With so much media attention paid to new start-ups with young founders, it can be easy to lose sight of the value that years of work experience add to a business venture. That’s why business partners Christopher Mitra, Grant Schaeffer and Mike Waithe have no problem speaking to the 60+ years of experience they bring to their company, Western Industrial Solutions.

The three co-founders were friends and co-workers at the same organization when government layoffs put them all out of work. With that, they decided to take their futures into their own hands and started Western Industrial Solutions in early 2012, which focuses on simplifying safety procedures to save people’s lives, and at the same time, save companies time and money.

Spotting an Opportunity

Mike had decades of experience in the resource sector and knew first-hand what was involved in filling out the reams of safety paperwork that companies and regulatory agencies require on the worksite. In his past role as a company safety officer he was also responsible for managing the piles of completed paperwork. He knew that there must be a better way – a process that could simplify the documentation and better support safety on the worksite.

“Many of these companies are swamped daily with a litany of safety paperwork that must be completed by staff,” says Chris. “In most cases, it’s poorly done, if at all, and considered more of a hindrance than helpful.”

So upon starting their business the three began development of TaskSafe, a hardware and software product designed to help companies with their front-line safety paperwork. Used predominantly by resource-based companies in the forestry, mining and petroleum industries, TaskSafe intends to help users better manage their safety documents in order to create a safer work environment.

Local Resources, Global Ambitions

Western Industrial Solutions’ head office is located in Kamloops, and Chris, Grant and Mike made sure they took full advantage of all of the local business resources available to them. They credit a lot of their success to the support they received from Venture Kamloops and the Kamloops Innovation Centre. They also made use of the Interior Science Innovation Council and Mastermind Studios. Of course, they also relied heavily on the support and inspiration of their families as they got their business off the ground.

That initial support combined with decades of experience under their belts has made for a winning combination. “We have worked in large organizations and we are able to see what works and what doesn’t,” says Chris. “We understand that having a business is not all about the ‘bottom line’ but also about the people and the community that you work in.”

And with their community in mind, the three have ambitions for Western Industrial Solutions to grow their sales throughout North America, and in turn become a major employer in the Kamloops region, as well as a model for successful entrepreneurism.

Winning Over Customers (and Winning Accolades)

Chris, Grant and Mike are computer geeks at heart, but they quickly learned how important it is to be able to effectively sell your business concept and products to potential customers.

“We knew that we had an amazing product that solved a huge problem, but we didn’t realize how hard it was going to be to convince potential clients of the benefits. Everyone we talked to believes in the product, but that doesn’t mean they are going to buy it,” says Chris.

Learning how to effectively pitch their business concept has paid off in more ways than one, as they recently won the Best Concept category at the 2013 Successful You Awards. “The Successful You Awards provided our company with a mountain of incredible press, but more importantly, it really helped us believe in our own product,” says Chris. “We knew it was good, but the award showed us that others believe in us too. Confidence is your biggest asset as an entrepreneur.”

Final Reflections

When asked what advice Chris would give to aspiring entrepreneurs, he highlighted the connection between risk-taking, mistake-making, and growing your business: “Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. We’ve made our share and I’m sure we’ll continue to make more, but it’s almost guaranteed that the more mistakes you make, the more successful your business will be. If you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t taking risks.”