Vector Collaborative is 15

15 years ago today Vector Collaborative (fka Sebern Structural Services) became an official company. When I try to think back to that time of inception and the feelings I felt, some of them are exactly the same as today and some are completely different. I wanted a way to put my engineering knowledge to use but I also wanted to be present in the day to day things with my little kids. I didn’t really know where things would go. I think I had dreams of VC growing into a large engineering firm. I know for sure I didn’t know the first thing about running a business at the time. Today, VC is a company of one but I would like to think I’ve developed quite a bit as an entrepreneur. I’m definitely less intense and more relaxed.

I’m thankful for the people along the way, in particular Todd Reding and Charrette Venture Group who taught me the basics of building a business and fostering relationships. That it’s not about selling but more about listening and getting to know people. The sell will come organically, over time, in ways that you typically would never expect. I’m also thankful for the clients that have trusted VC with your structural engineering needs over the years. When VC started, I had just moved from Colorado to central Iowa. I did not have an established local professional network. Looking back now, I feel so blessed to have some pretty awesome clients that I love working with, many that have become friends too. I have a vibrant professional network of so many people that I truly enjoy spending time with and working with.

So what have I learned over the last 15 years?

1. Be clear with expectations and what is possible. Don’t over promise and under deliver.

2. Spend time getting to know your clients.

3. Be prompt in your correspondence. Read through your emails before you hit send.

4. Don’t take life (or your jobs) too seriously. It’s OK to laugh and have fun sometimes. This does not discredit your intellect.

5. ‘No’ is a complete sentence.

6. There will always, always be more work to do. Be clear and intentional with yourself on boundaries. No one is productive for 60hrs a week.

7. Vacations, with full detachment, are necessary. Nobody wants to work with someone that is crabby and burned out. The only way you can fully recharge is to fully disengage.

8. Everything happens just as it is supposed to. Sometimes you get the job, sometimes you don’t and you may not know why. But looking back, it all works out exactly as it is supposed to.

9. Owning a business means you really do have the autonomy to meld and customize it into whatever works best for you and outputs the best service for your clients.

10. Things are always changing. It’s important to stay on top of innovative concepts in the field.

11. Competitors are colleagues. We are the collective, and by working together we raise the bar of the profession.

12. Take time to build your network. Have lunch with someone who inspires you. Mentor someone. Ask someone to be your mentor. Get to know others doing the same thing as you. This career is not an exercise in gatekeeping or a solo endeavor.

13. It’s important to take time to get organized. Not every hour is going to be billable.

14. Hobbies are important.

15. Mental health needs to be a priority for all of the other things above to fall into line. Feelings are important, even at work.

Some of these things come easy and some have been really hard-learned lessons for me. And many of them I’m still working on every day. I hope that this inspires you to keep chasing your own dreams and to maybe assess ways that you can hone your own craft. You are capable of so much more than you think.

In celebration of 15 years, here are a few pictures of some favorite projects:


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