After school I was faced with a couple of different career choices: electrician or signwriter. I loved art and craft, so I followed that passion into signwriting. I was lucky enough to be employed by a leading local sign company where I learned my trade.

What roles did you have prior to starting your own business?

Several years after becoming a tradesman, I took a position running the signwriting department for the Newcastle City Council where I stayed for three or four years. This included projects like the gold leaf lettering you can still see at the City Hall, street signs and maintaining signage at many of our most iconic city assets such as Surf Clubs and civic buildings. I then took a year off to travel the world before returning to Newcastle and going out on my own.

Why did you open your firm Hunter Signs in 2007?

I actually started my own business in 1985 as a sole trader, sub-contracting to larger companies and building my business slowly. I really enjoyed working for myself, providing high quality signs and building sustainable relationships with my customers who really seemed to value the personalised service I gave them. To this day I am still doing work for many of those businesses. I also had a couple of years teaching signwriting part-time at TAFE.

Over the next few years, my business continued to grow and in 2007 I registered Hunter Signs Pty Ltd. It has grown every year since and I'm lucky enough to work with a magnificent team of committed, talented hardworking employees...including two of my four sons. It's the best place I've ever worked.

What work do you specialise in?

Many of our customers appreciate the "one stop shop" service we provide, from design through to manufacture and installation. We're also pretty unique in that we have a very modern, well equipped workshop with a couple of wide format digital printers and a CNC router whilst also offering traditional artisan signwriting. We do everything from vehicle wraps, banners, billboards, safety signs, commercial signage and more.

What are operating challenges for your company at present?

Like many small business owners, it's a constant juggling act between staying current with industry regulation and compliance, managing finances, recruiting the right staff, and staying ahead of technological changes. We're fortunate to have a very loyal customer base, and so ensuring we continue to meet their needs and grow with them is the ultimate focus for us.

How big a role does innovation play in your workplace?

Innovation is literally the making of the new. As our customers are continually innovating, so must we to ensure we can continue to meet their needs and help their brands stand out amongst the competition. I lead a very creative team that thrives on the challenge of finding better ways to approach every job.

And diversification?

We're no longer purely signage manufacturers, we're seeing more demand for our design and consulting services as well as the bespoke, traditional signwriting that is very on-trend right now. So I would say yes, it's been very important to diversify and grow within the industry.

Your Twitter account says 'singer/signwriter'?

I love music. Playing guitar and singing is something I've enjoyed for years although not reaching any great heights...yet! Years ago a friend did a caricature of me holding a microphone and a brush. He came up with the caption...I liked it!

You are president of the Newcastle Business Club. Has running your own business aided you?

As a business owner, I know what it feels like to get so busy running the day to day operations of an organisation, whilst craving that sense of connection with my peers and hearing from inspiring leaders and innovators in industry. I've tried to draw on that experience in leading the Club.

What goals have you/the committee set in 2019?

Consistent with the clubs charter of being the region's premier guest speaker forum, the focus has been ensuring that each of the speakers brings wisdom and insight, leaving the members and guests feeling like it was worthwhile attending the luncheon. So far, we've had a very diverse array of speakers of a very high calibre, sharing on a range of topics, from leadership to health in the workplace...each speaker bringing wisdom and insight and leaving those who attended with some practical take-home gems.

What do you hope your legacy will be in this role?

I guess I hope that in some way I will have stamped my personality on the club. And if I manage to help our members expand their thinking and knowledge and connect with like-minded individuals on topics that are relevant and important to them, and that creates some positive impact in their lives, I'd be incredibly proud of that.

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