Episode 360: Embracing Challenges to Success with Julie White
Julie White’s journey in the business world has been marred with failures and challenges. Despite this, she has learned that failure is not the end but a stepping stone to success.
In this episode, Adam Stott interviews Julie White, a trailblazing leader in the construction industry. Julie shares her journey from inheriting the family business to revitalizing it and expanding her impact through industry associations. Through her experiences with risk-taking, networking, and adapting to challenges, Julie’s story serves as a beacon of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Julie’s narrative unfolds from her humble beginnings to inheriting D-Drill and her subsequent role as chair of Build UK. Her insights into navigating obstacles, seizing opportunities, and trusting her instincts offer valuable lessons for entrepreneurs seeking to forge their path to success in the business world.
Show Highlights:
- Julie’s journey highlights the importance of embracing failure as a stepping stone to success.
- Trusting instincts and adaptability are key qualities for entrepreneurs navigating unpredictable challenges.
- Networking, seizing opportunities, and strategic decision-making are instrumental in revitalizing and scaling a business.
- Engaging with industry associations and leveraging connections can enhance visibility and impact in one’s field.
- Persistence, resilience, and a commitment to excellence are crucial traits for sustained entrepreneurial success.
Links Mentioned:
Get your Business Growth Secrets SUCCESS PLANNER for FREE and profit like a pro: https://adamstottplanner.com/free-book47315172
Adam’s website: https://adamstott.com/?el=Pod
Watch the Episode on Adam’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/adamstottcoach?el=Pod
Connect with Adam on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamstottcoach/?el=Pod
Join Adam’s network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-stott-coach/?el=Pod
Coaches, consultants, and business owners – lower your marketing costs, increase ticket prices, and get more high-ticket clients: https://3daybrandbuilderworkshop.com/start-here?el=Pod
Transcript:
Please note this is a verbatim transcription from the original audio and therefore may include some minor grammatical errors.
[00:00:00] Adam Stott: Hello everybody. And welcome to a very special episode of business growth secrets. I’ve got an amazing guest with me today that I feel is going to bring some amazing content to you. She’s got a lot to say and has had some incredible experiences among her career. Including being the managing director of D Drill, Diamond Drilling, amazing business, the chair of Build UK, Yacht Racer and so much more.
[00:00:29] Um, this is a lady that has built an amazing career and she’s got some huge business. to share with you today. So listen in closely as we really talk about how to follow a vision, build a great business and achieve amazing results. So welcome Julie.
[00:00:48] Julie White: I’m good. Thank you very much.
[00:00:51] Adam Stott: Good stuff. Well, I’m really pleased to.
[00:00:54] And you’ve got such a wide array of experience in so many different areas of business and you’re doing some incredible things, as I’ve just mentioned. But what I’d really love to start on is getting a, getting a feel for where you’ve come from. You know, how does, how have you built such a great career?
[00:01:13] Because. Uh, what I didn’t mention is also advising the prime minister on business to a point. So you’ve got these amazing career that you’ve had and where did that all start? Where’s it come from? Is it something that was natural for you? Something that you’ve built up? Uh, tell us a little bit about a, uh, a Julie, why at the beginning, so we can get a feel for how we built this career up.
[00:01:33] Julie White: Yeah, well, um, firstly, Deidre was always in my life. It was always the nicest thing, uh, around it, and it will come obvious why Deidre was always in my life. So, really, I went to school. I was very good at anything practical. I was very good at, uh, communication, at being the head girl, you know, head of the rounders team, the head of the tennis team, the head of every team you But as soon as exams came along, um, I just crumbled.
[00:02:00] I would, I am, yeah, I’ve got over it, but I was very, very nervous in my younger youthful years. And, um, and I just, yeah, when I, I would stay in my room for months on end and SWAT, but nothing ever went in. So I came out of school with one, in religious education. So there you are, could have been a nun. So I remember walking out of those school gates, small, uh, small, uh, Catholic school in Rugby and just thought, well, that’s it.
[00:02:28] I’m not going to become a much, I’m just going to be ending up in the family business and that’s it really. So, yeah, so that’s what happened. So, um, from there I did. Take the construction company, uh, construction, um, jobs working in site hoods, filing, doing the, uh, usual, uh, you know, running around, uh, kind of jobs.
