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,
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We're the leading provider of workers'
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CLAIMS
we are committed to hiring and retaining
LEGAL
ACCOUNTING
employees who represent our state's
UNDERWRITING
ethnic, cultural, and geographic diversity.
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INSURANCE INVESTIGATIONS
On the job fo r Oregon
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
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A l& id
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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.
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503-249-0081
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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