Sierra Structures, inc. is a Residential and Commercial Fence, Deck and Screen Porch Company located in Durham, NC. The company was formed in 2010 when two fence and deck companies merged. Since that time, we have done well, meaning that we managed to be profitable every year, however not really being able to increase the bottom line like we wanted to. We were able to increase revenue but could never get the increases to be reflected in Gross Margin or Income.
Over the past several years we have hired several consulting companies and actually paid several of them for a few weeks’ work before dismissing them. None of these engagements resulted in any improvements and most we considered to be a loss of time and money. The reason for this statement is to stage for the arrival of Manuel Trevino, our Guidance Counselor. When Manny showed up, I was sure he was a short time visitor. Gone in one week I thought.
Day One he got my attention with his passion and knowledge of practical and simple solutions that made sense. Day Two he recommended significant organizational changes that solved many of our problems internally. Damn, why did I not think of this years ago. I grew up in large companies, GE, Lockheed Martin, Mattel and the USAF. I have seen this organizational structure many times. Why did it take Manny to tell me about this?
From there we focused on Accountability, Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s), managing cash, evaluating talent, teamwork and improving profitability. Getting rid of Bonus structure and moving to profit sharing.
Well, we have spent the money and made the changes. We have some pick and shovel work to complete and will be looking forward to seeing the changes in the bottom line. I am encouraged as I have seen the following so far:
• New energy in the employees
• Communication among employees hat never communicated.
• Cooperation among employees who were not previously cooperative.
• New energy among Leadership team
• My son is now fully energized and doing wonderful work as the CFO.
• The terminology now includes KPI in almost every business discussion.
Manny is the starter fluid that started these changes in our company. He is a tireless worker, is tenacious in everything he does, is very smart and has wonderful experience. He is a wonderful representative of your company and a wonderful mentor for us as we move forward. We were very lucky to have him as part of our team.
Wonderful experience. Let’s see if our performance is reflected in the bottom line. I think it will be.
Kenneth Meashey, President
Matthew Meashey, CFO
Fence Company, Decks | Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham NC | Sierra Structures
Since opening for business well over 20 years ago, the team at Sierra Structures has worked tirelessly to become known around the community as the Raleigh best fence builders.
