Brian Baas founded the company in 2002.

A client uses their brand-new facility after construction. BJ Baas Builders handles buildings of all shapes, uses, and sizes—including heavy industrial.

BJ Baas Builders’ motto is “You have a vision. We give it structure.” And structure is what makes this business great. In fact, they are so expert at building that they work across a diverse array of markets including retail, industrial, commercial and medical. But the story of BJ Baas Builders isn’t based on attracting new business, or engineering practices, or even individual structures—it’s about a tenacious owner who is willing to put everything on the line in order to do what’s right for the client.

BJ Baas Builders Inc., founded in 2002, is a full-service, broad-spectrum construction firm located in Cambridge, Minn., a quiet hamlet about 50 miles outside of Minneapolis. The company was started in true entrepreneurial spirit when Owner and President Brian Baas decided to use his (career) lemons to make lemonade.

“I started the business because I was tired of spending lots of hours working for someone else,” says Baas. “Frankly, I was frustrated with my employer at the time and how things were being done. Like many young, energetic guys, I figured I could do it better myself, and provide better for my family in the long run.”

Like most people with vision, he decided to engineer success from the beginning. Although he had the technical knowledge and project management skills needed to run successful projects, Baas understood that the key component was outside of his control: his clients.

Clients in Focus

From the beginning, Baas has had an eagle-eyed focus on the client. “When I started the business, I knew that the client had to come first—always,” he says. “So, we created our ‘Pledge to Clients’ to remind us of that central goal.”

Although the pledge—with its nearly poetic verses—represents the deepest foundation of Baas’ business, he prefers to keep it simple in person. “In reality, customer service is about listening well, and responding in a timely manner to requests,” he says. “It’s keeping clients informed at each step. It’s taking the time to explain steps in the process—what, when, why, how. It’s about going the extra mile and making clients feel as if theirs is the only project the company is working on.”
And BJ Baas Builders has many extraordinary projects going at once. “We are very busy,” says Baas. “The growth has been amazing.”

Eye on the Prize

In fact, one of the company’s earliest projects was for a high-profile optometrist. “We received a bid request from an area optometrist who owned several eye clinics,” says Baas. “We had never worked for them prior, but we knew they were a large player in the region’s medical industry. We knew it was going to be tough competition from an engineering, design, and general contractor perspective—but we had to get this contract.”
Having constructed various eye clinics in the past for other clients, the team had the experience needed to create a specialized plan to meet the optometrist’s specific needs.
So what was the key differentiator between BJ Baas Builders and other general contractors in the area? An elevated understanding of the client’s specific needs. “Our differentiator is not only the quality of our workmanship, but also our scheduling capabilities,” says Baas. “It is a significant cost to the client to shut down operations while we do a total overhaul. In this instance, we proposed a very aggressive schedule to minimize the impact on operations, which would require them to shut down for only 13 days.”
Yet still, the client was not completely convinced about choosing BJ Baas Builders. So Baas upped the stakes. “At the initial meeting I presented the complete project on a computerized schedule broken down by the hour. They asked, ‘How can we be sure that you’ll be done on time?’ I responded that we are willing to put our reputation—and our pocketbook—on the line.”
Boldly, Baas offered to add a $5,000-per-day liquidated damages clause to the contract. The client was shocked. “Although we were not the lowest bidder, we were awarded the job because the shortened shut-down period saved them more money than they would have saved hiring the next general contractor.” And the work? Well, it was completed on a 24/7 schedule with two superintendents, and finished six hours early. “We subsequently have done three more projects for them at their other locations,” adds Baas.

Hot Moves

And the projects keep coming, demonstrating that BJ Baas Builders has the right stuff to win loyal clients. Take this example from 2016, when the company was asked to build a two-building, multi-tenant development for a new client.
“We had never done a project for them, but we wanted to develop a relationship. We had hard bid the job against three other general contractors, and gained an interview with them,” says Baas.
At the interview, the BJ Baas Builders team expressed their interest in working with and building a long-term relationship with the client. And they made a bold pitch: “We proposed a cost-plus contract with a GMP (guaranteed maximum price) approach. They accepted our offer,” says Baas. “In the end, we completed the project 30 days early and saved the client over $300,000 with our approach.” The result from yet another gutsy move? The company gained a long-term client that was equally interested in establishing a relationship. In the end, they signed multiple new projects to take place throughout 2017. “That is our approach—we make sure the job at hand goes well, because we are always working toward the next project,” says Baas. “We don’t want to put our pocketbooks in front of making our clients succeed. That builds loyalty, trust and confidence.”
So what can we learn from BJ Baas Builders? That profound confidence, coupled with daring business savvy and a client-first perspective, can lead to amazing success. “We always want to do what is best for our clients. We understand the importance of customer service and truly want our clients to be satisfied—and this drives our decision-making,” says Baas.