We were lucky to catch up with Brandt Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brandt, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I get my work ethic from my family. Growing up my father would make us rise early and do chores both inside and outside the home. These chores would consist of everything from dusting, dishes, and vacuuming, to cutting grass and raking leaves. In the summers I would go to my uncle’s home in Virginia where he had a small farm and rental properties, and I would help him clean the rental properties prepare for the next family or students, and tend to the garden. Since the summers were hot, we would get up and be outside by 7 am so we could stay inside during the heat of the day before returning outside in the evening to finish anything we didn’t do in the morning. I would also do odd jobs for his older neighbors who couldn’t do the work, so removing brush for example. I would even strip copper wire so we could take it to the recycling plant for money.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a general contractor/construction manager and SGS Contracting focuses on commercial construction. We are based in Durham, NC and we perform projects within a 50-mile radius, but will be looking to expand across the state in the coming years. We do new construction as well renovations and upfits. Our target markets are K-12 and higher education. We are currently building a new elementary school for Durham Public Schools, Murray-Massenburg Elementary School, and this is the vision that I had when I started SGS, come back to my home and be a part of the new construction to make Durham a better city.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Respect everyone and treat everyone the way you want to be treated. That goes a long way both on a personal and business level. Be a leader. A lot of people can be managers, but if you are going to run a business, then you need to be a leader of your staff and project teams. Have the drive to push through and forward when needed. There will be many obstacles and they will never stop and they will come in many different forms, but have the drive to find other avenues when there is a roadblock.
Never stop learning. You never know everything and you never know enough, so always be open to and continue to learn, not just in your craft, but just general knowledge. Learning includes learning about your team and employees what motivates them and how to motivate them.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Finding and retaining quality employees. With fewer individuals going into construction, the industry as a whole is aging out, so finding and keeping quality employees is a struggle given the amount of growth and building in this area. So not only is there not a lot of quality employees, but as a small business, I am also competing against the larger construction firms for the same type of employees.
To combat this, we work with local high schools to increase awareness of the construction industry and let students know construction is a viable career option, we work with the local technical colleges to try to obtain students. I am also working to ensure that our compensation package is competitive with the larger construction firms to hopefully entice potential employees to consider us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sgscontractingllc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgs_contracting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SGSContractingllc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sgscontracting
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SGS_Contracting
