Just say no; B&G Building Maintenance succeeds by knowing when to turn down a contract.Turning down contracts has been a key to Brett Tate's success. The president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of B&G Building Maintenance Inc. follows a fundamental rule for controlling the growth and maintaining the profitability of his company: All contracts are not good contracts. Leaving his job as a financial planner Financial Planner A qualified investment professional who assists individuals and corporations meet their long-term financial objectives by analyzing the client's status and setting a program to achieve these goals. in 1990, Tate launched his company with $8,000 in personal savings, with which he purchased supplies and hired three employees. What began as a company servicing small buildings has expanded into one offering property ground maintenance, recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. , courier services and medical supplies delivery. The idea of starting B&G came to him when Tate was a junior at Howard University Howard University, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; with federal support. It was founded in 1867 by Gen. Oliver O. Howard of the Freedmen's Bureau, to provide education for newly emancipated slaves. A normal and preparatory department was opened the same year. . At the time, he worked in facilities maintenance for an airline that eventually went bankrupt. "The company was losing money," Tate recalls. "I thought if they contracted with an outside firm for their ground maintenance, instead of having in-house employees, they would have saved millions." Now that he's in the driver's seat driv·er's seat n. A position of control or authority. , Tate, 30, won't accept a contract with less than the 6% to 8% profit margin needed to allow for unexpected expenses. A three-month wait for payment on a contract is not unusual. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , 22 full-time and 16 part-time employees must be paid. "Six payrolls must be met before you make a penny," says Tate. "We don't want to tie up our cash flow while we wait for the first receivable." B&G earned $608,000 in revenues last year. Tate estimates that 1994 revenues will soar toward $2.3 million, once the company receives the U.S. Small Business Administration's 8(a) certification, which is expected in the coming months. By knowing when to say no, B&G can better satisfy its customers when the company finds jobs that are right for it. "The company is one of the most responsive I've dealt with," says Naomi V. Turner, owner of NVT NVT Niet Van Toepassing NVT Network Virtual Terminal NVT Network Video Technologies NVT Navegantes, Santa Catarina, Brazil (Airport Code) NVT Nederlands als Vreemde Taal NVT New Venture Theatre Inc., who has contracted numerous jobs with B&G. "If there is a problem, they make the necessary changes, with no complaints," says Allen G. Silverman, manager of ARC American Equipment Co., another B&G customer. "Tate is always on hand." --Cassandra Hayes B&G Building Maintenance, 1377 K Street N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005; 800-257-0372. |
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