Why I do what I do
By Mike Port
By Mike Port
I grew up in a typical suburban neighbourhood in south east Calgary. My brothers and I had a lot of friends that lived on the same street as us or close by, my best friend lived across the street. The schools were close enough that we all walked to school together. During the summer break we were often gone for the entire day riding our bicycles exploring nearby parks, river valleys and places we had not been to before, often returning home just in time for dinner. On nice summer nights we camped out in someone's backyard, eventual stay out all night.
My world changed dramatically the summer before I turned twelve when it was announced to my brothers and me that mom and dad were getting divorced. This was 1971 and while marriages breaking up were not new it was not a common occurrence, at least not in our neighborhood. The divorce was not amicable and there was a lot of bitterness between my parents after the court proceedings. This lead to many years of me feeling like my brothers and I were pawns in their ongoing never ending fight.
For many reason when my children were young they didn't get an opportunity to spend as much time with all the members of our family's as we would have liked. Living far apart and inflexible work schedules often made it difficult to get together and spend quality time with everyone.
Owning my own company gives me the opportunity to be selective about who I work with. I work with people that have integrity and do what they say they will, too often people over promise and under deliver. I look for high quality products that provide value to our customers. While many of the products we use are petroleum based and not environmentally friendly we do what we can to be environmentally responsible. Proper roof maintenance can prolong the life of a roof and when replacement is required the old roofing material is all recycled. Asphalt shingles are turned into roadbeds and wood shakes are ground up to be used in landscaping.
Roofing can be dangerous work and is defiantly hard work, but it can also be very rewarding. I get a lot of satisfaction solving peoples roofing problems, especially ongoing ones that others couldn't fix. It is also a lot fun helping people decide on what new roof to install and then to see how it can transform the look of their home and neighbourhood. Properly done the new roof can add value and curb appeal to the house.
I take great pride in training our workers to accomplish their jobs in a safe, efficient manner so that we all go home to our families at the end of the day. Working with my son and son-in-law to grow our business has been challenging and very rewarding. We are looking forward to future challenges that come with growing a business.
One of the greatest benefits I get from owning my own business is having flexibility in when I do my work. They say that when you own a business every day is a Monday when you are starting out. It may be Monday but if needed, I can do paperwork or computer work in the middle of the night. Being a Grandfather to twin granddaughters makes a flexible work schedule even more important to me now, so I don't miss the milestones in their lives that as a father was not always possible with my own children when they were very young.
My world changed dramatically the summer before I turned twelve when it was announced to my brothers and me that mom and dad were getting divorced. This was 1971 and while marriages breaking up were not new it was not a common occurrence, at least not in our neighborhood. The divorce was not amicable and there was a lot of bitterness between my parents after the court proceedings. This lead to many years of me feeling like my brothers and I were pawns in their ongoing never ending fight.
For many reason when my children were young they didn't get an opportunity to spend as much time with all the members of our family's as we would have liked. Living far apart and inflexible work schedules often made it difficult to get together and spend quality time with everyone.
Owning my own company gives me the opportunity to be selective about who I work with. I work with people that have integrity and do what they say they will, too often people over promise and under deliver. I look for high quality products that provide value to our customers. While many of the products we use are petroleum based and not environmentally friendly we do what we can to be environmentally responsible. Proper roof maintenance can prolong the life of a roof and when replacement is required the old roofing material is all recycled. Asphalt shingles are turned into roadbeds and wood shakes are ground up to be used in landscaping.
Roofing can be dangerous work and is defiantly hard work, but it can also be very rewarding. I get a lot of satisfaction solving peoples roofing problems, especially ongoing ones that others couldn't fix. It is also a lot fun helping people decide on what new roof to install and then to see how it can transform the look of their home and neighbourhood. Properly done the new roof can add value and curb appeal to the house.
I take great pride in training our workers to accomplish their jobs in a safe, efficient manner so that we all go home to our families at the end of the day. Working with my son and son-in-law to grow our business has been challenging and very rewarding. We are looking forward to future challenges that come with growing a business.
One of the greatest benefits I get from owning my own business is having flexibility in when I do my work. They say that when you own a business every day is a Monday when you are starting out. It may be Monday but if needed, I can do paperwork or computer work in the middle of the night. Being a Grandfather to twin granddaughters makes a flexible work schedule even more important to me now, so I don't miss the milestones in their lives that as a father was not always possible with my own children when they were very young.