Julie Bifano

I attribute my success to my ability to connect with everyone and develop lasting relationships. Whether I was in the multifamily space or working as a recruiter, building rapport with people has been my greatest strength. I remember helping someone find an apartment many years ago, and we're still friends to this day - 10 years later. They found me on Facebook, and knowing that I made a difference in their life is incredibly rewarding. The same goes for people I've helped find jobs. It's rewarding at the end of the day to help other people because you just don't know what their situation might be. Seeing that they're still at the same place or that they've followed me on LinkedIn, knowing that I did make a difference - that's what's most rewarding for me. My mom was also instrumental in my success. I grew up watching her own businesses and work incredibly hard until she retired just months before she passed away. She always told me you can never stay still or you lose touch and turn into mush - you always have to be active physically and mentally. She knew every person who walked into our store by name and what they needed. She taught me the importance of having that personable experience with somebody and connecting with them, working hard, and striving for your goals. She would take the shirt off her back to help someone else, even if it was the last dollar in her wallet. She was the one person who really, really helped me be who I am today.

My pawpaw told me when I was younger that 'brown nosers don't get far,' and I never understood that until I got into my professional career, but I sort of get that now. The advice I would give, and what I wish I could tell my younger self, is to work hard, stay focused, and strive for the best. Don't ever take your eyes off the prize. Also, if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room - because you want a challenge. That's something I really believe in.

Don't give up. I know times can get hard, and there's going to be a lot of no's before you get a yes. But don't give up. There's something you're going to work towards, whether it's for yourself or your family. I do it for my daughter. Keep pushing forward no matter how challenging it gets.

The biggest challenge in the construction field is trying to push and promote women in construction. As I mentioned before, it's a very male-dominated world, and you still have old-school-minded people that think women couldn't do the same thing as men can. That would be the challenge to this day - because they would think that women are best suited sitting in an office as a project manager versus being on the field as a superintendent. Breaking through those barriers and changing those perceptions is what we're still fighting against.

The most important values to me are developing relationships and being able to keep up with them, and being knowledgeable in my field. Connecting with people is essential because you just never know who you might run into - you might need that help one day, or they might need that help one day. I connect with everyone and anyone. I talk to people on the street, in person, professionally or not. I befriend everyone, I get to know everyone, and I love talking to people and getting to know them. Building and maintaining those genuine connections is at the core of everything I do.