Her Story
About Kristin
I've been in the construction field for about 25 years, and I've been in my current role as Senior Area Sales Manager for going on 5 years now after being recruited from a previous position. My journey has been anything but typical. I started out with an engineering degree and marketing degree from Colorado State, but in my 20s I became fascinated with gemstones while working part-time in a jewelry store during college. I became a certified gemologist through GIA in Southern California and worked in the jewelry industry for 12 years until I needed to find a job with better pay to support my family. I went into marketing and worked for American City Business Journal for about 4 years, which taught me about all kinds of businesses. Through that experience, I decided that brick and mortar construction was the most constant industry because it's always needed. I joined ABC Supply in the distribution channel as an outside salesperson and then became a branch manager - I was the only female branch manager out of 400 branches at the time. After about 4 years, I decided branch management wasn't for me, though I learned a lot. I then went to work for W.R. Grace, which led me down the path to where I am now. Today I handle everything from product installation to manufacturing issues, working with architects, engineers, and installers. I do trainings and AIA seminars - there really isn't a typical day. I wear a lot of hats with this title, focusing mostly on exterior building products.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kristin
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the drive to succeed and the work hard, play hard motto. It doesn't matter how much money you make - if you don't have time to enjoy it, then you're wasting your life. Work-life balance is important, and you have to like the people you work with. It took me a while to get to this point, but I believe that you spend almost more of your time with the people that you work with than your family at home. If you don't like those people, then your life is miserable for all the time you're at work. I have a great team, and there's been a lot of musical chairs in this industry over the last couple of years, but having people I enjoy working with is one of the things that keeps me here.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is that you gotta know it to sell it. The more you know, the more you can sell. When you dig into a career choice, especially in the building materials industry, the first few months is just about digging in and getting to know the product line and your competition as much as you can. The last thing you want to do is walk into a meeting and have them stump you on something that you're not prepared for. Knowledge is money.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering the construction industry is to learn and don't be afraid to ask questions. If they think you're kind of a dumb girl, let them think that, and then come back with correct answers. Kill them with kindness - always be nice, even when they're not. Take the high road. Knowledge is money. Don't try to use your femininity or wear extra lipstick just because you deal with mostly men - don't take that road. Always be more professional, dress better, know more, and be smarter.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I faced in my career was people taking me seriously, especially earlier in my career when I was younger and just a young female. They would assume that I was something, and then find out that I was not that - I knew what I was talking about. When I worked for Grace, they required that we get a CDT license, which is Construction Documents Technology, and that's very valuable when you're talking to an architect because if you have that on your business card, they know that you can help them. Now, that isn't a challenge as much anymore, maybe because I've been around a long time. As far as opportunities, if I wanted to, I could be a regional or national director, but that's not my desire - I want to stay in my bubble because I'm comfortable here and really happy. But for other people, there's a lot of opportunity in the building industry, especially for young women if they wanted to learn it and really dig deep. This is a great job - there's a bit of fun every day, most of the time. This is an industry that is always going to be there.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are honesty and integrity. One thing I come up against often is people who are not honest, and honesty is very big to me. Integrity is very strong. I believe that you can choose your customers, and I try to weed people out based on a couple of those values.
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