10 Years in Business for Jeff Walls and BOQ North Lakes
BOQ North Lakes Owner Manager Jeff Walls is celebrating 10 years in business this week. Jeff kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to reflect on his journey thus far and share some hard earned wisdom.
When I reflect back on the last 10 years there are three core things that resonate with me:-
Community
North Lakes has changed significantly over the last decade and will continue to grow and expand. Our local community is very family centric with a strong sense of identity coming through. The community has greatly supported our business with both personal and business customers placing their faith in our professional skills and attention to delivering a customer service experience that is second to none. Time passes quickly, it is now not uncommon for us to be helping the children of customers that placed their trust in me a decade ago with their banking, home and business financial needs. This is truly humbling. Although the value of this trust goes far beyond a monetary measure we look to return the communities faith in us through our annual charity golf day, support of local schools, sporting clubs with a particular focus on helping younger generations who represent the future of our community.
Evolution
To run a successful business you need to be forever evolving. A guiding principal for me has been PLAN-DO-ACT. Whatever your goal, it is essential to plan thoroughly, seek input from your trusted and skilled advisors, set specific actions engaging all of your team and most importantly follow up and follow through on those actions. We set milestones and regular reviews to check that we are on track and change tact if something is not working quite right. The Banking industry is no different and change is inevitable, interestingly when I look at our local competitors I am the only Bank Manager that hasn’t changed at least once during the last 10 years. Similarly I have three core staff that have been with me for the majority of my tenure. I think stability and continuity are valued by our customers. Notwithstanding I have devoted time and resources to developing, improving and evolving my professional skills together with those of my team. Knowledge and a forward looking bias are the currency (pardon the pun) of personal growth.
Resilience
Running your own business is not without its challenges, I have great empathy and respect for my fellow small business owners irrespective of their industry. The reward of watching your enterprise grow and be successful is very satisfying. The people you choose to surround yourself with play a huge role, your staff, trusted advisers, family and in my business the franchisor team have all helped to shape and mould the business we have today. I would also like to pay special recognition my wife Renee who has been there with me every step of the way, contributing her own unique marketing skills to the business. Most importantly she been a pillar of support, guidance and wise council to me for which I will be forever grateful.
“I am looking forward to the next phase of our business journey and appreciate the support of everyone who has believed in me and my vision for BOQ North Lakes.” – Jeff Walls
