My Brilliant Career: Rural service station owner charts his own course

What led you to start Boston Garage, and why did you decide to run it as an independent (without a franchise)?

At the beginning of 2002, Kirsten (who is now my wife) and I were staying at a B&B in Boston, and the owners told us that the local filling station with workshop (which was closed at the time) was potentially for sale.

This pricked my interest as I was at a loose end then and was looking for the next challenge.

After some quick negotiations and arranging of finance, I took occupation two months later with no experience in the filling station industry. Fortunately, the business was small, and this allowed me time to learn and grow, as well as to establish myself as a reliable agri-mechanic in the area.

The decision to run as an independent site came after years of feeling like our business was being limited through our previous fuel sales agreement and after growing frustrated with being nothing but an account number.

I decided I only wanted to do business with companies where I could pick up the phone and call the person who was in charge and who was a direct part of the decision-making process within their business, and not have to phone a call centre. I also decided it would be important to be able provide that same experience to my own customers.

What do you think makes your business successful?

Hard work, a commitment to offering the best service to our customers, being willing to listen to our customers' ideas or concerns, and always looking for new ways to improve and expand our business. My wife and I run the business ourselves, which means we always know what's going on.

Your garage is in a fairly remote location. How does this work in your favour? And against you?

Being in a remote location is a challenge when it comes to getting technicians and servicemen out to site in a hurry. If a pump breaks down, I can't afford to leave it idle until a technician can come out. This has forced me to learn how all our equipment on our site works so I can service it myself.

We struggled initially to find reliable suppliers who were prepared to deliver to us on a regular basis.

What makes your job meaningful?

Knowing that the journey to get here has taught me to stand on my own two feet and not to accept "no" or "that's not possible", without looking at all aspects and options before making a decision. Knowing that we employ more people now than we did before. Sitting back and observing the interactions between happy customers and my staff, knowing that interaction will have a lasting effect and that the customer will probably be back. Knowing that the success or failure of my business is entirely in my hands and that I'm free to evolve as times change so that my business will live on.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

I wanted to be like my dad, a well-respected contributor to society and a farmer. Whatever it was going to be would have to be done outdoors, where farming happens.