by Julia Paulus

In 1947 Sam Mosby started a residential remodeling firm that was doing design/build before there was design/build, says his son, Scott Mosby. And after almost 63 years, Mosby Building Arts is going strong. 

Now run by Scott Mosby and his wife, Judy, the family business is preparing for a third generation to come on board.

The growth and success the company has experienced haven’t diverted its focus away from its original values. The company’s vision, “Make a positive difference in people’s lives every day,” continues to guide Scott Mosby in his business and in his personal life.

From the way the Mosbys handle employee and client relationships to the time, skills and resources their company gives while volunteering, the family spreads positivity in the business and throughout the community. This is just one of the reasons Mosby Building Arts has been named this year’s Family-Owned Business of the Year.

The Beginning
“Growing up, the business was a home-based mom-and-pop construction company,” says Scott Mosby. “I was 13 before I realized that not all families had lumber, nails, tools, trucks, ladders and supplies to play with like we did.”

As Mosby grew up, he watched his mom and dad work together and saw the positive influence they were having on people’s lives. “I realized how neat the construction industry was,” he says. “I realized in my last few years of college that I could make a difference in the family business.”

So that’s what he did. He wasn’t intimidated by a little hard work – he bartended, waited tables and drove a bus during college – and in 1977, after graduating, he went to work for his father as a carpenter. 

“I spent seven years as a carpenter,” says Mosby. “After five years on the carpentry crew, I became a foreman.”

After every step Mosby took in the business, he learned different things. “The people in our business have to be technically astute from the bottom to the top,” he says. “And I couldn’t run the business without that knowledge.”

The Second Generation of Leadership
In 1983 Mosby purchased the business from his dad and put what he had learned from his parents and their employees into action. “When I was responsible for the build, I saw what a good set of plans did, what mattered to clients and what success really looked like,” he says. “I realized how powerful design was coming from the production side. Preparation is the same as success. You have to show up with a plan that you’re able to communicate.”

The perspective Mosby gained over the years helped him understand the important role each employee plays. “My job is to get my employees what they need most, whether it’s training, compensation, tools or health insurance, so that they can do a good job,” he says.

He does this through what he calls servant-based leadership. “My employees don’t work for me; I work for them,” he says. “They’re trying to take care of their families, and I have the authority to help them do so or not. If I get my employees what they need to succeed and they do in their careers, then so do our clients and our business.”

For Mosby, supporting employees and their families goes beyond furthering current employees’ careers. “We really are a family and have reshaped what ‘family’ means at Mosby,” he says. “‘Family’ includes our co-workers, our clients and our community. We are way beyond birth line and choosing to extend our family by choice. We actively recruit the children of our co-workers who have the same work ethics and attitude of the parents.”

Spreading Mosby Values
The company’s commitment to bettering people’s lives goes beyond its employees to the community, where the business works with such organizations as Rebuilding Together St. Louis, which helps lower-income homeowners stay in their homes.

“Our company is about helping our neighbors stay in their homes, whether career-based or volunteer-based,” Mosby says. “We serve the same mission because we believe it in our bones. Our activity is congruent with our belief, consistent with our values and mission. Make a positive difference in people’s lives every day.”