Key Idea #1:There's no such thing as an overnight success.

When we look closely at Ray and his business, we see no fancy tricks, no clever strategies, no high-falutin' power lunches, no getting rich quick. We see a man who knows his company is only as good as its last job. He has a reputation to uphold because that is his future. If customers say good things, there is more business to come. Every day he's asking himself, `Will we come in on or under bid?' And, `Will we complete the job on time to the standards agreed upon?' His depth of knowledge, conservative nature and experienced work force have served him well.

The media seems to give too much attention to the wheeling, dealing, fast growth, high-tech, rolling-in-dough and even take-it-public-and cash-out type of business owner. Ray is the opposite. You can build a business without fanfare. Just give your customers quality. Give it to them for the price you promised, and meet or beat the deadline. That's what Ray has been doing for years.

What do you think? Why does the media ignore companies likeHarbor Marine?

Possible answers: Because they are boring. And, because they are more the norm than the news-makers who are so often flash-in-the-pan businesses. If we looked at all 23 million companies in America, the majority will look like Harbor Marine while the minority will be involved in some activity that the media finds worthy of writing about.

What do you think? Why is boring good?

Possible answers: Boring is good because boring pays. The mundane products and services are considered mundane because there is great need. Ray didn't invent a product, he holds no patents, no one has ever taken a picture of his work and put it on the cover of Architectural Digest. Harbor Marine does construction with a focus on projects around water.

What do you think? Why does Ray believe that he is only asgood as his last job?

Possible answers: People have short memories. Even though he has done work in this area for 30 years, the buzz about Harbor Marine is based upon its most recent accomplishment.

Harbor Marine has worked up and down the east coast but mostly in the Providence area. People talk. If the current work isn't done on time under or on bid, the world in which Ray operates will know. When he bids on the next project, those evaluating him against his competitors may say, "Well, Ray missed deadlines on the dredging he is doing for the city of Providence. Maybe we should look for someone else."

Key Idea #2Keep your promises and the customers will come back.

This philosophy is the core of Ray's business strategy.

You think back: When asked the secret to his success, what was Ray's answer?

Answer: He said, "My secret is upholding my reputation. A man's reputation is all he has when he's building a business." This means to me that he keeps his promises. As I said earlier, Ray has to deliver on time on or under budget. When he does that, he has kept his promises.

What do you think? Can we always keep our promises?

Answer: No, but, we can keep most of them and always be open with our customers when we are going to fail. Customers will respect you when you are honest and when you give them fair warning.

No one has complete control over all aspects of a process. Ray's 40 employees handle a project from the initial bid stage through to completion. And, he owns mostly new, well maintained equipment. Still, problems arise that can throw the progress off schedule and in construction, time is money.

Ray's advice to us all is: "Do what you say you're going to do." Don't live your life making excuses. Don't pretend you're something that you're not. Don't extend yourself beyond your abilities to thrill customers.

Today's customer wants to be thrilled and that can not be accomplished by forcing yourself to stretch all of the time.

Inside every job there is room for just getting by--that is, doing what you promised. Then there is opportunity to bring smiles to the faces of your customers. Yes, you'll keep customers coming back by only doing what you say you will do. But, you'll have them running back when you exceed their expectations.

You think back: What is one of the ways Ray exceeds the customer's expectations?

Answer: He provides "value engineering." This is where his staff studies the plans of a potential customer and comes back to the customer with ideas that will lower costs and improve quality. Ray also talked about this in terms of finding "an angle" that will make Harbor Marine competitive.

You think back: Why does doing this take a level of sophistication?

Answer: As the business owner, your staff has to be as smart or smarter than the customer. Or, your staff has to be more knowledgeable or more creative. Simply taking the plans as they are and pricing the work is acceptable, but not exceptional. It's always in going the second mile that reputations and therefore businesses are built.

Key Idea #3. Government work pays but it is not for everyone.

Over 80% of Ray's work is for the government. We've met a number of government contractors here and if you're interested in going down this path, watch the videos and take yourself through the study guides we've done on Gemini, Aegir Systems and CTA so many others. These companies are all 8a contractors which means they have a nine-year opportunity to compete for government work set aside for "disadvantaged" businesses. You can also study Texas Nameplate which makes parts for Lockheed which is a government contractor. This is a very big small business opportunity. That is, being a supplier to the big guys who hold the primary government deals. They have to open their bid process to small companies. Also, study On Target Supply to learn more about small guys working with big guys.

What do you think? What is a "disadvantaged business?"

