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6 -- March 12, 2015 news@newslj, eom
news letter journal
Driven to
succeed
Businessman's
career path did
not include college
Bob Bonnar
NLJ
With graduation approaching,
dozens of local high school students
are faced with making choices that
they hope will set the stage for future
success. For many, that choice will
involve college, but there are others
who are just as excited to end their
formal education and make their way
in the world on their own terms.
Bucky Rawhouser was one of
those students, and he doesn't hesi-
tate to suggest that while college is
the right choice for some, he believed
his path to success would be shorter
if he passed on a post-secondary
education.
"I hated school," Rawhouser
laughed. "Besides, college wasn't
going to help my profession, what
I wanted to do, and that was run
equipment. I knew it was just going
to be a party for me, and I figured
why should I do that when I could
be making money and putting money
away."
Less than 20 years after graduating
from Newcastle High School in 1997,
Rawhouser is now the owner of B&M
Dozer Service, LLC, a business he
formally started less than three years
ago. It has now grown into a thriving
enterprise that employs himself and
three other people full-time.
"Work is steady all of the time,"
reported Rawhouser, whose fleet
includes bull dozers, a road-grader,
backhoe, track loader, dump truck,
semi-truck, belly dump, multiple
equipment trailers and three fully out-
fitted pickup trucks-- all of which
are being run seemingly non-stop by
Bucky and B&M's three employees--
Steve Goodwin, Brett Reed and Jay
Foster.
"It actually got kind of quiet in the
Bob Bonnar/NLJ '
Bucky Rawhouser bought his first bull dozer a dozen years ago to provide some additional income for his family. The one-time coal miner went into busi-
ness for himself full-time three years ago and now boasts a full fleet of heavy equipment and three employees.
degree.
"It's always a far-fetched dream
when you think about that stuff, but
then you work hard enough and it
comes true," he professed.
Rawhouser's chosen path wasn't
an easy one. For the first two years
after graduation, he worked in the
woods as a logger with his father and
brother. He then went to work at one
of the Powder River Basin coal mines,
but it didn't take long for him to put
away enough money to take a chance
on starting his own business.
"I started in about 2001, when I
bought my first dozer, and I'd run it
on my days off from the coal mine. I
had a couple of people ask me to do"
sewer systems-- but his list of clients
continued to grow.
"I'm very particular about the
final product. I'm not satisfied until
everything looks pretty, and word
of mouth does more for a business
than anything," Rawhouser nodded
thoughtfully.
Pretty soon, he had made enough
money from the side business to start
thinking about making it a full-time
pursuit, but he stuck with the pattern
he had already established and didn't
immediately abandon the security that
the permanent job at the coal mine
offered him.
"I kept working at the mine for
about three years, and then I bought
He continued to attract business
from individuals who had heard about
his performance from previous clients,
and he even started to bid on some
larger projects.
"As the work grew, it just got over-
whelming to the point where I couldn't
do both anymore, and I finally quit the
mine (about three years ago). By that
time, I had bought another new dozer
and a new excavator- both of them
brand new," he said.
With so much equipment under his
brand, it didn't take long before Bucky
realized he was going to need more
people to run it all and keep the money
rolling in.
"It just kept getting busier, and
three years, but he feels pride has
played a significant role in his success
as well. .4
"I've always been competitive, and:
I like to see what I can do with my I
life, and I proved some people wrong• i
It's because I had drive. When I get'
something in my head, it s going to¢
happen. If you tell me I can't do some-
thing, I'm going to prove you wrong.
That's my number one motivator, ''',
Rawhouser acknowledged.
They guy who passed on a formal
education beyond high school admits I
that he has learned a lot about busi-
ness in the past 18 years. He knows:
that there are other lessons ahead,
but Bucky takes satisfaction from his I
lonth, but.then in the last week-?some jobstu. .W:| I ght ta[tr[a $ i 3wo years.ago I hired Steye, QQodwin, journey,,gg the 9y[eg. Aba LI,,;
! s onTrve; different reside'ntia+ =+'::';nth:e -'_ _ _ nhlng it : dae next because I just cou!dn t doit all'myseif; '; ca'rved fiis 0vn tr .' ..... " ....
