The Smith family. Bottom row, left to right: Donny, Dave, Harleigh and Maria. Top row, left to right: Mia, Samantha, Alexis and Hunter.

D.A.S.H. Concrete’s crew pouring a wall at Parker Yard, Phase II, in Parker, Colo.

Sometimes you have to take a leap. Not blindly, but guided by experience and determination. For Maria and her husband Dave Smith, the decision to leap into the realm of small business ownership was based on their years of experience and strong partnership—and a fortune cookie revelation.

“Dave and I went out to dinner one night at this little Asian restaurant to talk about if we should start this business or not,” Maria explains. “I opened my fortune cookie and it said, ‘You will be successful in a business of your own.’ I laughed and told Dave, ‘It looks like we are starting a business.’ ”

In the 18 years that the Smiths have owned D.A.S.H. Concrete, Inc. in Highlands Ranch, Colo., they have turned a $100 investment into a successful commercial concrete company that takes on multimillion-dollar projects. They earned such work through a reputation for quality and integrity. With Maria as President and Dave as Vice President, the commitment to their general contractors, employees and family, as well as to each other, is apparent in every decision they make.

An Unmatched Work Ethic

Maria and Dave are cut from the same cloth of working hard and not taking shortcuts. Dave has worked in the construction industry since he was 16 years old, picking up summer jobs all the way through college. In 1991, he left the field and began to sell concrete, where he eagerly embraced learning the business aspects of construction for the next seven years. Working in sales served as a launching point for him to take another career path and partner with a colleague to start a construction company, which lasted only briefly.

Maria has worked in accounting and management positions since high school. She was exposed to legal proceedings and a deeper level of accounting as a controller for a restaurant casino bar. Her father next put her savvy capabilities to use as his controller in the mid-1990s, overseeing the business and accounting aspects of a wholesale company for vending machines, pinball games and pretty much anything you can put a coin in.

This brings us to 1998. Dave left his company. Maria’s father sold his company. The couple had four children—a nine-year-old boy, twin six-year-old girls and a three-year-old girl. Suddenly, once Maria finished closing out her dad’s business, they were essentially unemployed.

The Smiths already knew what they were going to do the night they went into the Asian restaurant—they just needed to openly discuss the starting steps. They had Dave’s construction experience and concrete sales background and Maria’s accounting and legal skills. This killer combination, matched with their reliability, fairness and entrepreneurial spirits, led to the perfect partnership at the right time.

“Dave’s sales job gave him great connections,” Maria says. “He already knew everything about concrete from being in the field, but now he could share his knowledge in a different way. I had just finished running my dad’s business and knew I could do the management and operations side. So once we decided to start the business, we got going right away and had a logo and a business plan within a few days.”

A Sound Start

Originally, D.A.S.H. Concrete was a residential concrete company. Maria met with homeowners, measured the work sites, completed bids, and took Polaroid pictures of the jobs, and Dave installed the concrete. They worked six to seven days per week, and Maria often could be found at her desk until 1 a.m. finishing the paperwork.

That lasted four months until they were asked to bid on a commercial project, Apex Park and Recreation District in Arvada, Colo. D.A.S.H. Concrete won the bid and, Maria notes, the installation was impressive in both size and in the level of craftsmanship needed for the concrete work. The center highlighted D.A.S.H. Concrete’s capabilities, which led to referrals that took the company to the next level.

“The thing about the residential work is homeowners did not always understand the material costs and labor involved with putting in a patio or driveway. Once we did one commercial job, the projects started rolling in. So we did not do any residential work after Apex,” Maria says.

Today, D.A.S.H. Concrete focuses on the Denver metro area, working anywhere from 15 to 25 projects at one time. They have been known to travel a bit, Maria notes, saying, “We took our crews out a little farther to keep them working during the recession.”

Since establishing the company, Maria believes the construction industry has become more litigious and more focused on contracts. Maria remembers when they used to get hired on a handshake, yet now she reads every word of very long contracts. Technology has made her life easier, however, with electronic plans and bids and the ability to share information quickly. She also has turned to marketing in recent years, particularly when construction starts slowed. “We have used The Blue Book Network for years, and it has been quite productive, especially during the recession when we did work for out-of-state general contractors,” Maria explains.

Tips and Tricks

Being a business owner is not for everyone. Maria is quick to point out that often you don’t own a business, the business owns you—if you’re not careful. The Smiths, however, are balanced. Maria learned how to schedule her work around her kids’ activities. In the evenings, when the household softly settled in as the children did their homework and dinner was finished, Maria would head to her desk for a night of work. She would then be back at the desk early in the morning to get projects started. While daunting to some, she would not change any of it.

“Our son had cancer in 2005, and one of our daughters was in the Mayo Clinic several times for some issues. Beyond that I was a soccer coach for 12 years. Being business owners, we could be there for our kids and be mom and dad. We are 150 percent committed to our business, and the same goes for our family,” Maria says.

Family for Maria and Dave extends beyond their kids—now in their 20s and on their own career paths—and one granddaughter. Family also applies to their employees, some of whom have been with the Smiths from the beginning.


The couple is committed to giving employees competitive wages, new employee training, safety training and updates, the latest equipment and technology, and compassion. They are observant of crews’ working conditions, and collaborate with general contractors’ superintendents to ensure D.A.S.H. Concrete employees are treated with respect.

“We put family first, and that extends to our employees. When their kids or parents are sick, they can leave work to take care of them. They can take a leave of absence and they will have a job when they come back. We see this as being fair and simply being good business owners,” Maria says.

The other members of the D.A.S.H. Concrete family are the general contractors in their community. Many contractors regularly call on the company for concrete installations, and D.A.S.H. is always striving to build relationships. Dave is at every job site, and Maria believes this makes a difference, saying, “To us it is important that the contractors have direct contact with an owner.”

On a technological side, the Smiths are just as committed to their craft. The couple recently returned from attending World of Concrete where they immersed themselves in the education sessions and felt like kids in a candy shop, checking out the latest gadgets and gizmos on the tradeshow floor. This year they came back with a new tool for the finishing crews that they couldn’t wait to try.

Always and Forever

D.A.S.H. Concrete operates by the principles of: “A concrete solid reputation. Putting employees, clients and customers first. Always getting it right from start to finish with the highest quality and safety standards.”

“I opened my fortune cookie and it said, ‘You will be successful in a business of your own.’ I laughed and told Dave, ‘It looks like we are starting a business.’ ” Maria Smith, President, D.A.S.H. Concrete, Inc.

The guidelines say a lot about Maria and Dave—a duo committed to its company, craft and industry. The people who proved that working hard is the key. The couple that raised four children, always side by side. The business owners who are guided by their values that impact the people and projects that surround them.

The lifestyle that Maria and Dave have now did not come without sacrifice, nor did success land in their laps. Rather, the Smiths found a partnership in each other that has brought about quality concrete installations throughout Denver.

Chances are, right now, Maria is sitting at her desk reading over a contract, and Dave is looking over project plans and crew schedules. Except if it’s Sunday during the NFL season because they are season ticket holders for the Denver Broncos. Maria laughs, “I guess you can say Dave and I have eight mandatory dates a year so we can go to the Broncos’ home games together.”

The other days of the year, the Smiths remain committed to their craft and building lasting business relationships throughout the area.