Dennis Lee was first trained in operating heavy construction equipment in 1976 at the Operating Engineers Apprenticeship Program. As an Operating Engineer, he worked on commercial construction projects for nearly 15 years. In the states of North Dakota and Texas he worked on such projects as power stations and coalmines. In Washington State he has worked on the following construction projects: Tacoma Sheraton Hotel, Hood's Canal Bridge, Satsop Nuclear Power Plant, Saint Joseph Hospital, I-5 freeway widening project, Schuster Parkway, as well as numerous road, water line and utility work. Dennis has also worked as a union BoilerMaker for the Tacoma Boat Building Company, and the Lockheed Shipyard.

Transferring his construction knowledge and experience from commercial to residential, Dennis founded Self Builder Services, Inc., in 1992 after years of successfully building and selling his own personal homes. Through his personal experience he realized both the tens of thousands of dollars he was saving by self-managing the construction process, and the instant equity built into each home by building at contractor's wholesale prices rather than buying through a general contractor at retail market value.