Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/95873
contractor of the year finalist | by Marcia Gruver Doyle "Out-of-the-box" duo goes through Florida's housing slump, emerging with a new emphasis… and a new business venture. Alisa and Jason Bennett Bradenton, FL Bennett Contracting Year started: 2000 Number of employees: 19 Annual revenues: $3 to $5 million Markets served: Commercial site preparation, underground utilities, municipal sidewalk and street improvements www.bennettcontractinginc.com T he fi rst thing that strikes you about Alisa and Jason Bennett is that they are a good team, and not in the typical outside-person/inside-person divi- sion found in many construction fi rms. Conversation with Alisa can be rapid fi re, but Jason banters with the best of them, and their crews are used to seeing both of them on the jobsite. "Jason and I attribute our growth to being out-of-the-box thinkers," Alisa says. "Sometimes people look at us as if we have three heads, but it works for us." But this seeming blue sky ap- proach is bedded in conservative, thoughtful decisions, the two say. This includes avoiding overextend- ing themselves, making sure they have cash reserves and seeing that their crews are cross trained. All of these became survival practices after they saw their Florida business shrink by 34 percent in one year. By the time you're 30 But that's getting ahead of the story. Alisa and Jason have known each other since they were 12 years old, about the time Jason started helping out in his father's small construction EquipmentWorld.com | December 2012 45