We’re celebrating our 1st anniversary this month! We have officially been a General Construction Company for one year!
To celebrate our anniversary we have interviewed Jed and Amy Beckman, owners of T.L. Jackson Construction and General Construction Services. They were generous enough to share their thoughts on the last year and offer up some advice to new business owners.
Owning one small business is hard enough, but what was the transition like from owning one to two businesses? Jed said, “the transition went well and for that, I can thank our entire team and especially my wife, Amy, for the continuous support and passion she has put forth. Without her skill set and determination, it would have been a real struggle.”
The first few months and years with a new business can be very trying times. It takes hard work and true dedication to get through. Amy said a few things that have helped them get through this period successfully were “our loyal customers and staff – everyone absorbed the transition of ownership seamlessly and continued ‘business as usual.’” She also is grateful for the previous owner, Terry Jackson’s, willingness to work with them, ensuring that customers felt comfortable with the transition of ownership and that they understood day-to-day operations.
Thanks to the help of our customers and staff we have been able to complete some pretty exciting projects! Jed and Amy’s favorite was the work completed at EPP’s Chrin Facility, in Eastern Pennsylvania, where a renewable energy site was dismantled and equipment was hauled away to new facilities.
Amy enjoyed this job because it “gave us an opportunity to partner with other companies in our field. It served as a valuable training opportunity for new staff, and it presented an opportunity for the entire team to work together to tackle and complete a job outside our normal scope of work.” Jed liked this one because “it was our most involved project that required all our staff plus the assistance of multiple subcontractors. It was a milestone of a project that proved TLJ’s potential as a GC in industrial construction.”
EPP’s Chrin project was a great undertaking for T.L. Jackson. It taught us a lot about ourselves and our industry. After learning so much, are there any plans for improvement this coming year? Jed answered, “yes, we are adding new rigging and excavation equipment to better serve our customers and increase our efficiencies as well as a long list of continuous improvement efforts.” Follow our Facebook page to make sure you don’t miss these big updates!
With so many plans for improvement in the works, would you have done anything differently if this first year as owners of T.L. Jackson Construction were repeated? Amy said, “no – every day is a new opportunity to learn, and it is important to take the good with the bad – to always strive to improve and to never become complacent.”
Overall, the year went wonderfully and the entire team is excited to continue on this path of rapid growth and never-ending improvement.
Before the interview ended, Jed wanted to offer up some advice to new business owners, “in today’s market, it’s not easy on any level but I would say ‘follow your gut.’ In most cases, if you’re thinking clearly and rationally, your instincts will push you in the right direction morally. If you can make a decision and know it won’t keep you up at night, it is likely the right thing to do.” Amy said, “utilize the strengths of those on your team. Never stop seeking new information and ways to improve operations. Set limits for yourself – leave work and work (as much as you can) – the work will still be there tomorrow.”
Congratulations, Jed and Amy, on a fantastic year at T.L. Jackson Construction!
