For the Love of Smiles
A childhood lemonade stand was the harbinger of a multi-million dollar utility restoration contractor and certified woman-owned business in New Jersey.
Marilyn Grabowski, President of Atlantic Infra, started being her own boss at a lemonade stand many decades ago. This was more than your ubiquitous childhood endeavor to earn movie money on a lazy summer day. For young Marilyn, this was a serious neighborhood enterprise.
She didn’t just sit and wait for customers. She made signs, recruited a team of innocent bystanders to get cars to stop, and eventually introduced a new line of business — cookies! This drive and innate sense of leadership persisted in Marilyn through adulthood, and she is now at the helm of an asphalt company with over $30 million of annual revenue.
After earning a degree in chemistry and working for more than 15 years in pharmaceutical sales and training on medical devices, Marilyn was affected by a company-wide layoff in 2000. But it was soon on to the next thing — entrepreneurship.
She saw an opportunity to market infrared technology in the asphalt pavement sector and became her own boss from a walk-in closet in 2002.
“There are stages to entrepreneurship,” said Marilyn, who is also a mom, wife, and the primary caretaker for her 90-year-old dad, who has been living with her for the past 10 years. “It’s survival first and making a living. Then it becomes a team. Then you build out your bench of people. As I started to grow my bench, it got even more fun. ‘Miles of Smiles’ is our vision. My ultimate goal is smiles on the faces of people who work for me. I love my people and my team. I love that we’ve made an impact on the community.”
The people component that Marilyn enjoys most, however, did not come naturally at the beginning of the Atlantic Infra journey. “I learned the compassion piece from the Women Presidents’ Organization. I’ve been a part of that group for about 14 years. These women taught me how to behave and how not to behave,” she laughed. “It’s been a learning process and a huge commitment to reading 10 pages of something constructive every night.” And it’s not just been reading. She’s been doing. Going on job sites where a crew wouldn’t expect a business woman to be. Getting into the community, getting to know her employees on a personal level.
“My boots are worn,” said Marilyn. “The only way to learn is to walk it. Just do it.”
In addition to honing her leadership and communication style through the Women Presidents’ Organization, Marilyn emphasized two other factors that took her business to the next level: securing partnerships and investing in the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS), a program that teaches entrepreneurs, among many things, how to deploy an accountability system, define a culture and mission, set goals, and continually assess performance through a scorecard paradigm.
“You need a plan, a team, and startup money. An entrepreneur who is strong in those three areas will succeed,” she said. “Have a vision but know where you are deficient. I’ve also always looked to be surrounded by intelligent, smart people who want to hustle.”
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