Advertising
By Emily Paulsen

How to Grow a Legacy Business: 4 Tips from a Second-Gen Construction Exec

What does it take to scale a legacy business today? How do you modernize without alienating long-time clients or the people who helped build the company in the first place?

For many second-generation leaders, these aren’t theoretical questions. Even though today’s buyers expect more than a handshake and a capability sheet, legacy businesses often fall back on the same materials they’ve used for years.

We spoke with Rolando “Roly” Acosta, president of JAG Companies, Inc., to understand what it takes to bring a legacy business into the modern era. Under Roly’s leadership, JAG has grown into one of the Top 50 largest Hispanic-owned companies in the U.S., while staying rooted in its 45-year legacy as a family-owned and MBE-certified business.

Here are four takeaways from our conversation with Roly on how second-gen leaders can level up the business without starting from scratch.

In this blog

  • Tip 1: Invest in a website that tells your story (then build everything else around it)
  • Tip 2: Audit your first impression, then fix the gaps
  • Tip 3: Build relationships, but back them up with visibility

Tip 1: Let people feel who they’re doing business withTip 1: Invest in a website that tells your story (then build everything else around it)

When budgets are tight, Roly advises using your website as the foundation of your marketing efforts. Not just because it’s the heaviest lift, but because it forces clarity. 

“Start with the website and work your way down. What you put on your website becomes the language for your charts, brochures, and everything else,” he told us. 

To do this, we recommend:

  • Leading with outcomes, not origin stories: Most websites bury the good stuff. Try to surface capabilities, results, and differentiators up front, and save the company timeline for further down the page.
  • Writing copy that sounds like your best salesperson: Skip the boilerplate. If your sales team wouldn’t say it in a room, don’t put it on your homepage.
  • Structuring the site to match real buyer behavior: Create clear flows for engineers, procurement teams, and partners, while making it obvious how to engage.
  • Using your website as your internal style guide: Once it’s in a good spot, pull language, images, and proof points straight from the site to build brochures, decks, social posts, and more.

Learn more about the most common manufacturing website design and content mistakes that could be costing you RFQs.

Tip 2: Audit your first impression, then fix the gaps

Whether it’s LinkedIn, your ‘About Us’ page, or your trade show booth, every entry point to your company should tell the same story and reinforce the same reputation. 

That can be tricky when you operate multiple brands. JAG is the parent company of Northeast Remsco Construction, Caldwell Marine International, and Huxted Trenchless — three firms serving specialized infrastructure markets with complex, high-stakes projects. 

When each brand looks and sounds different, that shared reputation starts to blur. Roly understands this, which is why he puts in the work to standardize how each operating company shows up. “No matter what ad someone sees for whatever operating company, they know it’s us.”

Here’s how to keep your brand aligned:

  • Audit your buyer-facing touchpoints side by side: Does your trade show booth look like your website? Does your sales deck match the tone and language of your homepage?
  • Create reusable, aligned templates: Whether it’s pitch decks, brochures, jobsite signage, LinkedIn posts, or web updates, each should feel unmistakably you.
  • Invest in systems and habits: Shared folders, CRM libraries, and internal training help your team show up consistently, wherever buyers first meet you.

Tip 3: Build relationships, but back them up with visibility

Relationships matter, but they can’t be your only strategy. Contacts change jobs, companies reorganize, and personal connections fade. If your visibility stops at one inbox, you’re vulnerable.

Roly learned this the hard way: “We were in the running for a project, then that person left. Someone else had a relationship — and they got the job. One day, your contact won’t be there. And when that happens, five other people need to know who we are.”

To keep your company name in circulation, show up at conferences, comment on industry LinkedIn posts, and create digital assets people can pass around. This makes it easy for others to vouch for you when you’re not in the room.

Tip 4: Let people feel who they’re doing business with

B2B marketing can (and should) be just as emotional as B2C. Buyers want to know who they’re working with and why your business exists in the first place.

As Roly puts it: “People want to know who they’re dealing with. It’s not about being soft. It’s: how do you tackle a problem?”

Authenticity is what cuts through jargon and makes your company memorable. It builds trust, helps people picture what working with you feels like, and creates emotional stickiness, even in technical sales. 

What to do:

  • Build visibility beyond the founder: Prospects want to see the real people driving the work, not just leadership headshots. It signals transparency and confidence.
  • Tell your origin story through the problems you solve: Skip the puffed-up timelines. Focus on why you exist and who you’re built to serve. 
  • Make sure your voice is unmistakable: If your LinkedIn posts sound like they were written by ChatGPT, buyers will scroll past. Whether you’re writing them or outsourcing to an agency, your tone should feel lived-in and consistent.

Ready to put your brand to the test?

Whether you’re running a trenchless drilling company or a precision plastics shop, the same rules apply. If your work is best-in-class, your brand (and buyer experience) should be too.

Want to see how your digital presence stacks up? Download our free ebook to audit your brand, website, and content strategy, and uncover the hidden gaps that could be costing you RFQs.

 

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