What Are We Doing?

President’s Message

By Mackie Bounds

I know it is summer time, and we are taking vacations or planning vacations, but what are we doing with our business? I am sure most people will simply say, “I am trying to survive.”

That is not a negative comment, but simply an action we are taking with each day we wake up. As you read this article, I do not want anyone to think I am not aware of the challenges of survival because, even here in Texas, it is a huge issue.

I do believe we can all do better with survival if we will look to the future. It is time for us to be planning for the future, so that it will be better than any day of the past. So with that said, what are we doing?

My company is working on certification and striving to join my friends in becoming a certified mason contractor. As I have started my journey down this path, I am excited by the gains I will receive personally, and my company will be more qualified than ever before. It helps to know our doctors and CPAs take continuing education courses, and you leave from your visit with confidence that they are the best. In this slow time, we can better educate ourselves and better represent our trade in a more professional manner. Our customers soon will recognize that they have one of the best on their jobs, due to our ability and being a certified mason contractor. As soon as we have enough certified, as an association, we will call on AIA chapters and request that the specs call for certified mason contractors only.

So what are you doing? Call the MCAA office today, and get a schedule of all the upcoming education classes that will earn you credit toward certification.

So what are we doing? We are teaching safety to employees. Our competition in the construction industry paints us as the most unsafe sub on a jobsite. Safety comes from the heart, and we think about it in everything we do. My ranch foreman and I were working cattle the other day, and I was giving him words of caution. He said, “You think safety all the time.” I do, and I want all of our people to think that way.What I have found is that when folks are working safely, they produce more and, thus, increase my bottom line!

These are a couple of things, but the list goes on, beyond the space they’ve given me to write. There is the expanding of our market, reclaiming our lost markets, and learning how to market our own companies. Maybe we are building a new website or simply putting a new logo together. We are getting involved in promoting our concerns to our lawmakers in Washington, D.C., or state and local governments. Of course, we are all getting involved in Vision 20/20 and, piece-by-piece, our market share is growing.

What are we doing? Maybe you’re sitting there, and you are ready to do any of the above, but maybe you need help. That is why it is so great being a member of MCAA! I can call our staff or one of my many friends who are members, and gain the knowledge and courage to prepare for the future.Until next time, this old cowboy says, “Shoot for the moon and, even if you miss, you will land among the stars!”