Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1508599
14 PalletCentral • September-October 2023 palletcentral.com Many took me under the wing and said, 'Hey, let me show you. Let me give you the opportunity to see what you can do.'" It takes both employees and management to create a collaborative culture. "From the employee side, it is always about trying to do your best in your role. From the management side, it is being able to see what people do and provide more opportunity. I always tried to do my best and learn from others." "I think everybody notices when you work around someone who likes change and opportunity," says Draughn. "ey come with a 'here's what I can contribute' attitude instead of what they think they deserve. at attitude has helped me through the years. People can tell when you're trying to help move them forward." On Retention Creating a safe efficient work environment is a priority for Draughn and his team. Maximizing automation can increase employee success and should always help an employee, not replace them. "I think automation opens a lot of doors if you want to better yourself. Ask yourself what you can learn, how you can support it, and how my role would change versus doing the manual labor. It can create a growth environment." Overall, he looks to see if an employee has a good work ethic, is dependable and puts the effort to the job. "With that, you have a good foundation to work with someone who has the capacity to grow their self and skills, and work in a team with a willingness to learn. I also think humility is important, contributing to the greater good." Larry poses with some of the management team at PalletOne, left to right: Kon Champavannarath – IT Joe Culverhouse – Operations Keith Warren – Operations Larry Draughn – Operations Howe Wallace – Business Unit Leader Matt Sheffield – Operations Mike Miller – Operations Terry Borglund – Accounting Matt Hinton – IT If you're working to better yourself through a promotion or salary increase, Draughn's advice is, "Having a willingness to continuously learn all the different aspects of what we do, as a business and industry. And then focus what contributions you can make to the company, and to your fellow employees. It works much better when you look at what you can provide for the company; usually things take care of themselves." Building a Business from Scratch Beatrice Vasquez Oxnard Pallet Company Founder and Chief Financial Officer B eatrice Vasquez will be the first to tell you she and her husband Elias knew nothing about it when they decided to add a pallet repair and resale business in 1993 to their successful trucking business. "We knew nothing about pallets other than Elias was the middleman to the farmers he served who were begging him to take their pallets," remembers Beatrice Vasquez. "ere was an overabundance. He saw a window of opportunity where we could really do something significant." Around this time, Beatrice was looking to spend more time with her two children. "It was the perfect moment to combine our experience into a business –