Learning how to craft a business on the fly
Posted On October 4, 2023
When Hastings Read and his wife decided to open a custom woodworking shop in the middle of a recession, they realized that they didn’t know much about the woodworking business. And, aside from kitchen projects, they didn’t really know much about woodworking, either. But that was OK, Read said. “It’s fine not to know anything, as long as you know you don’t know anything,” he said. “So we embarked on a journey of learning.” Read, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” has used lessons learned in his background as a banker and consultant to… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston
Fear of failure is a powerful motivator in business
Posted On August 22, 2023
DSI Security Services was started over 50 years ago when the construction company building a nuclear power plant near Dothan, Alabama, turned to the local sheriff for help in securing the job site. Alan Clark, the son of that sheriff, is now chairman of the board of DSI and has helped the company grow into one of the biggest privately-held security companies in the nation, with over 5,400 employees in 33 states. Most of that growth has been organic, says Clark, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” Clients like BMW ask DSI to expand… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston
Ready to expand into new markets? Know who your customers are
Posted On July 21, 2023
Is your business ready to expand into new markets? How do you decide which ones? The key is understanding who your customers are and where they live and play. So says Casey Biehl, chief operating officer at Fat Boy’s Pizza, a pizzeria based in Metairie, Louisiana, with nine locations in three states that’s looking to expand even further into Alabama and throughout the Southeast. Biehl, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is in a business where the vast majority of Americans consume the product – 93 percent of Americans have eaten pizza within the… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Paul Lewis is making the most of his second chance in construction
Posted On June 27, 2023
Few of us are fortunate enough to get second chances, whether it be in life or in business. Paul Lewis did, however, and he’s making the most of it. Lewis, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is president of Roy Lewis Construction, a company his father started in Mobile in 1984. The company had built a name for itself in the Mobile area and was riding high on negotiated projects built on word of mouth and positive recommendations. They didn’t do much marketing, because they didn’t have to. But when the recession of 2008… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Recession Economy, What's Working with Cam Marston
How a broker can help you buy or sell a business
Posted On June 19, 2023
Looking to buy or sell a business? A broker can help. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” was Trey Langus, a business advisor and broker with Transworld Business Advisors. He connects owners who are looking to sell their businesses with potential buyers. There are a lot of potential buyers looking for businesses, Langus says, and many of them are coming from out of state and across the country, attracted by the favorable business climate in the Southeast. What they’re looking for, typically, is a business with clear financials, upside and, ideally, scalability. But Langus… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
When a fundraiser becomes a calling, and a calling becomes a business
Posted On May 28, 2023
April McClung was just looking for a way to raise enough money for her kids to travel overseas. What she ended up with was a business. McClung, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” was perfectly content working in the corporate world, and expected to retire in that same role. But like several other reluctant entrepreneurs I’ve met, she felt a calling. And that’s how Emily’s Heirloom Pound Cakes was born. It started as an answer to a prayer about how to afford to give their sons the experience of school trips abroad. McClung and… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
Introducing a new generation to cigars and cigar-making
Posted On April 21, 2023
Introducing the next generation to the family business can be a challenge, even if your family has been in the business for generations. For Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, patriarch of E.P. Carrillo Cigars, it was all about finding the best roles for his two children, Lissette Perez-Carrillo and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III, who have degrees and experience in law and economics and both of whom grew up around the cigar business. As co-founders of E.P. Carrillo Cigars with their father, their expertise in these areas has helped grow the brand. “It’s a process,” said Perez-Carrillo, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Generations, Podcast, Recession Economy, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
Revolutionizing the home renovation industry may be AnotherStory
Posted On February 15, 2023
“Build a better mouse trap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” It’s a phrase commonly attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson and, while his exact words were a little different, the point holds: Everybody’s looking for the next big thing – if it works. The world may be soon beating a path to Ben Strout’s door in Birmingham. Strout, an architect and contractor, doesn’t build mouse traps. He and his company, AnotherStory, renovate houses, and they’ve found a better way to do it. “AnotherStory is really an answer to an age-old question that people didn’t even know… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, Real Estate, What's Working with Cam Marston
Avoiding the pitfalls of entrepreneurship
Posted On January 29, 2023
While the COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult hurdle for many small businesses to clear, that apparently has not kept fledgling entrepreneurs from wanting to jump in feet first and give business ownership a shot. “In the past three years, we’ve been inundated with people coming in, looking for help to start a business,” said Mel Washington, Regional Director of the Small Business Development Center for southwest Alabama. Washington, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” says many of those new would-be entrepreneurs are Baby Boomers, looking for something new to throw their efforts into,… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
How a plumbing business became a multi-faceted construction and disaster recovery company
Posted On January 19, 2023
How does a small plumbing company become a massive construction and disaster recovery business with about 200 employees, offices in five states and work lined up throughout the Western Hemisphere? In the case of Persons Services Corp., it happened through a succession that was fueled by the new generation adding new expertise to chase new opportunities. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” Buddy Persons, is President and CEO of Mobile-based Persons Services Corp., and Managing Director of Persons Development Company. The company was founded in 1978 by Persons’ father, Paul E. Persons, Sr., as… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work