Let me start off by quoting the following: “Life is all about perfect timing, with a bit of luck”.
I think most, if not all, fishermen and golfers would wholeheartedly agree with my quote. Even though you may have all the right tools and know-how, it does not guarantee you success every time. Luck plays an important role.
I do believe that your work environment and your influences definitely play a part in one's career. There is no exact recipe for success, but I do believe that making the right career move at the right time, with a little luck, provides the platform for you to excel.
When one is given the opportunity in a good company, this is just the door that is opened. It is now up to you as an individual to perform and prove your worth to your employer. This means long hours, going the extra mile and tons of hard work. I have come to realise that few of us learn to work smart rather than hard!
For me, it was a lot of hard work! I would like to share a wonderful Afrikaans statement to illustrate my point: “Dit word ‘n loopbaan (career) genoem, nie ‘n resiesbaan (race) nie”.
What this means is that there is plenty of time to excel and make massive career advancements, even in the same role. This does require working smarter rather than harder, as well as proper planning and delegation.
My own personal career with Steel Plate Solutions (in its latest form) started way back in 2004 when I was interviewed telephonically by Mark Mitchley and his then business partner, Gary Bloxham.
At the time, I was employed by Dennis Hills & Associates as a trainee accountant, acting as an auditor for then VR Steel Natal (SRJ Roofing). At the time they were in final negotiations with selling a stake in the business to a Scottish-owned family business, A.R. Brown McFarlane & Co. The negotiations were largely due to the company seeing a massive opportunity in South Africa and wanting to expand its geographical footprint.
I was ecstatic to take up my role as their Financial Manager in January 2005. This was my first real pay cheque, after my trainee position with the auditing firm. In no time, my hard work and effort paid off and the company recognised my commitment and work ethic. I was soon promoted to Company Secretary. It was super exciting as I had to attend board meetings in the U.K. I was chuffed with this “high profile” job and managed to get an excellent grounding in this business.
A few years later, at the age of 30, the company employed a Financial Manager who reported to me, now General Manager for the Richards Bay branch. Being GM meant that I was responsible for a broader portfolio which included Finance, HR, Production and Sales. These were very exciting and challenging times for me, but I must confess that I was fairly comfortable working under the guidance and support of Mark Mitchley.
There came a time when Brown McFarlane wanted to exit the country due to political uncertainties and financial reasons. This led to the eventual sale of the business to BSI Steel, a proudly SA business, then JSE listed. These negotiations were intense and we were introduced to the “corporate” environment — and it was a cultural shock to the entire team!
These weren't fun times for us as a branch and it all ended in the closure of Richards Bay and the eventual retrenchment of all staff, including me. If you read the first paragraph of this article again, you will now note why I started off with this quote.
At this point, Mark Mitchley was “retired” and was no longer a shareholder of the business. Mark is an unbelievable entrepreneur and was looking for a business challenge. In 2014, in my kitchen, we decided we were going to start a company called Steel Plate Solutions.
At the time, BSI was struggling and taking over their equipment and stock would be a perfect opportunity for us to commence trading. After all, we knew this business back to front.
These remain the most exciting times in my life — now having to invest my one-and-only severance package into an unknown future, but I believed in our ability to succeed and make it work once again. Today we have a successful track record of seven years, and great people that support us and whom we support.
I am currently the company's Operations Director and a minority shareholder. Who would have thought that all of this would have sparked from a simple conversation with two great business icons in our industry?
Today, I would not change this career path for anything else in the world and wish to continue with this business and my role therein as long as humanly possible.
