When father of three Steve Kerrigan was made redundant from his job ten years ago, during the last recession, he tried not to panic. Instead, he did an audit of the things he was accomplished in. Today, Steve runs a successful plumbing and electrical service, as well as providing good quality student accommodation in the Bognor area.
Steve’s wife had just given birth to their youngest child when he heard that he no longer had a job. It was not a good time to be out of work. He had a family to feed. Where was the money going to come from? Steve could have let despair take over – instead he took positive action. He made a list of those things that he was skilled at and had been doing for many years, in and around his home. He attended training courses to update and hone his skills to industry standards – essential in today’s safety conscious world. Steve believes that investing in training is the first step to future success in any field and especially so when faced with a situation like redundancy. Training completed, SJK Electrical and Plumbing was born.
The business is built on the belief that “no job is too small”. In fact, Steve believes that dealing with a “small” drip or electrical fault while it is still “small” can save a lot of time, money and heartache in the long run. “Sometimes”, Steve says “people think that the job is too small and therefore not worth doing at the time, so they do not call a tradesman to do it. I have seen a small drip turn into a major leak leading to the householder having to have costly repairs and redecoration done. If only they had called me when the leak first appeared! The same goes for electrical faults. The smallest fault can easily lead to a major disaster.”
Steve has been particularly concerned that those who are elderly or housebound, who have minor household repair tasks that they can no longer do themselves, seem reluctant to “bother” tradesmen with seemingly small tasks. “Things gradually build up, “Steve says, “until the property is in a serious state of disrepair and dangerous to live in. ”
Steve looks back on those dark days, when he had no job, and realises that being made redundant was the catalyst that launched him into a future that he could not have even imagined whilst in the employ of another. “Being made redundant need not be the end” Steve says. “It is a challenge yes, but it definitely concentrates the mind on what matters and can lead to taking paths previously not thought of. I can only encourage those in the position that I was in, all those years ago, to not let it get them down and to take a stock of their skills as I did. You never know where it might lead to!”
