Multi-Job business has Wolfe leading the pack

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Gordon Wolfe is a jack of all trades. So nothing suits him better than owning and operating a company like G.W. Enterprises. But Wolfe isn't content to just put the business on cruise control.

G.W. Enterprises, located on the Ermineskin Reserve in Hobbema, initially opened in April 1992 as a general contracting firm. Wolfe started the company with a small bank loan and before long one project was leading to another.

"We diversified a little bit at a time," explained Wolfe, a member of the Ermineskin First Nation. "We started with the general contracting side of things and when we were successful with that we moved on to other projects."

In 1995, Wolfe secured a $30,000 loan from the Aboriginal Business Development Program in order to continue expanding. G.W. Enterprises list of successful ventures to include general contracting, a used car business and body shop, residential house inspections and consulting, residential and commercial sewer and water installations and upgrades, project management and consulting, and oil leases and reclamation.

"I completed my journeyman plumbing and gas fitting in 1985," said the 36-year-old Wolfe. "Some of these other enterprises have been hobbies, like the body shop, for example, or they are things we have had to learn as we go along."

G.W. Enterprises currently has several large projects underway, including the main sewer and water for the Ermineskin First Nation's junior high school as well as a partial contract to do excavation and foundation work for Ermineskin's new 270 sq. meter women's shelter.

G.W. Enterprises and the four Nations (which include Samson, Louis Bull, Montana, and Ermineskin First Nations) also signed a deal with Esso for oil reclamation, which is the cleanup of gas pumps and stations that have closed.

According to Wolfe, residential housing work in the Hobbema area is also a big element of the business

While the business isn't exclusively targeted at Aboriginal communities, G.W. Enterprises is hoping to continue its expansion to other First Nation groups.

Wolfe's company averages between 21 to 25 full-time employees and he estimates that approximately 85 per cent of his staff are Aboriginal.

"As the company has expanded, we've been able to hire more employees," said Wolfe. "This company has been able to give a lot of Aboriginal people opportunities to work in a lot of different fields."

Aside from good work opportunities, the diversity at G.W. Enterprises has meant good business for Wolfe.

"When you've got one side of the business that's struggling, usually there is one or two that are really going well so it all evens out in the end. It means that there is usually less ups and downs to deal with."

Now that Wolfe has achieved what he set out to do, he admits he might be willing to take a backseat when it comes to running his own business.

"I wouldn't mind scaling back the business so that I can spend more time with my family. When you run your own business, there's very little personal time and it's hard to strike the right balance between work and family," he said. "I think it's a lot harder than most people imagine. I might even like to sell the business to my brothers and go work for somebody else just as a change of pace."

A change of pace doesn't scare Wolfe. He says it's all about reaching the goals he sets.

"Success is the goal you try to achieve and I think I have achieved success. My philosophy is that you can do anything as long as you put your mind to it.".