Success Story: BRK Electrical Contractors LLC
St. Louis, Mo.

Electrical engineer Marion Hayes III founded his business, BRK Electrical Contractors LLC, in 2003 in St. Louis.

Marion A. Hayes III exudes electricity. After all, electricity is his business.

Enthusiasm and positive energy are the trademarks of this human dynamo who founded his own electrical contracting business — BRK Electrical Contractors LLC — in 2003, after years of dreaming and an entire year of solid planning.

The dreaming started even before he completed his education at Washington University with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1991 and a master's in construction management in 1994. The solid planning started in early 2002, with years of electrical construction experience under his belt.

It was then Hayes decided to take the steps to establish a business. He just wasn't sure what all those steps were. At that point he sought advice from the counselors with the St. Louis regional office of the Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers.

The SBTDC business specialists jointly tackled the challenges Hayes presented to them, according to Kevin Wilson, director of the region's SBTDC office at the Empowerment Zone in downtown St. Louis.

Hayes confers with one of his electricians on the site of a job at 1818 Washington in downtown St. Louis.

"Over the years our SBTDC has taken a team approach to helping Marion Hayes achieve his small business goals," Wilson says. "With a combination of counseling in the areas of strategic planning, marketing, debt structuring and management the SBTDC has helped BRK Electrical experience tremendous well-managed growth."

That growth is reflected in solid revenues. BRK Electrical's first-year sales reached $1.2 million. In 2004 revenues jumped to $2 million. For its most recent fiscal year Hayes' firm topped the $5-million range in business. During that span the electrical contractor went from a three-person shop to its current workforce of 23.

Along the way Hayes and BRK have received accolades from the St. Louis business community. In 2003 the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA), the St. Louis American Foundation, and the Urban League tapped BRK Electrical with the Emerging Business of the Year award. The following year Hayes was dubbed "Entrepreneur of the Year" by the local chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. More recent honors include the 2007 St. Louis Minority Business Council's Construction Business of the Year.

And all this recognition and solid revenue growth was achieved with hard work and the business savvy Hayes has mastered since his association with the SBTDC. His clients have included such notables as St. Louis-area electrical utility AmerenUE, BJC Healthcare, and Washington University in St. Louis. BRK Electrical also contracted on the streetscape lighting package for one of the region's most high-profile construction projects in decades ... the new Busch Stadium, home of the 2006 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Hayes completes some paperwork before moving on to the next job site. His business has grown from a three-person shop to a workforce of 23 in six years.

More recent projects include the parking garage and site lighting for Lumiere Place Casino and Hotels in downtown St. Louis. Among his firm's current projects are the Biomedical Research Building at Washington University's School of Medicine and Schnuck's Culinaria downtown grocery store.

With all the impressive progress BRK has made in its first six years, Hayes is quick to give credit for all the help he and his company have received.

"The people at the SBTDC provided guidance to me long before my company became a reality," says Hayes. "Kevin Wilson and his team helped me fine-tune my business plan, assemble an advisory board, create an accurate and reliable set of financial data, and then pointed me toward sources of start-up funds and capital for business expansion."

"Today, I'm still in constant contact with members of the (SBTDC) team, seeking advice on how to position my company for steady growth opportunities and meet head-on the many problems small businesses are facing in the current economy."

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This story was featured in the August 2009 newsletter.

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