Current position: President, Schuchart Corp., a full-service general contractor, and Schuchart/Dow, a high-end homebuilder and remodeler.

First job: Working for American Tugboat in Everett for $3 an hour. I was young, too young to drive, so I got a ride to work each morning with a dock foreman. My cousin and I were given the task of painting a large wooden warehouse over a pier. I'll never forget the color, red lead. First we wire brushed the siding, trying not to take off too much of the wood, then we painted with the large, 12-inch paintbrush dipped from a 5-gallon bucket. On the days that it rained, we'd wire brush rusty turnbuckles down to bare metal, then give them a generous slathering of Lubriplate.

How I got the job: The old-fashioned way. ... It was my grandfather's company.

What I learned: Every morning around 10 we would have a coffee break. My cousin and I would hop on a jitney and roar off for coffee. All these older guys met by the shipways where they would pull out the tugs to be recaulked with oakum. They skidded the tugs up on tallow-greased logs. I'll never forget that sweet-sickly smell. One late, cool summer morning when the bay was still heavy with fog, I fell through a rotten plank on the pier. I was walking back from coffee and the next thing I knew I was treading water 10 feet beneath the pier. I guess I learned a couple of things. Watch your step and learn to drink your coffee black! Seriously though, I learned that all jobs, no matter what level, are important. At my company, I try to express my appreciation for all our staff's efforts, every task done conscientiously and honestly, across the board. We all matter.