Janecek Builders, a family-owned business in St. Charles, is passing ownership to the second generation and changing its business model from custom home building to custom remodels and renovations.
Caroline Janecek Korakis has been working in the family business off and on for about a decade. She grew up with the company and after leaving the company to pursue a career in fashion design, she returns to her roots and takes over from her father.
Janecek Builders was founded in 1973 by Bill Janecek and his brother, who eventually separated to start their own construction company. The company's headquarters are in the home office at her father's house at 38W710 Bonnie Court in St. Charles.
Janecek Builders is no longer building homes from the ground up, but is shifting its focus to renovations, including kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms and even complete home remodels.
Korakis said they plan to work with clients of all budgets, from smaller renovations and upgrades that make a big impact at a low cost to large, high-quality complete kitchen and bathroom remodels.
Korakis said she and her brother spent much of their childhood working in the family business, walking around construction sites countless times and following the construction process from start to finish. She said her first chores as a child were sweeping out the basements of newly built homes.
“We were always kind of stuck,” Korakis said. “Our dad built houses for people and built relationships, so we got to know the customers and were pretty involved in growing up around the company.”
Korakis said her father was an incredible builder, and although he left much of the design aspect of the business to his customers, she plans to become much more involved in the design aspect.
Korakis acts as both the client's designer and general contractor, eliminating the need for the client to hire their own designer. She said clients can also be as involved in the design process as they want, whether they want to help with every step of the process or they want her to take care of everything.
Korakis has a background in design, owning her own wedding dress business for nearly 20 years and working in costume design in Los Angeles for several years. She holds degrees in fashion design and merchandising from the University of Illinois and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
“I’ve always loved Hollywood red carpet glamor,” Korakis said. “[Wedding gown design] was a way to utilize the design. I love the design process.”
Now married with three children, Korakis is back in Kane County and ready to take the reins from her father.
Korakis said she found the transition to designing custom wedding dress makeovers easy thanks to her extensive experience with her family's business. She said she grew up with the company and has known most of the company's subcontractors for nearly 30 years.
“I think my focus just changed. …Really, I just focused on what interested me at the time; Children, family and working with my father,” Korakis said. “I'm really enjoying focusing my design efforts more on the domestic side rather than the fashion side, and I had the perfect opportunity to do that.”
Korakis said the pandemic played a role in her exit from the wedding dress business, but her desire to get into the home renovation business started with working on her own homes. She said she found her passion while working with her husband and father renovating their homes.
“I always enjoyed it [renovating homes]said Korakis. “When the other business slowed down, I decided I wanted to go here. I guess it started with working on my house, but I always enjoyed it.”
Korakis said the company's transition from home building to renovation doesn't require major changes because remodeling and renovation are already part of the business. She said the main change will be to stop building complete homes, but will continue to provide the quality of work clients have come to expect from working with her father.
“[Her father] has always prided himself on being open and honest with his clients, getting the job done at a reasonable pace and well, and I want to continue to do that,” Korakis said.
Korakis said the company's new focus on bespoke renovations will allow for greater focus on the design element of the process and closer collaboration with clients. She said while clients often have an idea of what they want, they don't always know how everything fits together, and that's where Janecek Builders can help.
“In some ways it was very similar to wedding dresses,” Korakis said. “You work with a customer to do something very individual and personal for them. So it's about working through this process with him so that he's happy and the final process looks good. … It’s all about getting to know the customer and creating something for them that they will live with every day.”
Korakis said her father, 77, will continue to be available as a consultant and oversee some of the smaller projects.
“He’s earned the right to relax a little,” Korakis said. “He has worked hard for so many years but he will still be there. He will be my guide.”
Korakis and her father are the company's only employees. They oversee all planning and design and all work is carried out by trusted subcontractors with whom they have worked for years.
Korakis said one benefit of working with Janecek Builders is that her clients work directly with her and her father and never have to work with different contractors. She said every job starts with meeting the customers and learning about their goals in order to deliver the end product that they will be happy with.
“He’s been in this town forever and built a lot of great homes in the area,” Korakis said. “I just want to carry on the good name that he has built for himself and his company and really carry it forward with my own perspective on things.”