Face to Face - August 2009

Penny Perez

President, Malco Contracting, Inc., Las Vegas, NV

Number of Employees: 30

Years in Nevada: Native

Years with Company: 26

Best Business Advice:

Take adequate time to make decisions.   Be prepared to walk away from questionable opportunities even when pressure, i.e., economic, personal, or principled may try to persuade otherwise.   Trust your intuition!

How do you retain your best and brightest employees?

I always try to involve employees in the process.  We work together as a team.  There is no hierarchy – chain of command, but no hierarchy.

What is the most important thing you learned from your parents?

My parents are both incredibly hard workers.  They instilled in me a strong work ethic and encouraged me to never give up on pursuing my dreams.

What three values do you hope to pass on to your employees?

Be gracious, take responsibility – be accountable and never give up.

Presently, in my line of work:

It’s all about value right now.  Companies must streamline processes and revise and revamp their operations to achieve increased efficiency.    You can’t just drop pricing without picking up operations, the end result could be devastating.

Who is a surprising source of wisdom in your life?

Life in general is a surprising source of wisdom.  Every day is a new day.  You really never know what’s around the next corner and that keeps things interesting.

If you could have had another career, what would it have been?

A dancer.  I was a competitive gymnast in grade and middle school.  Once in high school I began taking professional dance lessons.  I enjoyed dancing immensely because a dancer has the freedom of self expression without uttering a word.

Little known fact about yourself?

I’m a Parrot Head aka Jimmy Buffet fan.