?e'']obs, Rawhouser chuckled;' after th0''] °''d it by the eni'l ':lah6t/e? indicated. ..... ' ' ': ':"" ' m totid of ff?e i'/n"'ht: irOfeS-'
noting that those jobs will take his
crews to locations near Belle Fourche,
Pierre, Beulah and Sundance.
"I'11 just keep improving, and I'll
hire more people. It will just keep
building," Rawhouser predicted.
"Because you get older, and you talk
to people, and you do good work, and
you just keep getting more work and
more .references."
Although he has always been
confident in his ability to succeed,
Rawhouser admits that there was some
uncertainty when he decided to dive
into business for himself.
"I went out and took a leap,
and didn't know if I would make
it or not, but heavy equipment like
this has always been my life and I
wanted to run my own business," he
reasoned.
Even though he passed on college
because he thought he could succeed
sooner if he simply went into the
workforce after high school gradua-
tion, Rawhouser is quick to point out
that a lot of hard work and commit-
ment goes into making it without a
take the gamble and buy the machine,"
explained Rawhouser.
He had been running similar equip,.
ment at the mine, and he felt the full-
time job would offer a level of finan-
cial security if his business venture
didn't work out.
"I thought if I couldn't pay for it
by working in the summer, the mine
would pay for it, but then it paid
for itself in that first summer," he
reported.
Since the formula seemed to be
working, Rawhouser continued to
work at the mine and perform jobs for
his own clients on his days off.
"I've always been busy. I was
never the type to sit around, and with
that first machine I'd get up and go
at three in the morning, and work
it 17 hours a day on my days off.
Once I got the machine paid for, I
thought I could help the family out by
continuing to work a little bit on the
side," he said.
He was mostly performing resi-
dential work at the time-- building
and maintaining roads and installing
the summer. Then after I paid it off in
the fall, I bought a blade," Rawhouser
described.
He believes his work ethic is largely
responsible for the near-exponential
growth of his business over the past
sionally and financially, at 36 years
old. That was my goal coming out of
high school," he grinned.
UW rep coming to high s( hool
University of Wyoming represen-
tative Linda Day, academic coordi-
nator for the eastern region will be at
the Newcastle High School, room #
2, to meet with prospective, new, and
continuing UW students from 11:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March
30, 2015.
Individuals interested in com-
pleting a bachelor, master, or doc-
torate degree are encouraged to
make appointments to meet with
Linda. The Outreach School offers
bachelor degrees in Applied Science,
Business Administration, Criminal
Justice, Family and Consumer
Sciences, Nursing, Psychology, and
Social Science. Master degrees
include Business Administration,
Education, English, Kinesiology and
Health, Nursing, Speech-Language
Pathology, Public Administration,
and Social Work. UW Outreach
also offers doctorate programs in
Educational Leadership and Nursing
Practice.
All of these degrees are delivered
to the Newcastle area through tech-
nology via various delivery methods
including audio conferencing, video
conferencing, web conferencing,
online, correspondence, and hybrid
methods (combination of online
and one or more other delivery
methods). Through these delivery
methods, residents from Newcastle
and the surrounding area are able to
earn University of Wyoming degrees
without the need to travel or relocate;
outside of the community.
Those wishing to schedule an
appointment are urged to contact Linda
Day at 307.532.8204 or lday3 @uwyo.
edu. Drop-ins are als0 welcome;i
however, if Linda is meeting with a
r
student, there may be a short wait.'
Students are reminded bring copies
•
of their transcripts. Anybody who
is interested in attending UW, but':
unable to meet on March 30, should'
contact Day to arrange a different date
and time.
UW summer/fall registration will'
• I
open on April 1, 2015. Classes wall,
begin on May 26, 2015 for summer l
courses and September 3, 2015 for'
fall courses.
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