Shinn Group Leaves a Legacy of Professionalism

It’s difficult to assess the impact of people whose influence is threaded through almost every nook and cranny of the home building industry.

But Charles (Chuck) Shinn Jr. and Emma Shinn, who are retiring after 50 years serving as the co-fouders of Shinn Group, can look on their life's work and see home building companies that grew and prospered, neighborhoods those companies created and the families raised there, and the livelihoods of dozens of people who worked for and with them.

They also can look back at the immense value they added to the home building community and can appreciate that the professionalism visible on jobsites and in office settings today evolved from what was only a hope when they started 50 years ago. 

Much of that came from their work in Shinn Group—the premier consultancy to home builders—and Builder Partnerships, a spin-off that fosters collaboration between builders and building product manufacturers and service companies. The experience and knowledge behind the company, though, came from years of learning and deep involvement in the industry. 

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The Partnership

The Shinns met in the late 1960s while they were both in the MBA program at American University, in Washington, D.C. Emma was the only woman in the program and her skill and background in accounting proved essential to the success of the other students wanting to complete projects that were more than just theoretical.

They got married in her native Panama in 1970, “Right after the [NAHB] home builders' convention,” Chuck says, who at the time was working at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) while Emma was working for Deloitte, the audit, consulting, tax, and advisory service.

Their working collaboration kicked off when Chuck put together the first “Cost of Doing Business” study and report for NAHB. That experience made him realize the need for a standardized accounting and reporting system for home builders.

Emma began that process, providing the groundwork for the survey. It eventually led to her write Accounting and Financial Management for Residential Construction, the definitive accounting book for home builders, now in its sixth edition.

While at NAHB, first in the economics department and then in business development, Chuck recognized there was little reliable education for home builders and little knowledge about how home builders operated.

“Our secret is our research,” Chuck Shinn says. “We spent our whole lives researching the industry.”

That realization motivated him to develop several surveys and educational programs to improve building business operations, a philosophy they continued throughout their careers.

“Our secret is our research,” he says. “We spent our whole lives researching the industry.” They didn’t stop there with just home building. They did deep dives into other industries such as manufacturing and the auto industry to identify best practices that could be applied to home building.

In 1975, Chuck took a position at the University of Denver in what is now the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management. During that time, he completed his doctorate in real estate and urban development at American University.

Not being satisfied to just talk about the industry, the Shinns decided to get their hands dirty and started their own home building business. Their successful business tied them closely to NAHB at the local, state, and national levels; in fact, Chuck held multiple leadership positions within the association.

The hands-on experience tied with their research and educational backgrounds helped them build a strong following at the Shinn Group.

“You can’t find anyone involved in the industry with as much breadth of knowledge as Chuck,” Emma says. “It starts with the economic forecasting and goes all the way down to the superintendents.”

Changing the Home Building Industry Business by Business

Businesses and partners that have worked with the Shinns laud their knowledge and accomplishments. 

“From a macroeconomic basis to the business cycles, they've just been the go-to people in the industry," says Stephen Brooks, CEO of Grand Homes, in Addison, Texas. "They teach the fundamentals all the way through the organization and have the metrics to measure performance.”

For Brooks and other home builders, that means a focus on profitability as the cornertstome of a stable business. “They've just really done some things for the industry that no one else thought of or no one else did,” says Brooks, whose compoany, with the Shinn's guidance, has experienced 450 consecutive months of profitability.

The Shinns have worked one-on-one with builders, established builder groups that share information and processes among members, and delivered thousands of hours of educational programs in the classroom. The number of builders they’ve worked with and educated probably can’t be measured, but their impact can.

Having survived the Great Recession of 2008 and its wake, Christopher Harris, founder and CEO of Georgia-based Rockhaven Homes, wanted to grow by purchasing distressed lots—a strategy that delivered less than stellar results. When he attended his first seminar hosted by Shinn Group, “I learned I’d been trying to paint a picture in the dark.”

Harris then attended every Shinn Group class ... twice. To turn his company around, he began at the beginning. “We decided not to build a home until we had a 100% complete start package,” he says. “We shut everything down, and it took about three weeks of not starting new houses for everyone to realize I was serious.”

Once a middle-of-the-pack builder, Rockhaven Homes now attracts trade partners that prefer to work with them. 

All Home Building Is Local and All Business Is Personal

Brooks and Harris are among hundreds of home builders who improved their businesses by working with Shinn Group, but there are thousands of people who saw their lives changed because the Shinns helped professionalize the industry.

Those changes came from education and research, but also a personal, familial touch. Working with the Shinns was a bit like joining a family. 

Over the years, Chuck and Emma built Shinn Group into arguably the preeminent educational firm for home builders in the country, serving as a valuable resources for all elements of the industry.

Through their builder groups, which met twice a year, they formed lasting relations with home builders helped them develop business beyond what they could have done alone. Their classroom work educated builder employees in every position of the company, from purchasing to jobsite supervision and sales and marketing.

“Education is who we are,” Chuck says. “Training is our strength.”

About 35 years ago, Colorado-based interior designer Lita Dirks met the Shinns. “They’re amazing teachers and are there to solve problems and help people.” But the impact on her life was more than just learning about the home building business. “They gave me the confidence that what I was doing had potential and would benefit builders and developers.”

Carol Smith, owner of Home Address, a real estate brokerage in Monument, Colo., emphasizes the Shinn’s devotion to the industry. “Their commitment is demonstrated by the fact that they have been mentioning retirement for years, but couldn’t stop supporting members of the industry,” she says. 

Now that the Shinns are retiring, their legacy is both the professionalism they helped to create within the industry and the educational structure they leave behind.

The Next Generation

Shinn Group will continue under the direction of company president Emma Jane Wildermuth, the Shinns' eldest daughter, who has been active in the business and the industry for more than 20 years.

“There is a lot of tribal knowledge they have. They sacrificed a lot to help home builders,” she says. “I don’t know there’s anybody in our lifetime who could do that. Anyone who has the brainpower, the mental and physical stability to do that.”

Chuck and Emma’s commitment to the industry will continue on through Shinn Group and in their confidence in Emma Jane’s leadership. Their legacy is the next generation of home builders and the excellence they bring to their businesses as the business continues to grow on the foundation they built.