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T & T General Contracting
T&T General Contracting is a business owned by Charlie Newman, a Rama First Nation's resident.
T&T General Contracting offers custom concrete work in curbs, sidewalks, interlocking stones,
block work and repair, landscaping, drywall including spray texture for ceilings, small
renovations, trim work, siding, siding including board and batting, vinyl and aluminum and
insulating.
Charlie registered his business in 1994, but started in this field long before then. He was in
the work force by the time 16 years old. He worked for a contractor mentor for 8 years in cement
work prior to establishing his own business. He saw the potential for him to start his own business
and he gradually began doing his own work in the side. With $2,500 in start up funds, he was able
to purchase the basic hand tools needed. With already owning a vehicle, he did not need to cover
that expense. For about one year he worked for the other contractor while he gradually built up
his business. He took a six week course in concrete curbing to further upgrade his skills.
One of the biggest tasks is looking for the work and talking to other contractors with the intent
of securing work. Being so young when he first started represented a barrier for him. Many people
were reluctant to hire him because of his youthfulness. He has to work harder to prove himself
worthy of an experienced contractor. Looking back now, he reflects that it may have helped to
have had an older person with him at that time. Consistent challenges were people trying to get
a lower price for jobs, long late hours, not getting paid after the work was completed and getting
good quality work from employees. He has replaced verbal agreements with written contracts signed
by both partied and witnessed. He also started a collection of photos of his work which he uses
to promote his business and get referrals.
His customer base come mostly from the Reserve he lives in with contacts in the local area.
Characteristics required to own and operate a successful business are being a hard worker, getting
out there looking for jobs and knowing how to talk to people. Pride in his work comes from
completion of a job, receipt of payment and then continuation onto another job. Compliments are
one of the perks in the business. Having his own business means that he can have flexible working
hours to accommodate other priorities in his life.
Charlie is satisfied with the course of events in starting up his business. His advice to young
entrepreneurs establishing a business is to get good experience before you actually go into
business, taking a trades course before getting into it and going for it. Charlie also is proof
that young people can be very capable of starting their own business, especially id they have an
early start. Charlie also encourages entrepreneurs to learn as much as you can and work with
others to gain more experience.
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