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Wesson Builders
Dennis and Bonnie Wolke
by Diane Meeks
"People
are somewhat hesitant to put the money into their
homes, but with the real estate market the way it
is, most realize they may as well make their homes
comfortable with the features they find important.
This year, that means renovating baths and kitchens,
traditionally two of the highest return-on-investment
rooms in a home.”
 Starting
a business usually involves putting together a business
plan, finding investors and researching the industry.
For the owners of Wesson Builders, the acquisition
was far less calculated, but paid off in the end.
"Are you crazy? You've got three small kids and
a decent paying job." That was Bonnie Wolke's
first response to her husband's decision either to
start or to buy his own business.
Dennis had been thinking about purchasing a business
quite some time. "I'd kind of made a goal to
myself that either by the time I'm 35 or 36, if I'm
not out on my own, I'm just going to tuck it under
and not complain again. At 37, we did it."
After a proposed partnership on a different type of
business fell through, Dennis realized something:
he still wanted to own a business, but Dennis didn't
want or need a partner.
Dennis and Bonnie grew up in rural areas and believe
that upbringing instilled a high level of self-sufficiency.
"We had to fix everything ourselves," Denny
says of his youth, "and you knew that once you
started a project, you had to finish it." The
Wolke's brought that small-town philosophy with them
when they came to Toledo in the 1970s.
For Dennis, the idea of owning a business was exciting.
"I was a product manager for a manufacturer in
the heat treating industry. I had just gotten tired
of going to work every day and doing exactly the same
thing, and knowing the outcome almost of what each
day was going to be,” says Dennis.
A small newspaper ad publicizing the sale of Wesson
Builders caught Dennis's attention. Starting in 1946,
the company constructed utility buildings and garages
at the time. "When we bought the business in
1987, it was almost completely turnkey, but the garage
building business in this area is a ‘flatline
business’. We knew that work was here, but it
wasn't going to grow. We've obviously grown the revenue
line. The remodeling part has done that.”
Wesson Builders now does nearly every type of remodeling,
both large and small jobs. "We handle minor projects
like a front porch to extensive whole house renovations,
but we do not build new homes," explains Bonnie.
Dennis clarifies this business decision by adding,
"We wanted something where a project was going
to turn a little more quickly."
At first, Bonnie wasn’t employed with the business,
but three years later, that changed. “In 1990,
I quit my high school teaching job and came to work
here full time.” Between the two of them, Dennis
and Bonne grew the business to the point that remodeling
jobs account for the majority of their workload.
Wesson Builders has recieved many local awards for
its remodeling projects, and this year, Dennis and
Bonnie garnered a national award. Wesson Builders
was the Midwestern Regional Chrysalis Award winner
for a bathroom design. The other three regional winners
were large remodeling firms from San Diego, Baltimore
and Atlanta. Utimately, Wesson Builders was named
the national winner in the bathroom category.
The current economy has been challenging for the construction
industry. Bonnie explains, "People are somewhat
hesitant to put the money into their homes, but with
the real estate market the way it is, most realize
they may as well make their homes comfortable with
the features they find important. This year, that
means renovating baths and kitchens, traditionally
two of the highest return-on-investment rooms in a
home." WESSON BUILDERS
1630 W. Laskey Rd.
Phone: 419-476-2259
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 Toledo
Business Review highlights the best
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