Success is built on strong networks

Rockingham IT Solutions director Jon Ellis talks to JACQUI O’LEARY about why going the extra mile in his business makes for a happier working environment

Q: What does leadership mean to you?

A: Leadership involves being a true leader. I lead by example and communicate to my team the clear direction that I and my business are heading in. With us all heading in the same direction, we get the job done.

Q: How has your leadership style changed over time?

A: Since starting this business in 2009 I now have two employees and looking for a third. I have had to do more “work on” the business than “work in” the business.

Q: Which business leader do you most admire?

A: That’s a hard one to answer as there are so many successful business leaders in the area, but out of them all I would have to say Kier Forsyth of Mr Rental Rockingham. I admire how much he has achieved in a relatively short amount of time and he treats his team with respect while giving valuable guidance and maintaining strong customer service values.

Q: What’s the best advice you were ever given?

A: To be in a business where you “look after the customer as if it was you receiving the service” and always go the extra mile for them. We have done so for the many years we have been in business and plan to continue this advice.

Q: What do you wish someone had told you when you started out?

A: It took me a couple of years to actually start growing my business and I wish I had been told earlier about networking more in that time as this is the best way to learn and truly grow your business.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in business?

A: Training customers to respect their technology in that things can and do go wrong. In this they need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their equipment and have contingency plans to avert potential catastrophes.

Q: What has been the most important moment of your career?

A: To date, moving from a home-based business to commercial premises on Dixon Road was both a huge step forward and a massive commitment to my customers that we are committed to being around for them and their systems for the long haul. Growth within a business is easy to plan but harder to achieve in today’s competitive business environment, but we are continually growing.

Q: What technology can you not live without?

A: That’s a hard one as we have so much technology these days, but I would have to say my ioSafe NAS (Network Attached Storage) dual drive which duplicates all my business data. This means I will not lose any of my business data.

Q: How do you relax?

A: I have two teenage boys that are very active with their sports, so I attend a lot of those and am very actively involved in both.

Q: What do you hope Rockingham will be like in five years’ time?

A: A lot of growth has already been achieved in Rockingham, but with the planned expansion of the foreshore/marina area and the light rail network this will attract more locals to use public transport in the growing local community, while hopefully reducing the constant rising traffic levels.

Q: What can be done to promote local business sector growth?

A: The Rockingham Kwinana Chamber of Commerce has a strong commitment to business sector growth, and by joining with them we are able to voice our concerns as a collective and united platform.