Scott Lewis is the owner of Fence Concepts, which designs and installs fencing projects for residential and commercial clients across the Twin Cities.
From St. Francis, Lewis, like Northface Construction owner Josh Swisher, appreciated the outdoors and the freedom afforded by his hometown.
“Living in St. Francis gave us some room to ride dirt bikes, and then my dad had enough space to run his fence company on the property,” says Lewis, who learned a ton about fencing from his father, namely how to take care of clients.
As a young adult, Lewis didn’t immediately get into fencing.
Instead, he worked soul-crushing, entry-level positions for Target and Frito-Lay while going to community college.
“I was bouncing around like the naïve young man that I was,” Lewis recalls.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, until I knew what I wanted to do.”
Lewis later graduated from an online university, and while he initially worked for a corporate behemoth to subsidize his lifestyle, he also spent his nights and weekends building Fence Concepts.
In fact, for eleven years, Lewis worked double-time, clocking in for a corporate entity during the day and then grinding relentlessly in hopes of turning Fence Concepts into a full-fledged business.
There was never an ideal time for Lewis to walk away from the steady paycheck offered by his employer, but eventually he didn’t allow complacency to stifle his ambitions, so he bid Corporate America goodbye and made Fence Concepts his full-time endeavor.
“I needed to pick a path,” Lewis admits.
“I could have continued to be a number at a Fortune 500 company, or I could commit myself 100% to my fencing company, so I made a decision.”
Becoming an entrepreneur without a safety net elicited angst in Lewis, and even though the St. Francis native reveals that being a business owner isn’t as great as one might expect, Lewis believes there is so much personal growth attached to entrepreneurship that doing anything else simply wouldn’t make sense.
“I have the autonomy to decide how to allocate my time, and also decide where I’m going to make investments that will hopefully elevate my business,” he says.
For Lewis and Fence Concepts, 2025 is going to be a pivotal year.
The guardrails are coming off.
Well, truthfully, they already have.
In an effort to become a name-brand fencing company, Lewis invested heavily into traditional media, placing ads on FOX 9 TV, purchasing a booth at the State Fair, and buying spots on the radio station 93X.
The capital required to get in front of potential clients was sizeable, and Lewis shares that paying for that type of exposure was not as rewarding as he had anticipated.
“People aren’t turning on their TV or their radio in order to find a fencing company to work with,” Lewis notes.
“Instead, they’re going on Google and social media, or asking their friends for a recommendation. Fortunately, I did get a few jobs from the traditional advertising, but my goal this year is to lean more into my relationships and the connections that I’ve already built.”
Incorporating a changeup into his marketing repertoire makes sense for Lewis, who of course would like to expand his fencing operation, but he also isn’t willing to compromise on the core tenets of what has made Fence Concepts relevant this last decade-plus.
Whether it’s installing a fence intended to keep your neighbor Karen’s prying eyes from scoping out your summer BBQ, or you would like to ensure your new puppy Buddie doesn’t chase that white squirrel across the road, Fence Concepts has designs and products that can match your vision and budget.
“In most cases, people install fences because they don’t want to be on display. Privacy is a real concern, particularly for people who have pools,” Lewis explains.
That being said, partnering with Fence Concepts to achieve that peace of mind isn’t cheap.
Chain link fences, vinyl, and wood.
Regardless of product, customers should expect to spend anywhere from $4,000-$7,000 on their new fence, depending on the size and scope of their project.
“Fences are expensive, so you want to hire a contractor that is meeting your needs from the initial consultation, all the way to the final walk-through,” says Lewis, who as a small business owner answers all the calls and runs all the sales appointments for Fence Concepts.
From spring through fall, Lewis is busy, but he’s never so constrained for time that he sacrifices the customer service aspect of his profession for the sake of earning a dollar.
“I look at it like this: clients don’t want to be sold. They want to be treated with dignity, and they also want to be educated so that they can make a decision that works best for their unique set of circumstances,” Lewis details.
“Transparently, there are times when we are not the lowest price, but I’m very confident in the products and services that we offer, and I think that sentiment is echoed in the type of clients that we attract.”
During slow season, Lewis is a mainstay at home shows around the Twin Cities because it’s in those winter months when he is able to get out in front of customers, often before these same clients ever have a pressing need for a new fence.
“I recently did a fence for a guy who I met two years ago at a home show,” Lewis says.
“He liked the fact that I took the time to educate him instead of immediately trying to sell him on a project. Lo and behold, two years later, he was ready to move forward and I was the only person he called. That’s the type of company I run.”
Looking ahead, as Lewis captures more market share, he is hoping to land more commercial clients, both in the government sector and with HOAs.
To do that will require a certain level of guile, creativity, and exemplary craftsmanship.
For his part, Lewis is ready to embrace whatever obstacles may enter his purview.
“My installers and I, we are a cohesive unit. They know what my expectations are, and since they’re so talented at what they do, often I make sure I’m merely staying out of their way,” Lewis says.
“Again, I would love to grow my fencing business in 2025, but any success we have is going to come as a result of doing the right thing.”
Adds Lewis:
“I won’t cut corners to reach my goals because I’ve been in this business for a long time, but I also plan on being in fencing for even longer, which is my way of saying that I’m not going anywhere, and I am excited about being a trusted resource for my clients.” QS
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As a family-owned business with 53 years of experience in the Twin Cities market, Grussing Roofing specializes in residential roofing, insurance restoration, siding, windows, and gutters.
For homeowners and commercial building owners who are looking to connect with a company that prides themselves on putting customers first, look no further than Eden Prairie-based Grussing Roofing.
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