The company is gearing up to celebrate 40 years next year! As a second generation owner mentoring the third generation working in this family company, Kim Beeler-Peterson is so proud of her parents and the many life lessons they taught her. Dad built church furniture in a union shop, but he was a born entrepreneur. With a brother and a friend, the three men started ABCO Building company in 1959. Some of the ventures went well, some not so well, but with hard work and each other, they weathered the storms. As time went by, Dad wanted his own company and his name on the door, so in 1986, Beeler Construction came to life.

As a teenager, Kim remembers transferring numbers by hand to the ledgers; no small task with 100 people on the payroll. Other jobs included cutting the grass, picking up materials for the guys, and other office tasks. If Kim had plans, she often had to cancel to do things for the family or the company; that was the priority. Her parents’ work ethic and discipline were amazing and they instilled these in their children as well.

Many years ago, Kim didn’t want anything to do with the company, so she headed off to college. She wanted to be in marketing, manage a clothing store. Dad challenged Kim to write out a business plan to realize her dream. This completely changed her mind and her dream. Dad gave her a choice – take the next to weeks and either commit to Beeler or the opportunity will be gone. As Kim looks back at the many benefits of business ownership she enjoys, she is very happy she took Dad’s offer.

With one year left of college, her mission was to learn everything that the company wasn’t doing yet and bring it back! They already had Master Builder for payroll, so one of Kim’s first projects was to get all the bookkeeping moved to the software. That same year, Dad retired and started spending winters in Florida. When Dad fully retired, he was hands-off. When Kim’s brothers retired, same thing. Only family members making a pivotal contribution to the company can have ownership in the company.

The amount of growth has been challenging and exciting. When they had a strong backlog, it was difficult to meet the employees’ needs. When refocusing on the teams, it was hard to make sure to keep building the backlog; definitely a balancing act.

What’s Kim’s favorite Syscon resource? The Power BI reports have been game-changers! Syscon’s understanding of construction accounting and assistance in selecting the right tool has made a great partnership.

Coming into the office in the morning, hearing what’s happening with the team, knowing they want to be there and are happy makes Kim feel so proud of what Dad started. Here’s to 40 more years!