[00:02:53] And then also worked a slight, a slight, uh, some small time inside the family business, which was Deedrill. And I just thought, God, I’m always going to be here. I just thought, this is it. I’m going to be just here because my name was White. I was going to be a, thought I was going to be a conservative voter for the rest of my life because that’s what my father did.
[00:03:12] And I was going to be just Peter’s White’s daughter. So I just thought, well, no, there’s got to be a better place out there. So I saved my money for a couple of years and ended up going backpacking. And I wanted to go to America. And my dad said, well, you’ve never been, uh, without me and my mom for, you know, for such a long time, you’ll never survive.
[00:03:32] And I said, well, I’m going to go for a year and see how it goes. So I ended up, um, ended up, uh, flying to America. I actually, um, with a friend, help of a friend and my father. So there’s my father comes into my, my, uh, my life again. And he helped me buy a little, uh, A Volkswagen Rabbit, which is a very small car and then ended up driving 11, 000.
[00:03:55] Um, no, 23, 000 miles in 11 months. And I stopped off in lots of diamond drillers and sawers along the way. So I was getting, I was getting to know the next generation of diamond drilling and industry in America. And also seeing that how they did it and the good bits, the bad bits. And it was a great, great adventure.
[00:04:18] Adam Stott: So, What made you, what made you do that, Julie? What made you actually stop? I, I know it’s part of the family business and, and that’s what your family business was doing, but what made you actually stop and go and look at that? Because a lot of people wouldn’t, right? A lot of people just go and enjoy their travel time and do their thing, um, but they wouldn’t be looking into You know, how do I go and study the techniques of other diamond
[00:04:41] Julie White: jewelers?
[00:04:42] Well, the thing is, as I said to you, it’s always been in my, in my, I mean, the company’s now 57 years. I’m not that old. And, and, um, it was always the best bits of my life. Deidre was always, we, um, my mom used to be on the phone and we had this red, red telephone on the wall. It used to ring and ring and ring and she’d be taking the quotes.
[00:05:06] And my dad was always away working. But when dad came back, it was always the nicest feel. It was always a barbecue. big pot of, of food on the, on, on the, on the cooker. There were always diamond drillers from all around the country, sleeping on the floor. I remember once getting up and show and, uh, helping my dad on the kitchen table, change a bush in a motor.
[00:05:26] And it was always the best feeling for me. So I think deep down. Without me knowing it, I thought I knew it would be the rest. It would be a massive part of my life.
[00:05:39] Adam Stott: Awesome. So, so what happened next? You go around, you study. Yeah, I did. So I
[00:05:42] Julie White: saw that. As I said, I met the next generation. They also weren’t running their parents companies at this stage.
[00:05:47] So I knew, I knew the next generation. I knew the good point, bad point. And I only did that because my dad gave me a drilling and sawing, America’s drilling and sawing book and said, if you get into any trouble, Please call them. But I wasn’t in trouble, but I got really smelly after two weeks and, uh, and needed a bit of a proper meal.
[00:06:07] So I was cheeky enough to, to ring them up from the days where you put your phone in that, your money in a telephone box. So then I ended up, I only had a month left. So I was in San Diego and I thought, Oh, I’ll go and have a look down. Um, Down the, down the, uh, yacht, the yacht marina, so there I was walking down the pier, and I saw a beautiful racing yacht, so I was looking at it, watching it, and, um, and this guy came out onto deck, and he said, oh, I said, beautiful yacht, I said, what you up to, what you doing, you know, and of course, the British accent in America got you a long way, and And he said, Oh, well, we’re doing a race from LA to Hawaii and he, and he said, and we kept on talking, he said, Oh, uh, and we need a cook.
[00:06:54] And I said, Oh, I can cook. I can definitely cook, which is the biggest bullshit you could ever, ever hear. Cause I’d never cooked. I even could. burn water was terrible. So I came back, spoke to the, uh, owner and the skipper and got the job. So two weeks later off I was, I had to see we were going to
[00:07:13] Adam Stott: do a cooking test then.
[00:07:15] No, no, no. I
[00:07:18] Julie White: mean, it was before wifi and Googling and that. So, so I actually did. go to the, uh, I was staying with a friend of mine, uh, again, another diamond driller’s daughter that we’d been pen pals with since I was 11. And I, she had a few cookbooks. I thought I could do this. It’s no problem. And so after three days at sea, we were going to be away for between 40 to 60 days.
