Jake and Luke Waghorn, owners of Waghorn Builders, Oxford, North Canterbury
Identical twins Jake and Luke Waghorn “didn’t have two stones to rub together” as kids.
At 19, the boys from Oxford, North Canterbury, were building steel-framed sheds when uncle Steve offered them another job.
It was not long after February 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Steve had become one of 25 contractors to the Fletcher EQR rebuild programme, opening a door to buckets of work.
Luke and Jake didn’t see the opportunity at first.
They were making $25 an hour on sheds and felt like they had cracked it.
But their boss started having trouble paying staff; Steve was persistent and he convinced his nephews to join him.
At about this time Steve decided to take his wife on a month-long trip to Scotland as an anniversary present and the lads were asked to take care of Steve’s first EQR job.
They had Steve’s truck and tools – but little else.
Jake and Luke needed to go to a local Mitre 10 to set up a trade account. The lads had come from a “grafting” background, raised by their dad, Rob. Proving credit-worthiness was tricky.
After getting an account they had a month of cashflow – a buffer to buy building materials. Their first rebuild job paid $17,000 and it allowed them to pay for those materials and put $10,000 toward their first work vehicle – a Ford Ranger that’s now the mainstay of their fleet.
Five years later, as Waghorn Builders, they turn over about $1 million a month and employ 75 staff. They have done more than 500 earthquake repairs and about 1000 jobs in all.
They hear the stories suggesting they must had a big bank loan or family handout to get started.
The truth. they say, is they never borrowed a cent.
“Coming from a humble background, the work ethic was endless,” Luke says.
They also know people look at them as fun-loving, hard-partying 24-year-olds and wonder how they have been able to run a fast-growing business.
For the first three years the Fletcher EQR programme gave them strong cashflow. They could put in invoices and be paid the next week.
This allowed them to take on staff and keep spending in other areas, like vehicles and marketing.
People-wise, one of their best moves was bringing in a former competitor, Chris Watson. It allowed the Waghorns to put down their tools and plan future work. It also made them aware they were responsible for other people’s livelihoods, especially mortgages.
As the earthquake rebuild took off, Luke and Jake decided they needed to stand out from the thousands of contractors that had flocked to Christchurch.
People noticed the number of Rangers they had on the road. Luke says it was a case of knowing they would be judged, like a book by its cover.
“Someone that’s going to come and repair your house; do you turn up in a spray-painted, mat black, panelbeated Hiace with ‘Quality Builder’ on the side of it, or do you want to see a $50,000 Ranger roll up, looking professional?”, Luke says.
For the record, they do have Toyota Hiace of their own, plus five Ford XR8 utes.
Jake says people assume they are a couple of guys living beyond their means. Or people assume they have loads of free cash.
“I think it’s that green envy, or jealousy, saying the guys are rolling round and rich,” he says.
In fact, the twins still “live on the smell of an oily rag”, putting everything back into the business. In the community they sponsor Oxford cricket, equestrian events, V8 SuperTourers and speed racing.
Luke says they know what it’s like to struggle and they never take anything for granted.
“It’s hope for the best and expect the worst.”
They want to be known as good business owners who know what it’s like to have a boss. They use the word “humble” regularly.
Running a company has given them some sleepless nights of worry, wondering if the job was getting too big.
Late last year they took advice from a handful of trusted advisers who urged them to consolidate and keep tighter control of their workload.
But they are still active, and spending in areas like radio advertising. Last week they skimmed some publicity when their project manager Benji Oppan won a radio competition for the country’s “Strongest Tradie.”
Their marketing is usually more direct.
They spent $20,000 on a stand at this month’s Canterbury Home Show and came away feeling like they had enough job leads for two years’ work.
Away from work Luke and Jake make sure they have time for cricket, rugby and motorsport, plus their respective partners, Emily and Becs. Emily doubles as office manager at their Christchurch base in Belfast.
The boom of the residential rebuild may be tailing off but Luke says they now feel they “have their head in the game”, ready to take Waghorn Builders further.