Shelley Lisson says she could construct a cabinet faster than the employees who left the company when she took over in 2002.
By Shaun Inguanzo
SHELLEY Lisson has taken on a man’s world and won in her rise from fitness instructor to owner of a Dandenong cabinet making business that turns over $2 million a year.
Ms Lisson, 50, also works on the shop floor of her company, Precision Joinery Makers, and says she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
The business builds kitchen, bathroom and general household or commercial premises cabinets for a variety of clients.
In 2002, Ms Lisson, a fitness instructor and payroll expert, was invited by the then owner of the company to inspect his books.
After discovering the company was in the red, Ms Lisson saw its potential and put her house on the line to invest in turning the company around.
While she took a backseat role for 2002 as she continued other work, Ms Lisson found she needed to focus on cabinet making if she was to transform the business into a profitable one.
“I was soon out on the site with the guys in the factory,” Ms Lisson said.
“That’s when I discovered they (the employees) were doing nothing.”
The other hurdle she faced was having men follow orders from someone who was inexperienced, and a woman in what is male-dominated industry.
But Ms Lisson worked at the factory on weekends and soon discovered that with little knowhow, she could build a cabinet faster than her skilled employees.
After tightening the reins on her staff to increase their efficiency, Ms Lisson said the four of them left the business.
“I showed the guys what I could do and they were a bit shocked,” she said. “They just left because they became disgruntled, and said they had had enough.
“So I started interviewing new people and told them this was what I wanted and what I needed them to do.”
Her staffing has now increased to 13 employees, with Ms Lisson badly needing more in order to grow the business.
But the challenge, she says, is finding skilled employees, and unearthing young, unskilled people who are willing to learn.
“I am taking on apprentices, but it is difficult in dealing with them because I come across as a mother figure,” she said.
“I speak to them exactly the same way I would a 36-year-old fellow, but because they are aged between 16 and 18 they look at me as though I am a mum nagging them.”
Ms Lisson is a self-confessed workaholic and said she hadn’t reflected on her success until a recent Showcasing Women in Business breakfast hosted by South East Networks in Greater Dandenong, where she was a panel member.
The event was co-facilitated by Westpac, which chose some of its successful women clients to share their stories and inspire other business women in the region.
“For the first time I actually stopped to think about what I have done,” Ms Lisson said.
“I have run my life in the fast lane for so long and have never stopped to think about what I have achieved here.”
The way forward for Precision Joinery Makers and Shelley Lisson is clear, but it is also lined with hurdles.
Among those is growing the business.
Ms Lisson said due to a skills shortage she didn’t have the number of qualified staff she needed to expand beyond the company’s current workload.
“One day I’d like to wear fewer hats than what I am currently wearing and focus on growing the business,” she said. “But it seems like mission impossible at the moment.”
However, there is little doubt that Ms Lisson will find a solution.
She is, after all, a pioneer for women in manufacturing.
