Laura and Jade Peters, JP Refrigeration.
There’s a quote that there is never a right time to do anything. It implies that whenever you get an opportunity to take the bull by the horns, run with it. Take a risk and don’t let imperfect timing get in the way!
When Jade and Laura Peters started up their new business, JP Refrigeration, the situation wasn't ideal. But even with Laura on maternity leave and bills to pay from one income, going solo-enterprise seemed to be a natural step to take. Jade had the experience as a refrigeration technician, Laura the business nowse, and that created a combo set for success – or not?
Turning your world upside down to pursue the satisfaction, flexibility, and autonomy that running your own SME can offer is a delicate balancing act. When you're newbies at business management and trying to raise a family at the same time the balls get even harder to juggle. Jade and Laura went into JP Refrigeration keen and competent but pretty much blinded by their own naivety.
The Need for Help and the Desire to Learn.
JP Refrigeration had been in existence 18 months when Jade and Laura hit a few speed wobbles. They wanted to grow the business; had employed an apprentice, invested in a work vehicle, moved to new premises, and were building a good client base across all their core service offerings.
However, at this time, they really had but one major goal: to survive the business.
JP Refrigeration stalled when some systems proved to be inadequate; job management software hindered rather than helped, processes such as quoting became complicated, and undefined professional roles required clarification balanced with personal family structure … issues sending Laura and Jade’s stress levels way too high.
They needed to set some business targets, to develop better operational systems, and wanted an understanding of how to grow sustainably. They needed a third party on deck to provide a sounding board, some practical guidance, fresh ideas, and some workable solutions.
Business Coach Craig Oliver, enter stage right.
JP Refrigeration was functioning OK, but Jade and Laura were sensible enough to realise they had a success barometer on their hands that could swing either way. Because going into business is like pushing on with something that starts with passion then goes beyond reason, then … what?
They met Craig at a Business and Innovation networking function and connected straight away. Craig’s trade-oriented background meant he could speak the lingo, he understood the variables of the industry, and his know-how as an approved Venture Taranaki business mentor and coach was the icing on the cake.
What Craig delivered: Low Hanging Fruit.
Craig’s coaching style is all about tailoring solutions that can be applied specifically to his clients. Laura and Jade describe this as delivering ‘low hanging fruit’ – available and ready for picking.
But Craig doesn’t tell clients exactly what to do and how to do it. He structures his coaching by encouraging attendees to write down stuff - like how they see the business as it stands, where they want it to be in say, five years' time, current problems and conflicts, goals they want to achieve, a timeline of events.
He sets homework and makes clients accountable on following through. He checks up and is ready for the next meeting (in Laura and Jade’s case, every two weeks for six months) with a progress report and agenda for the next round of coaching.
Craig operates as a kind of mediator-cum-counselor, too. Family businesses are complicated things and negotiating professional vs personal relationships with mutual understanding can be tricky for owners to achieve. Differing attitudes towards business life are hard to reconcile and switching off at 5pm (or even taking a holiday) too easily goes into the too hard basket. Laura and Jade appreciated Craig’s objective ear and calm dissection of these issues … always with a doable solution at the end.
Staffing issues are worked through fairly and with an eye for offering opportunity and growth within the company in return for employee cooperation and compliance.
What JP Refrigeration have taken on board.
A Monday morning worksheet now takes regular centre stage and provides a checklist of who's doing what and when. Goals and tasks are set out daily, weekly, and monthly and this is a simple yet effective of remaining on the same page and accountable.
Jade and Laura know how to deal with challenging staffing situations and what to look out for in business in general. The team have a new time-efficient template system for some quote jobs and are also using different job management software.
The couple feels that their knowledge and approach to business has expanded hugely as a direct result of Craig’s coaching. They loved the one-on-one format and especially benefited from having it tailored to JP Refrigeration – this has been key.
“Craig has been fantastic at helping our business grow a bit of a vision and helping to achieve what we want to achieve”.
Laura and Jade Peters, JP Refrigeration