In this profile interview we meet the founder of HNS Signs, Michelle Henry, who used inspiration from her strong family ties to build a successful business in what has traditionally been seen as a male-driven industry. We were certainly inspired by her story and we're sure you will be too!
Please tell us what
is a typical business day for you?
I’m a big believer in ‘early bird catches the worm’
and I typically get in the office at 7am to catch up on my emails and other
admin before the phones start ringing.
After a cup of coffee and light breakfast, I start planning
sign installations for the next business week (this involves grouping all
installation jobs into geographical locations and estimating time frames and
distance between each.)
I then liaise with the team on the status of each
project and organise dispatch dates, stock ordering and work force planning to
ensure we meet targets.
From 10am onwards, I’m usually customer facing
visiting clients and conducting site surveys. It’s not all coffee and biscuits,
I’m usually making a note of dimensions, possible installation issues, DDA
requirements etc. and then it’s lunch time.
Lunch is usually a networking opportunity to drive
new business or at Property/Construction lunches but I always aim to be back
in the office by 4pm to work on reporting my findings or work on quotes.
More coffee is needed as I scour through my emails
and return calls and catch up with team before the leave. I also get a little artistic time in before I
leave as it’s a great time to get creative and put together artwork.
But as a hands on Managing Director, I always check
with the team on the manufacturing side of the business and help them by
rolling up my sleeves and fabricating signs myself. Who said it was a ‘man’s
world?’
My world doesn’t end at 6pm though, at least once a
week I will attend a business networking event usually National Association of
Women in Construction, Women Working in Construction, Women in Business, or In
the City Talks etc.). So home time is usually about 9pm.
What made you start
the business and how did you get started? It’s a
mixture of fate and heritage! My grandfather was a signwriter and I’d make bedroom
door signs as a child but still went to university to study Law. However after
a brief spell of travelling and working for a sign company (which went into
administration in 2010) and speaking to The Birmingham Children’s Hospital (one
of their customers) convinced me to set up on my own.
I spent about £10,000 buying up the assets from my
former employer (a fantastic bargain) and then did a Prince's Trust course to
get a further £4,000 for cash flow. The Prince's Trust fast tracked my
application and in August 2010, HNS Signs was up and running.
What would you say
has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date? Tough question...I guess starting up in a recession
and succeeding to grow the business in a typically man’s world. When I started,
it was just me. I used to do all the site surveys and fit signs in the day,
make the signs in the evening and type up the quotes and produce the artwork
from home at night. I was working an average of 70 hours a week. Three years
later and I have a team of 6 (includes 3 apprentices) and we expect to be
hiring more staff in the New Year. I cannot begin to explain how good it feels
to be able to offer people work in the current climate.
What
has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
Competing against the big boys! We are
only a small company yet we manage to punch above our weight. We have secured
contracts with much of the NHS throughout the Midlands, we work with large
construction companies and local authorities. We are able to offer services
that our competitors cannot (for example traditional signwriting) and so many
sign companies have become our clients.
What
are your future plans for the business? To conquer the sign world. I love my
job and the challenges that it poses and I will not be satisfied until we are
the largest sign company out there. I would love to work with more interior
design companies. With a high proportion of sign companies concentrating solely
on digital print, I am confident that we can offer interior designers something
truly unique.
I plan to take on a few more
apprentices and employ those who believe they don’t have a future or haven’t
excelled in school. For me sharing my success and giving people hope and a
better future is what really makes me happy.
We are currently working with
Wolverhampton Homes and the Timkins Centre. The Timkins Centre works with young
adults who have no qualifications and works to provide them with the necessary
skills to find employment. Currently, I’m offering training in sign writing so
they have both a learned skill but also work with their social landlord
Wolverhampton Homes and deliver the signage for their homes. I’m also looking to
employ 1 or 2 of them in the New Year so fingers crossed they work hard and are
eager to work!
In 2014, I’m also hoping to make the
sector more female-friendly and be a career options for more girls who have a
talent for signwriting and would like to do a little more traditional work. At
the moment the signage industry is male dominated and customers believe only
men are good at installing signs, but I’m working hard to change that viewpoint
with my trusty toolbox and drill. I love
turning up to a building, hard hat on, high visibility vest on and getting my
power tools out. I have a female
apprentice too who lives digging holes and installing signs!
If you
had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Honestly – I wouldn't change a thing.
As the saying goes “If it isn't broke don't fix it” and so far things are
working well. Setting up HNS Signs happened so quickly, I didn't have time to
think. Had I sat down and thought about it I probably would have talked myself
out of it.
Why
is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?
Although attitudes are changing, women
still get a hard deal. The business world fails to believe that women have
ambitions outside of the family home. This really annoys me. Women have so many
vital skills to offer – skills which differ to and complement those of our male
colleagues. Combined it can offer a well-balanced business environment. Which
is why it is so important for women to follow their dreams. How else are we
going to show the world what we are made of and what we can achieve if we let
our dreams get trampled.
What
advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your
industry?
Know your industry and know it well. I
come from a line of sign writers. Both my great grandfather and my grandfather
were signwriters. I made my first sign when I was 4 years old and have worked
in the industry in both the UK and Australia. When I established HNS Signs, I
knew very little about running a business, but I did know my trade. This really
helped. It gave me a competitive edge as I was able to offer a variety of
different solutions, and it instilled confidence in my customers. By
understanding the trade I was able to learn how to run my business. Too many
people start a business on something they know very little about.
I would also advise you to look for
funding. Cash is King and you need a decent cash flow if you have any chance of
surviving. There are many grants available and funding out there for start-up
businesses, so don’t be shy, ask for help.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Finally – if you say that you are going
to do something, do it and do it at the time that you say you will. You are
only as good as your word and if you let customers down they will go elsewhere.
What
or who inspires you in business and why?
My nan. She gave up teaching in the
late 60's to run my granddad’s company for him. He was a fantastic signwriter
but not so good at the admin and book keeping, clearly a woman was needed even
then to manage a business! She had absolutely no idea about how to run a
business – in her day that was something that women generally didn't do. With
her natural organisation and numeracy skills, she mastered it. I once asked her
how and she replied “by making mistakes and learning from them.”
I have many fond memories of her
working and creating little jobs for me so that I could feel useful. She always
seemed in control of everything and her staff loved her. The customers
absolutely adored her and became her friends. She taught me the importance of
building good relationships with your customers.
Both grandparents retired in 2000 and
moved to Wales where they ran a Good Turn Scheme which helped the elderly and
infirm. They never could relax!
When I phoned my nan to tell her that I
was considering setting up on my own, she was fantastic. She gave me all of the
motivation and encouragement that I needed. Whenever I had a particularly tough
day (and there were many) I would phone her and within minutes I was reassured
and feeling 100% better. She guided me through all sorts of problems and
strategies. She has since passed on, but whenever I feel overwhelmed I just ask
myself what she would have done.
What is
your favourite inspirational quote? “Be the change that you want to see in the world” Mahatma Ghandi
Contact Michelle
Follow us on twitter @hnssigns
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