In “The E-Myth Revisited”, Michael E. Gerber quotes the statistic that more than 80% of start-ups do not survive the first five years.
We are still here almost 20 years since I started the business.
The company does not look one bit the way it looked when I started it. And that is the beauty of the “change constant”.
2020
The strange year
2020 has been strange to say the least. We have been lucky so far… but luck is sometimes built on many factors…
Our marketing has remained focussed and the result is a number of on-going projects as well as some excellent prospects in the pipeline.
During the lockdown I doubled down to rebuild some legacy systems that have been dragging along with the business over the last 20 years. I streamlined a massive quotation system which is coupled with a comprehensive database of available products. These combine to form the systems that we implement which have enabled faster quotations and hence more effective sales.
Because of the economic downturn, I revisited my strategy of 2008, diversifying our flooring offering to sell more aggressively into the residential space. Handling smaller projects means that we are now able to install about three low-risk residential market floors a week while continuing with industrial projects.
This strategy resulted in our being extremely busy since being allowed to move freely again.
2019
A Massively successful year
In 2019 I sold a specialised flooring system for Edward Snell Bottling Plant as well as the new Flagship 92 Rivonia Mercedes Benz Showroom.
These projects, combined with a number of superb others, meant that the company again had a record year.
It is also during this time that I formed a partnership to start CT Mining, a coatings supplier focussing on the mining sector. Utilising super hydrophobic products we protect plant and equipment against dirt accumulation and chemical deterioration
2019
2016 - 2018
Exponential growth
Our track-record of successful projects and building long-standing relationships with large clients enabled us to offer bigger, better and more technical solutions as we progressed.
During this time the business experienced substantial growth as projects grew in size and number. Investments in new equipment also enabled us to carry out larger projects. My in-depth studies of all the available technologies on the market, both from a cementitious as well as from a resinous perspective, meant that the solutions we could offer were not only world-class, but at times unrivalled.
I therefore managed to sell projects such as the iconic Market Theatre development, the Lillian Ngoyi Woman’s Memorial Monument, numerous Mercedes Benz showrooms, art galleries, power substations, food processing plants and more.
My focus on marketing now began to include sponsorships like the Randburg Football Association and the Eleven-Elven Sports Performance facility.
I developed a range of product brands such as Dr Concrete and CemenTech and started working towards partnerships for further divisions under CT INDUSTRIES.
2014 - 2015
The drive for Automation and Africa
To enable more rapid growth whilst never compromising on quality, I set the company on a technology investment trajectory. We started investing heavily in large, specialised machinery which enabled our labour force too to become more specialised.
Focussed employee education of new technologies enabled our implementation team to become operators, each dedicated to the use of certain machinery and product applications. Star employees advanced exponentially, whilst weaker employees with no desire to grow were phased out. Invariably this enabled larger projects to be handled with smaller teams delivering extremely high quality results.
During this time we also executed a couple of projects in Kenya and Tanzania. Arranging international logistics when traveling and working in these countries was one of the most rewarding experiences I was privileged to gain.
2014 - 2015
2011 - 2013
Changing focus to specialised flooring
Until now we had been trading in the residential market and building a strong base of recurring clients as well as word-of-mouth referrals.
I had, however, set a goal of moving the company into the larger industrial and commercial markets, specifically with our flooring options.
I started studying a qualification in Concrete Technology and adjusted our niche to be on Concrete Protection Systems specifically for floors.
At the same time I started building relationships with larger clients. We did work for MTN and IS, while still installing at least two floors a month for residential clients.
The company was becoming highly streamlined.
2008 - 2010
Surviving the financial crises
The diversified business model served us extremely well during this time and I am of the opinion that this is a primary reason for our surviving the economic downturn.
The focus on our core offerings also meant that our team members were well versed in the roles that they had to fulfil.
My intense focus on marketing meant that our brand stood out above our competitors as we emerged from the financial downturn.
I had by now also built some extremely good relationships with suppliers. These relationships generated a large amount of business as my suppliers recognised our ability to deliver quality work utilising their products.
2008 - 2010
2005 - 2007
CT INDUSTRIES - Building a diversified company
During this time I worked at establishing our brand.
I diversified our offering to include three new divisions – Sandstone Creations, Painting Creations and Flooring Creations.
These divisions were marketed separately and manned by separate implementation teams to enable us to do focused work while generating multiple streams of income.
I implemented quality control measures to ensure that all our teams could deliver in accordance with client expectations.
2002 - 2004
Started Creative Touches
By this time I was getting tired of installing skylights. It was a good little business, but dreadful work having to climb on and inside people’s roofs and spend most of the day in extremely hot dusty conditions.
I had accumulated a large database of clients from the many trade shows I had been doing, so I decided to contact them to let them know that we were now providing the additional services of house painting and applying specialist paint techniques.
I employed a paint technique artist and in between closing sales, installing skylights and studies, I painted houses and trained new team members to deliver quality work.
2002 - 2004
2001
Built my agency into the best performing agency under Subtube Skylights
Relentlessly pursuing sales, I developed a system in which to categorise the leads I had gained from the trade shows and spent days on end calling these clients to set up appointments and ultimately close deals.
My installations were also highly systemised by this time, meaning that I could install up to 5 skylights in a day if the sites were in close proximity to each other.
For a 20 year old kid who was still studying, making this kind of money was fun and exhilarating!
I even started employing friends to do installations (not the best idea I’ve ever had!).
2000
Started an agency under Suntube Skylights
In this period, I gained sales experience through participating in at least five trade shows a year. We created an extremely active and exiting presentation in order to attract attention and get potential clients to engage with us about the curios product that we were showcasing. We’d use these interactions to get interested people’s information.
I would then telephonically follow up on and sell to these leads.
Once a sale had been made, I’d schedule the skylight installation, load the team, and we’d carry out the installation.
Invoicing was done on site immediately after an installation was completed. In those days I expected my clients to still write me a cheque, and would not leave until I had the cheque.
I was 19 years old.
2000