Detroiter Magazine
July 2000
By Rodd Monts
What do the Detroit Zoo and the Motown Museum has in common: In a sense, they represent both the past and the future of White Construction Co. The zoo has an aquarium. The museum has Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium, the artist’s 1982 album. And White Construction president W. Bernard White is a huge Stevie Wonder fan.
White’s biggest accomplishment since starting his $20-million construction management firm more than 10 years ago has been the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery at the Detroit Zoo, a multimillion-dollar project completed in 1996. And if he could choose his personal dream job, it would be to build a new Motown Museum, a monument to the label Stevie Wonder has been instrumental in building.
Of course, talk of a new museum is just that right now – talk. “It’s one of those things that if it happens, I would love to be involved with it,” White says. When it comes to action, however, White has been able to produce the goods. Since leaving Turner Construction to start his own firm in 1989, he’s had a hand in building or renovating some of the region’s most prominent landmarks.
What’s particularly impressive about his success in the industry is the simple fact that he started with virtually nothing. It was just him, a desk and a telephone. “I went out there cold. I had no job in hand. I had no one helping me. I had no loan. I took my life’s savings and literally put it at risk when I went into business,” he recalls. During his eight years with one of the largest construction firms, White worked on the expansion of Cobo Center, Trapper’s Alley and the renovation of Tiger Stadium, gaining valuable building, design and project-management experience. It’s tempting to second-guess his decisions to leave all that behind for a risky solo venture – in the middle of a recession -n but his mind was made up.
Small businesses can learn a lesson from White Construction founder Bernard White on how to build a business layer by layer, from scratch, into a successful enterprise
“I did it just because I wanted to see if I could do it, and also because I didn’t want to wake up at 60 years old wishing I would have give it a shot,” he reflects. In a way, the recession was something of a blessing in disguise for White because many cash-strapped businesses that couldn’t afford to invest in new construction were opting to renovate and redevelop existing structures.
“As a small company, renovation was something we could do quite easily and quite readily. Of course at the time we weren’t experienced enough to take on a lot of new construction work. So, the renovation work at the time was a godsend,” White relates. When he started his company, his initial sales goal was $10 million in five years – a number he admits to pulling out of tin air because it had a nice ring to it. So even he amazed when it happened. “It did surprise me, because when I did the plan it was somewhat of a pie-in-the sky type of goal,’ he recalls. Given the success of his first five-year plan, White figured growing the business by another $10 million would be just as easy. It wasn’t. That’s because moving his business to the next level forced him to complete with bigger firms and prove he could handle projects on a stand-alone basis, which is a tough proposition for any fledgling contractor. As a result, he started looking at partnerships as a way of getting more business, boosting the firm’s reputation and developing a positive track record. White has partnered with larger firms like Walbridge-Aldinger and his ex-employer Turner Construction.
The Walbridge-White team is responsible for some impressive buildings, including the new Academic and Administrative building at Wayne State University and the Wellness Plan facility in Detroit’s New Center. With Turner, White built the administration building for the Detroit Department of Water and Sewerage wastewater treatment plant. (White worked for the department in the late 1970s while attending night classes at his alma mater, Lawrence Tech.)
White’s next move should prove interesting as he and his staff of 32 concentrate on taking on more solo projects. The Detroit Zoo project is one example of what the firm can do when given a chance. It also earned the firm a lot of praise, including the Engineering Society of Detroit’s Design and Construction Award, which hangs proudly in the lobby at White Construction’s New Center headquarters. Hamtramck is the site of the firm’s latest major project – a $6-million steel processing plant White is expanding and renovating for The Bing Group. White has completed a half-dozen projects for Bing including a training center, office renovations and rebuilding the Bing Manufacturing Inc. factory that was destroyed by fire last year.
“We’ve had extremely positive experiences with Bernard and his people,” says Kirk Lewis, president, assembly group at The Bing Group. “I have nothing but praise for how they’ve worked with our people and been able to really exceed our expectations.” White Construction’s status as a minority-owned firm has helped it win business on a playing field that has not been level. But that can be both a blessing and a curse. “Sometimes trying to get beyond the minority label affects your ability to be successful. A lot of times we might get business because we are a minority business. But I think we continue to get opportunities because we do a professional job,” White says. Fir his part, White has been instrumental in lobbying for opportunities for minorities in the local construction industry and a key figure in establishing the GARDE awards, which recognize building owners and contractors for creating opportunities for women and minorities. GARDE stands for Gender and Race Awards for Diversity Excellence.
“Bernard White has been very active in bringing attention to diversity issues in the industry. And the industry is benefiting because of those efforts,” says Donald O’Connell, managing director of the Great Lakes Construction Alliance. The GARDE competition has succeeded in raising awareness of minority hiring issues among area businesses. Given the region’s record-low unemployment rate, the effort is a boon for the industry, as more businesses begin to tap into the minority labor pool to find more workers. And if business continues to grow, White will be needing a few more workers himself.
Building Blocks
Eleven years ago Bernard White decided to leave his steady job and start his own construction business. It was a risky move, but it’s paying off. Here’s his advice for others contemplating a similar gamble:
- If you have a business idea, you cannot be afraid to try to execute it. The worst-case scenario is you’ll have to fold the business and find another job. However, you don’t want to find yourself at 60 looking back and thinking about what might have been.
- Joint ventures and partnership opportunities can open doors and provide a boost for small businesses looking to grow. It is important to take advantage of these opportunities. They should be used as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Ultimately, you will have to be able to show customers you can handle big projects on your won.
- The staff is the most important asset your business has, and you have to pay as much attention to growing your personnel as you do establishing revenue targets. You are going to be successful if you can hire key managers to run core departments in your business, and as you begin to grow bring on staffers to support them.
- Building a quality reputation is also essential for small contractors and small businesses in general. It’s crucial in winning repeat business and helps in drumming up new business as well. Business owners can do that by keeping their word.
Fast Facts
Name: W. Bernard White Construction
Age: 44
Company: White Construction Co. Inc., Detroit
Business; General contractor, design/build and construction management firm
Education: B.S., construction engineering, Lawrence Technological University
For W. Bernard White, building his business has been a lot like the construction projects his $20-million firm manages. He started with a strong foundation and built it up gradually with quality staff, which he says has enabled the 11-year old firm to develop a solid reputation over a relatively short period of time.