Ray Tomlinson, owner of JT Group and founder of Summit is an Owner Manager Programme 28 alumni.
This Kiwi Business Story is based on a podcast from 19 July 2022, and all figures quoted are from that time. You can enjoy the complete podcast here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What are your passions, hobbies?
I've got to say cycling has been my life, I started racing when I was 10 years old. I got into the business, because of cycling back in the 70s, early 80s. We would spend all our time training after work in the dark. Dad said, well, I've got this water blaster, you can come and work during the summer months and take the winter off, which was our road season at the time. Even all these years later, and I am still riding the bike. I find that it gives me a good time to get out into the environment. I love gravel riding, mountain biking, and just getting out into the country, really good thinking time.
What did your career journeys look like and how did it lead to JT Group?
The companies called Jake Tomlinson and Company Limited, we are celebrating 60 years this year. In 1962, Dad started the business, he came over from Scotland with a suitcase in the mid-50s. 20 pounds in his pocket, which was given by the New Zealand government to bring immigrants into New Zealand. I spent all my school holidays painting, I hated painting, but it was a way of getting money to pay for my bikes, everything comes back to cycling. In 1985 I started with the business, and it was water blasting rather than painting. I spent 10 years on the machine, learning all the ropes about washing and there are still commercial buildings here in the lower North Island that we have been washing every year for 37 years now.
What is one thing you wish you knew before getting involved in JT Group?
Around the commitment required and the perseverance. It is interesting, business is very much like a roller coaster ride. You have ups and downs. I'm starting to see all these years later in business, knuckle down when the times get tough, work through those tough times and really enjoy the good times. Looking back, that rollercoaster ride smooths out.
What has been your biggest challenge within the business? And how did you overcome it?
Businesses are full of challenges every day. It is how you manage it. But I would say one of my biggest challenges was six years ago, I would go for a lunchtime ride. I love to get out on my bike, that was my thinking time. Well, this day, six years ago, I got bold, went out for a ride, and a car hit me. That took me out for 18 months. I was in and out of hospital, essentially in bed for 18 months. So that was the biggest challenge mentally and certainly physically to get back into normality. But one positive thing was having not long completed the Owner Manager Programme. I had already put things in place into the business, which now looking back was valuable.
What has changed about your work from when you started till now?
Huge, and again, the Owner Manager Programme, putting in the tools that I learned during that course around having the right people on board. What has changed for me is I'm very much in a leadership role. I have a team around me that drives the business.
What does work life balance mean to you? And have you found anything that works best for you?
If you have a job that you enjoy, you do not work a day in your life. I get up every morning. I am motivated to get into the stuff that we are doing. My work life balance, I spend too much time in cafes. But that is where a lot of business is done. Not only friends but also clients, it is a good chance to catch up over coffee, getting people out of their office, out of the work environment and just learning about who they are. That is what I see is work life balance.
You completed Owner Manager Programme 10 years ago, what has stuck with you from the programme?
The biggest thing that stuck with me, is that all businesses have the same issues, there is no difference. We had a wide variety of businesses; everybody had the same issues. When you look at what I got out of the programme, the biggest thing was getting the right people on the bus and getting them in the right seats, getting them to be doing the right job. That is the two main things. And then the third one was really learning more about the financials.
What advice do you have for business owners that are unsure about how to grow and develop their business leaders?
Get the right people around you, set the expectations and the goals of what you want done. Then probably the biggest thing for a lot of businesses is, if you bring them on board, allow them to use their skills. They will learn along the way as well, but do not micromanage. There is a lot of businesses that I see that do not grow, because the owner knows it all, it's got to be done their way. When I look at the business after completing OMP, I now step back and let the team do it. Now I have got it that they know more than me. You have got to allow that if you want to grow a business, get the right people on board, and then give them the opportunity to show what they can do.