- Award category: Movers & Shakers
- Speciality: Insurance restoration
- 19 years in business
- 2009 volume: $12.2 million
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Staff: 8 office, 13 field
Credit: Portraits by Pam
Dale Sharp’s business philosophy is simple: Do what you say you will do. “It is amazing how seldom this actually occurs,” he says, noting that the rarity only makes clients more appreciative of his staff’s consistently high-quality work and strong communications.
Sharp (right) joined the company in 1994 when it was Crawford Smith Construction. He became a partner in 1998, president in 2007, and majority owner in 2009, when he bought out his co-owners and brought in project manager Dave Robbins (left). From offices in Memphis and near Nashville, the two men work primarily with owners and managers of commercial and multifamily properties, helping them reposition their facilities for sale, bring them out of distress, or catch up on maintenance too long deferred.
When commercial property owners began tightening their belts, Sharp & Robbins Construction diversified, adding five to the eight states it was already licensed in, and eyeing a heavier push into the residential market. By leveraging a host of best practices — precise job-costing, ongoing training, superior field and office technologies, quarterly bonuses, and a strong company culture — owners Sharp and Robbins aim to retain their edge in an increasingly competitive market.
BEST PRACTICES
- Selected “best place to work in Memphis” by the Memphis Business Journal in 2005.
- Given 2004 Phoenix Award for Innovation in Restoration by the Restoration Insurance Association. Licensed in 13 states.
- All field supervisors are equipped with handheld computers and laptops with broadband.
- Significant pro-bono work in restoring housing for needy families.
- Markets to the owners and managers of multifamily and commercial properties, as well as to insurance companies.
- Quarterly bonuses based on individual and overall performance.
Notable quotes (Dale Sharp): “I dream in Excel format.” “I know every crack on the road between Nashville and Memphis” — the company’s two office locations.
- Leah Thayer