91视频

Tara Kramer, owner of in Portland, isn’t waiting for business to fall in her lap. Since opening her commercial roofing company in 2007, she has tripled her business, expanded into Washington and Pennsylvania, and has plans to open offices in Arizona and Hawaii by the second half of this year.

Kramer has some advice for small contractors looking to grow.

鈥淚n this economy, you have to take baby steps,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have to keep your overhead low.鈥�

To that end, Kramer’s first expansion was into Washington, which was close enough to let her maintain a greater amount of control over jobs. That step helped her lay the groundwork for future expansion, she said.

With trusted family and friends in Pittsburgh able to help watch the business, Kramer next turned to Pennsylvania. Then she looked for warm-winter markets where construction was strong, and formed plans for Arizona and Hawaii.

From the outset, Kramer intended to expand. Because Ri Ky Roofing is a woman-owned small business, she was able to take advantage of federal resources to develop a plan of attack.

鈥淭he biggest thing was (federal officials) putting us in touch with the right people 鈥� people that can actually help you find the opportunities,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he second thing is they show you how to cut through the red tape. That’s a big thing.鈥�

Jim Steiner, a mentor with , an advisory leg of the Small Business Administration, was integral in that process. One of the first things he helped Kramer do was create a presence on online government contractor databases, like the and the federal government’s .

鈥淵ou’re either in that registry or you get nada,鈥� Steiner said of public work.

Being in those registries doesn’t guarantee jobs, but Steiner said it’s another way to get a business’ name out into the market. Then contractors can hit the streets.

鈥淣othing is as good as face-to-face, glad-handing, meeting, eyeball contracting when you’re networking, or when you’re involved with bid matching, or meeting the people that have the money that can do the deal,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou cannot just put yourself in the database, sit back at home and expect everyone to call you.鈥�

Kramer is not sitting and waiting.

In addition to joining the and the , she’s working to establish a local presence in each of her markets. That guerrilla-style networking, she said, is imperative.

Pat Mahoney, business development manager for in Portland, can attest to that. Since the company opened in Portland in 1981, it has opened offices in Seattle, Sacramento and Irvine, Calif., and increased its sales volume from $360,000 to $550 million in 2008.

鈥淲hen out-of-towners or other state contractors come to Portland and want to do work and they’re not viewed as Portland contractors, then they run into some resistance,鈥� Mahoney said.

He said sometimes that occurs even within the state. For instance, if S.D. Deacon bid for a job in Bend, it might be viewed as a Portland contractor rather than a local one.

Establishing that local presence can require years of hard work too, so finding the right person to head the effort is essential, Mahoney said.

鈥淵ou have to have the person before you have the location,鈥� he said.

S.D. Deacon prefers to grow from within rather than hiring someone new to head up a new location, and Mahoney said it has held off on expansion plans in the past if a particular person was unable or unwilling to move.

Once a manager is identified, S.D. Deacon evaluates potential markets and identifies any national clients already there.

鈥淲e even let them know that we’re considering setting up an office (there),鈥� Mahoney said. 鈥� 鈥榃hat input do you have for us? What feedback do you have for us? And would that, from a strategic standpoint, would that help us capture business with you?’ 鈥�

Kramer is looking to leverage relationships she has forged during her 25 years in the industry to get a foot in the door in new markets. One way she plans to economically blaze a trail into new areas is to form partnerships with existing firms.

Steiner said the idea is to bring technical and managerial expertise 鈥� the brain trust 鈥� to companies with a ready labor force that may lack the experience necessary to pursue certain jobs.

Kramer said she is in discussions with a couple of potential partners, but she declined to identify them. She said opportunities exist for companies looking to expand, but they should be prepared to work hard. When the going gets tough, she remembers a piece of advice her father used to tell her.

鈥淧eople that say something’s impossible are the people that are not trying,鈥� she said.