The highs and lows of running my own business
Interview with Grant Wigney, Owner and Director of National Waterproofing and Industrial Flooring – the commercial flooring melbourne experts.
A few days ago, Grant Wigney, the owner and director of National Waterproofing and Industrial Flooring (NWIF) in Melbourne was interviewed about his experience in business. His responses drew upon his 25 years in the construction industry and highlighted his commitment to delivering high quality work.
Why did you start your business?
I started NWIF because I was quite tired of working for someone else and meeting someone else’s targets. I found that in my previous job working longer hours had no rewards and so wanted to venture out and develop something that could provide financial freedom while offering quality work that allowed my clients’ businesses to operate more safely and effectively.
What are your favourite aspects of running a business?
It is great to have flexible workings hours. I also like to be able to deal with clients in a way that I feel is best – for me, this means being open, straight-talking and ethical.
What have been some of your biggest challenges as a business owner?
There have been a few challenges:
The move to online web transfer of documents by builders has certainly been a challenge. The days of posting plans to our office and for us to then do our part are gone. Everything is now computer based and online. This took some adjustment.
Waterproofing budgets have been reduced & waterproofing warranties have been extended, which has provided a challenge we’ve had to strive to overcome. We constantly seek to do high-quality work without compromise despite these changes to the market.
The global financial crisis hit companies hard and had its effect also on ours. Though this financial crisis has improved, builders & production companies are still spending less and less on building works and maintenance.
In 2013, we also had to let staff go for the first time due to the slowing down of work. This was a tough decision, though one we had to make in order to remain sustainable.
What have you learnt from running a business?
A whole lot of things!
Every business is different and there is no one way to run an effective business. What is important though is that you run it in a way that is true to yourself and enjoy the journey.
It is important to surround yourself with the right people for the right advice. Having people who you can walk alongside with and who can advise you on what works and what doesn’t is crucial. Surrounding myself with good people has not only helped the business to grow, but have helped me to grow personally also. The right people have a way to getting the best out of you and enable you to become a better person.
It is important to ask a lot of questions. Always be inquisitive and learn to ask the right kind of questions.
If it doesn’t sound right it won’t be right. Learning to trust your instincts and common sense in business can allow you to avert regrets and problems down the track.
Don’t be afraid to look for another option. Business is about being open-minded and seeing opportunities. Locking yourself into the one track may mean that you miss out on all the other roads that are much more rewarding.
Business relationships are just as important as customer relationships. Often we focus in business just on the customer, however, we often forget that what makes a great business it its system. Suppliers and other business relationships are what make up that effective system to provide the best product or service that provides better value to the customer. These business relationships can also be great sources for generating more business and are in my mind, just as important as clients.
Interview conducted by Sprout Online.