# How Leaders and Entrepreneurs Can Embody The Values of Blue Collar Success

Published 2023-03-30 · Updated 2026-07-23 · Engineering & Construction on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/engineering-and-construction/how-leaders-and-entrepreneurs-can-embody-the-values-of-blue-collar-success

> Do the entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow need to hang out in the C-Suite to gain success and be inspired? Or inspiration lurks beneath the ground’s surface, and all it takes to find it is a shovel and a little ditch digging. Skilled trades offer rewarding careers without the need for a four-year advanced degree….

Do the entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow need to hang out in the C-Suite to gain success and be inspired? Or inspiration lurks beneath the ground’s surface, and all it takes to find it is a shovel and a little ditch digging.

[Skilled trades](https://marketscale.com/industries/building-management/strong-apprenticeship-and-training-programs-build-the-skilled-trades/) offer rewarding careers without the need for a four-year advanced degree. They also provide career advancement [opportunities and longevity](https://www.contractormag.com/plumbing/plumbing-contractor/article/21243034/entrepreneurship-in-the-skilled-trades). These careers, often unfairly, are not “labeled” as the portrait of professional success. Importantly, that does not mean that financial security, and a rewarding career cannot be obtained through these important industries. Success is depicted by mindsets, the ability to evolve, and the desire to be a lifelong student of knowledge; all key principles for professionals within skilled trades.

[Power Up with Manal](https://marketscale.com/shows/power-up-with-manal/) host [Manal Keen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/manalkeen/) always looks for the innovative and inspirational. Talk about inspiring; at 19, [Ken Rusk](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-rusk-2656a7175/), President of Rusk Industries, traveled across the country helping open ditch-digging construction franchises. It wasn’t long after Rusk opened his own construction business in 1986. So, how does a self-made business owner go from construction to author? That’s one of Keen’s questions for Rusk when he joined her on Power Up.

“When you have a staff of two hundred, and most of them, it’s their first or second job, over a thirty-five-year span, you’re going to hire many people,” Rusk said. “I’ve probably hired over two-thousand people in that period. I noticed a change in how well-prepared people were. No one knew how to think about their future. I became almost this involuntary life coach.” The more Rusk taught essential life lessons, the quicker he realized a solid book idea existed.

Keen and Rusk discuss his book and the following topics:

- Rusk’s belief in culture and leadership philosophy as cornerstones for success
- Understanding how to change your organizational leadership mindset to help drive forward company momentum
- Overcoming challenges as an entrepreneur to move forward and persevere

**About Ken**

Ken Rusk is an entrepreneur and a proud advocate of following one’s dreams. In addition to his work with Rusk Industries, he is the author of *Blue-Collar Cash*. Rusk believes everyone must find a path to success that works for them, and he is determined to help people realize their dreams through career fulfillment.

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