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Business Spotlight
Work Hard
Cornerstone Construction owner Gary Verkinnes has found success through building relationships and hard work. When Jim asked me what I wanted to do in the future, I always said I want to own my own business. Jim was a great mentor. He gave me direction. BC: What do you like best about business ownership? ______________ Verkinnes: Mentoring the staff and giving them the freedom to excel, to make mistakes and to grow. BC: What has been the biggest challenge? ______________ Verkinnes: Finding good people. Especially more recently. I need to do some hiring. I don’t have enough people for the jobs that we have coming in.
At A Glance Cornerstone Construction, Inc. 6975 Saukview Drive, Suite 100 St. Cloud, MN 56303 320-251-9221 fax: 320-251-9388 Cornerstonestcloud.com Business Description: Commercial construction and business development Owner: Gary Verkinnes Opened: 1996 Joined the Chamber in 1996
Fun Fact:
Verkinnes is a huge fan of the Eagles. He has guitars signed by all of the musicians.
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Business Central Magazine // M AY/J U N E 2 0 1 6
BC: What are you going to do? ______________ By Gail Ivers
Business Central: From what you’ve said you had no direction when you graduated from high school. How did you get into this business? ______________ Verkinnes: I was bartending at the 400 Club and Jim Miller, who owned Miller Construction, was a customer. He offered me a job and I said no. I guess I had a bad night and Jim called and the next thing I knew I had an interview. I worked for his property development company for two years, then did sales for Miller Construction for eight years.
Verkinnes: We’ll have to turn some of them down. I learned that the hard way. These customers become your friends. Anybody can build a building. We build friendships – long lasting friendships. We go to their kids’ birthday parties. We go out to dinner. If you take a job and then can’t do it because you don’t have enough people, now your friends are mad at you. Better to not take the job in the first place. BC: What’s the future for Cornerstone Construction? ______________ Verkinnes: I’ll sell it to my employees. I’ll stay on and do
Personal Profile Gary Verkinnes, 55 Hometown: Waite Park Education: Graduated from Apollo High School; took classes at the St. Cloud Technical and Community College; attended the Minnesota School of Real Estate Work History: Lots of different, short-term jobs out of high school, including bartending at the 400 Club where he met local property development and construction company owner Jim Miller. Family: Wife Wendy and son Kalen Hobbies: Boating on the Mississippi River, snowmobiling, traveling – “I’m checking things off my bucket list.” Best advice you’ve received: Family is the most important thing you have. Everything else is secondary. Advice to a new entrepreneur: You have to make decisions, you have to take risks. Don’t second guess yourself. You won’t always make the right decision, just move on.
business development – buying land, building facilities, finding tenants. I won’t miss the responsibilities of business ownership, but I’ll still work. Work hard. That’s what Jim Miller taught me.