ASPHALT ANSWERS
BOOTH # 834
Chances are , you ’ re reading this at a trade show , which a great off-season way to expand your knowledge . many offer pothole patching as a service for municipalities ? How about infrared asphalt repair ? Does your company pave precise enough to be a running track specialist ? What happened the last time you got a call to pave a 6 foot walking path or chip seal a failing county road ? What do all of these applications have in common ? Less competition , which means higher profits . Is it more satisfying to cut another $ 100 off your profit so you can barely break even or name your own price because you are the only game in town ? There are plenty of ways to create new markets , you just have to have the foresight and planning to make it a reality . Learn a New Skill . I ’ m talking mainly to the crew members here . Take the initiative to make the jump up the ladder this season by showing the supervisor you are ready to take on some new responsibility . Easy , right ? Nope . Nothing worthwhile is . There are a couple of things you need to do . First , find someone who is good at what they do and find out how they do it . How does the screed man make that perfect hot joint every time ? How does the supervisor deal with all of the issues of the day and not get frustrated ? Secondly , go to school . There are plenty of training sessions available to make you a more valuable member of your team . Your efforts will never go unrewarded , but as with anything else in life , hard work is the key . Be a Mentor . Did you get to the position you are in today on the first day on the job ? Of course not . More than likely , someone you trusted took you under their wing and showed you the ropes , let you fail and most importantly , picked you up and showed you the right way . Now it ’ s time to pay it forward . Find someone you think can be a contributor and take them under your wing and be their mentor . This investment will pay dividends in low turnover because yours is a company that invests in its team . One of my favorite authors once said “ You ’ re the same today as you ’ ll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read .” This certainly applies in our industry . Asphalt is an ever changing art . Each year new challenges arise and if we don ’ t refresh and change with it , our business will die , or worse yet , we ’ ll end up sitting in an office not being able to smell that beautiful bitumen smell .
Brian Hall , LeeBoy Territory Manager . He can be reached via email at Brian . Hall @ Leeboy . com .
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