Home Building Workshops' director Jim Nawrot spent thirty years as a residential builder, during which time he designed and built more than 300 custom homes. His objective from day one was to build an energy-efficient house, and he became so proficient  at it that he earned a United States patent for his energy-efficient construction methods. Subsequently he opened a factory in Northern Michigan where he produced energy-efficient panelized housing.

While Jim was building and manufacturing houses, he was constantly encountering people who believed that good hands on skills were all they needed to build their own homes. They gave little thought to building codes, construction financing, legal forms, government bureaucracies, or a host of other contingencies. Consequently, for many, the building experience became a nightmare. Jim concluded that he could put together a series of workshops that would make self-motivated builders aware of problems likely to emerge during each phase of construction. Jim reasoned that with this awareness, his students would be able to anticipate problems and deal with them before they became issues. He conducted his first workshop in early 1993.

Jim was overwhelmed by the positive response. In short order, he was speaking to several hundred people each year. His school was certified by the Michigan Department of Education. His programs were approved by the tuition-assistance plans of several major corporations for presentation nationally. His faculty now boasts more than two dozen members.