- Joel Harris and Parker Bennett
- Solid Ground
- Provo
A solid business model: Under-promise, over-deliver
Solid Ground LLC is a Native American, Hawaiian-owned 8(a) Certified General Contractor based in Provo. Joel Harris founded Solid Ground in 2013 after he turned 50 after realizing that his current work did not bring him happiness. He originally focused on lifting concrete; however, concrete lifting requires toxic chemicals and specialized equipment which made it difficult for him to scale the business and protect his employees.
Harris said that part of his success was “being wise enough to bring people into your service that know more than you.” This is how he feels about working with his team of contractors and also bringing in Parker Bennett as the company’s president. Bennett and Harris had been friends for years. As good friends do, Bennett would help out as a “volunteer” for Solid Ground until the company was doing well enough to pay him. It was with the help of Bennett that led the organization from a concrete lifting to a general construction company. Their services now include engineering for design-build projects; removal and installation of asphalt roads and highways, airport tarmac and aircraft staging and storage areas; asphalt sealing and striping; excavation services; site surveying and soil testing; project management; superintending; site cleanup; and other services.
Harris and Bennett worked with the Women’s Business Center of Utah to get Solid Ground certified in the SBA’s 8(a) program, a program for social and economically disadvantaged businesses. The program is designed to develop the skills and capabilities of small businesses so they will be better prepared to compete in the federal marketplace. Solid Ground currently has three years left in the nine-year program. While in the program they have been able to scale the company to provide multiple services, both in-house and subcontracting to other small contractors. They came to the program as a very small company. The SBA’s bonding program and their exceptional level of work on small projects influenced contracting officers to award them larger contracts. Solid Ground has recently obtained new contracts with the National Park Service, Department of Defense, Bureau of Land Management, Bountiful City and additional private companies.
Harris said that being a minority-owned business and part of the 8(a) program gave them the “opportunity to stand on equal ground with the majority. In other words, getting to compete, and getting the chance to prove our merit …”
Solid Ground works with a network of trusted contractors to complete projects. This model has allowed them the flexibility to take on the bigger job without overextending their staff or compromising their financials. It has been important to Harris and Bennett to try and keep Solid Ground debt-free. Working with a network of trusted contractors also provides a better experience for the client as they get experts working on every aspect of their project. Harris and Bennett try to create a win-win-win outcome: a win for Solid Ground, their subcontractors and the customer. They work hard to get the best result for the best price. Their business motto is “You earn trust by showing others respect, honesty and loyalty — and the bottom line: under-promise, over-deliver.”