Tag Archives: The Icehouse

Family Business pumped for the future – Harris Pumps

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Stephen and Michael Harris are the third generation to take the helm at Hastings-based firm Harris Pumps and Filtration and the cousins are determined to take the business to the next level, joining business growth organisation The Icehouse’s Owner Operator Programme and recently getting support from the Regional Business Partner to work through the shock of COVID-19 .

Stephen Harris anticipated trouble ahead when the effects of the pandemic had the potential to hit their supply chains in Europe and Asia earlier in the year so he started ordering extra products and supplies.

“We stocked up on pumps from Europe and Asia and thankfully the freight kept coming in.” Initially, when lockdown hit in New Zealand there was a group of staff ready to work but the phones were quiet and staff numbers required in the office were cut back. Workshop staff were in their own bubble and staff came up with ideas to maintain safety with workshop hours, for example, staggered. “We couldn’t send staff in the same vehicle and the costs went up for sure.”

April’s revenue has been slashed but Stephen knows they were fortunate to continue being operational, particularly as farmers were being hammered by the drought and needed their specialist support. Most supplies weren’t too hard to get – with the exception of polythene and PVC pipe.

“We had to prove that the pipe was required for essential services and the suppliers were just very nervous about getting the supply to us. Some were also charging a premium for delivery.”

Before COVID-19 hit the business, Stephen and Michael made the decision to join the Icehouse Owner Operator Programme facilitated by leading business coach Michaela Vodanovich.

They had heard about The Icehouse from Tim Masters from Masters Plumbing who had completed the Icehouse programme a few years back.

“We needed a push – we had grown up with the business and just kept doing things they way they were always done and I guess you fall into that trap of sticking with the way things were done in the past. We tended to get busy with the everyday work but since we’ve been in The Icehouse Michaela has made us think about the future and finding out the key things that we needed to sort out to work smarter.

“We delegate better and we have created a leadership team which is working really well. We promoted our office manager into an operations manager role and she has been absolutely brilliant – she’ll say what needs to be said. We are incredibly fortunate with her and with all our staff. I think everyone enjoys their roles and for most it’s not just a job.

“We have a lot of staff that have been here for a long time and we now sit down together for a lot more meetings and that’s meant there’s more ideas coming from those staff. Sometimes you only think about things from your own perspective so the value in gaining staff input has been valuable. During lockdown we really needed those different views especially when we were trying to decipher the Government information because a lot of it was quite grey.”

While key clients were maintained during lockdown, including food producers, farmers and growers, Stephen said it was interesting to see what people wanted to buy. “Strangely a lot of products and fittings weren’t things we would normally sell so I think people were trying to utilise what they had lying around.”

Through the connections made on the Owner Operator Programme Stephen is looking to work with specialists to develop online strategies and e-commerce.

“If this happens again , the ability to sell online might be something that is really useful – who is to say this thing doesn’t come back – there’s always the potential for it to happen again – hopefully not, but the risk is there.”

Capturing Award Winning Success

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They started out with an office in their kids’ rumpus room at their home in Clive in 2015, now Nicky and Kane Grundy have a Chamber of Commerce Business Awards trophy in their high-profile space at the Tech Collective in Ahuriri. The entrepreneurs, who have always owned their own businesses, have ticked off numerous goals since starting their video production company in 2015 including being a part of The Icehouse Owner Operator Programme.

Kate de Lautour spoke to Nicky Ross-Grundy about the opportunities for the business and how Grundy Productions are creating a shift in the way we think about recruitment.

You were the 2019 winners of the HB COC Small Business Award – just 4 years after starting the business. How have you done it?

The Icehouse has been a major contributing factor to the development of our business. The 12 month programme covered all the major areas of business which made filling in the business awards entry less daunting. It’s allowed us to be more conscious and purposeful in what, how and why we do the things we do and given us invaluable knowledge and structure.

The judges said they were impressed with our focus on quality in everything we did from all interactions with clients to ensuring that our staff are working in a brilliant environment. An important factor has been bringing the right people on board who share our values and vision. Suden and Ally are both talented, creative individuals who care deeply about what we do and our clients.

Recruitment videos for companies like Central Districts Pest Control have been incredibly successful with thousands of views. What are the key elements to good recruitment videos?

