We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jess Lohse. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jess below.
Hi Jess, 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?
Growing up in a family business, I had a front row seat watching my grandparents and father work hard, not for a wage, but for the success or failure of the business. Work is just what we did – if it wasn’t working in the business it was working at home. My family always had various construction projects going on, whether it was building homes, landscaping, or other home improvement projects. I was also fortunate to witness hard work on my mother’s side. Growing up, she worked various office jobs and never took a day off and was never late. Similarly, my stepdad worked as a lineman for a telephone company in various parts of rural Montana. Everywhere I looked I saw people working hard, so I never knew anything different. I always joke that my number one hobby is more work. My wife, son, and I are always doing some type of project around the house and we’re planning a significant addition for our home next summer.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Operating a trade association, we work to help businesses throughout the country run their businesses a little bit better. We are able to provide industry standard best practices on various safety, installation, and quality management techniques. Recently, SBCA has been focused on expanding knowledge within the construction industry on more efficient options to build wood frame projects, whether it be a single-family home, apartment complex, or light commercial application. Specifically, SBCA just led a project in June where our partners framed a 2,400 square foot house (pictured) on the National Mall in under 8 hours for HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase. My role within the organization is figuring out how to say “yes” to our members and staff on various endeavors, projects, and offerings. We have so many great minds in our industry, the collection of ideas that come out of our member and staff meetings are simply amazing. I work to take the best ideas and turn them into actions for the betterment of our trade association, the broader component and construction industries, and most importantly, our members’ businesses and operations.
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?
Hard work.
Attitude and effort.
Understanding Motivations.
There is no substitute for hard work. Condition yourself to work hard by default, and not just once in a while in front of a deadline, or project, or group effort. Which brings in the second point, attitude and effort. A lot will happen in your life and career that is out of your control, but you can always control two things: your attitude and your effort. With a great attitude and exceptional effort, amazing things tend to happen. Beyond this, most people are self-oriented which can make progress difficult when on opposite sides of an issue. If you’re able to think through the motivations of the other person, whether it is a business deal or looking for a potential spouse, you’re more likely to appeal to those motivations and ensure a successful outcome. Similarly, if you realize it is a bad fit early on, you’re actually ahead by being able to drop a bad bet and move on to the next opportunity.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
There have been so many people who’ve helped me along the way. From my parents and grandparents throughout my life to the college basketball coaches I worked with while at the University of Montana (as a team manager), college professors who’ve become friends, to the relationships I’ve forged through SBCA, to my wife and even my son – I am grateful to them all. I’ve been fortunate to receive a tremendous amount of opportunities. Opportunity is one of the greatest things one individual can give another person. Sure, they can be earned and often are, but they still need to be awarded. Realizing an opportunity in the moment can be difficult. Individuals will only receive so many “big time” opportunities throughout their life. Sometimes they need to get out of their own way to realize the significance of the opportunity right in front of them. The coaches, professors, family members, friends, and colleagues of my life have all afforded me the opportunity to do great, amazing, fun things.
One of those opportunities is being a part of this association; the people of SBCA are passionate about making change and bettering its industry, which is a big part of its success. I really think we are on the verge of doing some great things with our association and industry. We have a great combination of members/volunteers and our association staff, all of whom will help to drive us forward into the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sbcacomponents.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesslohse/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sbcaexecutivedirector2993?si=5kguuweBo8Q7jYmW
Image Credits
House: 84 Lumber/Kisker Productions
Glacier: Jess Lohse
Judge/Jess: Jess Lohse
Speaker: Association Studio/Jim Wacksman
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
