Richard Toren - Executive Leaders Radio

Steve Malley
_________________
Work Hard and Success Will Follow
Driving down the Beltway in the
Washington DC area, a driver is sure to see signs
of the ongoing construction efforts to reduce the
traffic and congestion that the area is known for.
The many cones, barriers, barricades, and signs
that make those efforts possible are primarily
supplied by one company, locally headquartered
National Capital Industries, helped run by Steve
Malley, it‟s Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer.
Founded over 50 years
ago, National Capital started as a
provider of road construction
services. In 1980, the business
began specializing in the sale and
rental of road construction safety
equipment, providing the
materials needed to build roads,
parking lots and garages, and
ensuring that contractors have
what‟s needed to help save lives
and lessen work zone injuries.
With a relatively small
staff and locations within 50 miles
of one another, National Capital‟s
size belies its success. Having
fewer than 40 employees across 3
locations in the DC metro area and bringing in
revenue close to $20 million annually, National
Capital has certainly created a niche with its
specialization.
Recently the company‟s progress has been
hampered by changes in government agency
funding. A Bill was passed in 2005 which provided
funding for federal highways, but it expired in
2009, which has impacted highway construction.
“Once the Bill was passed,” Steve explains,
“there was an immediate decrease in road fatalities
by 8% and it‟s continually gone down since then
because of the funding of projects that helped
work zones become a safer place for the workers.
Unfortunately, that expired two years ago, and the
government has kept putting a band-aid on it. The
extension was going to expire this year but they
put another 6 month extension on it which will
expire March 30, 2012. So, the federal government
is still funding highways and giving money to the
states to complete road extensions and repairs, but
we need a long term Bill in place to continue
funding highway projects that will make it safer to
drive and function in work zones.”
Starting at the company in 2005 as a
controller, Steve quickly rose to the position of
CFO.
“When they offered me
the position, they were reluctant
since I had no construction
industry experience, but I have
proven myself,” Steve describes,
“The controller that I replaced
was a wonderful person who did
a great job in accounting, but he
didn‟t know payroll tax
regulations. After I started, I
discovered some issues with
previous year‟s taxes and I
worked extensively with the
Internal Revenue Service, the
District of Columbia, the
Maryland Department of
Taxation, and the Virginia
Department of Taxation and saved the company
about $475,000 in fines and penalties.”
Steve‟s discovery not only saved the
company financially, but reflected his steadfast
dedication to hard work and commitment. A
dedication that was rewarded when, due to the
unfortunate loss of their President in 2009, the
company promoted Steve to Senior Vice President.
Steve‟s proven success and ever increasing
responsibility was not unique to his work at
National Capital. His first job out of college was
working for a small chain of pet stores with 7 retail
locations. Hired as its controller, Steve was quickly
thrust into leadership when the current controller
quit while training him.
“The president of the company came in
and said, „She left you on your own‟ and I thought,
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„oh my gosh, what am I going to do? I‟m fresh out
of school with a brand new job and I have no idea
what I‟m doing‟.”
Steve quickly figured it out and the
company grew from 7 to 44 stores during his 21
year tenure. Unfortunately, the company‟s success
did not last as large pet store chains became
popular in the late „80s and drove the smaller retail
stores out of business. The company was forced to
file bankruptcy and the president of the company
stepped down.
“Because of the bankruptcy, we closed
quite a few locations, everything but 17 of the 44
stores. And at that time the new president came
into my office and told me that they couldn‟t
afford to keep me on staff. My first job out of
college and I had worked there for 21 and a half
years. I just sat there thinking, „I‟ve got a wife and
2 small children. I‟ve got a house payment‟. I had
never had to look for a job, especially with so
much responsibility. I was scared to death.”
Steve‟s wife was extremely supportive and
he began searching for positions in the immediate
area but couldn‟t find anything suitable. After
taking a one year contract position in Portland,
Oregon, which, due to the weather, didn‟t work for
the family, Steve sought out positions in the DC
area, close to family.
Hired by a company called Professional
Controllers, as a recruiter for temporary financial
staff and to bring in new clients, Steve soon felt the
desire to seek out another position, more in
alignment with his goals for the future. Soon
thereafter, Steve was hired by National Capital.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri,
Steve learned the importance of hard work at a
young age. With a genealogy full of strong men
and women who worked hard and valued family,
Steve inherited a legacy of success.
