Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Cote.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The story of Bill & I goes back to Mrs. Martel’s first grade class at St. Augustine’s School, where we met as two goofy six-year-olds and began what would turn into the lifelong friendship we have today. (We both turn 54 in November this year.) To be honest, Bill is more like my brother than my friend. He is my daughter’s godfather and our kids call us “Uncle Steve” and “Uncle Billy,” respectively, and have since they were just old enough to talk.
The very beginning of Cote & Foster when I decided to attend high school at Greater Lawrence Tech and study carpentry, like Billy and a few of the other guys. Thinking about it back then, I didn’t want to get a job someday sitting in an office. I always liked working with my hands.” Being good friends and being able to work so well together, Billy always says, “it seemed natural to try to do this.”
After graduation, we went on to major in civil engineering at Northern Essex Community College. Classes were Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and we took jobs on Tuesdays and Thursdays building decks, porches, and mantels, among others. It’s really cool to think that where we are today, those kind of jobs are considered small in comparison to others we’ve completed since then.
Eventually school started getting in the way of work and we called it quits with only one semester to go. We just knew what we wanted to do and had too much work lining up. We started out working out of an old car, with a makeshift office in my mom’s (Lorraine) basement and Bill’s mom (Barbara) answering phones for us.
After some years, we eventually were able to find a commercial space on Water Street in Lawrence to set up headquarters and have enough space for the trucks we needed. Definitely an upgrade from borrowing my dad’s basement, but there was still room for improvement. There always is. From there we acquired our current space off of Pelham St in Methuen, complete with office space, a workshop that spans two floors, and a garage for our cube vans, dump truck, and hydraulic lifts. More recently, we expanded into the unit next to ours, allowing us to add a conference room for meetings with subcontractors and clients alike.
Has it been a smooth road?
The early years were about what you would expect. I bought our first company vehicle for $100 from my dad (Armand), a Plymouth Volkswagen station wagon, when we were students. Not exactly the kind of car you wanted to take a date in, but for our work, it did just fine. We kept our tools in the back and it was always a mess, but it got us back and forth to school and jobs. My dad also let us use his basement for our headquarters and driveway for a makeshift shop.
We were in our early 20s and our friends were out having a good time, while we worked well past dinner time, doing estimates after dark when we finished with jobs for the day. As a young husband and then father, I often got home from jobs after 8pm with only a few minutes to spend with my kids before their bedtime. I know Bill struggles with the same. I won’t lie, those early years were rough, but I think that’s part of the reason we were successful, for the crazy long hours and work we put in.
Like I said before, we definitely had ups and downs, especially in tough economic times. There were times when Bill and I didn’t take much of a paycheck, or none at all, in order to keep the business going and in order to pay our guys. But, we kept pushing and putting money back into the business whenever possible, even now. There’s always room for improvement, and always a solution to any problems that come up.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Cote & Foster Contracting is known for custom building and remodeling in the Merrimack Valley, Southern New Hampshire, and surrounding areas. Still can’t believe we’re celebrating 33 years this year.
We currently employ 11 people out of our Methuen, MA office, have 5 trucks in the field, and manage on average 12 jobs at any given time. While we offer a full design & build program, we specialize in custom remodeling projects ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000. Although currently, we are beginning the third phase of a multi-million-dollar project on the North Shore.
Our background in civil engineering allows us to offer a full design and build program. This service that involves seeing an entire project through from initial meeting to the drafting of final plans for the client’s approval, with everything in between. Once the design is approved, we move on to estimating and beginning the project per the client’s needs and preferences.
I believe our edge in the business lies partly in the combined experience of 70+ years between Bill and I and our ability to custom design projects. The design piece, in many cases can eliminate an architectural expense for clients looking to build a brand new home or completely remodel and existing home. In addition to that, we have long-term relationships with our subcontractors and vendors, and most of our guys on the crew have 10-29 years of experience working with us, keeping up the Cote & Foster standard of quality.
Contact Info:
- Address: 20 Aegean Drive Suite 15, Methuen, MA 01844
- Website: coteandfoster.com
- Phone: (978)682-6518
- Email: cyndi@coteandfoster.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/coteandfostercontracting
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/coteandfoster
Image Credit:
Tom Grassi – ImageTec Photo, Amanda Cote
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