[00:07:42] Uh, the owner came down and said, look, we’re We know you can’t cook. And I said, yes, I can. But there was egg up the wall. There was food on the floor. There was everything. So he said, look, we’ve, I’ve had a word with the crew and the crew were all elderly. Let’s just say they were definitely men. And they were all ex America’s corp, ex Olympic sailors.
[00:08:03] They were all ex round the world racers. So he said, We’ve had a word and there’s two options. We’re either going to kill you and throw you overboard, but that will be murder. And you’re on the crew list or you have to learn to sail and we’ll take it in terms of cooking. And I said, can you take option two, please?
[00:08:22] And I did. Went up on deck, learned to sail, got to know all the crew, you know, there was 12, there was 12 men and me on there. And these guys were the, you know, the best in America sailing. So we actually went on a trip to Hawaii. We won it. We won the race. And from that, and it says, I mean, it’s the biggest part of my life is, it is who, you know, not what, you know, really sometimes because even though I was a good sailor by that stage, um, I wasn’t world class, but from that, they said, oh, there’s another boat leaving on a race.
[00:08:57] There’s another boat leaving on the race. And I wasn’t cooked then. So I managed to get myself a position as fore decker, which is quite strenuous, but I was Very fit in those days and in the end did, uh, quite, quite a few, um, round the world races. I did three round the world races. I did a lot of, uh, transatlantics and really 11 years later, I’m still sailing around the world.
[00:09:21] And my, and my father said to me, okay, you wouldn’t bet you wouldn’t bet. I said, you’d be away free for three months. You can come back down. But by that stage, I, I was skipping a, um, super yacht and, uh, I was coming backwards and forwards to England because I was turning this yacht from quite a badly run yacht to, to getting the right crew on, to getting the account system in, getting to meet all the, um, all the people that could rent the boat for you.
[00:09:52] And, and I managed to turn a very big super yacht round. And from then I got a bit bored. It was a bit wax on, wax off. So I, um, used to come home. And before that, before I did that, I wouldn’t go and see Arlen to see Edna. I would always go into Deedrill, you know, because I could see my dad and I, you know, it was, it’s always a lot of action in our industry and very quick moving.
[00:10:18] And, um, and I saw a machine. That was being demoed to my dad and it was doing, uh, diamond grinding and this was grinding the floor to take bitumen adhesive. So when you take vinyl off and shop refits, this is black bitumen. And so I thought, Oh, that’s a good idea. My dad said, No, we don’t do that. Can you put it in the corner?
[00:10:42] So I went back to my super yacht and again bored. So I came back and the machine was still in the corner. So I then rang around. Remember, it’s who you know, not what you know. I rang around all the D Drill offices, so there was ten offices in those days, from way up from Newcastle all the way down to Plymouth.
[00:11:01] So I asked all the managers, um, Do you ask, be asked for this? Can you ask for diamond grinding? Do you ever get asked? They were like, no, not really, but no, no. And then about two weeks later, The Sheffield manager rang me and said, we’ve been asked, I’ve been asked, I know, someone asked me, so we priced a job with the help of my father and the team, and we did the job, and I did it personally with one of his apprentices that he lent me, and then after two years I’d grown up.
[00:11:32] grown a company up to about 4 million with about 38 operators and it was a Super it was called super floor, but let me tell you it was a true monster. It it it took my life over So I came from being
[00:11:48] Adam Stott: So
[00:11:50] Julie White: I came over from sailing And being sociable with a crew to live in a life of a recluse. So I hadn’t had a date for nearly six years by that stage, let alone meet any men.
[00:12:02] And this just business just grew and grew because it was brand new technology. And we were delivering it to the shop fitting industry, which again, because it’s a quick, quick move. And that’s what I knew from Deedrill, uh, we could deliver it. And we could take five weeks off their shop with it on the floor.
[00:12:23] So that’s it. It grew and it grew and it grew and I had no life. That became
[00:12:27] Adam Stott: your business that you ran, Julie. Yeah, that’s
[00:12:29] Julie White: my, that was my, my, my business called super floor. Yes.
