When I started my industrial and marine painting business four years ago I knew that I’d hit a home run if I could provide my customers a great service by completing my contracts safely, on time, on budget and to spec. I also knew that if I threw into the equations that my company could help meet the required minority goals on all Federal and State contracts, I’d be on my way to the playoffs.

Well, I hit a home run, and I’m heading towards the playoffs, but in order for me to even have a chance at the World Series, I needed to shake up my team and improve my playbook. To make this happen, I hired Cogent.

My business grew very quickly from our first contract of eight thousand dollars to eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars three years later. I knew if I didn’t get a firmer hand on managing my business, there might not be a business to manage! I intuitively knew that in order to safely grow my business, I needed to restructure all my systems; otherwise, I had no strategy in place that would allow EASE to safely scale. Four months ago I had made an appointment with a fellow whom I thought was meeting me to get my assistance, as it turned out, it was my luckiest day because that day, Cogent’s representative walked into my office.

I had no idea who Cogent was or what they represented, but ten minutes into our meeting, every sentence Cogent started, I finished. I knew I had to hire their team because they made the most sense and understood my needs. Before Cogent, I hired three other consultants, and none understood what I needed, much less how to effectively fix my problems.

Cogent has helped EASE define our playbook and build a foundation that puts into place systems that clearly define how we can better estimate, evaluate, and track our contracts. Now every player is accountable for their role on the EASE team. We are a more empowered working force with each member of our team infused with the knowledge that if each player follows our new playbook and is accountable for their role as a team member, we will become the biggest contender and we will WIN, WIN, WIN!

Doris Zografos
President
EASE Painting and Construction