FOLLOWING A STEADY PATH TO SUCCESS

RICHARD COOPER HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH HIS HANDS HIS DAD OFTEN ENLISTED HIS HELP IN FIXING THINGS AT HOME, AND AS AN ADULT THAT SKILL LED HIM TO RENOVATING, WHERE HE LEARNED ABOUT HOME CONSTRUCTION AND LUMBER.

THAT BACKGROUND has been an asset he’s built on as he’s grown his business, Maximus Building Supply. Today, Cooper’s company provides quality building supplies to most of the custom homebuilders in the Mid-South.

Energetic and hard-working, Cooper is passionate about what he does. The company’s core values, proudly displayed around the building, point to words he lives by: Integrity. Service. Faith.

“We see ourselves as an extension of our customers, helping them to manage their jobs and being proactive by offering solutions,” Cooper says. “We are focused on building relationships and delivering value.”

Maximus has 118 employees and four locations in West Tennessee and North Mississippi. Working with business partners Michael Head and Steve Martin, the trio make a dynamic team. More than 80 percent of their clients are area home builders, the remaining 20 percent a mix of multi-family-home builders and renovators.

Cooper learned first-hand about home construction by doing many projects himself. He and his wife would buy a fixer-upper and live in the house for several years as he did the remodeling before selling and starting again.

While I’ve always liked working with my hands,” he says, “I learned I had good vision. I could look at a house that was ugly and see how I could make it more attractive.”

Service Leads To Sales

Early in his career Cooper waited on customers for a Firestone in Raleigh, where his hard work and commitment to quality service was soon recognized. At age 21, “I was named the youngest store manager nationally for Firestone.” Although the store had never before made a dime, under his leadership, they began turning a profit.

Later, Cooper decided to pursue his interest in home construction and at 25, went to a lumber yard owner hoping to become a salesman. ‘Come back when