Hardwired for success
Seven Sisters builds a failing business venture into a $10 million company

by Tara A. Nelson


Ask Nancy Wiliams and Christine Thompson of Seven Sisters electrical contracting company what makes a successful business and they’ll likely tell you hard work, a stellar safety record and a love of people.
Ask them how the two sisters managed to create a $10 million business out of their father’s dwindling electrical division during an economic downturn and the answer isn’t as succinct.
Seven Sisters started when Williams decided in 1981 to purchase a small electrical branch of Snelson Companies, her father’s construction contracting business, during an era when women-owned businesses – especially women-owned construction businesses- – were few.
“I think we were one of the first women-owned construction businesses in the state,” Thompson said. “But because my sisters and I were raised to be independent and believe we could do anything we wanted if we worked hard and smart enough, it never occurred to us that others might not think seven young women belonged in the electrical contracting business. So we just went ahead and bought an under-used electrical division that our father’s construction company was phasing out.”
Williams, along with six other sisters, already knew the business from cleaning and conducting administrative tasks to maintaining the position of equipment manager during high school, and wanted more independence.
Although well versed in the construction business Williams found taking on such a venture was an enormous task. As president of Seven Sisters, Inc., Williams’ responsibilities include project management and supervision, purchasing, scheduling and estimating.
Shortly after, she hired Thompson to help in the office with management of office staff, bookkeeping and accounting as well as serving as vice president and a shareholder of Seven Sisters, Inc.
As the company grew, the two sisters hired on a third sister – Julie Stuart – as their corporate secretary. Their other four sisters own stock in the company.

Working with family
Thompson said working with family inherently brings certain rewards and challenges but she believes that Seven Sisters has become an example of age-old rules that are made to be broken.
“I think working with your family has been an extremely rewarding adventure,” she said. “If you work with people who aren’t related, their objectives just aren’t the same. Plus, we’re a very close family anyway; we do things socially with our sisters, we’ve just always been that way.”
Thompson said she has avoided many problems by making a rule of not discussing family issues at the office or board of directors meetings. Conversely, family gatherings were declared off-limits to business talk. In addition, the sisters tackle vastly different projects to avoid rivalry or competition.
“We all get along great, not only do we have family members who own the company, but we have a husband and two children who work in the company, so we have a lot of family here.”

Location, location, location
Thompson said that while the construction business is not as location-sensitive as other industries, she feels fortunate to be located in Sedro-Woolley. It’s an ideal spot to serve areas from Bellingham to Anacortes and beyond. Just off State Route 20, the 20,000-square foot building is home to approximately 70 employees, making Seven Sisters one of the largest employers in Skagit County.
A centralized location has proven to be a cost-saving benefit for the Seven Sisters with several oil refineries, pulp and paper mills and aluminum processing facilities all within a 200-mile radius.
“Our main customers are in Anacortes and Ferndale area, whereas other contractors are either out of the state or in Seattle,” she said.
The business specializes in upgrading and repairing existing plant equipment with an emphasis on minimizing downtime for cost effectiveness. Their current major clients include Shell, Tesoro and Conoco Phillips refineries.
“I would say 95 percent of our work is industrial construction such as with refineries, rather than municipal projects,” Thompson said. “Whereas, we used to be probably 50/50.”
As a union contractor, Thompson said they have the ability to utilize trained apprentices and electricians on a very short notice, which has been a key to the company’s success. She cites safety as another large player in their success.
“One of the biggest issues is safety,” she said. “We’ve had a very good safety record and our private clients look at that and make decisions on whether you can even work for their refinery based on what your safety record is. Because we had a very good safety record, that enabled us to do the work we have done in the last 10 years.”
In addition to regular drug testing, daily safety meetings and a routine safety emphasis, Seven Sister employees receive mandatory training before each job, which often includes a two- to a four-hour session when completing refinery work.
“Our guys know that at the end of the day, we want them to go home safely to their family,” she added.
Thompson said during the past five years the company has had no time-loss incidents, receiving a “claim-free discount” from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
“We also hold weekly job-site safety meetings, complete jobsite hazard analyses, conduct jobsite safety audits, keep our employees up-to-date on first aid and CPR training, and stress awareness of the hazards in their workplace. Our goal remains to work with our employees to prevent workplace injuries and to maintain consistent, quality workmanship.”
And the company has earned recognition to prove it. Seven Sisters has been honored with the Presidents Award from the Cascade chapter of the National Electrical Contractor’s Association; Family business of the Year in the women-owned business category from Pacific Lutheran University; and recognized for “outstanding and exceptional services” from King County. The company celebrates its 25 anniversary this year.

Changing face of construction
Being one of the first women-owned businesses in the state (often referred to as a WBE) was not without its challenges. General contractors were often skeptical, if not outright dismissive about women’s ability to perform on the job.
Thompson said that while the two never played the “fiercely competitive macho game,” they were “intense about building a reputation.”
She added that a former Washington state equal opportunity act helped their business gain credibility in the industry.
“Because we were certified as a women business enterprise, we got a lot of municipal contracts – especially in the Seattle area,” she said. “They had certain set-asides so people would bid a job and then they’d want either a minority or women-owned business to do a portion of that work.”
In 1999, however, Washington state voters passed an initiative that removed that requirement – not only for business hiring practices but college and university enrollment quotas as well.
When asked if that change impacted their business, Thompson said no.
“Our business was well-established in the industry at that time. But it did help us get our foot in the door back in 1981,” she said.
“That was when women in the construction industry was pretty new. But now, it’s more accepted. I think women in general have just got a bigger part in owning businesses and managing that it’s not so unusual whereas back then, it was practically unheard of.
“I think that younger women today believe they had more possibilities than when we went to school,” she said. “Women have a lot more opportunities now than they did when we grew up. I think there’s a cultural change that’s happened.”