“My grandfather came over to the United
States from Poland around 1910 with the intention
of earning enough money to bring my
grandmother and their kids over. When he had
saved enough money to send for them, World War
I broke out and they couldn‟t come. My father had
a brother and a sister and while they went to
school, their mother would take water to the front
lines in Poland to the soldiers. That‟s how she
earned a living in Poland to survive and earn
enough money to feed the family. It wasn‟t until
1920 when my father was able to come over to this
country with my grandmother. At that time my
father was 14.”
After Steve‟s father finished secondary
school, he joined the Navy, and when his service
was up, he joined the Air Force, becoming a pilot.
“My father wanted to be a pilot and he
worked hard and he got his wings. Then his ear
drum blew out and he couldn‟t fly. He would
never fly again. So he was released from the Air
Force and joined the Army. In total he served the
country for 14 years.”
After leaving the Army, Steve‟s father took
a job at a company called Peoples‟ Liquor. They
were purchased by another liquor chain and
Steve‟s father stayed with that company until his
death. He worked there for 25 years.
“He loved that job and he was a hard
worker,” Steve speaks of his dad, “He worked 6
days a week but he was still a family man. Family
was very important. He would work one week on
the morning shift and one week on the evening
shift and if he worked mornings, we‟d always
have dinner together, and if he worked evenings,
we would have breakfast together as a family. It
was just important to him that we sat and ate as a
family.”
Steve also learned the importance of
commitment and character through his mother. A
stay-at-home mom, Steve recalls a particularly
poignant memory when she taught him a life
lesson.
“I learned a lot of work ethic from my
mom as well. One instance in particular, I was
probably 8 years old and my sister was sick with a
cold and she wasn‟t going to school that day. I was
all dressed and ready to go to school but I
wondered why my sister got to stay home when I
couldn‟t. I remember saying, „Mom, I don‟t think I
want to go to school today because I don‟t feel
well‟. My mom kind of knelt down and just held
me by my shoulders and looked me in the eye and
said, „You know Steven, if you‟re really not sick
you should go to school. You have a commitment.
If you‟re supposed to go to school then that‟s your
commitment. Your father has a commitment to go
to work and if he didn‟t go to work you wouldn‟t
have shoes to wear, we wouldn‟t have food on the
table; we wouldn‟t have a roof over our head. He
has a commitment and he adheres to that
commitment. You don‟t see him staying home sick
because somebody else stays home sick. You need
to go to school.”
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Needless to say, Steve went to school that
day.
That strong work ethic has stayed with
Steve his entire life, spurning him to work harder
and perform better at all that he does.
“Early in my career I was usually the first
one at work and the last one to leave.” Steve
recalls, “I regret working as many long hours
because I missed things with my kids early on. But
I‟m making up for it now. And don‟t get me
wrong, we had a great family life, we went on
family trips together and we had fun on the
weekends but there are things that I really wish
that I‟d seen, like the first steps that my kids took,
or their first tooth coming out. But we do things
together now and it‟s important to me that we
have dinner together every night. That‟s
something that has stayed with me. I‟m still the
first one at the office in the morning but I make
sure I‟m home early enough that we can all sit
down together as a family and have dinner.”
A loyal, hard worker and devoted family
man Steve Malley has worked his way to the top.
With a family legacy that reflects the American
Dream, and a work ethic that mirrors that dream,
Steve Malley proves that if you work hard you will
be a success.
By Gordon J. Bernhardt, CPA, PFS, CFP ® , AIF ®
About Gordon J. Bernhardt
President and founder of Bernhardt Wealth
Management and author of Profiles in Success:
Inspiration from Executive Leaders in the
Washington D.C. Area, Gordon provides financial
planning and wealth management services to affluent
individuals, families and business-owners throughout
the Washington, DC area. Since establishing his firm
in 1994, he and his team have been focused on
providing high-quality service and independent
financial advice to help clients make informed decisions
about their money. For more information, visit
www.BernhardtWealth.com and Gordon’s Blog.
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