Company: Moltron Builders, Inc.
Q&A with Babette Buckner, CEO of Moltron Builders:
What makes you stand out from competitors?
We are a female-owned construction company. As a female owner, I have more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. I bring professional knowledge of construction and have a background in Psychology. Construction is a people business; understanding the needs of our clients and utilizing emotional intelligence with everyone from clients to employees allows us to produce quality projects and leave positive lasting impressions with the people we have the privilege of working with.
What company successes would you like to share?
We have increased sales 400% over prior year sales. During COVID were able to evaluate the construction market and take advantage of the changing structure of how business is conducted. We are intentional about increasing the number of BIPOC people in construction and having a hybrid office model. With continuing advancements in technology, we intend to maintain low overhead until we can invest in a building to provide some office and warehouse space for our company.
What ongoing company challenges/ barriers are you facing?
Developing talent. The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community has a large talent pool of individuals willing to work. However, as with most skills, there is a learning curve. Unfortunately, construction schedules and budgets don’t allow much time for unskilled workers to get up to speed and meet schedule deadlines.
If you could give one piece of advice to a new MWBE firm, What would it be?
Learn the business of construction. Knowing how to perform a task or trade function is very valuable; however, if an owner’s understanding of running their business is lacking, accountability will suffer.
What recommendations would you give general contractors and owners?
Take advantage of opportunities to grow and learn within your chosen field. As an owner, you may need to be a jack of many trades and a master of only one, running your business. If you understand how to run your business, it’s easier to hire the people you need and gauge whether or not the people you hire know what they are doing.
What is something encouraging you see happening in the construction industry?
It’s becoming diversified. Construction has historically been homogenous; typically, within homogenous groups, growth and change are slow to occur. When people work together from different ethnic backgrounds, genders, and cultures, a synergy can occur, leading to growth and advancements for all human participants.
What else would you like us to know about your company?
We are poised for growth and expansion. We have learned how to survive and now look forward to thriving in a world that is genuinely a large neighborhood. I am hopeful that America continues to become a neighborhood that is beautiful to and for all people that visit and live here. We are excited to assist in building it one project at a time.
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