[00:12:33] Adam Stott: And how, what lessons did you learn in, in running that and growing? So you’ve got a really nice new product that you take to market with innovation in an innovative way.
[00:12:45] Um, and then it’s. Presumably starts to take off. You’ve got to build a team.
[00:12:50] Julie White: Yeah.
[00:12:51] Adam Stott: No, how did, did you have to mark him or was it a word of mouth driven? What happened next for you?
[00:12:57] Julie White: But then again, you know, again, I was very lucky because I had Ddrill’s contacts, I mean, this is a company that’s been going now, uh, nearly over 50 years and I could piggyback on the back of his, of their contacts because I wasn’t the competitor.
[00:13:12] I was a new technology. You know, who, you know, and, um, but what I learned from that is they were actually buying from me. That’s it. They were just buying from me. If that, if I said I’d be there with the men, with the men would be there with the crew doing the job and we would deliver it. So, and I was doing the do so much that I couldn’t, I didn’t stop and build my own team around me.
[00:13:39] I mean, I, I, I managed to get a few secretaries or a few, you know, contracts controllers, as I called him in those days, but it was still just me. And it just, it just consumed my life. And that’s when I thought, you know, things have to change or did I didn’t know any better.
[00:13:58] Adam Stott: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of entrepreneurs that are operators rather than owners.
[00:14:03] And
[00:14:04] Julie White: yeah,
[00:14:05] Adam Stott: and I think around them
[00:14:08] Julie White: and I think the
[00:14:08] Adam Stott: management team you were lacking, Julie, what was it?
[00:14:11] Julie White: It was the management team that was lacking. And I did try and bring in managers and that, but again, I found that, um, I would, everyone wanted to speak to me because it was. Me, they were buying from, and this is where company just didn’t seem to have the right model.
[00:14:28] And I think I was just doing the do so much and getting the turnover and that I just didn’t stop. And, and I didn’t realize that, you know, and a lot of entrepreneurs do this and people that start new business, they don’t use what they’re good at. So I’m good at. Find a new technology. I’m good at sales and marketing.
[00:14:48] I’m good at promoting. I’m good at talking to people, but yeah, but, but to be honest, the tech, the, then getting the men out on site and all that’s not my favorite thing to do.
[00:14:59] Adam Stott: Right. Operations. Yeah. So the opposite of an entrepreneur.
[00:15:04] Julie White: So, so, and that’s what I didn’t realize. And I think really, uh, you need as an, as a young business or an entrepreneur, you need to just.
[00:15:13] You know, look at what you’re good at and then really grow that and then bring everyone else in with that, uh, that can help you. So that’s the way, um, that’s, that was a learning, uh, learning curve from that, definitely.
[00:15:29] Adam Stott: So, so what was your next move on that? Did you do that? Did you bring in the operations team?
[00:15:33] Did you, did you, what was your next steps with that business?
[00:15:36] Julie White: Well, for me, the next steps for me were, were, um, I was playing golf and then one afternoon I, with my dad, um. And, and, well, the one afternoon I’d had off in months and, I mean, years. And we were playing golf and we were on the 19th hole having a, uh, having a jar.
[00:15:56] And he said, well, you know, you know, you’re the only woman, only person in the white family that come into construction on their own. He said, but the problem is, you are a woman. woman and I said, well, thanks dad for noticing, um, but I don’t know what that’s got to do with it. But, and he said, well, have you ever thought about coming back into Deidreal?
[00:16:16] And I said, no, dad, no, dad, I’ve seen your management, I’ve seen your management meetings. There’s every white and his dog in there. I said, and, uh, no, and I said, and I said, and then we had another jar, and we had another one actually, we’re up to our third or fourth pint by that stage, and I said to her, I tell you what, I don’t want you to give it me, and I don’t want, uh, you to hand it down, I’ll tell you what, I’ll buy it from you.
[00:16:42] And he said, you’re not big enough to buy it from me. And I said, and you’re not big enough to get a hundred percent shareholding from the family. Cause my dad was the major shareholders, but every other white and his dog was the other shareholding. So, uh, we, it took three years. So we, me and my dad always banter about, you know, who got the money first, who got the shareholders, but again.
