Julian Kohn
Director
Kohntrol Forest Services
Number of employees: 65
Company's age: 14 years
What makes your day at work?
A good day for me is achieving any number of things. They might not be significant in themselves, but if I can look back at the end of the day and say that I achieved something, that makes my day.
How did you get to where you are today?
I did a four-year forest ranger training programme with the New Zealand Forest Service. It provided a combination of formal and practical training and gave me a very good base for management in the future. You can't tell someone how to do something if you can't do it properly yourself. From there it was a matter of building relationships with clients and learning how business really works.
How have you dealt with any pitfalls you have come across in your career?
Being the sole director of a company means that you sometimes have to make decisions on your own. Finding a good mentor who understands your business is always a good idea. You may not always agree with him or her, but a sounding board will help your own thought processes immensely.
What advice would you give a young person starting out in business?
The best advice I think I can give someone is to first find out who your buyers are, get alongside them, understand what they want and begin building a relationship that will last.
Selling something to someone is fine but getting them to come back for more will hopefully translate into profits.
What is the biggest challenge for your company in the present economy?
Tax changes that have come to pass in recent years have meant there's a lot more private investment in forestry.
The sale of state-owned forest assets has also had a positive effect. The biggest challenge the company faces at the moment is deciding what strategic direction we want to move in.
If there was one thing you could have done differently, what would it have been?
I think we could be more aggressive in developing new business opportunities. We should be out chasing new business and picking up new contracts rather than worrying about cashflow or staffing problems.
Getting bogged down in the day-to-day running of the company doesn't allow you to take time out to look further into the future.
What future ambitions do you have?
I'd like to take the company in a strategic direction that will allow us to take advantage of the opportunities happening in the industry such as the expanding investment market.
How do you relax?
Regular physical exercise is a must for keeping down stress levels.
Spending quality time with family and friends also makes you realise why you're doing what you're doing. They make sure your feet stay firmly on the ground and when things are not going well you can rely on them to keep you motivated.
*Julian Kohn spoke to Jo-Marie Brown.
