When a child is born, every parent’s life changes. But for Shawn and Amanda Bakker, the birth of their daughter Tatum brought even bigger changes. That’s because Tatum was born with spina bifida, a condition that left her wheelchair bound and unable to use her limbs.
“As soon as I had a child with special needs, our eyes were open to a different community,” says Shawn, Bakker Construction’s president. “It changed the entire reason we have a company in the first place.”
Shawn sums up that change in three simple words: “service above self.” That’s more than just a slogan. Three years after Tatum was born in 2010, Shawn and Amanda noticed that there weren’t many places for Tatum to play. So they raised $1.4 million and recruited an army of 3,000 volunteers to build a 14,000-square-foot accessible playground for her and others like her.
Their efforts earned them the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service. But they didn’t stop there. The couple continues to raise funds and build new accessible playgrounds through the Tatum’s Garden Foundation, including this year’s new $2 million, 30,000-square-foot playground.
While that “service above self” ethos permeates the company, smart business practices keep it growing. The business is cloud-based and project details can be shared with high-profile clients—vice presidents of Apple, Oracle, and major app developers to name a few—who expect near-instant access.
“We need to stay up on their level because that’s what they expect,” Shawn says. “If you can’t respond within a matter of 30 or 45 minutes, the assumption is you’re ignoring the message.”
While tech wins the day for clients, it’s family that’s winning over employees. Shawn says there’s a lot of headhunting, especially for carpenters in Silicon Valley. So, along with good pay and benefits, he offers box seats to San Francisco Giants baseball games, teamwork prizes, and family events such as bowling.
“I just think keeping the talent is more about what you’re doing for the family than just a paycheck,” he says.
