Maxim and Bargainlocks at Inc 500 conference

This past week I was at the Inc 500 conference for Maxim Enterprises and Bargainlocks.  Maxim was in the Inc 5000 and Bargainlocks was in the Inc 500 at number 243.  Bargainlocks had gained almost 800 spots from last year’s ranking of 1000 something.  Great job from Mike and his staff at Bargainlocks.  Also, thank you contractors for your support in purchasing from Bargainlocks.  If you have any suggestions or ideas for Bargainlocks please email Mike at mikem@bargainlocks.com.  This year’s conference had a theme of overcoming adversity with the current economic situations.  Last year I listened to Jim Collins about Good to Great companies and what does it take to become great.  This year Jim had talked about the “How the Mighty Fall”.  I thought it was appropriate for Maxim as we transition from some of the most difficult times in this company.  The past two years have been quite challenging from all aspects of the business.  As I listened to Jim, he had mentioned about companies overreaching and thus causing problems.  I related this overreaching to Maxim in prior years of us taking on too much business and not being able to measure performance.  Collins had also mentioned about a “stop doing list”.  Once again I related this to Maxim and took a hard look at our clients and looked at who should we be doing business with or who should we stop doing business with.  But what was really amazing to hear about was the continued theme of “Greatness is by choice and discipline”.    Greatness is not by luck or circumstances or the territory that you cover.  Greatness means making tough decisions and following through.  I feel that over the past two years, there was one point where I wanted to just give up and say forget this business, I am just a victim of circumstances and my luck has run out.  Well, after some deep soul searching and attending last year’s conference and hearing the quote from Collins – “Greatness is by choice and discipline” I had found new hope.  I have this quote on all of my computers screen savers and I say it every morning and night.  You are probably wondering why am I telling you this story.   I am telling you this story because everyone goes through these types of situations and it is important that everyone understands what goes on.  This past week gave me more energy and ideas than prior conferences.  I am very happy with our current situation, not satisfied, and see so many opportunities in the preservation business ahead of us.  We may have had a small detour the past two years, but we are right back on track with our approach with clients and contractors.  I am very confident in each one of our abilities to contribute to the team and make a difference at Maxim.  Thank you all who have met the challenges and have worked on making “The Maxim Difference”.