I took a £100k pay cut when I started my own business with £786 – but it was so worth it, now we make £19m a year
A SUCCESSFUL woman who launched her own business with just £786 has revealed how she now makes a whopping £19m a year.
Deryl McKissack, who is from the US, is the president and CEO of design and construction firm McKissack & McKissack, which has designed everything from the construction of schools and office buildings to landmarks.
“It’s very gratifying to even walk into a city and say, I changed the face of this city,” she says, speaking to CNBC Make It,
“But when you work on monumental projects that really change how people think about our history and you see how people are reacting to those projects, it really makes you feel good.”
But while the ever-growing company brings in around £19 million ($25 million) a year in revenue, with clients paying between 1-5% of construction costs, it hasn’t always been a straight forward journey to get there.
Rather, Deryl’s journey to success has involved long 80 hours shifts, taking a £100k pay cut and performing the roles of 5-6 people.
THE BUSINESS STRUCTURE
For anyone who doesn’t know, Deryl, whose company currently manages £11.7 billion ($15 billion) in projects, explains that there are two parts to McKissack & McKissack.
We started in December 1990, probably got our first project somewhere in 91, and probably that year we had about maybe £392k ($500k) revenue, probably with 3 or 4 projects. And within the next year it was over £785k ($1 million) in revenue
Firstly, the construction company design projects for clients such as office or school buildings.
This then gives clients the design documents needed for them to be able to proceed with the construction of a building.
Secondly, the company deals with project management, meaning they help customers from the start to end of the design and building process.
FAMILY LEGACY
While there were few women who worked in the construction industry at the time, something which Deryl wishes to change, she says it’s always been in her blood.
She explains how her great great grandfather came to America as a slave to a builder in 1970, where he learned how to make bricks.
Deryl says this knowledge of the construction industry was then passed down to her great grandfather, who took up a profession as a master carpenter.
Filtering down through generations, the interest in building rubbed off onto her grandfather and his brother, who then went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a bid to become architects.
The family business was then started in 1905 in Tennessee.
Eventually, it was passed down to Deryl’s father and his three daughters – Deryl included – decided to carry on the family legacy by going to a school for architecture and engineering.
TAKING A GAMBLE
With qualifications under her belt, the newly licensed professional engineer started working for some of the country’s best known construction and engineering companies.
However, in 1990, Deryl says she decided to go solo and start her own business, which she did with just £786 ($1,000).
After obtaining her license in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, the hard graft really started.
She wrote out a business plan which included a list of 300 possible clients, who she then spent time contacting.
I never got to back to my six figure salary until about ten years, but I paid everybody first. I was the last. If there was nothing left, I didn’t get paid
Deryl McKissack
“We started in December 1990, probably got our first project somewhere in 91, and probably that year we had about maybe £392k ($500k) revenue, probably with 3 or 4 projects,” she recalls.
“And within the next year it was over £785k ($1 million) in revenue.”
Deryl, who would often work 80 hour weeks and perform the roles of 5-6 people, says she’d write her own proposals and produce them in a machine that’d only copy one page at a time.
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“I came from a six figure salary, and when I started the business my first year, I paid myself £5,658 ($7,200), my second year £14,145 ($18k),” she explains.
“I never got to back to my six figure salary until about ten years, but I paid everybody first. I was the last.
“If there was nothing left, I didn’t get paid.”
ON THE MAP
Amongst her projects includes Dunbar High School and the Barack Obama library campus.
And quite remarkably, her firm also oversaw the creation of the MLK Memorial monument – a project that she says really put them on the map worldwide.
Now, McKissack & McKissack has offices in Chicago, Dallas, Baltimore and LA, with Deryl admitting she’s “extremely proud” of the successes they’ve achieved.