[00:17:05] He would come to me and says, I’ve got your 85 percent and I’m like, dad, you’re not listening 100%. Oh, there’s no deal. Then he’d come back and go, I’ve got your 93 and a half. Dad, you’re not listening. Yeah. And this is my, my closest person. My friend, I said, you’re not listening to, and then he’d come back 98.
[00:17:20] Dad, you’re not listening. All or nothing. And three years later, he came up with a hundred percent and we did the buyout, but that’s another learning curve. If it’s not right, stick to your guns, you know, and I would have Why
[00:17:35] Adam Stott: was it not right in that instance, you know? Because I knew it was
[00:17:40] Julie White: a
[00:17:40] Adam Stott: great I don’t understand that, right?
[00:17:42] Julie White: Say again, sorry?
[00:17:44] Adam Stott: So there’ll be a lot of people listening that won’t necessarily be able to grasp and understand that structuring of how you were negotiating in the, in that instance. So, so in your mind, you want it to be a hundred percent of the business, which was your dad’s business.
[00:17:57] Julie White: Yeah.
[00:17:58] Adam Stott: What, why did you not accept a lower shareholding?
[00:18:02] What was in your mind? Why did you stick to your guns?
[00:18:04] Julie White: Because I wanted to move the company. It’s got, I had a great reputation, reputation, reputation in the, in the industry and it had a great, but it was not modernized. They were just, it was old ways. The processes weren’t in there, the procedures weren’t there.
[00:18:20] The Newcastle, uh, uh, branch was doing the difference on the plumber. The plumbers were doing different from the carders to head office and commentary. So I knew that I needed to get hold of it and just modernize it. I needed to, to be able to. To modernize it and bring on, uh, modern processes and procedures and a younger workforce.
[00:18:42] And I knew I couldn’t do that with the, with the, you know, the people that are in there. And that also shows that you need the right people on the bus and the wrong, and get, and if you, if you have to get the right, you know, get them off the bus. So the right people on and the wrong people off. And if it doesn’t feel right, it usually doesn’t.
[00:19:01] It isn’t right. That’s it.
[00:19:03] Adam Stott: Yeah. If it doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t right. Yeah, a hundred percent. So, um, in your career, I mean, it’s a quite a, quite a broad state. It doesn’t feel right. Isn’t right, but how many, how, how many times out, out of, out of 10 would you go by that saying in your mind?
[00:19:20] Julie White: Oh, I would say it’s 10 outta 10.
[00:19:22] Actually. So you
[00:19:24] Adam Stott: trust your instinct. Yeah, trust your instinct.
[00:19:26] Julie White: And I don’t like playing the woman card. Absolutely no way. But us women are very good at that. We usually feel it. And also, you know, you can feel the room. You can feel what you need. So really follow your instinct. And sometimes it doesn’t look right.
[00:19:42] I mean, of course, figures count. Figures have to count. Such a massive, um, you know, meaning in a company and you look at it, the figures, as they say, never lie. But if it doesn’t feel right, there’s usually something not, not right about it.
[00:19:56] Adam Stott: It is interesting you say that, you know, because female entrepreneurs actually do have an advantage in, in some aspects that maybe they don’t realize that, um, you know, I remember listening to something many years ago, they said, you know, why, while lads were growing up and boys were growing up, they’re out.
[00:20:11] on the sports fields. They’re out doing competition. They’re very involved in the competitive aspects where actually, you know, the girls are usually socializing and chatting and reading body language and understanding social cues and understanding how people react, which means they have, you know, heightened emotional states versus, you know, uh, boys who have more of, uh, often less emotional state.
[00:20:36] So it’s certainly female instinct. You
[00:20:39] Julie White: can say that because you’re a man.
[00:20:42] Adam Stott: Certainly female instincts are, uh, can be a plus, right? But they can also, you know, if you get controversial, can be a minus as well. And that’s also too much on the emotion.
[00:20:53] Julie White: And if you, if you look at it as a team as well, you need that in a team.
[00:20:57] You know, not only, you know, and, you know, this is where I hate the word quota to come from because, you know, people go, Oh, you know, you’re the quota on that board, but you’re not women and men bring different, different aspects and different feelings. I mean, feelings, probably not the right word for business, but different abilities into a board and into a team.
[00:21:19] So it’s different. It brings different feelings, different emotions, different points of view. And that’s what you need in a team.
