Greg has always loved cars – he began in accident repair, but quickly found his place in car restoration. He loves it so much that when he’s not restoring someone else’s pride and joy, he’s working on his own car at home. But all personal projects have been put on hold since he and his business partner opened R3, two years ago.
“It’s full on,” says Greg. “You can’t get anything new – everything is pretty much fixed, remade or sourced all the way through. In the last two years we’ve been so busy, I don’t have time to sit at a desk.”
The brand new business owner feels lucky to have stumbled across Thrive CA right from the get go. Greg is a man who knows his strengths – and where he’s happy to let someone else take the reins.
“Me and accounts don’t go well together,” he explains. “This way I’m on the shop floor earning money, and not in front of the computer, which I’m not designed for. I just let Thrive CA handle it. I’m so happy, otherwise I’d be here 12-15 hours a day.”
Pay down debt, set up the future – and relax
While Karen and the team handle R3’s day-to-day accounts, she’s also working with Greg to put systems in place to set the foundation for growth – Greg’s major focus at the moment.
“The goals are mainly financial goals, like paying off the mortgage and setting up the later part of my life,” he says. “Coming from working for someone else, we want to do better than just a wage.”
Greg also hopes the business will allow for a more relaxed lifestyle – eventually.
“We’re putting in a lot of hours at the moment,” he explains. “I have a few cars at home that are on hold, but I’d love to somehow get them on the road.”
His full attention right now is on building their ever-growing reputation – something that Karen and the team at Thrive CA let him do.
“It’s all about quality work. That’s the big focus – putting out the best work we can. You’ve got to get it right,” he explains. “To do that, and know all the numbers – it’s an impossible task.
“I do the cars and I’m pretty happy Thrive CA can do the numbers for us. If it was up to me, I would have failed twice by now. I would have given up.”
1957 Buick Roadmaster prepared by R3 Fabrications
Going the extra mile with flexible accounting
Working with Karen has been the easiest part of Greg’s business journey so far. He says she takes extra care to help him learn the business accounting essentials, without adding to his load.
“It’s the flexibilty. And her being patient with us. She goes the extra mile to make sure we’re not being stressed out. That’s the best thing,” says Greg.
Greg’s glad he took his own advice, even early on when money was tight.
“The accounting part is the most important part, because it’s got to be right from the beginning. If you’re going to survive, pay good money for it and you’ll get good results back,” he says.
If you’re just starting out in business, now’s the best time to get your accounting set for growth. Talk to Karen and the team at Thrive CA to put your business on the path for success.
