A Day in the Life at Monolithic Headquarters

Editor’s Note: Life at Monolithic headquarters in Italy, Texas is exciting and filled with all things Monolithic Domes. We bring you a first-hand look from our vice president of sales Gary Clark.

First, let me tell you that working for Monolithic is a great job. I have been working here for over 30 years. In that 30 year span I have gone from doing manual labor building domes all the way to where I am now, working in the sales office helping people with their decisions to purchase domes.

One of my philosophies is, if we just give people the facts then they can make an informed decision. Therefore, it is not hard to sell a Monolithic Dome. It is just informing people and letting them make the decision.

My mornings here at Monolithic start a little earlier than some folks. I have learned over the years that people get the majority of their work done before noon. I find if I arrive at the office a little earlier than normal then I have an hour or more of quiet time before the business of the day begins. I get to work around 6:30 to 7 a.m. This gives me the chance to work on projects and correspondence without interruptions. At 8 a.m. employees are arriving and phone calls begin, which marks the beginning of the real work day. Sometimes I refer to myself here at Monolithic as “the fireman” because I have lists of projects, people and things that have to be completed during the day to keep me focused when I have free time. However, then the phones ring with questions and/or problems that need to be solved. I have to stop what I am doing, take the call, thus, ‘putting out fires.’ A lot of times it turns into another project that requires some time and documentation. After 8 a.m. my day is filled with projects that need to be completed but helping people is why we are here at work. We are building domes but we are helping people so that is what I do as the calls and emails come in.

I work with all sorts of people learning about the Monolithic Domes. Some are in the construction phase, already building their dream dome home or school. Others are ready to start a feasibility study, which is a preliminary study to help customers see how a Monolithic Dome would fit their needs and budget. We do both commercial and residential feasibility studies, depending on the needs of the customer. Then we have the “tire kickers,” those who are learning about the Monolithic Dome for the first time and are full of questions.

My goal is to be a resource for all people who are interested in Monolithic Domes. We try to help customers in all aspects of the building process. These include:

• Creating designs
• Project development
• Referring contractors and builders
• Connecting to other professionals, including architects and engineers

We love to share our technology and expertise on how to build these structures. One way we do that is through our dome building workshops, a week long class where we teach the equipment, methods, and industry standards to build a Monolithic Dome. My favorite part of these workshops is not just teaching the material, but we go out into the field and construct a dome together. Several attendees have told it me it was the best week of vacation they’ve ever had!

On another note, my day will usually involve a trip or two to our Airform manufacturing facility and get an eye on what is going on there. I think it is important for me to be able to work well with all of the crews and not just with my sales team. As we all work together and share information we can help each other. We have a saying at Monolithic that goes like this, ‘There is no one of us that is as smart as all of us.’ When we share ideas and get the big picture from all sides it not only helps us to be a better company but helps us help our customers.

A typical day will end close to 5 p.m. Sometimes a little after if we have customers that are out of our time zone or halfway around the world . It might be that 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. will be the best time to reach them. So, we will stay longer and make those calls to help our customers.

My day is filled with communications and sharing the benefits of a Monolithic Dome. I have enjoyed my many years of building and learning about these structures. I can see a great future for not only the Monolithic Dome but for our world as the word is spread about these wonderful buildings.