[00:21:27] Adam Stott: Yeah, I definitely agree. So, so in terms of then building out, you know, something that we spoke about when we, when we first met prior was that after you had acquired this business, wasn’t all rosy, right?
[00:21:39] Oh no,
[00:21:40] Julie White: no. Not at all. Well, I bought it, um, the 5th of April 2018. It should be tattooed on my head. Um, we, uh, drank champagne with a little bit of a meal with the, with the family and we walked outside and I said goodbye. Bye bye. And they all looked at me like dears and headlights because they thought it was going to carry on the way it is.
[00:22:06] So the only person I really wanted back with me was my father. I needed a hand over probably for four to six months. And, um, and we came back to the business. I even, um, made him go into my office. I went into his office. I remember standing in that office thinking, what do I do now? You know, I’ve got a mass and even massive and monster, but a lot of other people, how can we do it?
[00:22:30] So. How
[00:22:30] Adam Stott: many people did the company employ at this point, Julie? How many people
[00:22:33] Julie White: are now? It’s around about 80 in those days. You’ve gone
[00:22:37] Adam Stott: from 30 in your previous company to about 80. Right?
[00:22:40] Julie White: Yes.
[00:22:40] Adam Stott: With double, which requires a different strategy.
[00:22:43] Julie White: Exactly. Exactly. And some of the key people that had gone were the family.
[00:22:49] So it was down to me now to bring in. Was
[00:22:52] Adam Stott: Christmas awkward?
[00:22:54] Julie White: I was never invited to Christmas.
[00:22:59] I was always, I always like to go skiing, so that’s fine by me, but my, uh, my mom and dad knew I needed to do it. But within, um, five months of, uh, owning the company, I lost 80 percent of my turnover. They thought, sorry, I lost 40 percent of my turnover. So within five months, I’d lost 40 percent of my turnover due to the recession.
[00:23:21] So we were going into the deepest, darkest, 103 years of the deepest recession we’ve ever had. And That was it then I really knew I had to bring in the right people to help me again. So this is where, again, I knew I had so many people that could cut concrete, that new diamond drilling and soaring, um, you know, inside out, we could have cut down in street in half, but now, uh, I needed someone to help me because we needed, I needed to save money, but also make the company modern.
[00:23:55] And also the workforce was quite, it was very, uh, you know, it was. It was aging. It was in its late, uh, early fifties, and I needed to bring in apprentices to, to, to, to bring on the next generation. And so I did. I put my head down. I brought in a guy from tier one motor manufacturing. He knew nothing about diamond drilling and sawing.
[00:24:16] Thank God. And he helped me. Um, put processes and procedures in. Maybe a board
[00:24:22] Adam Stott: member or chairman. Or he was, uh,
[00:24:24] Julie White: he was, he was my operations director and he actually came in and, um, helped me. So then in the end, Coventry was doing the same as all the branches, the branch, you know, Newcastle men look the same as the Plymouth men, you know, the Cardiff men paperwork was the same as a Sheffield was the same as Manchester.
[00:24:45] So it, so we. We got through it. I mean, um, in those days as well, the company was very cash rich and I didn’t really ask for the money, you know, I didn’t need to, to get. So I had a, uh, a aging book of, you know, about 1. 2 million over 120 days old. So I’ve got my head down and I pull, there’s a thing in the construction called adjudication.
[00:25:10] And I went to, like, 63 adjudications and I won 60. So I managed to pull that money back in. Plus, we were pushing it, we were, we were, We’re pushing the company forward and, and also then I was using my skills because I knew I could use that to sales and marketing. I was getting out there talking to the customers, you know, to actually, um, blogging through the industry.
[00:25:37] You know, um, um, I got onto the board of the drilling and soaring association where, you know, again, I’m a woman, I’m quite different. So I used it to my ability, sorry to say. And we got to know, yeah, through that, we got through it. And then, but it was a long, long journey.
[00:25:57] Adam Stott: And you have, you know, you’ve learned into that branding aspects of building a brand.
[00:26:00] You said you then went on to be the chair
[00:26:03] Julie White: of,
[00:26:03] Adam Stott: yeah. How did that come, come about?
