As a teenager Betsy Rosengrant-Stein spent time running errands for the family remodeling business her father started in 1960. After serving time in the U.S. Coast Guard as a telecommunications specialist, she returned to the business armed with bigger aspirations and a commitment to observing the Golden Rule. By simply treating her clients the way that she would want to be treated, Rosengrant-Stein lead her company to even greater success. For her dedication to the community and professionalism, Betsy Rosengrant-Stein, CGR, CGP, president of KD Rosengrant Building and Remodeling, York, Pa., is NAHB Remodeler of the Month for September.

“I left home at 18 and joined the U.S. Coast Guard and then thought that I would like to come back and learn the business end of the family business,” says Rosengrant-Stein. “I had always been the grunt and the gopher, but wanted to learn how the business was actually run. So I came back in 1997 and worked for my father for five years until I bought him out in 2002.”

In terms of business best practices, she is a big believer in the benefits of operating with the Golden Rule in mind — to treat customers the way she herself would want to be treated. The philosophy helps her make good decisions, she says.

“I’m going to work at your house the same way I would do it at mine,” adds Rosengrant-Stein. “So when I put a roof on a client’s house, I’m not going to do it any differently than I did it at mine. I’m not going to change materials or the process. It goes on exactly the same way. I find that people really appreciate us for treating them and their home that way.”

Under her leadership the company has been very active in her local community. She spearheaded her local Remodelers Council’s efforts in renovating and repairing the York Women and Children’s Association camp. At the Children’s Home of York, a program that takes care of children with no place else to go, the company has renovated bedrooms and made the facility a nicer place to live. Rosengrant-Stein also volunteers and sits on the site selection committee for the local Habitat for Humanity chapter.

KD Rosengrant Building and Remodeling contracts about 95 percent of its business within a five-mile radius of its office. Key to the firm’s marketing success has been efforts to build the company’s brand. The company sponsors the new minor-league baseball team. They also advertise on a billboard near their office. The firm also invests heavily in high-quality jobsite signs, lettering for vehicles and company clothing. The strategy of working close to home has had the advantage of making her small company appear very large to the immediate area.