Gordon Enger: An Entrepreneur I Look up to

On January 1, 1974 Precision Builders was established. This company was founded by Gordon Enger. Little did he know that this small business would grow into a stable company. “He started the company because he wanted to move on from managing at a manufacturing company to a less stressful and more enjoyable job” said his wife Sue Enger. “He didn't like sitting behind a desk all day,” said his son Doug. Doug helped Gordon to learn about building houses, “he had to learn from a bunch of books,” said Doug. After learning the trade of building houses Gordon decided he might enjoy doing it for a living. And that's exactly what he did. From 1974, when the business started, Gordon was working hard to build his business (no pun intended) all the way up till he passed away in 2015.

There were a couple more reasons why Gordon thought he might like to be a business owner. “He liked the thought of being his own boss,” said his second son Eric. He also liked the freedom he had. “He was always driving around town to check on all his job sites, and he liked that,” said Doug. The freedom meant Gordon had more free time to do what he loved most, mission trips.

Mission trips were a huge part in Gordon's life. And since he knew how to build houses, he got to build houses for people in foreign countries. He went to countless different countries for mission trips through his life. From Brazil to Greece, he traveled all around the world with the good news.

But not everything benefited him, at least to start with. “We didn't have a steady income,” said Sue. Starting out, Gordon also didn't have a reputation... yet. “We went around all summer going from bank to bank trying to get them to loan money for houses,” said Doug. Gordon had to build relationships with the bankers so they would see that he was trustworthy. “Back then banks didn't work the same as they do now. A banker could just loan you money for no other reason than thinking that you were trustworthy,” said Doug. Also not many people wanted to let Gordon build or remodel their homes because they didn't know who he was yet. “He started off by building our house. Then he remodeled our friends houses,” said Sue. Then the business grew from there. People started to see that he could build houses and now the company has one of the best reputations you can get.

There are a couple of reasons why I look up to Gordon Enger. He was a great man who loved his family and most importantly God. He built his business on good reputation and hard work. And he used his free time from being an entrepreneur to help others around the globe.

In loving memory of Gordon Enger

June 7, 1942 – February 20, 2015