[00:26:05] Julie White: Yeah. So, um, there’s a one more little bit more step, which really helped me. In 2011, I won business woman of the year. So it was Karen Brady and some amazing, um, you know, uh, Can you. names have won it before me and I just thought, you know, I got put forward actually very nicely by a customer and I won it.
[00:26:29] From that, um, uh, the media picked me up. Again, you know, concrete drilling and sawing. How do you know? I mean, we drill holes for a plumber’s pipe, we cut roads, we cut motorway bridges in half. How does, You know, people don’t know that there is these amazing subcontractors out there and we’re making a living out it, employing people, bringing apprentices on.
[00:26:51] And so that the media picked me up. So I did question time. I was on with Ken Clark, Andy Barnum, you know, on question time. I did the one show, the hour long show. Um, I did Newsnight, I did, you know, uh, Wake Up to Money, Five Live, I was being pulled from pillar to post, which was great. Because again, there was a lot of media around me.
[00:27:14] And so from that, I, I, I got made, uh, chair of the, uh, Drilling and Soaring Association, where then, um, Again, I’ve always liked to give back to my industry. I just feel like it’s an industry that I’ve given my family, my father, my, even when I was a kid, a really good living, a really good, you know, vision and a big, you know, so I like to give back.
[00:27:39] So through that, I managed to get in con, um, through the drilling and soaring social, and there was an association that went over all the specialists or contractors called the National Society of Specialist Contractors. And, um, and I managed to get on the board of that. And from that, we then joined the main contractors.
[00:28:00] So now I’m, I’m talking to the main contractors. I’m with the CEOs of the main contractors, the biggest contractors in Great Britain. And they were like, hello, mate, you want a pint? You know, and again, Who, you know, not what you know. And we joined the two as at the main, as at the main, uh, tier one association.
[00:28:18] And we, uh, we joined the specialist association. Um, and we made one new association, which is the largest trade association over Great Britain. And it was, it’s called Build uk. And it’s, uh, gonna be our 10th year LA next year. So it’s very, and I’ve been on the board ever since. Mm. And then lucky enough, 80, uh, last September, I was made chair of the BUILD UK.
[00:28:43] So here I am, you know, talking policy for our industry, going into Parliament, into Downing Street, you know, talking about the levy, making a change, trying to get people to partnership and move forward together in an industry that can be quite hard and they battle against each other. So, um, again, I’m very good at getting to know people, very good at communicating, very good at bringing people on my side.
[00:29:10] So I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve really enjoyed that side of it and giving back. And to be honest, I built that team. Around me and a D drill, you know, my dad gave me the foundations. I mean, those foundations have been, we put the second, we put the second tier on, the third tier on, and I’ve got a great, um, team around me, which let me get off, go off and do sales and marketing.
[00:29:34] What am I doing? I’m going, doing sales and marketing, and with the head of all the tier ones most days I can pick my phone up to run. So again. Giving back, but also always, you know, looking after the business who know what you know, what not, what you know.
[00:29:52] Adam Stott: Absolutely. Well, I mean, there’s so many things you’ve shared throughout, um, as we’ve been talking about your journey and your story, some incredible things there on networking, building relationships, taking opportunities, taking risks.
[00:30:04] Um, and, and, and not being afraid, you know, not being afraid of putting yourself forward, not being afraid of having to go and all these different things, but you have to boil it down to a few pieces of advice for entrepreneurs that were listening now, the assisting there and really trying to understand, you know, how do I.
[00:30:24] Go on that journey. How do I start to create my own story? How do I drive myself forward? What would you say to, and I think actually for quite very inspiring for female entrepreneurs as well that are on, what would you say to someone that was listening? What should be some of the things that they should do?
[00:30:38] And maybe some of the things that you had to overcome.
[00:30:41] Julie White: First of all, don’t be afraid to fail, but learn from it, um, because you, you, you can shoot, you can, you know, achieve whatever you want, but it also doesn’t come sometimes with success, is failure with it. I mean, we’ve talked about my first It was my baby.
[00:30:59] I grew that, but, um, you haven’t asked me where it went. Once I took over the monster, the larger monster of D Drill, I just couldn’t find the right person to take it over because the knowledge and technology and people were buying from me. So, I I had, I didn’t, I didn’t let it go. We are still doing some of the processes inside ddr, but I had to, I had to, you know, I, I lost 40% of the whole group over five months, so I had to let it go.
