Get To Know Our Owner

Dear Friends,

It is easy to envy the individuals who had a dream when they were 13 that they would become a teacher, a lawyer, a nuclear physicist or a farmer and actually reached this career goal. For the rest of us it was pretty much winging it until something stuck. Personally, I was finishing my business degree at SFU and still had no real clue where to go from there. I essentially stumbled into the investment industry. I was 22, looked about 16, but some how managed to get hired by Wood Gundy and shipped off to Toronto for 6 months of training. As challenging as the job was, it was an invaluable learning experience.

After 4 years of demanding market conditions, it was time to look for somewhat of a less intense path. As fate would have it, I met a friend of a friend at a social event and we got chatting about work. He was extremely charismatic and quickly said “you should come work for me”! This was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. This started stage two of my unplanned career path – a transition from the intangible world of investments to the tangible world of furniture. Here I am 32 years later.

The one thought I’ve always had is that I would be in an ownership position one day.

In 2012, after I had worked at Brooks Corning for 4 years, the owner expressed interest in selling the company; my lifelong goal was coming into fruition.

Buying a business – sure no problem, it’s just math. I am quite confident that anyone who has ever been involved in the purchase of a business would laugh at that statement!

The process becomes like another fulltime occupation, full of unpredictable events and interpretations. I would like to take this time to thank an incredibly experienced advisor, who ultimately became a partner. He is a large reason why we’ve made Brooks Corning the success it is today.

So now what do we have? Well the term I like is “a 104 year old start up”. The legacy of a company that has been providing goods and services for a long time, now being infused with the attitude of a start up. That “start up” attitude perpetuates a multitude of needs. Need for a better website. Need of social media profiles. Need to refine processes and procedures. Need of faster operating systems. Need to hire more great people.

I strongly believe that the people are what make a successful company. We have had some employees leave for one reason or another, which is always hard, and we have attracted some outstanding people as well. We have been fortunate to add someone from the music/events world, someone from the frenetic clothing industry, and someone who was the CEO of an energy business. Could those paths possibly be any more different? With new people comes new knowledge, new ideas and new perspectives. One thing is constant, and that is our company is always evolving. Being open to change is one of the most important characteristics people can have no matter what kind of workspace they’re in.

Every step is an adventure and I’ll be the first to admit that there are challenging moments; however, I wouldn’t change it for anything. We are having lots of laughs, keeping our pulse on new ideas, and learning lots along the way. Seeing the family we have created here is just awesome.

Don’t be a stranger,

Bob Ross