Julia ‘Jools’ Nesbitt is the Co-Director of Masonex Building, a family shop fitting business she runs with her husband Mick.
The registered building business, offering retail shop fit-outs, de-fits and store maintenance, was busy and in demand before COVID affected their environment.
“Before COVID came around, we always had plenty of work,” said Julia. “We never looked for jobs, we never advertised or had to promote or market our business. Then COVID hit and it dramatically changed everything.”
When shops were forced to close, Masonex Building had no work for the foreseeable future. Julia found the PIVOT program and set to work building new skills in business management, networking and embracing an entrepreneurial mindset to set a new course for the future of the business.
“Even from watching the first few videos, I thought, this is something I can do. I was open to taking on all the challenges that were there. I sucked up all the information like a sponge, I did every little activity and worksheet, everything - because I needed to make a change.”
Julia found the work on mindset very valuable, identifying personal confidence as an area she needed to work on and build. Once she did so, she found that she generated new ideas about moving the business forward and implemented many different changes to grow Masonex Building. The unfolding success and regaining control of her business environment resulted in a great feeling of motivation for Julia.
“The most valuable part of the program for me was the coaching sessions, and learning about networking. We've got new designers on board, new clients on board, all from just networking with people within my industry.”
“It’s the best business decision I've made really. When you change the way you see your business, the way you perceive yourself within that business, it's priceless. It's been such a fantastic opportunity and I'm forever grateful for the opportunity to learn so much.”
About the PIVOT Program
In August 2020, the SBDC launched the PIVOT program to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Western Australian small businesses. Blow Your Own Mind, the SBDC’s delivery partner for the PIVOT program, helped develop the mentoring series to assist impacted small businesses build resilience, be future focused and grow their entrepreneurial mindset to allow them to make changes to their business model to help them survive and thrive.
Nearly 500 business owners from across Western Australia joined the free six month program, participating in live and on-demand webinars and workshops, dedicated one-on-one business coaching and networking to build collaborations and partnerships.
If you’d like to find out more about Masonex Building visit their website.
More information
Looking to expand your entrepreneurial mindset and grow your business resilience?
Read about making a personal development plan and why business owners need to embrace lifelong learning, and attend one of our small business workshops, which includes a number of interpersonal skills based topics.
