'I’m a hands-on type of owner'
Baxter passionate about community, hockey
When running your own business, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into making it work - and Graham Baxter of Baxter Construction Group has demonstrated he was more than up for the challenge.
The Cambridge resident has run his own company since he was 24 years old.
It all started when his employer retired, prompting Baxter to start his own plumbing company as a way to support his family.
“The opportunity came up. The company I was working for shut down, he retired, so I decided to go on with that at the time,” said Baxter.
His franchise originally started with plumbing and heating. He then moved into sheet metal, ventilation, electrical, welding, and then finally refrigeration.
Baxter decided to venture into all of these areas because they complement each other in one way or another.
“They support one another … the big jobs, now we can go in and do all or nothing … one business supports the other, you don’t have to depend on contractors,” said Baxter.
For Baxter, owning six different businesses can be a lot of work.
“I'm a hands-on type of owner and involved with the day-to-day operations of all of them,” said Baxter.
He also decides on jobs, final pricing, oversees every job, and everything in between.
The business also does its own training.
“We train a lot of our own people,” said Baxter. “Bring them in right from the community and train them in the trades.”
He now has 70 to 100 employees at any time and serves mainland Nova Scotia.
Baxter has always been a hockey fan, and his family is also a very sports-oriented household, so it was not a surprise to anyone when he got involved with the Valley Wildcats.
In 2010, Baxter became president of the Wildcats major bantam team - now known as the U15 Wildcats - and in 2011, he added the major midget team - now the U18 Wildcats - to his roster.
In 2013, Baxter secured a third team when he purchased Halifax Shipbuilders and moved them to the Valley, rebranding them as the Junior A Valley Wildcats.
“These are elite hockey teams,” said Baxter. “A lot of players above midget level would leave home to play on teams. But, now, local boys can stay home to play at an elite level and sleep in their own beds.”
The teams have done well over the years; for example, the U15 team went to the Telus Cup to compete at the national level and have won some provincial championships.
For Baxter, it’s simply about bringing hockey to the community.
“(It) provides a high level of hockey for local talent,” he said. Go online: http://baxtergroup.ca/ https://www.valleywildcats.ca/