STROKES OF GENIUS

THE FIFTH WALL

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For more detailed information and answers to any related questions you may have, contact Janzen's Paint & Decorating Ltd. @ 204-325-8387 • Winkler

Strokes of Genius

Along with a fresh coat of paint on your walls and perhaps some new sheets, towels, or cushions, you’ve decided to give your ceilings a little love. Ceilings are often forgotten, ignored or neglected because of the attitude that white goes with everything or because the task of painting a ceiling is too daunting…or the ceiling has been textured or stippled and is therefore thought to be untouchable. In taking on the project of painting your ceiling, you’ll need to consider colour and sheen as well as application. Janzen’s Paint & Decorating Ltd. can help you get the results you are looking for with our premium Benjamin Moore paint.

When choosing a colour, would you prefer a crisp white that will reflect the most light or a softer white that would be less glaring? Would you like to use a lighter shade of the wall colour on the ceilings, which will bring a harmonizing seamlessness to the look? Or would you like to add drama to the space in an unexpected way by painting a ceiling with a bold colour? In determining the look you want for your ceiling, also consider the sheen of the paint you choose. A matte paint, such as Benjamin Moore's ceiling paint, will be the most amenable to a DIYer and to the substrate. A matte finish will greatly reduce glare and disguise imperfections in mudding and repairs. Matte finishes also touch up beautifully. If your situation requires regular wiping or gentle washing, an eggshell sheen on the ceiling is a good option as reflection is low and nap or overlap lines are still possible to avoid. For an eggshell sheen consider using Benjamin Moore's Regal or Ben for the results you are looking for.

For assistance in choosing the right paint for your ceilings as well as tools and painting tips, consult the staff at Janzen’s Paint & Decorating Ltd. Certain situations will require primer, adjustable extension poles to ease reach, roller refills with thicker naps to get paint onto textured surface, spray texture to patch existing stippling and so on. Partner with a friend and your ceiling will be done in good time!

HAULING FOR 25 YEARS

Hard work will teach a person a lot of things. For Dave Wolfe, it’s that being true to your word, under-promising, and over-delivering is the key to success.

And it’s served him well for over two decades at the multi-faceted Wolfe Enterprises in Morden

Like many entrepreneurs, Dave Wolfe could never seem to shake the desire to be his own boss.

The irony, as every entrepreneur knows, is a business owner simultaneously has dozens of bosses, from every customer and client to the pressure of providing meaningful, consistent work for each employee, and keeping each business partner happy and confident in the trajectory of the enterprise.

But that’s ok.

Because Dave explains he learned the key to success early on.

For Dave it all began when he was “old enough for mom to tell us to go play outside” and he found himself watching his dad fix things in the garage. As he got older, any spare minute before or after school he was working in the garage on an engine or machine.

He also saw the price of being your own boss first hand as his dad operated the shop on their yard.

“The weekends are not yours, not every evening is yours, that’s what makes it hard,” he says. “But if that’s what you are, that’s what you are, it’s what we do. You still take time for yourself, but you always stayed near the phone, you never know when someone needs their truck fixed or tire changed.”

As he grew up, Dave got out of the mechanic business and into long-haul trucking. For nearly two decades he made his living on the road before a friend offered to sell him his yard and gravel truck. He thought it would make a great side business and would keep his mind busy while he was driving. Trucking would still be his “bread and butter” but this would be a great way to supplement their income.

The business became a family venture in 1999 when his son-in-law Bevin and son Rod stepped in, though Rod had been working for his dad since high school. In fact, Rod brought his management and accounting know-how to the business.

“I always did the numbers side of things, growing up I helped dad with his books… I’ve always been interested in business and learned being busy doesn’t necessarily make you successful, being profitable makes you successful. And those are two different things. When you can learn that at an early age, you’re off to a good start, you have to make smart decisions and take advantage of growth opportunity when it presents itself.”

Shortly after the sons officially joined the business, they would face its first major challenge, and opportunity. The long-haul industry as a whole was becoming less lucrative, but the pieces were falling into place to expand into the gravel industry.

However, the industry is notoriously difficult to break into, Dave explains. The gravel business has often been generational, with the equipment and contracts moving from grandfather, to father, to son.

“To start from scratch is humbling, it’s very gradual growth.” The shift also revealed another less glamorous side of being your own boss... going without a paycheque.

“Everybody always says, “you are your own boss, you must get to do whatever you want to,” but oftentimes you start out with no paycheques, your employees are relying on you, so you’re often the last one to get paid. You’ll miss a paycheque here and there, you don’t like it, but you do whatever it takes,” Dave says.

