After taking his start-up from $7000 to $25 million, Sam Furphy realised that he needed a board of experienced advisers - and some time with his family.
| Entrepreneur |
Sam Furphy |
| Company |
Urban Maintenance Systems (UMS) |
| Business type |
Urban infrastructure and facilities maintenance specialists |
| Founded |
1995 |
| Employees |
150 |
| Head office |
Mulgrave, Melbourne (head office); branches throughout Victoria. National call centre/service capability |
| Contact details |
www.ums.com.au |
Key Learning Points |
|
Work/Life balance
If your business cannot run without you, you lack the proper management systems and support people. Furphy says: “It requires investment, patience and courage to get the right work/life balance.”
Experienced advisers
Ask your network of business contacts about people who can act as a sounding board and help you expand the business.
Self awareness
Be honest with yourself and recognise when your skills are no longer enough. Either get training - or buy the expertise in.
|
The Urban Maintenance Systems Story
Sam Furphy knew it was time to get some balance in his life. Furphy is the founder and CEO of Urban Maintenance Systems (UMS), a rapidly expanding maintenance business with a $25-million turnover and 150 staff - and he has a wife, Sarah, and two young boys (a third child is due in October). The family wanted him; the company needed him. So organising to take a two-month holiday required courage and good planning.
Furphy started UMS in 1995 when he was young (25), single and willing to work six days a week. He founded UMS at home in Melbourne with a phone, fax and $7000 in seed capital. In 1997, he took on a business partner, Campbell Walker (who is an active UMS director). The business grew rapidly and by 2000 had an annual turnover of $10 million. It was a turning point: Furphy realised that he needed some professional management help and training to keep pace with the demands of a rapidly growing business.
He says: "As a young guy growing a business so quickly, I felt that I didn't have access to enough experience. It was critical that we got people around who were able to help put the right management structures into the business. I needed the support of professional advisers around me."
In 1999, Furphy established an advisory board of three semi-retired businessmen, whom he found through his network of business contacts. He says: “I see owners of small and medium-size enterprises every day who think they know the lot. They have a huge ego sitting right in between them and what they really need. They do not understand the strength of having that good sounding board and training and development.”
The experience of the advisory board members has helped Furphy to see a bigger picture. He says: “Surrounding myself with people who give me their opinions based on years of experience has given me a lot of confidence. I can make more balanced decisions and take the strategic thinking to the next level.” He is also in his fifth year of a professional training and development program to sharpen his skills as a CEO.
Before starting UMS, Furphy worked at his family’s Shepparton-based company, The Furphy Foundry (of Furphy water cart fame, which gave the word “furphy” to the Australian language). It specialises in designing and manufacturing street and park furniture.
Furphy was selling their cast-iron seats, street lights and bins to local councils when, in 1995, the Kennett Government imposed a compulsory competitive tendering system on local government. He saw an opportunity to tender for installation and maintenance services and won initial tenders with the Greater Dandenong and Greater Bendigo councils.
At 35, Furphy has built UMS into a leading provider of infrastructure and facilities maintenance services for government, councils and businesses. UMS now maintains hundreds of buildings and assets including parks and roads. It does graffiti management, commercial painting and has a 24-hour emergency faults and response service.
Last year, Furphy took two months off work to spend time with his young family. He skied with Sarah for a week in New Zealand and then rented a shack on Mission Beach in Queensland. “It was very therapeutic just sitting on the beach doing nothing and hanging out with my wife and two boys.”
In addition to unwinding and having quality time with his family, it was an opportunity to stress-test the company and see how the staff and strategies performed in his absence. “Two months was the sort of period I needed to be away to see whether anything went wrong. To everyone’s credit, I only received one phone call and that was two days before I got home.”