Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about your company and the duties of your position.
Ty Rogers: Quick Space Nevada is the local provider for storage containers, portable offices, storage vans, and site services such as fencing, portable restrooms and executive restroom trailers.
In my role, I oversee the sales staff, contract negotiations, special events, I participate in strategic plan development, manage client relationships, oversee department coordination and internal operations, and have been a part of Quick Space’s role in numerous events like Night in the Country, Reno Aces games and Burning Man.
NNBW: How did you get into this profession?
Rogers: My grandfather, Ray Ferretto, owned Ferretto Construction when I was a kid. I grew up learning how to run equipment, but it wasn’t until I needed a storage container for my retail business here in town that I interacted with the crew at Quick Space. I was recommended to our company president, Gene Temen, and he persuaded me to join the sales department. It’s been an exciting ride ever since.
NNBW: What do you enjoy most about working in your field?
Rogers: You can’t get a better group of people to work with than our customers! I have a fantastic group of clients that collectively work hard to improve our community, be it in construction, warehousing, commercial or special event development. I never have a dull day and I get to be involved in the community in a positive way.
NNBW: What is the most challenging part about your job?
Rogers: The site services division with restroom service has been historically viewed as a dirty, low-end industry. My team works hard to set higher expectations for cleanliness, sanitation and service in our area. They work each day to demonstrate that to the public and our clients.
NNBW: What do you foresee in the future of your profession?
Rogers: Repurposing shipping containers is a very popular trend in both residential and commercial construction right now and the movement to recycle these into usable space is responsible and on point for our area. It also affords the ability to securely store goods or comfortably house people. As the market demand for commercial space escalates more and more businesses will need temporary external storage located on-site. Simply put, we provide a cost-effective solution to storage space at the location of your choice, and that fits with a lot of people’s needs and corporate values in regard to reducing their environmental impact.
NNBW: What advice would you give someone who wants to get into your profession?
Rogers: Be flexible! Our customers mostly come to us to plan for their long-term needs. But often, we have to adapt to a changing situation with project delays, weather conditions or emergency calls. Our most successful staffers have a great attitude when it comes to adapting to each circumstance of a particular job.
NNBW: What was the best advice anyone ever gave you either professionally or personally?
Rogers: Find someone who is doing something you like and ask them how they got there. It comes down to approaching people you admire or would like to emulate and having the courage to ask them. In some cases, you can hear a very personal story. My mentor who shared this advice with me was a master at putting people at ease and learning what “makes them tick.” It has always served me well.
NNBW: Has there been someone who was especially influential in helping you establish your career or in reaching your higher goals? If so, who and how?
Rogers: At Quick Space, it’s been Gene Temen and Dick Stufflebeam. Both are great men who have helped guide me in my transition with the company. I’ve been lucky enough to have had mentors that helped me tremendously throughout my career development, most notably Kathleen Brannon, John Sowers and Bill Jones. All have had the ability to allow me to hone raw skills into serious strengths I have used to move myself forward. I think that’s the most important thing about mentoring. You aren’t making someone into a copy of you, but unlocking potential they may not have known they possessed.
NNBW: Do you belong to any professional/networking organizations? How has membership benefited your career?
Rogers: Yes, I think being a part of the community in which you do business is vital. I have been a part of the AGC, The Builders, YPN, NNDA and the Executive’s Association of Reno. A few of the memberships I had led directly to the career path I have now. I’m a firm believer in giving the time you can to help worthwhile organizations. You can’t enter expecting results without the work of developing relationships, but when you do, it can pay off tremendously.
NNBW: How do you manage your time between the responsibilities of your profession and your personal life?
Rogers: There are times they blend so much it’s difficult to tell them apart. I’m fortunate that a large part of my volunteer work is supported by Quick Space. One of the reasons I joined the company is the focus on Northern Nevada and community involvement. My career here has really allowed that to coexist in a positive way. I used to produce team ropings with my family and still rope competitively. The care and conditioning of a performance horse demands attention, but I still ride with my cell phone, just in case.
NNBW: What was your first job?
Rogers: I sold boots, hats, saddles and tack.
NNBW: What did you dream of becoming as a kid?
Rogers: I wanted to be a barber, like my dad. He always seemed like he knew everyone and got to tell wild stories every day. For the most part, I think that’s still true for him.
NNBW: What are your hobbies? How do you spend your time away from work?
Rogers: I love to ride, and team rope whenever I can. I am involved on the local level and the national level with the American Cowboys Team Roping Association as the current national vice president.
NNBW: Is there a nonprofit or charitable organization that you like to donate your time to?
Rogers: I donate significant hours to the Reno Rodeo Association and Dare To Be A Cowboy, a non-profit aimed at exposing children to the western lifestyle.
NNBW: Do you have a favorite vacation spot?
Rogers: I like to drive from Reno to Tucson. Along the way is the bomb-casing art in Hawthorne, the Goldfield Hotel, the old Hoover Dam drive, Sunrise at the Grand Canyon, the Museum Club in Flagstaff, Sedona’s Oak Creek Canyon and the San Xavier Mission near old Tucson. Ah-mazing!
NNBW: If you had enough money to retire right now, would you? Why or why not?
Rogers: No, but I’d take the vacation above!
NNBW: If you had the chance to have dinner with someone, who would that be and why?
Rogers: He’s been gone quite a while, but I grew up reading the column of Ty Cobb in the Reno Gazette-Journal. He would have been very interesting to meet in person!
NNBW: Last concert or sporting event attended?
Rogers: Night in the Country and University of Nevada, Reno basketball.
NNBW: Why did you choose a career in Northern Nevada? What do you like about living/working here?
Rogers: I’m a third-generation Nevadan on my mother’s side, and my father’s family is from the Yerington Paiute Tribe. So to say I have established Nevada roots is an understatement. I had left the area for a while to work and go to school, but made the choice to come back home. I know this about Nevadans: The strong not only survive here, but we thrive here! Collectively we’re a group of colorful characters who can adapt to snow in July and T-shirts in February.
