18
PERSONALITY PROFILE
Be teachable !
By
Rory Macnamara
Plumbing Africa chatted to Terry Smith of Legacy Plumbing Services about life , plumbing and hard graft . the sales , client liaison , HR areas , and rising to operations director – eventually running a staff complement of 110 people .
Having completed a full career run in the printing industry , Terry felt it was time to move into the plumbing sector , and get back to ‘ working with his hands ’ and his attraction to all things water . Learning and having gained experience from his print career , he had identified himself as a problem solver , so the fit was perfect .
Terry Smith
Terry attended trade school , when South Africa still had such important schools , and was exposed to many trades . This proved to him that a trade was for him – he loved working with his hands .
After school , he joined his father in his building business , until the building sector began its decline , whereafter he sought alternative work which he found in a chemical company supplying products to the print industry . This started the climb up his career ladder . After that he worked for a few printing companies gaining experience in
The first couple of years was juggling work and classes at PCD College which resulted in late nights . Again , an example of a tough time and dedication to keep up the pace of each day . When he finally resigned his day job and with some healthy experience behind him , he purchased his first bakkie , had it branded and started working on small plumbing jobs . “ I took to the work easily and would check in with my college teachers whenever I had questions and needed to check technical requirements against the actual on-site challenges . They were an amazing support throughout the entire learning process . After three intense years I finally received both local and international City & Guilds qualifications .”
Legacy Plumbing Services was born late 2015 offering both maintenance and construction plumbing . It was here that Terry learnt that running a business was not an easy task . An own business brings with it admin , HR , legal requirements and ensuring money is in the bank and then doing the actual work that brings in the money . Terry realised that it was essential to network and learn from others
All images : Terry Smith , owner of Legacy Plumbing .
A Legacy Plumbing Services bakkie .
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline May 2021 Volume 27 I Number 3