ANDREW MILLER JESSICA HARPER
Long-time Oxboro Cleaners owner retires 2A Local investor buys Molly Cool’s in Lakeville 2A A look back at 2010 in Dakota County 6A
dakotacountytribune.biz dakotacountytribune.biz
DATE ##, 2009 JANUARY 6, 2011
VOLUME 30, NUMBER # VOLUME 31, NUMBER 45
'DNRWD &RXQW\ 7ULEXQH Since 1884
B
U
S
I
N
E
S
S
w
e
e
Lakeville cabinet-maker adapts to the realities of the market by Stacey Ackerman DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
homeowners on Summit Avenue in St. Paul to restaurant booths. “I really enjoy working on starter homes,� Hoffman said. “Those people are more excited and appreciative than customers with really large budgets.� Today, Hoffman’s grosses about
Are you looking for a spiral-shaped dresser? Perhaps you need a special case to keep your treasured games? Or maybe it’s new closet builtins made just for your belongings that you fancy. From exotic to ordinary, Hoffman’s can create it. The custom cabinet-making shop located on Cedar Avenue and County Road 70 in Lakeville has gone from installing laminate countertops to producing extremely complex and unique custom cabinetry. “We’re not afraid to try anything and that’s why we’re still super busy,� said Jeff Hoffman, 42, who founded Photo by Rick Orndorf Hoffman’s Coun- Jeff Hoffman, owner of Hoffman’s Countertops and tertops and Cabi- Cabinets, creates everything from exotic to ordinary nets in 1993. custom cabinets. He founded the company in 1993. In the early In Brief: days, nearly all Contact Information: of the company’s Hoffman’s Countertops and Cabinets business went 21679 Cedar Ave., Lakeville to homes un(952) 469-6616 der construction. www.jeffhoffmaninc.com “New construction is done,� Hoffman said of the current marketplace. $1 million annually and has had to When the housing market started to dry up slow down its growth. a few years ago, many of Hoffman’s competitors “We grew too fast and sold too were forced to close their doors. Hoffman saw much,� Hoffman said. “We went back this as an opportunity to try something new and to the basics: high quality and handquickly changed his business model and diversi- holding. We could produce our prodfied the company’s offerings. ucts faster, but we want to take the “We started making garage cabinets, then time to make sure our customers are kitchen cabinets. We didn’t miss a beat,� Hoff- completely satisfied,� he said. man said. Hoffman and his team of eight The company now has an even split of com- employees, many who have been mercial and residential business. Its jobs range working for him since the comSee Hoffman, Page 44A from an $18,000 custom-home closet job for
In Brief
k
l
y
INSIDE BIZ FORUM
Consumers need to push child-care providers to offer high-quality educational programs, not just babysitting. 4A
DANE SMITH FORUM
Dayton and Republicans must compromise this session as they wade through the state debt and potential cuts. DON HEINZMAN 4A BUSINESS 101
STEVE BESEKE
Don’t let mistakes in your life or career derail you. Understand your brand and conf idently go where you want. 5A
FINANCIAL SENSE
Long-term planning can help you avoid f inancial pain, regret and possible ruin. Don’t fall for “easy payments.� PETER MCCLELLAN 5A
&
!""'! !
$
General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Advertising 952-846-2011