ADRIAN HAYNE – SOUTH AFRICA

I am Adrian Haynes from South Africa.
For the first couple of years in Australia it was hard to understand people, their mannerisms and culture.
But it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be. I have fitted in well, maybe being younger has helped, and I have met people and made contacts.

People used to think South Africans were dodgy people, but nowadays it is a big plus. People always comment and strike up a conversation straight away.

The situation in South Africa was unstable, so my parents and I decided to relocate. We went to many countries, but liked Australia and decided on the Gold Coast.

I had a temporary working business visa, so I had to start a business and employ staff to be considered for permanent residency. By trade I am a toolmaker and elector plater, but we saw this auto electrical business, and thought “Well, lets give it a go.”

It had an engineering component, I did further training in electrics and air conditioning and I qualified in auto electrics. It took about 6 months to settle in. All the car names were different. I had to ask “What does a Commodore look like?”

The business needed a new face and to regain customers trust. Our strategy was to provide quality, keep the customer informed, drop and deliver them to work, and to go the extra mile. Word of mouth has been our biggest advertisement.

I had rigorous medical checkups, x rays, blood tests, a physical exam. They had a lot of medical concerns because I was coming from Africa.

I like to work for myself, I have been bought up that way. I like to delegate but I also like to get dirty.
I am at an age where I am settled, I don’t want to change and to start again, I want to stick with what I am doing and make it happen and make it good.

My dream is to see this business as a one stop shop, with air conditioning, mechanical work and maybe tyres.