Julie Patterson is the owner-operator of Julie Patterson Finishing Carpentry, located in Kelowna. Twelve and a half years after starting her career as a labourer, she is operating her own successful business.
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Following in her mother’s footsteps of running her own business and a desire to work in an industry where she could see the results of her work at the end of each day, Patterson has found her niche in finishing carpentry.
“Being able to have a hard days work and see what came from it, rather than staring at a pile of papers—I just never wanted to do that,” Patterson said. “It was a natural progression for me [to enter the construction industry].”
Patterson’s early years in construction saw her testing the water in a number of different disciplines. Those experiences helped her narrow down her trade of interest and veer away from areas of the construction industry that were less desirable to her.
“The first year that I was in construction I did foundation work, roofing, framing drywall and I quickly realized all the things that I did not want to do,” she added. “As soon as I got into the finishing aspect of it, I don’t know what it was, I just enjoyed it…I felt like the longevity of that career was going to be better for me. A couple of painter friends gave me some numbers of some finishers and I ran with it.”
Patterson’s work speaks for itself, with a steady stream of requests for her services through word of mouth, she hasn’t had to advertise her business. After completing the largest scale project she’s ever worked on, Patterson would like to expand her business, even if just slightly.
“It would just be nice to grow my business a bit…have have a couple people working for me.”
You can view Skills Ready Career Catalyst Dave Lovisa’s full interview with Julie Patterson by clicking HERE.
