#1 Silvercreek Development Group

   For Silvercreek Development Group, the 2005 Utah Valley Parade of Homes was business-changing. The company’s Berkshires home, which founder Geoff Granum now lives in, put them on the map both locally and nationally. The Orem home was selected to represent Utah in an elite book of the nation’s leading custom homes, and more than one Utah Valley parade-goer offered to buy it. These accolades were especially significant because of Silvercreek’s change in foundation. The original 2001 business model focused on starter homes, and the shift to higher-end custom homebuilding called for a change of plans — and “a leap of faith.” Smart leap. 

My father was a real estate developer in the San Francisco Bay Area. I grew up around construction, and as a 12-year-old, I was out managing a project, making calls and reporting on subs to my dad. That’s when it began. I always knew I’d be involved in real estate — somehow, someway. 

In 2001, I put together a formal business plan, which was second nature. I graduated from BYU in business management, and business plans were at my core. The plan focused on starter homes, and we  began working on a project in Pleasant Grove. 

The company started as Granum Development, which wasn’t ideal. First of all, there are so many working parts to the business, I didn’t want to get credit for something I wasn’t doing the majority of the work for. Plus, there’s always a potential to sell the company, and I didn’t want it associated with any one person. 

We worked with starter homes for about two years and then decided it wasn’t a good fit for the image we were trying to portray. So we slowly stepped up into our current range from a low of $3 million to a high of $15 million. 

In preparation, we lookedat custom homebuilding here in Utah. We looked at things that were being done well and things that could be improved on. Then we set out to establish our own unique image. 

When we decided to move into higher-end custom homes, it was a big leap of faith. We built a home for the Utah Valley Parade of Homes hoping people would visualize and associate our brand with a style they hadn’t seen before — a forward focus. We did that, and thank goodness it worked. 

It was during that Parade that I knew we were on to something. We received two offers on the home — and the money was tempting — but I knew if we were to succeed we would need a product to show people. For our clients to trust us, we had to be able to show them something we built — something they could see, touch and feel. 

I’m a self-proclaimed control freak. I’ve started to pull away and see the company grow with the people we’ve put in place. And because each individual is unique, I don’t want to micromanage. It becomes difficult when they aren’t going to do things your way, but it’s a part of life. Delegation is essential for growth. 

Companies should always remember to grow responsibly. Understand the finances, set goals, and actively strive to achieve them. Responsible growth is tough in our industry. We’ve had to turn down clients — the possibility of revenue — because we knew we didn’t have the resources to give 100 percent on the job. It wasn’t easy — these choices never are — but it was the right thing to do.