Women In Trades Wednesday - Jenny (SHE Property Care)
Jenny has recently celebrated her first year in business, starting her company ‘SHE - Property Care’ from scratch. She focuses on the maintenance and repairs of residential dwellings, and her goal is to work for women in women's trades and networks. Each day is very varied; some days, she will mow lawns, other days plaster and paint a wall, rip up an old deck, replace rotten boards with new ones, and then stain them once the boards are safely screwed in. “On other days, I clean gutters and also work with installing acoustic panels for clients too.”
Jenny found her way into the construction industry through a position with a recruitment agency specialising in building and construction. “My boss Kevin taught me a lot about roles and trades within the industry, and I fell in love with it.” As a recruiter, Jenny was fortunate enough to interview and place a lot of women, and she felt proud that they wanted to belong to an industry that is so male-orientated. From that position, Jenny progressed to the commercial building sector as an architectural consultant specialising in acoustics and ceiling designs for schools and commercial office spaces.
After having space to think about her future during a Covid lockdown, she took a step back to look at the bigger picture and her purpose in life. Having previously been the President of the National Association of Women In Construction, Jenny was awarded lifetime membership for her contributions to the association. This, along with her previous work experience, encouraged her to ‘walk the walk’ instead of just talking about it. “I resigned from my job and became self-employed, working in the trades, much to my terror and delight!”
Jenny was inspired to start her company by NAWIC and her family, so she spent the rest of the lockdown designing and writing her website and thinking about how she wanted to move forward with her business. She got her first job by posting her website and blurb about herself on the TradeCareers website. A lady called her urgently needing a garden tidy up “… and that was the first catapult into the next job.” When you own your own business, Jenny says it’s very much word of mouth and referrals from the happy clients you work for.
Jenny has learnt a great deal from starting her company, ‘SHE’, such as gaining confidence in how to place value on her time, and how to bill appropriately. She has learnt project management skills and how to use the skill saw, “I love my tools, and I take good care of them.” Jenny has learnt to listen to her peers, who have experience in the industry, take advice, ask for help when she needs it and not let her ego get in the way. She has learnt that it’s OK to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and better yourself next time. She has also learnt not to be so hard on herself or be overly critical of her work. “That’s a hard one!”
There are many challenges to overcome when starting your own business - especially in a male-dominated field. She struggled with the fear of the unknown, unsure she had what it takes to learn the trades, be a company owner, and hire subcontractors and staff. “The weather has played a part in the challenges, too - really have to dig deep (pardon the pun) and make plans to work indoors!” However, what Jenny has found that she loves most about her trade is that no two days are the same. She loves seeing the clients’ faces when she has completed her work, and they are thrilled with the outcome. She loves that she travels all over Auckland, meets new people weekly, and helps to make their problems disappear. “I love that my son thinks I am cool. That’s what I get the biggest kick out of. Oh, and making a few dollars to pay the bills, too.”
Jenny has gained a lot of confidence by starting her own company and has so much to be proud of in her career; being NAWIC President and starting her first major bathroom renovation are right up there. Jenny is also proud to be able to inspire her contractor to be all she can be, “she is growing in her confidence every day. That’s massive to me.” In the future, Jenny wants to continue this inspiration by training and offering courses for women who wish to be in the trades or learn about maintenance. She would love to build up a few maintenance teams across the country.
There are always things we look back on and wish we had known when we first started. For Jenny, this was about monitoring her time carefully, “being a salesperson, accountant, marketer, mum, partner, manager of a sports team, packing the car ready for the next day and taking time to look after me too.” Time is her most precious commodity. She has learned not to say yes to every job, “some of them are just not worth the time, effort or petrol!” Her advice to someone looking to get their ‘foot in the door’ would be to ask lots of questions and gain nuggets that ring true to you and what your goals are. Don’t overthink or try to do whatever someone else tells you is the right way. “It’s a way - but not necessarily the best one for you. Be curious and give yourself some time to try out new things. You could be pleasantly surprised.”