Answers: Go to sba.gov and read everything if you want to begin understanding all of the programs the Federal Government has in place to give small business owners a helping hand. A "disadvantaged business" is at least 50% owned by a person who is a "minority." This has included women in the past but that is changing. If you are African American, Latino, Asian or American Indian you are considered a member of a special segment of our population. At sba.gov look at Pro-Net which is a matchmaking service.

You think back: Why did Ray say doing government work is not for everyone?

Answers: Ray said you need to have financial strength to do business with the government. What that means is you have to be able to finance the work to some form of completion before you receive any payment. The government doesn't pay in advance, but, they do pay. If you have a good banking relationship and a dependable staff, you can make the cash flow work.

The biggest reason working with the government is a turn-off to many of us is what I call the paperwork factor. You have to play by many, many rules that are truly arcane and you have to document everything. On top of that, you have to interface with government bureaucrats. We work with the United States Postal Service but it hasn't taken any tax money since 1984. The people we deal with there are more like the people we deal with in any big business.

I find that the typical government worker has no sense of urgency. They are more concerned with process than results. However, if you have the patience and the type of product or service that is sought after by any level of government, go for it. When we small business owners sell to the government, all of the taxpayers win!

Key Idea #4: Showing is better than telling when it comes to employee training.

The old saying, "Do as I say, not as I do," doesn't work at all in real life.

What do you think? Why does Ray consider showing people what to do better than telling them what to do?

Possible answers: This brings up a potentially huge discussion about how businesses grow and how effective delegation is accomplished. The Key Idea is: there are two types of business owners. First, there's the craftsperson/artist/practioner. This category includes plumbers, mechanics, construction workers, chefs, cpas, attorneys, physicians, dentists, therapists, etc. These men and women start a business around their particular skill.

Second, there's the business owner who can hire the talent and strictly focus his or her efforts on the task of getting the work, managing the work flow and collecting the cash.

There are pros and cons for each type. Ray is from the first group. He learned about construction by doing it. He had no formal training. His strength today comes from a confidence he gained by personally doing every type of job he now hires others to do. He can teach them by showing them. This teaching process then gains him enormous respect from his employees. They know in their heart of hearts that he would never ask them to do something he hasn't already done. He knows, experientially, how to do a task, how long it should take and what problems will be faced by his employee.

Ray has built a corporate culture around his vast personal experience. This is not the only way to build a business but it is one good way.

Finding and keeping good people is the single most difficult job of the small business owner. Ray's people like him and respect him. What more could a business owner want?

You think back: Why is new and well maintained equipment important to employee movtivation?

Answer: Ray said when equipment breaks down employees get discouraged. They end up sitting around waiting for repairs. To me Ray is saying, employees like to see accomplisment. Nothing succeeds like success. When everyone who works for you can end the day by looking back and saying to themselves, "I/We got a lot done today," you will be able to build a company.

People don't want to relax and do nothing. Being busy, even pressed for a deadline, is invigorating and makes employees feel important.

At SMALL BUSINESS SCHOOL, Bruce Camber makes sure we all have the fastest computers and the fastest connections. We can't perform great feats using mediocre tools.

Key Idea#5: Dreaming comes before doing.

Ray's father immigrated to this country from Italy and set up a tailor shop, then opened a dry cleaning business. Ray never dreamed of getting a job. He liked the freedom his father had as a business owner, but he never wanted to be couped up inside all day. He dreamed of working outside with his hands. He liked being physical.

What do you think? What is dreaming and why is it important?

Possible answers: To me this kind of dreaming is not the type you do in your sleep. It is day-dreaming and visualizing yourself in the situation you want to find yourself in in the future. Dreaming is thinking about possibilities. Dreaming is wishing and hoping for something new.

Ray said, "Show me a man without a dream and I'll show you a dead one." He believes that all of us have dreams but I'm not so sure. I think there are plenty of living "dead" people who don't have the courage to act on dreams so those dreams are forgotten or are shoved to the back of the mind.

There are also people who don't give themselves permission to dream. They think they are stuck and have to stay where they are. Dreaming must preceed doing or you'll end up only doing what is right in front of you. Without dreaming about his possiblities, Ray would have probably learned how to be a tailor and worked in his father's business.

Instead, he dreamed of doing heavy physical work. He dreamed about working outside. His first money was earned by demolishing a brick building by hand. He took it apart, brick by brick, then hired a truck to haul away the debris. Ray had the courage to act on his dream and has always been willing to work slowly toward his vision.

Ray says to find your business idea, dream first. If you're not happy with your life, dream about how you want it to be. There are plenty of self-help books that explain how our mind will complete the pictures we hold in it.

Thirty years ago Ray pictured himself owning a construction company and spending his time on the water. What pictures do you have in your head?

The Closing of this Show