Built on People Those lessons became the foundation of a career that has now spanned more than five decades. For all the buildings, contracts, and achievements that define Ahrens Companies on paper, Richard rarely speaks about construction first.
He does however, talk about people.
He talks about employees, he talks about relationships and possibly most important of all, he talks about trust. "I try not just to be an owner to my employees. I want to be their friend. I don't put myself on a crown or act as king. I try to keep it on the same level." That perspective was inherited from the generations before him and remains visible throughout the culture of Ahrens Companies today. Richard believes business is ultimately a human endeavor. Buildings matter. Financial performance matters. Innovation matters. But relationships come first. That belief helps explain why Ahrens Companies has maintained client relationships across multiple generations. "How you treat people," he says simply. "As long as you follow the faith and you trust people, and you're open in doing business with them, you'll succeed." The simplicity of that statement is striking in an industry increasingly governed by contracts, litigation, and complexity.
Richard remembers a different era.
86 BUILDERS EDITION Legacy
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