Texas based luxury home builder, KC Custom Homes, spurs on success with its sophisticated systems strategy
Statewide success has seen KC Custom Homes transform in recent years. Once a small, family owned and operated business, the home building company is now preparing itself for significant growth into exciting new markets. As Vice President, Chris Castro, details: “Over the last 18 months, we’ve really been focusing on all our systems and processes. We found that this is critical for us to scale the business and grow at the rate we want. The next couple of years are going to be all about making our company bigger. By tapping into new markets and streamlining our processes, KC Custom Homes can grow into a major market contender.
“All of that is on the horizon. But we need to take things one step at a time. Right now, we’re focusing on getting our systems in place. We want to expand our team, and to do that as efficiently as possible we need to have established processes that help people learn the business quickly and effectively.”
Strategic synergy
Strategic investments in leading industry software have helped transform KC Custom Homes’ internal practices, as Chris reveals: “I’m primarily involved in the sales side of the business, and we help our clients with everything from budgeting and design to contract management and preconstruction. To help support those processes, we’ve invested in software called BuilderTrend. By integrating this software into our system, we have achieved greater synergy between the sales and operations sides of the business. It facilitates clearer and better-informed communication between both departments, which is great because the whole team is now very coordinated with one another.
“Improving our data management on the operation side has also helped BuilderTrend work more effectively, so it’s a win-win. Our accounting department has been undergoing a similar process, fine tuning their systems, and cutting out unnecessary complications in the operation wherever possible. Additionally, our interior designers have been working with the new software to demonstrate build progress to clients. With BuilderTrend, clients can see exactly what’s going on with their home using a simulation of the build inside of the software, which is huge.
“Moving away from the technology side of things, we’ve also changed the way we work together as a team. Part of that has been clearly defining our goals, including KPIs and SOPs. This helps the staff feel more empowered, as there is more transparency around their roles and responsibilities. We’ve always been a small team, but we want to bring in more staff. Setting clear goals like these will be useful as the department continues to grow. I don’t want to become a micro-manager, and establishing clear expectations from the beginning is one way of avoiding that pitfall.”
Organic growth
Putting the right systems in place has helped KC Custom Homes keep doing what it does best. With internal operations running smoothly, the company has been able to focus on building the best possible homes, as Chris enthuses: “We’ve worked on several exciting projects in the last couple of years, and we’re particularly excited at the moment, as several of our homes have been nominated for major industry awards. We are up for awards locally through The Greater San Antonio Builders Association and receiving statewide recognition through the Texas Association of Builders. This year, we’re going to be showcasing some of the truly superior products we are proud to be a part of. We’ve had great successes with these showcases in recent years and I believe 2024 is going to be a banner year for the business all around. 
“One of the projects that really shines for me is the Foxhall home in San Antonio. This one has a more industrial style, which is quite a bit different than a lot of our other work. It has exposed metal beams on the inside, which gives it a more modern feel. We also worked on a highly unique barn renovation project. The original structure was built in the 1800s, so it required meticulous, detailed craftsmanship.”
From boundary-breaking design concepts to strategic system optimization, it is clear that KC Custom Homes has big plans for the future. As Chris confirms: “We’re looking to pursue organic growth, both through increased work volume and diversification into new markets. The company is continuing to build a good name for itself in the current market, throughout the greater San Antonio area in Texas. At the same time, we’re actively looking into brand new markets, including the West Side of Austin. We’re also looking a bit further north, at some territories in the Marble Falls area.
“We have ongoing works in the local community, through which our core team can serve long-term clients. Strengthening our core business is always going to be important, as it will put us in a stronger financial position, and effectively facilitate some acquisitions further down the line. Although this is a longer-term plan, we are looking into purchasing some other custom homebuilding companies, possibly in Dallas and the Fort Worth area. Thinking even further ahead, we’d like to become a multi-state operation,” he concludes.