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Fathers & Sons in the Family Business
Reprinted from Builder & Remodeler, July, 2005 edition

Jason and Tim Schaeffer

On Father's Day, Jason and Tim Schaeffer enjoyed themselves at a fabulous dinner in Atlantic City. Jason, age 30 and his father Tim, age 55, own Daystar Construction and Tim Schaeffer Communities based in Berlin. The two have been working together since Jason was a youngster; Jason’s younger brother Evan, 22, is currently completing college. They build single family and town home communities and are active with the Builders League of South Jersey where Tim once served as president. The Schaeffers have a long tradition of building beginning with Jason's grandfather who ran a sheathing business. Tim Schaeffer eventually took over his father's company and expanded into custom home building and other kinds of field work. Then, he had an accident.

"My father doesn't like to talk about it, but he became very close to being paralyzed when I was young," explains Jason. "He could not work for over a year and was never able to return to construction field work. Our family came close to bankruptcy and my mother had to go to school part time so she could take a job, and still raise me while my father was in the hospital getting surgery after surgery. Since he could no longer swing a hammer, he took an office job with the local branch of a national builder. He said it was the worst and best thing that happened to him. Years later, my father started his own custom home business, and by 1989 he successfully created his first new home community. He remains a very successful builder and developer. And while he is a self educated man who can discuss politics, economics, science, literature, and every facet of the construction industry despite working his way through high school and never finishing college, he is a great example of the American Dream."

Tim Schaeffer also gave his son Jason many lessons in construction. "My father was always the disciplinarian and I have a healthy respect for him for he taught me a lot about hard work, keeping my nose down and integrity. As soon as I was old enough to work, I became a laborer followed by a carpenter's assistant. After college I worked full-time in customer service, which taught me patience and the value of the customer, then in sales & marketing. I am currently the Director of Operations, but Tim is still the boss."

The Schaeffers continue to build new communities together and enjoy the fact that as a family they can tell each other the truth if things are not right. "When you work in a family business, we say what we mean and don't pour sugar over it," says Jason. "Because it's family, we can be rough on each other at times. And since we see each other all the time, it gets hard to separate work from just hanging out with Dad. My father is one of my best friends and we talk about almost anything, which would never happen if we didn't work together."

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