they haven't cancelled their Chamber membership, as they're coming up on 10 years with us! So, congrats, LB!