2019 Women in Construction: Vicki Chapman, President, Chapman Construction Group, Inc.

Which project, deal or transaction was the “game changer” in the advancement of your career during the last 10 years? The game changer for me was when we started to seek out the right people with the right experience from established companies (in different areas of the electrical industry) who mentor us to this day. This has been the true game changer. We learn from someone else’s experience. A mentor is worth their weight in gold.

What are you doing differently in 2019 that has had a positive impact on your career? Delegating. You just can’t do it all alone. You have to have a great team in order to succeed.

What was your first job and what did you learn from it? My first job (in 2002) was a very small part of a project for Homeland Security at the Boston Coast Guard Station. All we had to do was install some electrical receptacles in office space. There were no drawings, and they kept adding little things to the project and having us complete time and material slips for the work. At the end of each day we had the slip signed by the Master Chief at the Coast Guard Station. When the project ended, I needed to go to a meeting with the Homeland Security team in order to review all the extra work we had done. I put on my meeting/wedding/funeral suit and headed into the Coast Guard headquarters in Rhode Island. When I walked into a room filled with people in uniform it felt very intimidating. I was a new business owner not used to being out of my jeans, t-shirt and tool belt. The woman in charge saw my nervousness and said “relax, if you have all your paperwork, you’ll get paid”. I will never forget that woman. She made me feel so much better. And I did get paid. What I learned from the experience? We are all just people trying to get along in this world. If you dot all your I’s and cross all your T’s and communicate, you will get paid.