20 years ago this month, my wife Fiona and I started National Technical Services. As we celebrate this milestone, I thought I would take the time to share some of that journey with you.

I had been a shareholder in 2 other contracting businesses when Fiona and I decided that the time was right for us to launch out and see if we could make it on our own. We had a young family, and we wanted the flexibility to attend significant events and to be around for our girls before and after school ­– the kind of flexibility only a business with a home office could afford. So in 1999, with a couple of desks setup in our lounge room, NTS was born.

One challenge all business owners face in those early days is building a customer base, and for us it was no different. Fortunately, by our second year, a company I had worked for in Victoria contracted NTS to deliver a large, statewide security rollout. Eventually, people I had helped before in previous roles started approaching me, asking if I could help them again. Slowly but surely, we built up a solid base of customers who kept coming back.

Slowly but surely as well, NTS was growing. For the first few years we relied on trusted sub-contractors and casual employees, but over time we became able to employee people full-time.

We had converted our garage into an office and storage space, which helped us accommodate this growth. It was when our garage-office expanded back into the lounge room that we knew it was time to find a commercial building. Fiona and I did this with mixed feelings, as it meant we wouldn’t be home in the afternoons for our two youngest daughters who were still in school. It did mean, however, that we could have our house back, for the first time in over 10 years. It also meant that NTS now had ample room to grow ­– which it did.

However, no worthwhile journey comes without its challenges, and this was no different for us. After several years of steady, promising growth, NTS hit a bit of a slump. Due to a decline in demand, we experienced several years of contraction. We’re all familiar with being faced with challenges in life, but perhaps the most trying challenges are those that seem to be beyond our control. All we can do in those times is strive our hardest to do what we can and trust that is enough.

And strive we did. In late 2016, NTS was awarded a large, two-year contract with a new customer. Since then, we have almost doubled in size, and are hoping to grow further still.

When Fiona and I began this journey all those years ago, we only had one goal in mind: to provide for our family. We never imagined that 20 years on we would be in a position to not only provide employment and opportunities to our own family, but also to other people and their families. In this, we feel truly privileged.

It has been an incredible journey, and we would not be where we are today without the invaluable contributions of so many people, particularly our dedicated Team and their families who support them. Nor would we be here without our valued customers who invest their trust in us and continually provide us with opportunities.

Thank you all for the last 20 years, and here’s to many more.