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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2005)
Æ,’e F o rtia n i» (©baerüer page C8 May 4, 2005 yeom enin Careers --------------------------------------- ’---- Trading Corporate for Copies SaiFCORPORATION continued WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE Rated one of Oregon’s best companies to work for, SAIF Corporation offers employees an unparalleled package of competitive pay, excellent benefits, training, and a balanced work environment. We're the leading provider of workers' compensation insurance in Oregon, and CLAIMS we are committed to hiring and retaining LEGAL ACCOUNTING employees who represent our state's UNDERWRITING ethnic, cultural, and geographic diversity. PREMIUM AUDIT Join a team that delivers great results RETURN-TO-WORK for the people of Oregon. SAFETY & LOSS CONTROL NURSE CASE MANAGEMENT www.saif.com INSURANCE INVESTIGATIONS On the job fo r Oregon INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER r 1 L A l& id ,1 .1J 1 S e r v ic e oi S Residential-Offices “Cleanliness is next to Godliness" from C3 an underserved area.” Makin said that people often have the “if you build it, they will come mentality,” without realizing that marketing and location is key. “ You can have the greatest prod uct in the world but if you’re on a side street with no foot traffic no one’s going to know about it,” Makin said. Previous to their entrepreneur- ship, Monica was a lawyer and Wes was an engineer. Admitting their lack o f knowledge in starting their own business, they hired a consultant to show them the way. “ I t ’s n o t lik e o p e n in g a McDonalds where you have to have specific knowledge,” Makin said. “We just learned as we went.” On a daily basis, the shop func tions as a copy center, ranging in tasks like helping with shipping and document reproduction to rent ing out mailboxes and supplying boxes of Kleenex for the office. Beyond the average customer, the couple takes on special con Don ’t get discouraged with finances. Don't give up. There are programs out there that can help you. - Monica Makin, co-owner of The Parcel Place tracts, such as reprinting and bind ing construction guidelines for the New Columbia housing project. W orking with construction com panies is a common thing for them. Although Monica owns most of the business and does most o f the marketing, while Wes is more of the customer service side, the dy namics o f how she's treated as a woman can be difficult at times. “W hen we deal with women it’s not a problem, but every time I’ve dealt with a man there’s this doubt that you can’t deliver the product,” Makin said. To overcom e this initial skep ticism , M akin said, “Y ou’ve got to get the first project. O nce they see you can deliver and it’s good q u a lity , i t ’s no p roblem . But people are very set in their ways, they have particular people they deal w ith.” Makin said that she tries even harder to be aggressive in terms of marketing as a female. “You have to be,” she said. Like most startup businesses, it w asn’t easy in the beginning - but the M akin’s have made it through. “Understand that if you start a business, don’t expect to make any kind o f money for at least a year,” Makin said. “D on’t set yourself up for failure by undercapitalizing yourself and don't get discouraged with finances. D on’t give up. There are programs out there that can help you.” F or m ore inform ation, visit www.theparcelplace.com. Spring Cleaning Special call me Linda J. Scott Owner Insured - Bonded 503-249-0081 Coupon 10% off on first cleaning I_____________________ Would you like to own your own home/ Would you like to refinance your current home, to lower your monthly payments/ ■Good Credit "Bad Credit "Mortgage Late o.k. ■Refinance "Purchase "First-Time Buyer 100% Financing Option Available & No up front fees! I DO IT ALL! If I ca n 't do it - NOBODY CAN! C all me today ! S03.722.8878 Charlotte i Martin ZZZ N . E . P a r k P la z a l ) r . S u it e 1 15 V a n c o u v e r , \ V A 9 8 6 ft4 HOMELOAN S O U R G E Breaking into Demolition continued from CS ness, I had no idea whether I had an adequate credit rating to purchase an alternate site. I went to the bank and found that it was my business skill and reputation that the bank was depending on all those years and that lending me money for a property purchase was not going to be a problem. What a great feeling! This was a much different experi ence with the bank than it had been some 25 years before. So, off J went to find property for Staton's new home. From the beginning, I had taken over more and more of the manage ment and control o f the business, but did not spend much time in the field. When 1 applied for the certi fication as a woman-owned busi ness, it became a stumbling block. In considering my appl ication to the Oregon Office o f Minority, W omen and Emerging Small Busi ness, they did not dispute that I was the majority stock holder and that I operated the business, but I could not prove that I had control in the field. After hiring attorneys and mak ing many attempts to reason with them, pointing out how unfair the rules were and complaining that men were not held to that standard, I took their advice. They suggested that I learn to operate and get some experience in the field. It was not necessary that I become an expert, hut I needed to demonstrate that I could do the work and understand the process. I steeled myself to the idea of being taught by my expert operators and practiced runni ng large pieces of equip ment in the “back 40” of our site. It made for interesting entertainment for my crew, but I was undaunted. 1 com pleted three jobs that were documented and placed on my resume. I got the certification. I started the whole pro cess over again with the state of Wash ington and was finally successful. Being a woman has not been an obstacle in my career. It may even have been an asset in some re spects. When you conjure up a vi sion of a typical demolition con tractor, it doesn't look like me. Being a little unique doesn’t hurt. The world is full of opportuni ties foryoung women looking fora career in construction. There are excellent apprenticeship programs and other training opportunities at community colleges and state uni versities. W orkforce diversity re quirements on major public work projects are becoming the norm and many private owners are re quiring that contractors have a workforce that is more representa tive of the general population. All of these combine to offer women more opportunities than at any other time in the history of the industry. Jeanne Staton is the owner o f Staton Companies. She can he reac hed at jeanne@statonco.com
