By RMBA president Darrell Trigg
It is incredibly humbling to be voted in as the president of an organisation with a 118-year history of helping its members, protecting the public and advocating for “best for industry” practices at all levels of regulatory compliance.
My name is Darrell Trigg, and I am a trade qualified carpenter and Licensed Building Practitioner, serving my time with Dobbs and Henwood in Whangarei.
My apprenticeship consisted of residential and commercial work. Upon completing my time I went labour-only housing for a couple of years and then into business, with my wife Marlene at my side all the way.
Trigg Construction currently has a small but fantastic team operating out of Marsden Point, and our current focus is commercial and industrial projects.
Throughout our business journey we have definitely learnt from the “school of hard knocks”. One of the first things I did to help me navigate the business world was to join the Registered Master Builders organisation.
This did two things — first, it put me on an even par with seasoned operators in town and, second, it gave me access to valuable resources such as residential contract agreements, guarantees, employment information, and the list goes on.
Over time I have come to realise that, as business owners, we do not have to go through the school of hard knocks, because all of this has been done before and the lessons have been learnt.
There are an endless amount of resources out there to help us, from the Elevate Online Business programme offered by Registered Master Builders, which consists of short video bites about all levels of business targeting builders, through to business coaches that are there to help us navigate our way through the often testing times experienced when running our own businesses.
I personally have both a business coach and am using the Elevate programme to help develop our business in a sustainable way.
What I have come to appreciate is that building is the method by which we gain our revenue. But it’s what we do with that money once it is within our business that determines the outcomes we’re aiming to achieve to give us the lifestyle we want for ourselves and our family.
The first step is to be clear on what you want your business to achieve for you and your family. The next step is to create a plan showing how to achieve that goal, then regularly review it.
How is it that many of us cannot build a house without a plan, but we continue to run our businesses without one?
Imagine a client coming to you and saying “can you please build me a house. I don’t have a plan but you choose the layout, amount of bedrooms, bathrooms and location on our section, and I will pay you accordingly based on how close you get to what we want!”
This has a similar outcome to not having a business plan at all. As we all know, a plan gives us a clear set of guidelines to a defined outcome. It may change on the way due to unforeseen circumstances or changes we make but, essentially, it looks just like the plan.
One of the goals I have set for the next two years is to help RMBA members understand that support is there for them right now, and is free as a benefit of their membership.
We have all seen the carnage caused in the industry recently with big businesses disappearing, but as small businesses we are just as exposed, if not more.
Regardless of what size your business is, you are vulnerable if you do not have a clear understanding of good business practices.
I encourage Registered Master Builders from across the country to contact their local branch and learn about how the organisation can benefit and add value to their businesses.
I encourage non-members to enquire as to the benefits that Registered Master Builders can add to their business.
I look forward to moving around the country and supporting the great work our branch executives are doing for our membership and the industry. Thank you for the opportunity, and I look forward to meeting you all soon.