This is an area that really excites me because who you hire has such an impact on your business and the results our customers achieve are so positive. In today’s world recruitment is more about culture fit. Skills can be taught but matching the right values and mindset can ensure you’re hiring for the long term. The more our clients share with us the more real and creative we can be.

Also having a strategy to share your video and designing your recruitment process with your candidates’ experience in mind goes a long way.

How do you get that vision to portray each company in a way that captures people attention?

We start with researching the client to understand what makes them different and special. Then we drill down into who they want to speak to and why. That involves researching the potential target audience and then tailoring the client’s messaging to their audience.

With video we’ve found it far more impactful to keep the messaging simple, clear and targeted. For example, a brand video, telling the story of who you are, what you do and why is different to a recruitment video which articulates why talented individuals should work for you.

What are some of the challenges you face?

Working from home was challenging and, in the early days, when we didn’t have clear boundaries, we were trying to do everything. Kane has joined the coaching part of the Owner Operator Programme and he’s happy for me to work on the business while he works in the business although Kane does tell me not to talk about work at home! Finding that ideal balance isn’t always easy.

At a point last year I felt I needed to focus on our kids instead of spreading myself

too thin at work. The Icehouse coaching gave me the confidence and expertise to prioritise what was important. We can now be comfortable that we can say no to the projects that make room for the best opportunities.

What kind of growth are you experiencing ?

Financially we’ve met our targets and experienced year on year growth – a 244% increase from our first full year FY2017 to FY2020 and physically we will need extra office space. The Tech Collective has been really good for our brand, clients have enjoyed coming here and it’s a nice environment for the team so it’s likely we will be staying close to Ahuriri with Wallace Developments.

What is on the agenda for 2020?

We are seeing more and more export food businesses wanting to tell their story with visual impact. We are about to embark on training videos for large corporates. Rather than nuts and bolts training, these projects will be a story telling function to allow employees understand the “why” around the training they’re doing.

Mastering the plumbing business

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Tim had been working as a contractor in Hawke’s Bay before making the decision to move to Port Headland, travelling around the Pilbara in Western Australia, setting up massive infrastructure for satellite mining camps – housing developments for between 2 to 5 thousand people. The money was amazing and the driving eye-opening.

“I covered some huge km’s, often driving 5-6 hours to fix a tap. It was the Australia that you wouldn’t otherwise see – vast desert. It was awesome.”

Coming home in 2012 Tim knew he wanted to set up on his own. He opened an office in King Street in Hastings, with a part-time office person and one other plumber joining him. There was plenty of work and it was hard to know which jobs to take and how to manage the business growth, having had no business management training.

“I went to an event and listened to another owner speaking about his experience with The Icehouse and thought it sounded practical and could work for me.”

Tim was able to access NZTE funding from the Regional Business Partner in Hawke’s Bay which gave him the extra push to get into the local Owner Operator Programme, facilitated by Michaela Vodanovich and incorporating one on one business coaching with monthly workshops and action groups.

“Getting started with The Icehouse, I realised how naïve I was, but I quickly picked up more and more skills from the workshops and the other people on the course. I had been a bit worried about paying

Jay Jay Kettle and Tim Masters at their new offices in Hastings.

for the programme but the funding we were able to access did make a big difference. I started pushing ahead and was gaining clarity as well as momentum so the cost wasn’t an issue – looking back it was a no-brainer – suddenly I was adding another plumber and another plumber.

One of the first things I learnt from the Icehouse was, if you want to be a bigger business then you need to act like a bigger business so we invested in software that could run massive crews, even though at the time we only had a few staff.”

Tim also learnt about the importance of high-quality customer service to the business and what that looks like.

“I know that’s one of the key reasons we are so busy today, together with top notch, quality workmanship – customer service remains our focus.”

Now the business has 10 staff, including plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers, a digger and truck driver plus apprentices and two office staff in a bigger office in King Street. They cover a mix of commercial and residential services for Hawkes Bay’s top builders and Masters is one of only a few local companies to offer central heating – a feature that many people moving to Hawke’s Bay from Europe can’t be without.

Jay Jay Kettle is the face of the business as the office manager and is taking more responsibility from Tim. A need to understand strategic aspects of the business meant Jay Jay required new skills and management tools. Tim enrolled her in The Icehouse Effective Leadership Programme at the Business Hub, a three month programme of workshops and coaching, to support and develop managers in their individual roles.

