My name is Joshua Lamprell and I am the director of Invictus Roofing, based in the South East.
Not many people will know my background, but here we go:
I left school at the age of 13 without one single GCSE. At 17 I was a labourer for a local builder before meeting my now business partner, and I somehow convinced him to give me a job as a roofing labourer.
Within a year, I was roofing myself. Within a year I was subcontracting on my own.
After a while, we decided that starting a roofing company was probably a really good idea. This was not an easy feat with little to no knowledge of how to own and run a business. Nearly 6 years later and I still don’t have a clue. I say this in the best sense, as I find that, not knowing what tomorrow brings is what makes owning your own company a daily adventure.
Corona-virus was however a very unwelcome detour on said adventure. If I had to make an analogy of this I would say it was a bit like Indiana Jones being chased by the big ball.
Over the past year, SPRA members have been faced with unprecedented challenges and obstacles. We have navigated supply shortages and material price increases. We have had to organise office staff working from home and furlough. We have dealt with changes in HMRC legislation, VAT reforms and Brexit. We have had to implement new policies and procedures to adapt to the ever-evolving Corona-virus situation to keep our staff and clients safe. And we have had to do ALL of this whilst still providing the service we were providing before Corona-virus ever existed.
2020 was not an easy year for anyone, but we have certainly adapted. I would just like to offer my congratulations and support to all SPRA members for sailing some pretty rough seas this past year. SPRA did an excellent job of communicating advice and guidance to it’s members, which I certainly found very valuable and I hope you did too.
I have had the pleasure of being on the SPRA council for little over a year, and I am grateful for being a part of such a talented team that has a clear passion for the industry and is constantly providing fresh ideas and direction for the industry to expand.
Let’s all look forward to a better and brighter 2021. I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I certainly need a holiday!
Source SPRA/Josh Lamprell