Despite the challenges, Wolfe Enterprises continued to grow.

Now, just over 25 years later the company has grown from two employees to two dozen.

What began with long-haul trucking has now shifted to gravel hauling, heavy duty truck and trailer parts and service, and joint ventures in gravel crushing and earth work services.

The business lesson from 25 years of experience? Take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

But that also doesn’t mean growth is all about leaps and bounds. Instead, Dave says, “it’s always been about slow and steady growth.”

When another gravel company in Morden was retiring, Wolfe Enterprises took the plunge and bought up the assets, and grew their customer base at the same time. This was the result of waiting for the right opportunity and responding to it.

Opportunities he adds, aren’t always easy to spot either. It was an injury to his elbow that forced Dave out of the trucker’s seat and forced him to pivot to find new revenue streams.

That’s when he returned to where it all started, offering heavy-duty truck parts and service.

Around the same time, they saw an opportunity to partner with another local entrepreneur with the same drive to be his own boss, but he just needed some help. Together they helped launch a gravel crushing business, that naturally paired well with their core business.

“He makes the gravel, we haul the gravel, so we have a good business relationship, again taking advantage of an opportunity and making the most of it,” Rod explains.

A few years later, the Wolfe’s are at it again, this time helping another entrepreneur launch an earthworks business, which has become one of the most successful excavation companies in the area.

“We helped them start their businesses, and between the three of us together, we would probably be the industry leader at what we do, which is pretty cool because we did that from scratch,” Rod says.

Again, it came down to doing the right things or choosing the right people to partner with. It’s why they branched out with the other companies when they did.

“We saw these young ambitious guys that we felt were the best at what they do. Just like us, they want to be the best, we don’t want to be mediocre at a lot of things, we want to be the best at what we know.”

While it took enormous amounts of work, Rod and his dad still give credit to the simple business philosophy, “you have to provide good service.”

“The phone is on, that’s important. If we wanted

to reach our goals, we couldn’t be eight to five, if we were, we would have missed opportunities and wouldn’t be in the place we are today.”

Whether it’s trucking goods or fixing machinery, you have to make sure people are happy with the results. And that means making yourself available to get jobs done in a timely manner, communicating with customers, being forthcoming and honest.

“It seems pretty basic, because it is,” Rod says. “Dad learned it at a young age and passed it on to me. Take care of people, and do it for the right reasons. Sometimes it’s putting yourself second to the needs of others.”

It has all added together to create a picture of a family business that’s grown steadily, at the right time, and with the right people.

The support of business partners is great to have. They are always available to bounce ideas off of, but at the end of the day, they run their business and we run ours “it’s their ship to steer.”

The support of great staff is equally important “we believe it comes down to getting the right people in the right spot and just allowing them to do their job. If you don’t trust them, they won’t grow.”

“If you don’t put faith and confidence in people, your business isn’t going to grow either.”

And Wolfe Enterprises has seen a lot of growth.

“Dad always taught me to work yourself out of a job. You do your job until you teach or find someone that can do it better, and you move on to the next thing.”

Looking to the future, Rod says they’ve reached a level of comfort “where we feel things are sustainable. We don’t want to force growth outside of our current economic environment.”

“If we can just do everything we’re doing, but do it even better, and continue to find the right people to Again, a classic Pembina Valley business leader, he retired once before... but it didn’t stick. Covid put a kink in Dave’s plans to become a snow bird. In fall of 2019, he and his wife sold their house to buy an RV and head south. It didn’t take long before he was back at the shop to fill a position. As he still hopes to get back to his pre-covid plans, those have been put on hold as the service shop is experiencing new growth and they need all the help they can get.

Rod adds they’re at a place now where they can be more intentional about balancing their hobbies and family time with work.

“You want to enjoy family and take up hobbies, but also look back and appreciate what you’ve accomplished.”

One of their recent accomplishments was being a finalist for the Morden Chamber of Commerce awards back in 2018. It was a moment to reflect not just on their business and the culture they’ve cultivated, but also on the community that has always been there for them.

“It’s been an incredible area to grow a business, even when there were a lot of companies like ours. It still allowed for us to have a place, and since we’ve done it, there’s been more behind us. So, it continues, you know, everybody’s kind of got their key market within that.”

In these uncertain times, the Wolfe’s stand behind the basics of success in business: stay true to your word, be eager to serve, bring in good people and get out of their way, and always be ready to pursue new opportunities.