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It’s About The People

by | Aug 22, 2016 | Frontpage Article, Newsletter

Lane Cooper’s ability to understand people in relationship to their homes is a gift.

-Michael Knapp

Whether you’re remodeling your existing residence or building a custom house, Cooper Design Builders helps you create your dream home. Owner Lane Cooper is a man who knows about dreams; he’s spent a lifetime making them come true.  “The bricks and mortar isn’t what it’s about for us,” says Cooper on what drives him, “It’s the product we produce, but really, quite frankly, it is about people.” 

Success is always personal. For an entrepreneur, it’s a dream that hopefully becomes a lifetime reality. Cooper Design Builders has it, and it’s not without inspiration. At the core, success lies with Cooper’s values. The draw of being an entrepreneur not only comes from having freedom and creativity, but understanding what it is that you want to do being an entrepreneur. “I’ve always said to myself that I want financial independence and a wealth of relationships. That’s why I do this.” Cooper says owning a remodeling company allows him to foster relationships. I have the unique opportunity to have meaningful conversations with people about how they want to live with their loved ones in their home.  It is through these conversations and the trust that is bestowed upon my company to craft their space into their dream, that I am honored with so many amazing relationships in my life.

For Cooper his day starts early with a 5:30am run. It’s his creative time and critical to his day. His love of nature is satiated, the greenery of Portland is perfect for this native Oregonian. “I stay here not because I have to but because I love to,” he says. Cooper grew up in Albany, went to the University of Oregon in Eugene, and moved to Portland in 1991. He’s been here ever since. If he’s not running he’s reading. He arrives to work at 8:30am. After that, the rest of his day stops being typical. So what’s his drive?

Freedom of choice

“What I want to do and how I want to do it – It’s super important to me and no matter if it costs me money, I love the freedom to navigate my own way.” 

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Togetherness

I’m very much a person who loves togetherness – I would rather do something with somebody then alone. It makes the ‘experience’ far more valuable. The best parts of my life are when I’m doing things with others! 

Nature

“I am a person of nature – always will be – I gain my energy by getting out in nature – especially when I am around water.”

Listening

Cooper spends a lot of time listening. Not just to what a client is saying, but their demeanor. At the end of the day, it is the heart of Cooper Design Builders. “I ask them to tell me the story of what they want to accomplish,” he says of his clients, and then I listen. I know by the end of our conversation I’m going to have a good feel for helping them craft their dream.” Usually when people come to a remodeler – like
Cooper- they want to fix something that doesn’t work for them. The answer to crafting a remodel that truly connects to the homeowners personal needs and style, Cooper discovered, lies in the heart of their story.  

What’s next?
Cooper Design Builders is growing to help other succeed. “I am very excited about growing our company to develop more leaders and to give better service, but it doesn’t come without a price.”  Cooper Says laughingly.  “To develop leaders I have to give up control and allow them to control their areas of expertise. To improve the company I put together a team of directors.  We meet weekly to identify, discuss and solve the issues of the company. They don’t always agree with me and I have found myself being out voted, which is not easy for me.  However, the results are undeniable. Our business will grow by more that 25% this year and it is on track to do the same again next year. Another benefit of this growth is I have more time to do what I like most in this world, to foster relationship.”logo-new

Over the years Cooper has learned that what motivates him, are the relationships in his life. “I believe that at the core of my business or anything in my life; it’s relationships that create my success and help me solve my issues,” says Cooper. I don’t talk about that very often, but when I’m making a decision I’ll base it on my relationships over money every time.” It’s this belief that manifest itself in his company.  Cooper Design Builders is a company about relationships, beautiful design, and helping people live better in their home. At the end of the day, we learned from Cooper, it’s your relationships that matter the most. Learn how you want yours to be.  I like to experience life with people – it makes my work that much better.” We think so too.