Every day is “Just Another Fun Afternoon” for Dale Armstrong, owner of award-winning JAFA Enterprises.

Fifteen years ago, Dale Armstrong decided it was time to start his own construction company. He didn’t really have a good reason for it, other than getting tired of working as a pipe fitter for a decade and a half. So he just tells everyone it was a “mid-life crisis.”

The company needed a name, but he didn’t want to use the formula most builders follow that includes their last name. Armstrong had purchased a boat that year and dubbed it JAFA — Just Another Fun Afternoon. JAFA Enterprises had a ring to it, and Armstrong was on his way to finding construction clients.

Although JAFA has earned a reputation as an award-winning custom home builder, one day Armstrong walked into a remodeling project and liked it so much that from then on, it became a company niche.

While he gets satisfaction from being in the industry — and his job — learning the business side of it was not easy. He went back to school, taking the Certified Graduate Remodelor (CGR) course offered by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In addition to earning the CGR certification, he has been active in the Homebuilder’s Association of Kitsap County’s (HBA) Remodelor’s Council and has served as its chair.

But perhaps a bigger education experience came about two years ago, when his business was critiqued by peers through a national business networking group. The membership association comprised of remodelers and builders meets twice a year to analyze a member’s business and create 18 suggestions for improvements.

“You open up your books…and your heart,” Armstrong said. “It was a very eye-opening experience, very humbling.”

Armstrong came out learning as much about himself as he did about improving his company. Taking suggestions wasn’t easy — as any small-business owner would attest, advice from strangers isn’t always welcome. Yet he eventually soaked it in, and with his team mapped out their process. As a result, they eliminated redundancies and have created a more efficient business model.

JAFA Enterprises uses its client work as the best form of marketing. Many customers come back for more projects, refer their friends, and even open up their homes for “show and tell” as in the HBA’s recent Parade of Homes showcase event. JAFA took home a Best of Show Award for the best custom home under $350,000 and a judge’s special award for best use of window treatments on the same home in the 2004 Parade and has won Best of Show awards for remodel projects in previous years.

“You need to develop trust, be honest and sincere, not use the typical ‘car salesman approach.’ It’s all about (the clients), not about me,” he said.

But even as the focus is on the client, Armstrong gets his own satisfaction. It used to come from doing the physical work and watching the house being transformed. Now his job involves more bidding, selling, estimating, managing, and the like, so his satisfaction comes from seeing it all come together and working with clients.

Part of the satisfaction also comes from supporting other businesses and the industry. In January, Armstrong will begin his term as the HBA’s president and continue promoting affordable housing.