Equipment World Digital Magazine
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months, so Silverman then guides owners in compartmentalizing the long-term approach. "You take that five-year plan, then break it down into a one-year plan. Then you take the one-year plan, break that down, and determine the priorities that move your agenda forward," he says. "While it's not an absolute guarantee that growth is going to happen, you do have a method that makes things more predictable and consistent in terms of growth." One component that comes from this process, Silverman explains, is also the weakest: a marketing strat- egy. "People try to push a business forward without ever mastering something as basic as a marketing system," he says. Many contractors Silverman works with say they're not getting all the clients they want at their current target market, so they believe they should pursue larger clients. "That's a big mistake," he says. "I tell them to learn now to get really good at the market they're attacking today, and once they nail that, move on." Delegating responsibility Silverman says he's seen growth stop for paving contractors because they get so large they no longer can effectively run the business. "Many of them start off doing seal coating jobs, and then they grow and get to a point where they have several crews, but the owner is still trying to do everything," Silverman says. "The business just stops grow- ing because the owner becomes the bottleneck." Silverman explains owners must install a management team, pro- mote themselves to CEO, and put processes in place that allow them to place more responsibility on the management team. This sounds easy on paper, but often meets re- sistance across a company because employees often fear change and are unsure of their abilities. Plus, an owner can be reluctant to step away from certain tasks. "Because he doesn't want to let go, he doesn't always train his management team to do the things that he needs to, and then he turns around and realizes the plan doesn't work," Silverman adds. Chris Fink, owner and general manager of Dale's Paving in Bossier City, Louisiana, realized several years ago he was stretched too thin and made a shift. In addition to paving, he and his wife also ran a car wash business. "When my father was around it was easier," he says, referring to his late father Dale W. Fink, Sr., who established the company in 1982 and passed away in 2008. "It was just too difficult to run the car wash and run the paving business," he says. "I felt like I was never 100 percent anywhere – I was a third at home, a third at Dale's Paving, a third at the car wash and 100 percent nowhere. So we sold the car wash and really ramped up and focused on Dale's Paving." Running and managing his busi- ness has changed; he now del- egates responsibilities to seasoned and capable employees. "My man- agement honestly is more hands off now for me than ever before, which is scary, but I feel necessary consid- ering our growth," Fink says. Silverman recommends owners continue the activities that provide long-term return on investment, such as creating strategic relation- ships, planning a new service and following up with large customers to make sure they're happy. "You want to make sure your cli- ents clearly know they are a priority and are being taken care of," he says. "At the same time you can't have the attitude that clients only want to see you, the owner. That's a recipe for being small forever." September 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 32 highway contractor | continued Dale's Paving recognizes that developing and maintaining a competent work force is key to business growth, says Chris Fink. Chris Fink, owner and general manager, Dale's Paving.