Ali takes charge and becomes his own boss

Shortly after finishing school Ali Roberts decided he wanted to choose when he and how he worked, so he started his own business – Roof Dog.

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Photo of Ali

Ali’s first job after finishing school was working for a roofing company. It was a job he really enjoyed and once he felt he had learned a lot from his experience, he took a chance and opened his own roofing business with the support of his local NEIS provider.

“I wanted to be my own boss, take chances, have a go, be successful in my venture and be in control of my work destiny.”

Undertaking small business training online was a challenge for Ali, as he learns best in practical, hands-on environments. But once he started the training, he developed a step-by-step business plan and gained a lot of confidence. Ali was also able to continue his part-time job while doing some of his training at home in his own time.

Over the last 7 months, Ali has significantly diversified his businesses to offer fire safety and gutter cleaning as well services cleaning up after the bush fires in the Adelaide Hills and cleaning solar panels. He has also found work by offering his services as a mentor under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

“Work is falling into place because of the foundations that I learnt through NEIS. This will continue to happen as I see all sorts of opportunities to grow while I am on the job.”

Ali believes that NEIS gave him the foundations to remain agile and identify new opportunities despite the poor economic outlook. Now that he’s meeting and exceeding his budgets regularly, Ali reflects: “I’m really happy that I did NEIS and would love to encourage other people to get out and have a go”.