On the 22nd of January 2016 it is 1 year since we incorporated 3E Advantage Pty Limited. I thought it was a good time to reflect on the year that has past and the exciting times ahead for us here at 3E Advantage.
For those that don’t know the back story, I was fortunate enough to run my own company for 20 years from 1992-2012 alongside my father Pat. I was surrounded by a great team and a culture that was the envy of many. That company was Alliance Equipment Finance. When Pat decided to retire we decided it was a good time to look to sell the business to enable Alliance to go to the next level. Alliance was sold to an international bank and the team and I transitioned across. The business was again sold in 2014 at which time I took the opportunity to leave and spend some quality time with my family and reflect on life.
It was during that time of reflection that I realised I loved the industry I had worked in most of my life and needed to get back into the game. My wife Lucy said that she always knew I would. So I started talking with a good friend of mine Brian Swan who had mentioned he had always had a desire to get into business for himself. So after many philosophical discussions over an amber ale or two we decided there was a great opportunity to build a client focused asset finance business across Australasia. We both had a passion for this industry and to create something special that had our partners and clients at the forefront of everything we did. To be successful though you need to build an excellent team. So we set up the company in January 2015 and went about planning for the team we needed to build to deliver the excellent client experience we knew we could deliver.
Over the coming months we were very fortunate to build the foundations of the team we knew had a passion for client service and delivering above and beyond. We were excited to be joined by the other two owners, Craig Birchall and Craig Thompson and also Shantell Bauer, Anthony Martin and Brenda Gerasimou who all come with an ownership mentality and will be treated as such. That type of thinking is what we want our entire team to have as we build. We also were in the fortunate position of having no legacy systems or processes. This enabled us to plan what we wanted from the ground up without having to worry about data migration and the usual legacy issues of a long established business but could bring all our previous experience to the table. We have since built out robust processes and have invested heavily in IT and systems to enable the customer experience we want to deliver. A lot of work but very fulfilling.
During this year we have built a solid panel of funding partners and we are very thankful for their support and belief in the business we are building. We have partnered with a number of very high quality business equipment vendors and clientele. The support of all of these people is greatly appreciated and we don’t have a business without them. We look forward to building on these relationships and exceeding their expectations.
We have also been able to create a number of innovative products in the Managed Print Services and Managed Service space. 100% Software and Services funding being an area that is gaining great traction. We are looking forward to challenging the status quo and assisting our partners and clients build their businesses to greater success.
Whilst initially it is a smaller team than we have been used to, it is an incredibly high calibre team. People that are a joy to come into work with every day as they all share the passion for delivering client service excellence. We challenge each other, support each other but most of all trust each other. This is without doubt the foundation we can build the best culture from. As we build our business we will bring in both experience and also new talent. We want to hire for attitude and train for skills. I can’t wait for the next 20 years where I can look back with extreme satisfaction at the business we have all built, the team I am lucky to work with and the relationships we have built with our funding partners, vendor partners and clients.
Thanks to all those who have supported us so far. I look forward to sharing an exciting and mutually beneficial journey with all of you for many years to come. Our first birthday but the first of many.
So to the 3E team, Brenda, Shantell, Anthony, both Craig’s and Brian
Happy Birthday 3E.
Ch3Ers
Author – Peter MacMillan