Nate Mielke is the owner of Skapar, a remodeling company in Minneapolis.
From Minnetonka, Mielke wasn’t shy about getting out on the water.
“There were a lot of people with boats,” he quips.
After high school, Mielke stopped learning, at least in the traditional, institutionalized sense.
“School was definitely not for me,” he admits.
“I actually like learning, but only about the things that I like to learn about. I also need a reason why in order to learn something.”
With Victorian literature or neurophysics not in his future, Mielke then grabbed a hammer and joined a labor crew.
“We were building $20 million log homes,” recalls Mielke, who was simultaneously building a future.
“At that point I knew that that’s what I needed to do with my life, was be involved with building homes in some capacity.”
Curious about the construction industry, Mielke enrolled at Hennepin Tech, a trade school.
“It was a good crash course on how to not cut off your fingers,” Mielke jokes, but his experience there allowed him to start working with his uncles, who were doing remodels.
Along with on-the-job training, Mielke also picked up on the nuances of communicating with clients and learning how to manage project workflow, but then in 2009, he was laid off.
“I was forced to go out on my own, essentially,” proclaims Mielke, who simply didn’t want to do anything else.
“It was painful, but it was the best thing for me.”
Fifteen years later, Mielke’s company, Skapar, still specializes in remodeling homes, and they have evolved to the point where they are very particular about the people they work with.
“We do projects for clients that we want to work with, and that want to work with us,” Mielke bluntly states.
In most cases, Mielke’s clients have grandiose ambitions and large budgets for their remodels, and are also looking to partner with a remodeler who can make the entire renovation seamless.
But in order to facilitate a streamlined remodel, Mielke and Skapar are extremely diligent on the front end, far before any walls are ripped down or faucets are installed.
For context, they prefer a consultative approach where they sit down with prospective clients in order to gauge if a client’s wants can harmonize with their budget.
Typically, Skapar’s clients are homeowners who plan on being in their home another 5-10 years, thus allowing them to see the ROI on their significant investment.
“We don’t do flips or investment properties,” Mielke tells me, but that’s not the only way they’re different.
They also bring out their designer and project manager to the initial in-home consultation so that no detail goes unnoticed or unaddressed.
“We sit down with the decision makers and we have a conversation,” Mielke says.
“The decision makers part is crucial because we want everyone there, and if not all decision makers are present for that initial consultation, then we won’t do it.”
This may sound harsh, but Skapar values their time and really wants to make sure that their projects are a collaborative process, and that expectations are being properly established.
“Remodeling a home, it’s a process,” Mielke notes.
“People have budgets, and we have to accommodate those in a way that works design-wise, and then also in a way where we are not expanding their budget past where it can go.”
Recently Mielke and his team completed a project for two doctors with kids over in Golden Valley.
In this instance, the clients had the resources, and they prioritized working with a remodeler who could make the entire endeavor flow, even if it meant paying a premium for Skapar’s expertise.
“We had the project designed and in production within five months,” Mielke says of the Golden Valley job, but in some cases, projects can last over a year, depending on their complexity.
“Speed is important because if someone goes to an architect and then tries bid out 3 different contractors, that could extend the process by 2-3 months, if not much longer,” Mielke adds.
Again, when one calls Skapar, they are not getting a “deal.”
Instead, they’re getting a highly competent remodeler that removes all guesswork and worry for homeowners.
At the same time, due to the fees associated with hiring a top-level company, Mielke readily acknowledges that not everyone is a great fit for what Skapar offers.
“Sometimes people’s budgets don’t align with the project they have in mind,” Mielke says, but that’s obvious.
“So it’s my job to make sure prospective clients leave our initial meeting with a really good idea of what’s feasible and possible at their price point.”
Which again is why relationships are so critical, and why establishing trust at the outset serves as an omen for things to come.
“My clients and I, we are working together for months, if not years,” Mielke mentions.
“That’s why I’m such a big believer in developing trust right away because as a homeowner, you don’t want to get into a situation where you’re working with a contractor that you don’t think can complete the project that was agreed to at the start.”
Adds Mielke:
“Really, to get to that point of feeling at ease requires tough conversations up front, and I quite literally have built a career out of having those types of conversations, because while those kinds of interactions may not be comfortable to have, they’re ultimately necessary and essential to getting to the end goal.”
Of note:
Skapar operates under fixed-price contracts, meaning the price they quote their clients is the price they pay, barring any changes made by the client themselves.
“That should tell prospective clients all they need to know about how refined and accurate our pricing processes are,” says Mielke, who after fifteen years in business, can give accurate ranges for their project upfront to determine the feasibility of working together.
“If someone tells me what year their house was built, and what city it is in, I can give them a really good idea right away of what a remodel will look like and cost, all from my desk.”
For those debating hiring a less established contractor in hopes of saving a couple bucks, consider that when you pay less on the front end, sometimes you pay significantly more later.
For example, Mielke is currently in talks with a client who hired someone else based on price, only to come back to Mielke after the contractor they hired ended up raising the budget after the project was underway, to the tune of $50,000.
“This happens with contractors who are so eager to get started that they don’t properly bid out the project, and then they just try to add things in along the way,” Mielke explains.
“The problem when you do that is, as a contractor, you’re always looking at having to make decisions on the fly, and then your clients have to make a decision on the fly as well, and that just leads to chaos for everyone involved.”
For the well-seasoned Mielke, he’s at an interesting point in his business.
He’s not going out of his way to convince homeowners to hire him, because he knows his value and the type of efficiency that he brings to the Twin Cities remodel market.
“I’m not for everybody,” he deadpans.
“Certain contractors get along with certain people. I have a personality that people like, and I have a really good team around me that helps me carry out projects and satisfy customers. That’s gotten me here, and it’s likely going to be a big factor for wherever I go next.” QS
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