ALUMNI ACCOLADES MARCH

Meet John Hamrin

John Hamrin is a multi-faceted construction professional, experienced as a trades person in residential, commercial, and industrial settings. Having experience in all three sectors gives him a comprehensive knowledge of all project phases. John found out about Sunshine Enterprises through his sister-in-law. Someone forwarded the flyer for the first ever construction cohort and she thought about him - he enrolled in the Community Business Academy in 2018. When looking back at the CBA curriculum, he found the classes based on organization and accounting were the most valuable. John explains, “In construction, time is literally money so being unorganized could kill your business. Learning how to delegate was very important as well. And then knowing how to handle and process the accounting of the business is paramount. Knowing the difference between revenue and profit and setting up the accounts to separate funds for operating expenses and taxes is important. Having this knowledge definitely helped me run a successful business.”

After he graduated from the CBA, John took advantage of Sunshine’s Access to Capital program and obtained capital from CIBC. He was able to attain funding to help with operating expenses and tool purchases. Overall, John’s experience with Sunshine has been very beneficial. He had trouble seeing the big picture of what he was doing career-wise. Our CBA gave him an understanding of all the aspects of doing business and provided the resources to tap into to succeed.

John’s advice to other rising entrepreneurs:
“Get laser focused on what you want to do. Learn everything you can about the sector and what it takes to do business in that sector. Things like licensing, insurance, and demographic information can set your business apart from the others. That information can also give you a straight path on how to pursue your clientele.”