Over the last year or so I have been picking up a lot of work that Tim used to do and now I feel like Tim can focus on growing the business and I have the confidence to take on more responsibility, including recruiting staff and dealing with issues that come up.

Learning how to be a better communicator and take positive and different approaches to day to day challenges was valuable and we all learnt so much from each other on the Programme.

Sometimes you think you’re the only one dealing with complex issues but The Icehouse makes you realise you’re not alone.”

For Tim, the chance for Jay Jay to do an Icehouse programme was perfect timing, not only just for the business but also allowing him to plan for some much-needed time-off.

“The leadership training has given Jay Jay a deeper understanding of the business, allowing me to focus on the jobs I need to be across and the big tenders.

“I’ve also got a trip planned to the States later in the year and to be able to leave the country with confidence that everything will be ok is pretty cool – we’ve come a long way.”

Working as a travelling plumber in the Aussie mines gave Tim Masters the experience to manage large scale projects but it provided little guidance through the minefield that is owning your own business.

 

Mastering the plumbing business

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Tim had been working as a contractor in Hawke’s Bay before making the decision to move to Port Headland, travelling around the Pilbara in Western Australia, setting up massive infrastructure for satellite mining camps – housing developments for between 2 to 5 thousand people. The money was amazing and the driving eye-opening.

“I covered some huge km’s, often driving 5-6 hours to fix a tap. It was the Australia that you wouldn’t otherwise see – vast desert. It was awesome.”

Coming home in 2012 Tim knew he wanted to set up on his own. He opened an office in King Street in Hastings, with a part-time office person and one other plumber joining him. There was plenty of work and it was hard to know which jobs to take and how to manage the business growth, having had no business management training.

“I went to an event and listened to another owner speaking about his experience with The Icehouse and thought it sounded practical and could work for me.”

Tim was able to access NZTE funding from the Regional Business Partner in Hawke’s Bay which gave him the extra push to get into the local Owner Operator Programme, facilitated by Michaela Vodanovich and incorporating one on one business coaching with monthly workshops and action groups.

“Getting started with The Icehouse, I realised how naïve I was, but I quickly picked up more and more skills from the workshops and the other people on the course. I had been a bit worried about paying

Jay Jay Kettle and Tim Masters at their new offices in Hastings.

for the programme but the funding we were able to access did make a big difference. I started pushing ahead and was gaining clarity as well as momentum so the cost wasn’t an issue – looking back it was a no-brainer – suddenly I was adding another plumber and another plumber.

One of the first things I learnt from the Icehouse was, if you want to be a bigger business then you need to act like a bigger business so we invested in software that could run massive crews, even though at the time we only had a few staff.”

Tim also learnt about the importance of high-quality customer service to the business and what that looks like.

“I know that’s one of the key reasons we are so busy today, together with top notch, quality workmanship – customer service remains our focus.”

Now the business has 10 staff, including plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers, a digger and truck driver plus apprentices and two office staff in a bigger office in King Street. They cover a mix of commercial and residential services for Hawkes Bay’s top builders and Masters is one of only a few local companies to offer central heating – a feature that many people moving to Hawke’s Bay from Europe can’t be without.

Jay Jay Kettle is the face of the business as the office manager and is taking more responsibility from Tim. A need to understand strategic aspects of the business meant Jay Jay required new skills and management tools. Tim enrolled her in The Icehouse Effective Leadership Programme at the Business Hub, a three month programme of workshops and coaching, to support and develop managers in their individual roles.

“Over the last year or so I have been picking up a lot of work that Tim used to do and now I feel like Tim can focus on growing the business and I have the confidence to take on more responsibility, including recruiting staff and dealing with issues that come up.

Learning how to be a better communicator and take positive and different approaches to day to day challenges was valuable and we all learnt so much from each other on the Programme.

Sometimes you think you’re the only one dealing with complex issues but The Icehouse makes you realise you’re not alone.”

For Tim, the chance for Jay Jay to do an Icehouse programme was perfect timing, not only just for the business but also allowing him to plan for some much-needed time-off.

“The leadership training has given Jay Jay a deeper understanding of the business, allowing me to focus on the jobs I need to be across and the big tenders.

“I’ve also got a trip planned to the States later in the year and to be able to leave the country with confidence that everything will be ok is pretty cool – we’ve come a long way.”