The News & Observer in North Carolina asked former professional athletes what it takes to make it to the big time.
Their responses: hard work, consistency, focus, planning and team work.
In an excerpt from the piece, here is the story of former professional athletes Terrence and Torry Holt and how they used skills learned by becoming and competing against the athletic elite to build their own small business:
NO TIME TO SULK: Determination, risk-taking, recovery and teamwork are important pieces in Terrence and Torry Holt?s formula for success in the commercial construction industry.
In 2007, the Holts, who both played football for North Carolina State University and in the NFL, founded Holt Brothers Construction.
?Construction resonated with us because there is no field more suited to the teamwork to do a project,? said Terrence Holt, 33, president of the company. From estimators to project managers, everyone has to do their job so the project is completed on time and within budget, he said.
The brothers founded their company and absorbed Raleigh firm A & M Construction using their own capital. The move, Holt said, demonstrated their commitment and improved their positioning in the construction market.
?We have made investments in people, made investments in technology, and made investments with our time, talent and treasures to make this business, to validate this business and show that we?re more than guys that played in the National Football League,? Holt said.
The importance of strong leadership, teamwork and a general drive to be the best are all lessons learned from the NFL.
The right mix of younger employees versed in new technologies working with experienced construction veterans, along with adequate communication and mentoring, are also key to the process, Holt said.
Others lessons are as simple as when you fall, you have to get back up, Holt said. Small-business owners make mistakes, or lose a coveted bid.
?Sometimes things don?t go well. We can?t spend a lot of time sulking, worrying about that so much,? Holt said. ?We have got to move onto the next project.?
Source: MCT Information Services
