Many contractors in this business fell in to the work and grew their company around customer demand. Not Justin Meier. Before starting his business, Meier met with local sealcoat manufacturers, industry leaders and partner suppliers to gain the proper knowledge needed to succeed in the commercial pavement maintenance industry before ever opening his doors.
“When we started this business we wanted to do it the right way, the way a business should be run, emphasizing customer service and quality products,” Meier says. “We took the newly acquired product knowledge and a professional, business and client-focused approach and opened our doors in March of 2011.”
Every year since then, the company has achieved 50% growth and plans to continue expanding their Marietta, GA based business from the Atlanta area deeper in to the Southeast to accommodate client portfolios throughout the region.
Hit the Ground
This growth has been hard earned, Meier says, with his team working hard to make a name for the company in the field.
“The asphalt industry is made up of many contractors who provide the same services as we do,” Meier says. “However, we preach that we can’t only focus on doing the job better than our competition, but we also need to do it differently. This attitude/company culture flows through all levels of our organizational chart, from top management, office staff, to each individual crew member. Attitude and ambition have been key success factors in our company’s growth.”
Each person on The Surface Master sales team has primary focuses assigned to them. Meier says allows these individuals to penetrate their assigned markets through trade shows, route sales, association events, etc.
“Our team is comprised of dedicated and ambitious individuals who not only focus on delivering for our clients, but emphasize the importance of building a company that delivers on its promise and in a unique quality and fashion,” Meier says. “We also make it a priority to understand our client’s specific needs, details, and even their business/project strategies and goals. As a result, we’ve enjoyed 50%+ growth each year we’ve been in business.”
Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill
In this industry, finding qualified workers is becoming a huge challenge for business owners. This is why Meier and his management team chose a different approach to hiring.
“We hire for attitude and train for skill,” he says. “As a result, we strongly feel that our company culture differentiates us from our competition. Our culture not only fosters great in-house principles, but we feel this also carries over to our clientele.”
The company hires by referral as much as possible, especially during the season when they may not have nearly as much time for the interview process as during the off-season. During the interview, Meier tries to get to know the individual personality of the potential hire.
"In our business we are faced with challenges on a daily basis and you're not always going to know the answer immediately," Meier says. "We want to make sure every individual team member fosters a "can do" attitude and takes this approach to not only the work place, but to life in general."
Customer Focus
The Surface Masters team makes project preparation/coordination and communication a priority, not only with their project team, but also with the client.
“It’s highly unlikely that any business owner would greet a parking lot closure with joy, and we’re very aware of this,” Meier says. “In order to meet and/or exceed our client’s expectations, we provide a detailed Project Execution Plan that we review with both our client and project team to assure we have devised a strategic plan which caters to our client’s specific demands/requirements.
“Additionally, we also provide the client with a daily report which keeps them in the loop with all aspects of the project…Did we complete the scheduled work, did we have any issues with residents/tenants, did we have to tow, are we on schedule for the next day’s section, etc. The constant communication and project planning/coordination allows us to execute the project efficiently and effectively.”
