Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Scott Harrigan, owner, and president of Glorope Canada Inc., located in Eel River Crossing, New Brunswick, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Glorope manufactures "Industrial" Glow in the Dark Safety Products. From rope to marine products (buoys, dock bumpers, life rings), pet and camping products, firefighting and mining equipment, and construction workwear. We are rethinking safety by adding incredibly bright, long-lasting glow-in-the-dark pigment to existing safety products to fill a nighttime gap that most safety products do not address. Whether through extrusion, rotational moulding, injection moulding, powder coating, or on webbing looms, we take existing safety products and make them safer!
Tell us about yourself
Having spent the last 25 years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy (1992-2018), I had tested the waters of entrepreneurship several times during my career. When the time came to begin my second career (I retired at 42), I could have easily taken a government job in one form or another, as many do after leaving the Canadian Armed Forces. With tours in Afghanistan, Haiti, the Persian Gulf, and over 1450 days at sea under my belt, however, the thought of "driving a cubicle" (as we refer to a shore posting in the Navy) scared me more than the thought of starting a business.
I had found this company and had bought the Canadian rights to it in 2010, and when with the writing on the wall for the end of my military career (I had two hip surgeries that had not healed well), I decided to take the plunge. I made the US owner an offer, and thus Glorope became a Canadian company. This work is incredibly challenging, but the potential for new products seems almost limitless. We are really pioneers in the "Industrial Glow Products" sector, and I am loving every second of the journey. We recently purchased a 10,000 sq ft building in my hometown and have begun making our own rope which now affords us an incredible amount of freedom and stability in our supply chain.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The thought that I have taken this small business with immense potential back to my hometown in Northern New Brunswick, Canada, to begin manufacturing just blows my mind. My hometown of Dalhousie NB has lost all of its major industries in the past ten years or so (Paper Mill, NB Power Plant, Smelter, and CIL Chemical Plant have all closed). I have already brought two people back to our town (one being my nephew, a mechanical engineer who runs the new facility). Our goal is to bring 100 people back home in the coming years as we grow!
Sometimes I just stand in the building, surrounded by machinery (rope braiders, rope hankers, and rope packagers with my nephew by my side, and honestly can't believe that we've come so far so fast! I commanded 25 troops in Afghanistan as a naval officer with no formal army training. We had an area of operation in the Arghandab Valley that encompassed 72 villages. We would travel to a different one each day looking to build or refurbish mosques, schools, wells/ wadi's, etc.). It was incredibly challenging work and extremely rewarding. Although buying a business and building it to a place where you are manufacturing your own innovative products is different in so many ways from my Afghanistan tour, it is easily as rewarding and an accomplishment that I am incredibly proud of. The idea of giving back and helping a hometown that I hold so dear get back on its feet in some small measure only adds to that feeling as well!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Cash Flow! If I had to rank my personal qualities from 1 to 100, financial skills would be right at the bottom. We are really swinging for the fences with this project, and having solid financial advice and surrounding yourself with people that aren't afraid to slap you in the head sometimes and tell you you're an idiot is extremely important! We are growing this business on a shoestring business. It's a fine line to walk with the added threat of growing too fast, biting off too much, and becoming a victim of your own success always looming. Thankfully, I've surrounded myself with mentors and financial advisors that keep the side of my head a bright shade of red most of the time!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do your research. There has never before been a time where the entirety of the world's collective knowledge has been at your fingertips. Whether it's researching a potential supplier, software, customer, market, or new product idea, it's all out there to find and ultimately help you make an informed decision. There have been many times where a Google search has changed our minds on a matter.
- Mentors / Networking. As a lifelong sailor with no formal business training, the first thing I did was join groups like the Entrepreneurial Leadership Program through the Wallace McCain Institute at the University of New Brunswick. It gave me access to hundreds of business owners throughout Atlantic Canada and dozens of CEO's from the region's biggest companies. It was an invaluable "birth by fire" to hear these accomplished people discussing the issues that their businesses faced! "Being fed with a firehose," as we said in the Navy. Even though I was at the back of the room looking up terms they used on Google because I had no idea what they were referring to, it turned my learning curve into an arrow that pointed straight up. I highly doubt any of this would be happening without them. Getting to meet and present my business ideas to CEOs in all four Atlantic provinces gave me the confidence and the feedback that I needed to take Glorope to the next level as well! Absolutely invaluable, the entrepreneurial brotherhood in Eastern Canada is a true family, and it's immensely reassuring to know that these pillars of the business community have your six and want to see you grow!
- You're not an island. As mentioned, I was a Naval Officer with no army training leading two dozen men and women in the middle of nowhere in Afghanistan. We were under the operational control of the 82nd Airborne from the USA.(basically the Band of Brothers unit form the mini-series). Every day I had to make potential life and death decisions as we traveled around the Arghandab Valley. Although the final decision was mine, I leaned heavily on the expertise of the men and women I commanded, especially at the beginning of that year-long tour. It was much the same as a young officer of the Watch on the bridge of a Canadian Warship. Fielding multiple inputs (Navigation, Engineering, Radars/ Weapons/ Helicopter Ops), the buck stopped with you as the OOW. It's a near-impossible task to get everything right without the help of the various teams and departments on board. I find myself in a very similar situation as CEO of this growing business. I have salesmen that have a collective of 45+ years of sales under their belt. If they have reservations about something, then so do I. Making a sound decision, whether in business, Afghanistan, or at sea, is about having all the information. Listening to people that have "been there and done that" allows you to have the best situational awareness before making any decision. Micro-managers and "me first" Officers don't make good Admirals / Generals, and they don't make good CEO's either.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I just feel so lucky to have found a second career that is as exciting, challenging, and rewarding as my first one was. The similarities between the two are really uncanny. As a young officer, you are essentially a sponge, trying to learn as much as you can, as quick as you can. It's very much the same in this venture. I literally hop out of bed every morning with the goal of getting this business a little further ahead before I collapse into bed after an exhausting day. The old adage that entrepreneurs would rather work 100+ hours for themselves rather than work 40 hours for someone else is so very true. I really wouldn't have it any other way. Despite the sleepless nights and the frustrations that come with a start-up, there is nothing I'd rather be doing.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://glorope.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glorope
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glorope_official/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-harrigan-3a5a5824/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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