After 26 years in the inland marketplace with an established diving company, I can shed a little light on what it takes for a business to succeed in this industry. When I started out, my dad gave me and my partner some advice and told us that if we followed his advice, we would succeed. He had been an electrical contractor for over 40 years, and I thought it wise to listen.

My dad told us never to buy business under the table, and never put all of our eggs in one basket. He told us to diversify our services, pay our help on time (even if we have to do without), and let our good reputation in the diving trade open doors for us. A good reputation would follow us wherever we went - a bad one would outrun us!

He very wisely told us not to bore with too big of an auger. He had seen many contractors come and go over the years because, when they began to experience success, they would out-spend their income. He told us to become the best in our trade and work would find us! He told us that when we were dealing with junior engineers or young men working for plants, to treat them just like they were the president or CEO of the company they represented - one day they just might be. I have seen that happen in 26 years, and his advice has paid off!

His last advice to us was to honor God in our business. 26 years have passed and we have had to re-evaluate our boring with too big of an auger on a couple of occasions, but we faithfully followed his advice, and it has worked.

Not having MBAs from Harvard, we learned things the hard way, but managed to survive in spite of our shortfalls in financial wizardry. We went from a partnership to a C corporation, and eventually to a Subchapter S corporation. I could speak volumes about literally hundreds of jobs encountered and all the problems faced over the years, but I wanted to address a few important issues.

Worrying About Competition
There was a time when I really had anxiety over this issue. I would be en route to a jobsite and cross paths with Company B headed somewhere, and I would imagine anything and everything the human mind could conjure up. I would bid a job after much time, effort, and expense, only to see it go to Company C 500 miles away from us.

It finally dawned on us that we were not in business to swap dollars but to make them. I stopped worrying about competition and began to focus on selling quality work at a fair price. I had no idea what my competitors' rates were.

We began to sell ideas and found ways to increase our productivity. We sold our sincere desire to achieve the objective in the safest way possible for our crews and clients. We built rapport with those for whom we worked. The clients began to show confidence in our ideas and abilities.

I was in a large paper mill for which we have provided diving service for 18 years. One of their representatives asked, "Where's Mike?" I replied that Mike Gibson, my partner all these years, was in North Carolina on another project.

He said, "You know, if Mike were a condom salesman, the world population would be zero!"

I don't think a higher compliment could be paid. Mike and I laugh about it even today, but that's part of my point - ideas and service go hand-in-hand in this industry. We simply developed into first-class problem solvers for our clients. When the competition called on our clients, our clients told the party on the other end that they had Holland Diving Service and were pleased with us. I have heard that time and time again over the years. A business doesn't keep customers 26 years if it is not doing things right. Honesty, hard work, perseverance, ideas, and can-do philosophy are keys to success in any business.

Good People Make Good Businesses
Any contractor will agree with my next point: Employees can be a company's greatest asset, or its demise!

This is one of the problems in the inland market. When a company locates an asset like a good employee, it is tough to hang onto them, but it is possible. We have been blessed to have a core group that has hung with us through thick and thin, and have, like everyone, seen hundreds more come and go over the years. We found that praise, financial reward, and benefits are great tools in keeping good divers.

Unfortunately, at one point in my life, I was the most egotistical, arrogant, self-centered person on earth. It is hard to work for someone like that, much less build rapport with them. I expected excellence. There is nothing wrong with that in itself, except no one is perfect. I came to realize my error and found that a kind word, gentleness, and praise make a good combination for employee-employer relationships.

Another secret to inland success is diversification. We realized early on that we had to improvise to survive. We had to find new opportunities and sell the ideas to prospects. When we would go to a paper mill for a project, Mike and I would look like two bird dogs turned out of the truck dog box. We learned every aspect of the plant processes, from where water came in to where it was discharged. We found where problems existed and began to sell ideas to eliminate or drastically improve the processes. We found ourselves involved in fabrication and installation projects that went hand-in-hand with our diving. We learned not only to inspect a barge cell or marine dock, but to repair it as well.

For example, we had a large chemical company calling us on a regular basis to clean mill-foil out of bar screens at their river intake. After a storm this substance would float into the intake and literally cake up the bars. We appreciated the work and the checks that would follow, but we came up with a pre-screen design, sold the idea, and got an engineer to approve its structural integrity. We built and installed the pre-screen 15 years ago. The best part is that the pre-screen stopped the clogging and water drop in the pump chambers and we got the open contract to replace chain and fencing as needed on the pre-screen. It is a yearly process that helped our client while expanding our revenues.

I could expound on hundreds of these projects, but my point is that one should not get locked in a box. Use your abilities to seek out opportunities to diversity your services.

Quality Leads to Success
Twenty-six years ago money was the driving force behind our going into this business. Along the way we found we had a genuine love for the trade. Meeting the challenge, devising ideas, and implementing them to a successful end gave us great satisfaction. Salvage of a 2,400-ton dredge, penetrating 1,000 feet into a 48-inch pipe, or designing and installating a new idea would put a grin on our faces every time! The money came as a benefit of trying to be the best at what we did.

In order to be successful in this trade, the bottom line is one's ability to solve the problem the first time. I once walked into a contractor's work trailer at 25 years of age and met an old general superintendent who stuck out a bear paw for a hand. His face looked like a Georgia road map with wrinkles. He told me something I've never forgotten: "Son, any fool can blow bubbles. I need a man who can get the work done!"

I told that old codger, "I'm your man." I was just stupid enough to believe we could do it.

I am deeply appreciative to have been able to exercise our abilities in so many ways in the inland market. My partner and I are competitive and love to win, but not at any cost. We have found that being honest, loyal, fair, and the best at what we do has equaled success. We sleep well knowing that we have given the customer the best job for the dollar.