Keith Pierce, a local entrepreneur and president of the BYU-Hawaii 1st Stake for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told BYU-Hawaii business students that the success of his contracting company stemmed from his reliance on the Lord and willingness to keep the commandments.
Addressing students and faculty in the first entrepreneurship lecture of 2004 in the McKay Auditorium, Pierce, who operates Pierce Construction throughout the Hawaiian Islands, emphasized specific business principles that have made his name well known locally.
Pierce explained that when he first started out, he wanted to be successful in whatever he decided to do as a career. He returned in 1986 to Laie where his extended family was living, to start his own business in contracting and building. He started building garage doors, but there was limited success, so he went on to comprehensive construction. "My father's father was a contractor, my father was a builder, and I always wanted to be a builder," he said, pointing out his lifelong passion of construction.
Prior to running his own business, he worked as a fireman, paramedic, railroad hostler, locomotive engineer and insurance salesman but his heart kept luring him back to construction.
"In order to make money, you need to sell something that people want all the time," he said, quoting Horace Vandergelder, a successful entrepreneur in the musical "Hello Dolly!"
"First you need to sell yourself and put a name out for yourself," Pierce said. "A lot of contractors are not interested in quality but making money. We wanted to make quality houses and do quality work."
Pierce attributed the rapid growth and popularity of Pierce Construction to many factors. He explained he always set goals and, more importantly, complied with all of the Hawaii state laws to run his business. "I was honest in my dealings and felt comfortable about it," he said.
Pierce stressed the importance of keeping good books. "My wife, who is a self-taught accountant keeps all of our books," he said, praising her for the admirable job she does. He also said "there is pressure on the employer to help his employees."
He regularly gives bonuses to his 15 employees as incentive for their hard work and dedication to the company. He also has taken his team to Maui for a "getaway" as an added benefit. Be organized, keep good records and be good to your employees, he said, and they will produce.
Pierce concluded his advice with three additional business principles:
"Have contented people," he said. "When my clients can say 'I feel comfortable with Pierce Construction,' it has done great things for my business. Heavenly Father has really helped me in this."
"Keep up on technological changes; if you don't, you're going to be left behind," he said. "This is especially becoming more important in our day."
Two examples he gave were that his company changed from aluminum to vinyl windows and roofing the front entrance of the Polynesian Cultural Center in a way that won national awards.
The third principle was to "know your limitations and capitalize on it," he added. "Getting up everyday and enjoying what you do, particularly in business is success. I can honestly say that I get up every morning and look forward to going to work."
Pierce said he reached his own personal goal of expanding all over the Hawaiian Islands. His son is now following in his footsteps and chasing his own dream of starting his own business in other U.S. states. "That's where we're headed," he said.
Pierce ended his thoughts by quoting Alma 37:13 of the Book of Mormon, emphasizing the Lord's promise: "...how strict are the commandments of God. And he said: if ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land..."
"I went from not being able to sell garage doors to now running $2 million through the books," he said. "Heavenly Father will help you if you continue to do what is right."