Branching out and starting your own trades business can be daunting, but for Pedram Ghassemi, he knew that having the support of a reliable business bank would help set him up for success when he made the leap to business owner.
Pedram owns and runs South Eastern Electrical Solutions, an electrical hardware and security installation business based on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. He worked for a large private electrical company in Western Australia for many years, but when the time came to settle down with his family, he packed up and made the move back to his hometown of Melbourne and started his own electrician business in 2015.
“I trained in a dual trade as an electrician and an instrumentation technician – so basically, I test, calibrate, install and inspect equipment and monitoring devices – all the nerdy stuff. When I moved back to Melbourne, I thought I could put my specialist skills to work on smaller, commercial and residential jobs, and I’ve successfully started and grown my business off the back of that,” Pedram says.
“Nowadays, it’s myself and my apprentice, and we work mainly in commercial electrical fit outs - anything from small corner stores to large scale shopping centres, plus I also dabble in some residential work, whether that’s house alarms, or cabling in new builds. There’s definitely a lot of variety to keep us busy, and we subcontract out when we have really busy periods and need to manage workflow.”
A reliable partner you know has your back
Pedram says he chose to work with CommBank because he could see they were really focused on supporting business, and it didn’t matter if you were a large corporate, or a small business like his.
“They made it simple for my business to bank with them, and gave me a good sense that they’d have my back, through not only the bankers, but also the products, tools and advice they offer to trades businesses.”
“We had an issue recently when one of our merchant terminals (EFTPOS machines) went down, and I called CommBank at 6.30pm at night, not expecting a replacement to be ready for a few days, but they delivered it to us onsite the next morning at 9am,” Pedram says.
“The fact they went out of their way to get it to us at one of our job sites, and the speed of getting it delivered, meant we didn’t have to face any business disruption and could just keep working through our jobs. As a business owner, that speaks volumes to me.”
Support for your business, no matter your size
During Covid, Pedram says his business did well to manage their cashflow and come out the other side unscathed, but it was one phone call at the start of lockdown from CommBank that really stood out for him.
“Our banker called me up to see how the business was doing, and to let me know they had facilities and support available for small businesses that might be impacted by loss of income or work. They pretty much said to me, we’ve got you covered, and we can help you with an overdraft quickly if you need.
“We’re not a big business, we’re just a small fish in a big pond, but CommBank took the time to call me, and make sure we were okay,” Pedram says.
“For a trades business like mine, having a bank that is reliable, speedy and most importantly you know they care and have your back through the ups and downs, is critical to our continued success.”
Looking for a banking partner who knows tradies?
We know tradies need a banking partner who knows your business and has your back. Request a call back from our Australian-based business support team or call 13 1998, available 24/7.
