Kevin Smith Jr shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Kevin, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Energy – It’s contagious in the workplace!
We can learn and teach together as colleagues.
We can demonstrate our mission, vision, and values to instill integrity.
Sales and service are literally a transfer of enthusiasm, so on the days when motivation wanes, discipline and self-prompted energy will create the right atmosphere for our team and our client base.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Kevin Smith, Jr
CEO of Ultimate Storage Solutions
USS is now the parent company over a host of storage container and infrastructure companies including: Equipment Management Services (EMS), Storage On Site (SOS), True Master Storage (TM), and Panda One (P1). With headquarters in Dallas and Houston, we’ve now added locations in central Texas through TM and national support through P1 to offer comprehensive coverage for both B2B and retail applications. The focus has always been centered around providing new and used shipping containers for purchase or rental, but now also includes lease options all across the USA to supply portable restrooms and dumpsters.
In-house design and engineering can also help your custom container modification take shape all the way through production and permitting.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I was incredibly fortunate to have an ensemble of mentors early in my career that saw potential I had yet to realize.
From my father to J. Michael McClanahan, Rick Reid, and Danny Lesa, they pushed my vision for our industry when I was too naive to consider any downside risk. It served me incredibly well to constantly believe in growth through their support, encouragement, and respect as their peer.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
If everything was a victory, where is the reminder to push yourself?
Sports analogies always resonate well with me.
Think about professional baseball and what is takes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame…
Harmon Killebrew was a player in the 1950s/1960s that was feared by opposing pitchers, even nicknamed ‘The Killer”. After his retirement, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame solidifying himself as one of the best to play the game. Yet, his career batting average was only .256, meaning he got a hit once for every four times to step into the box!
A missed deal, a bad day, or even personal suffering can be incredible teachers as we deploy ourselves to keep showing up focused on the next attempt instead of living in the successful moments.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
Success is the sum of small efforts on repetitious loop.
I think often times it’s human nature to seek the big order or the flashy project. Certainly we want those, too!
But, the day to day progress of servicing a single client, providing a storage solution on time that adds value to their project or jobsite, and answering the call/email if a problem arises are actually the truth to retain our market share.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Absolutely. I’m grateful that, either by good fortune or upbringing, the external validation means very little to me.
I carry a pen with me that says “The Next Step…” because every level we accelerate our brand is just the natural result of our consistency and work, nothing I need to stop and applaud personally.
I’ve learned through the years as a leader, however, that mantra is not uniform in nature. I can stop and compliment the team, the sales rep, or the management personnel. It was ok to learn that we are all wired differently and that praise actually fuels some people and costs me nothing to share the moment for their acclaim.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.uss-containers.com
- Instagram: @emsllc @storeonsite @pandaoneusa @ultimatestoragesolutions @truemasterstorage
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinsmithjr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/equipmentmanagement/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Eqmsllc
