Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve and Jeff Hester.
Hester Painting & Decorating was founded in 1968 by Tom Hester, and now, almost 50 years later, the company is managed by two of his sons, Jeff Hester and Steve Hester. When they took over operations of the company ten years ago, their goal was to continue the tradition set by their father in providing unparalleled customer service, the highest quality craftsmanship, and outstanding creativity to every client looking for the very best in painting, faux finishing and wallcovering installation. The 3rd generation has also started contributing to the success of the company with three of Jeff’s children taking active roles. With a commitment to both business and family, it was a great honor for Hester Painting & Decorating to receive the 2004 Illinois Family Business of the Year award.
Listed in House & Garden Magazine’s Designers’ Best 07 as one of the Best in The World for Decorative Painters and Wallpapering, recognized as Best Painter in 2013, 2014 & 2015 by the readers of Make It Better Magazine, and Best of Houzz – Service for 2014, 2015 & 2016, Hester Painting & Decorating is widely regarded as a leader in the fields of painting, faux finishing, and wallcovering installation. The company has won over 16 national awards, the trust of the most prolific designers and builders in Chicago, and ultimately the opportunity to work in the finest residences and commercial establishments in the city and suburbs. Many of their award winning faux finishing samples are on display on full size walls in their Skokie Showroom.
In 2002, Hester added a concentration on the commercial industry with the Hester Commercial Painting division. The commercial painting division offers the same Hester customer service and quality painting. Over the past few years Hester Commercial Painting completed large projects at the LeMeridien Chicago, LaBanque Hotel, Ingalls Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Lurie Children’s Hospital and Rush Hospital, as well as a complete common area refresh at McClurg Court and Riverview Condos. This division also focuses on tenant improvements, property management, condo associations, schools and retail.
Combined between the residential and commercial divisions, Hester boasts more than 60 skilled painters who provide interior painting, staining, faux finishing, cabinet and furniture refinishing and wallcovering installation. By instilling pride in our concept and services, while providing year-round work for our painters, health benefits and a retirement plan, we are able to retain the best and brightest painters in the industry.
Never satisfied with the status quo, Hester has launched a new division, Hester Home Maintenance. This is a quarterly service program that helps homeowners avoid expensive headaches by following a proven checklist of over 35 tasks that reduce risks and save money for your home. “While some items are obvious, others may come as a surprise and are probably never done,” says Steve Hester. “We realized there is a growing need, and we wanted to provide a service that combines the Hester expertise and customer experience with the goal of protecting our clients’ homes and families.”
They feel very fortunate for almost 50 years of success. One way of showing their appreciation is through giving back to the community. Over the years they have assisted or donated to over 30 local charities, including their most recent 45th anniversary project for the Wilmette Theatre. “For the 45th anniversary of the founding of Hester Painting and Decorating, we decided that, rather than having a party, we would do a charity project, just as we had done for our 40th,” says Vice President Jeff Hester. “We opened for suggestions to all of our customers for charity projects, and once we went to the Wilmette Theatre and saw what needs they had, we decided to make them our charity project of the year.” With their 50th anniversary coming up in January of 2018, there is sure to be another charitable project to celebrate.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Having a workforce of the highest qualified and trained painters in the Chicago area is great for differentiating ourselves from the competition, but that same positive aspect also contributes to our biggest challenge – pricing.
Along with having best painters in Chicago, we also have the highest costs for those painters. With their pay rate, health insurance and retirement plan, our team of painters cost us more double or triple the costs that some of our competitors pay. This is because our craftsman has chosen painting to be their careers with continuing training and safety classes along with decades of experience. They are not just painting as a $20 per hour simple job with no health insurance or retirement plan.
Our challenge is to help our potential clients realize that the cheapest price is not necessarily the best option. They are able to rest assured that the job will be done right the first time and completed on time. It is an investment in their home or business, and they should always look at the long term value of the work that will last for years and not have to be redone the next year.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
The “good luck” that we have had over the years would be being in the right position to add key management team members when they were available. We have been very fortunate over the years to add Sr. Project Managers who have owned their own businesses and were ready to move onto their next roles. They have been able to bring their years of experience along with an existing client base and a few of their better painters to add to our staff. There is always risk associated with adding new staff like this, but the timing has always worked out that we were in good financial shape to take the risk, and thankfully, each one of the additions has been successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hesterdecorating.com
- Phone: 847-677-5130
- Email: info@hesterdecorating.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hesterpaintingdecorating/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hesterpainting/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hester-painting-&-decorating
https://www.houzz.com/pro/shester21/hester-painting-decorating
Image Credit:
Linda Oyama Bryan (for the photos with the painter and the showroom).
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