Spray Fever!

Deni Shmeissem started his own body repair business, Spray Fever Refinishes, just two years ago and already he employs six people, including two apprentices. His shop has quadrupled in size over this period and business is good. Oh and he's only 23 years old.
Deni Shmeissem is a man on a mission. Just over one year out of his apprenticeship and he already owns his own workshop, leases another across the road and employs six panel beaters and spray painters. Next year he wants to open up a used car lot behind his father's service station and within two years he aims to own a purpose-built 600 sq m freestanding workshop.
The Campbelltown, NSW-based businessman's commitment to his work is commendable; while still a TAFE student, he ran his own small workshop out of hours, working anything as late as 2 am, worked during the day as an apprentice and even took on extra work at the local Pizza Hut to make ends meet. His rewards are his own thriving business, a large haul of Workskills and TAFE awards and a happy and productive workforce. He is the first to admit however that it could have all been so very different.
Deni started out in 1995 doing a pre-apprenticeship at Wetherill Park TAFE, Sydney. He had been working on his own vehicles and those of friends and acquaintances for several years as a hobby and had heard the pre-apprenticeship was an easy way into the industry. "I was lazy and always being a jerk," he admits. Luckily for Deni, the teacher of the course, Steve Crompton, told Deni that he was too good for the course and within weeks had found him an apprenticeship with Regatta Motorbody Repairs in Canada Bay, Sydney.
Deni remained at Regatta into his second year apprenticeship as the head painter but he already wanted more. He entered the regional Workskills Australia competition in 1997 and won the vehicle spray painting section. Immediately afterwards he was offered a job by CNR Advanced Smash Repairs in Yennora, NSW. The two brothers who own CNR -- Romeo and Camille Nader encouraged Deni to enter further Workskills competitions, and in 1998 Deni won the New South Wales spray painting award.
At the age of 21 Deni left his Minto Heights family home and set up on his own. With five months to go of his apprenticeship he needed somewhere to work on his cars -- not now being able to use his parents' property. He leased a small workshop in Campbelltown and worked on cars in his spare time. With just two months left of his apprenticeship he gained early release and went to work for himself full-time.
In August 1999 Deni took on his first employee -- 32 year-old panel beater Ron. At this time Deni was still working at Pizza Hut and doing bar work two nights a week to pay the bills. By September he had moved to new premises in the same small business unit complex -- doubling the size of his work space overnight.
From then on he worked to improve the business, taking on smash repair jobs as well as specialist painting work. He expanded into bodywork modifications and now specialises in sports cars. He took on jobs that other shops turned down. "We cater for all walks of life, regardless of status. We have always looked after young people and pensioners as well," says Deni.
In 1999 Deni won through to the National Workskills competition, that year held in Melbourne. Although under a lot of pressure -- he had to leave the business in the hands of a friend for a week and while all the other competitors were sponsored by their employers, Deni was supporting himself -- he still came runner-up in the vehicle spray painting section.
Just one year and two months after completing his own apprenticeship, Deni hired two apprentices of his own -- Abdul and Robert. The business now has six employees not including Deni and in July 2000 he purchased another business unit in the same complex.
Deni financed the expansion through cashflow from the business, preferring to expand slowly but without the debt risk which naturally occurs from loans. "I'm a tortoise not a hare," he says, "but tortoises always get there in the end."
Deni is now "fully set up" in his business, having just installed his won office in the new unit. His intention is to pay off the purchase of the workshop and then buy a block of land and build a freestanding, purpose-built workshop. "I want to be able to design the place the way I want to work, I'd like a 500 or 600 sq m unit with offices upstairs and a state-of-the-art workshop. I hope to be able to do this within two years," he says.
His business, the entertainingly-named Spray Fever (he wanted to call it Spray Tech but the name is already taken by a Melbourne company) projects a young image and is already well-established in the Campbelltown area. "Since we opened I haven't looked back. We have a lot of fun at work, my boys love coming to work and I try and do right by them. If they want time off, they get it, providing the work is done."
Deni is encouraging his two apprentices to enter the Workskills competition next year and has already started preparing them. He says keenness is the thing he looks for in an employee and he tries to "brainwash" his workforce into believing what he believes -- "You don't have to just do the job, you have to be the best at it". Deni says he wants his apprentices to be better than he was and to that end is training them in all aspects of the trade. Within one year of their apprenticeships both my panel beater and my spray painter can start and finish small jobs by themselves. They make you money if you train them properly instead of just getting them to push a broom."
Deni says the TAFE apprenticeship system he went through was excellent and he praises his Wetherill Park teacher. "Steve Crompton really helped me out, I can't speak more highly of him if I tried." He thinks the new system in New South Wales, where students are given the whole three-year syllabus at the beginning of the course, is open to criticism however. "It is designed to allow people to go at their own pace but it means that a lot of people treat it as one big holiday." Deni has been insistent that his apprentices work hard, even helping his panel beater take the course by correspondence for five weeks while recovering from a broken leg. "By the end of his five weeks he was ahead of the rest of the class because they hadn't been pushed to do the work."
Despite misgivings over the current system, Deni believes TAFE gives students a good grounding for the workplace. "You don't learn everything at work. At TAFE you learn how to do things properly, you also learn important modules such as small business management, customer relations, first aid and most importantly; workshop safety."
Deni came top in his region three years running and believes the TAFE system helped him motivate himself into setting up his own business. He obviously has enthusiasm for the job: "I know I'm good at it," he says simply. "I thrive on customer satisfaction. It's a great ego boost to me if the customer is satisfied. This business is talked about around here, not just because I'm young, but because we are making a name for ourselves in a tough industry."
Although Deni is obviously very motivated, he admits he wouldn't be where he is today without the help and support of others. "Me and five mates went down to Wagga Wagga and dismantled a spray booth in a big bodyshop and took it back here and re-erected it. It was a big job and I couldn't have done it without help. It's been the same all along with my business -- one hand don't clap."
Established businesses would do well to take note of Deni's enthusiasm and professionalism, however the young businessman is also a role model for apprentices and employers throughout Australia. Look at what Deni and others like him have achieved, through their own endeavour and the support of educators and employers. Stories such as Deni's prove it is truly worthwhile spending time and resources in supporting young people in this industry.