[00:31:28] And I mean, I, I feel quite emotional about it now, but I, I knew the bigger picture I knew, you know, and I, and to be honest, I was, it, there’s a big
[00:31:38] Adam Stott: left there on focus, right? Because, uh, it is so true. And, and there’s been no one, I, I, I think that. You know, I’ve interviewed hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of entrepreneurs now and every single one of them that’s achieved something has had some ups and downs, you know, yeah, every single one.
[00:31:55] Julie White: So, yeah, so that’s really, really key to me. And also, the other thing is have a plan and, uh, and always, but be ready for the change. A plan. Everyone thinks a plan. You go from A to B, but you won’t. You will zigs off. Sag off, and you’ll head up to E, you’ll head off to G, you’ll and you’ll. But always bring it back to the plan, you know?
[00:32:21] But the plan will change as you go on. You know what you want as a company, as you want, as a person, uh, will change. So always. Get back to that plan, but don’t abandon it because, because again, back to your, your true feeling, it was what you wanted from the beginning and what the team wanted from the beginning, but it will change because the teams will come and go, but always, you know, bring it back.
[00:32:45] Don’t abandon the plan.
[00:32:48] Adam Stott: Absolutely. No, I think really, really important, really brilliant bits of advice. And, and Julie, where, where could people learn more about you? Do you, is there a particular social media that you use? Yes, yes, yes. I’m
[00:32:58] Julie White: Julie, uh, uh, at, uh, Julie Deedrill and also, um, I’m on LinkedIn as Julie White and also on all the social medias, you can’t just put Julie White concrete cutting, uh, You’ll always find me, but I tell you what, Adam, the biggest one I always say to everybody for me in business with business, always expect the unexpected,
[00:33:26] Adam Stott: always expect the unexpected.
[00:33:27] Yeah. And that’s been a big lesson for you.
[00:33:31] Julie White: Very big lesson.
[00:33:32] Adam Stott: Keep you on your toes. How, how would you, how do you actually use that? Um, is, is it more about you responding and being alert? How would you interpret that?
[00:33:42] Julie White: Yeah, I think, I think it’s being alert. You’ll always get, and also, you know, um, yeah, you’ll always get done over by people, but you will always get lied to.
[00:33:52] You could be cheated on. You will find the best, uh, um, contract. So it’s, it’s a roller coaster ride. So, but just Live on that, know it’s a rollercoaster ride, so when you’re down the deepest down, you know that contract’s going to come, or that somebody’s going to say something lovely in the corridor, or apprentice is going to win apprentice of the year, they’ll all, it’s a rollercoaster ride and know it.
[00:34:16] So when the downs are down, know there will be good times. Always, it always happens.
[00:34:24] Adam Stott: Super important. And, and if you have got the awareness then, like you said, be able to say that yourself, you can, you can ride the journey out a lot smoother. And then
[00:34:33] Julie White: it’s best to, back to what we said, trust your instincts because you’ll know it will come.
[00:34:38] Adam Stott: Absolutely. Well, I’ve loved having you on Julie. It’s absolutely amazing. You know, Sorry,
[00:34:42] Julie White: you didn’t get to say much.
[00:34:44] Adam Stott: No, that’s the whole point, right? Um, when I do my own one, as they hear from me plenty, right? It’s always bringing someone up who really want to, uh, you know, show their story. I think a lot of inspiration there.
[00:34:56] What
[00:34:58] Julie White: we’ve said is to get into prime, uh, you know, advising the prime minister and going to Downing street regularly, you know, from a girl that had. one level in religious education.
[00:35:11] Adam Stott: Yeah.
[00:35:11] Julie White: Crazy.
[00:35:13] Adam Stott: Great stuff. Well, look, thank you ever so much. It’s been amazing. And if you’ve enjoyed this episode, everyone is, if you’ve been watching, uh, go and give us a five star review or share this episode with somebody that perhaps needs some inspiration.
[00:35:29] You know, Judy can do it. You can do it. To believe in yourself, take the action. Don’t be afraid to fail as Judy says. And surely you will chart your own path. And if you haven’t already, I look forward to seeing you very, very soon and on the next episode. Thanks again.