Last week I ‘introduced’ you to Lara Murphy who, with co-founder Karen Ryan, started Calgary-based contracting firm Ryan Murphy Construction.
Their story fascinates and inspires me as someone especially interested in the Self Made Nation. I know that it takes grit, determination, dedication and resilience to create wealth and real riches. And I see example after example of entrepreneurs who stick it out through what can seem like insurmountable odds to build products and services that evolve into a money machine.
Lara and Karen are great examples of entrepreneurs that faced the odds and managed to thrive through adversity. They put in the work and had to get their hands (really) dirty before they reached the scale and success that earned them a place as the fastest-growing business in Calgary on the Profit 500 publication that comes out each year through Canadian Business.
You can listen to my interview with Lara on I’m a Millioniare! So Now What?.
This podcast is my opportunity to get up close and personal with the Self Made Nation; to showcase your stories, provide a platform to celebrate your successes, and give you a place to be unapologetically wealthy. No shame. No guilt. The Self Made Nation isn’t about retiring rich or at 55… but about following a passion and making an impact. That’s what gets the Self Made Nation up and moving each morning.
And sometimes – oftentimes – those mornings aren’t bright and sunny.
“We founded the business on September 24, 2008, and the financial crisis hit within a week after that. Karen and I had several large retail clients coming up from the United States into Canada. And all of those contracts disappeared overnight.”
Lara spoke about many times when she had to get the job done, no matter what it involved. Those moments often both test and confirm an entrepreneur’s dedication to their vision.
“We were the ones on site doing the work. Hauling out the demo, going to the dump. In retrospect, when we think about those times, even though they were so difficult, it allowed both Karen and I to really gain a better understanding of who we were. What our limits were and also just how invested we both were in making Ryan Murphy a success. There were multiple times where we both would just look at each other and say, what are we doing? There was one in particular where we had a maintenance contract for some restaurants and I’d lined up an individual to come and spray out the grease bin that they have in the parking lot. It was a very tight timeline and it was November. And he didn’t show up to do the job, so I had to go to RONA and buy a hazmat suit and a sprayer and get inside that bin. And, as a vegetarian, let me tell you -- it’s not a pleasant experience."
That’s the grit and determination I was talking about. If it was JUST about the money, moments like those would turn many people off entrepreneurship for good. It’s the vision and passion that keep people like Karen and Lara going.
“I will say, I’ve never worked harder in my life than the last three or four years. And you really have to be out there, to put yourself out there, every day and dig around to find out what’s going on as far as different projects or expansions. And who’s doing what within the market. For us, the real pleasure and honour is that we get to work with some of these same clients and designers and architects over and over and over again. And that, to me, is the best compliment for us as a team.”
Ryan Murphy Construction started with Lara and Karen. Now the team has grown to more than 10 members, with over 600 sub-contractors.
Of course, I asked Lara what she envisions for Ryan Murphy over the next few years, where she sees it heading, and her answer was simple – not that different from other entrepreneurs I’ve met: #worlddomination.
I love it!
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