When I was 38 years old, I had finally decided to set out on my own and become self-employed. Before this, I had purchased rental properties, renovated them in the evenings and on the weekends, and been a landlord. I still do today even though my path has changed from resi- dential to commercial. This also provided a lot of experience in dealing with people, setting expectations, and learning how to service every client with respect and consideration, even when your mind said they don’t deserve it. For the past 12 years I have been growing our residential renovation company and commer-
cial property investment company. I continually expand my knowledge and experience through life lessons as I continue to grow.
CONTRACTOR’S
ADVICE FOR ENTREPRENEURS by Dan Monk O ver the course of the past 30 plus years of my professional and business life, I’ve had the opportunity to try many ideas, experiment with what works best, take classes, consult with mentors, and make lots of mistakes along the way. I started in construction when I was 15 years old and was able to gain lots of experience pouring concrete foundations, working in a sawmill, painting buildings, running, and working on light and heavy equipment, sand blasting, forestry, and installing wells and septic systems. Con- struction was in my blood and it has become the centrepiece of my career. I went to university to become a civil engineer because I was intrigued to learn about all aspects of construction. With this background I was able
to find an opportunity in technical sales, design - ing, and bridge sales and install. This is where I learned the true art of sales which is simply pro- viding clients with a solution to their problem. I am an extrovert and have always found meeting new people and building relationships to be second nature. As I advanced in my career, I took on positions of management and learned many hard lessons on how to manage people, projects, production, and especially how to manage my own expectations.
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FEBRUARY 2021 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2021
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