intern. “Customers like to see the visual of what something is going to look like - plus he’s learning and developing into a solid estimator and project manager. It was a good hire.” TRUST Dan knows that in today’s world, contractors don’t receive a lot of trust. “Everyone has a horror story. Everyone’s seen Mike Holmes, they knowwhat terrible service looks like.” To showhow the company builds trust, Dan refers to customer feedback. “We ask if customers would re-hire us, and if so, why. The top three answers? 1. You showed up when you said you would. 2. You did the work you quoted on and promised to do. 3. You charged what you said you would. People want to do work with a company they can trust.” Dan says that customers expect quality. The difference comes in how the service is delivered. Monk respects that renovations can be a challenging experience for homeown- ers, and commits to work at minimizing the inconvenience. RELATIONSHIPS Building trust is the first step in creating the solid relation- ships that Dan values. Relationships are the reason customers return, and why they give referrals, as he notes. And Monk’s relationships with suppliers and vendors are of paramount im- portance. Dan names some of the suppliers and contacts he values: Kent, Payzant, Quest Kitchens, Tower Interiors, Taylor Flooring, Evergreen Electric, to name just a few. “I’ve seen jobs where I was two tiles short - I called up Mi- chele at Taylor, and she took tiles from a sample board to help me out or flew in products from a supplier to meet a deadline. That kind of service is based on a good relation- ship. Taylor has been great to work with.” Another relationship that has helped his business: his friendship with real estate agent, television and radio host Vanessa Romans. The two met in 2008, when Dan was about to incorporate his business. Vanessa was flip- ping a house and needed the hardwood floors redone. Dan came in, to fix work botched by a previous contractor, and actually ended up redoing the floors and windows to allow Vanessa to flip the house on schedule. The two have been friends ever since, with Vanessa bringing Dan in as an expert to speak on her radio show. Dan tends his relationships with the overall industry as well. He is a director on the board of the NS Home Build- ers Association and is co-chair of the Renovators Council, a member of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and Di- rector of the Hammonds Plains Business Association.
You only have to speak to Dan Monk for a few minutes be- fore his passion for his work comes through. He believes strongly not only in what he does, but in the way he does it. He talks with energy about the value of building trust so that your relationships with customers are strong and long term. He has no interest in competing to just be the cheap- est bidder: “it’s easy for a guy with a truck and a hammer to come in with a cheap price. But at what cost? What’s his warranty? What about insurance? What about experience and knowledge? Everyone knows it’s less expensive to get it done right the first time than to get it redone.” He talks about the challenges of being a successful busi- ness owner in this region, where success is often greeted with suspicion. “As Maritimers, we have a reputation for often pulling each other down rather than helping each other up. I believe this is a key fac- tor holdingbackprosperity inMaritimeCanada.Wearenicepeo- ple as long as nobody gets too far ahead. Anyone who achieves success or wealth is often dismissed as someone who must have done something underhanded, or simply lucky. One of my favor- itequotes is, “The harder youwork, the luckier youget.” “We have to celebrate success. As the saying goes, “A rising tide floats all boats.” I believe we have so much op- portunity to grow as a region and province.”
PASSION
115 DECEMBER 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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