Meet Rob Vertogen
An asset to North Canterbury
Growing up in Canterbury my parents owned fruit orchards, early on I had the value of hard work ingrained into me and learnt about the ups and downs of running a small business. At age 8 I was picking plums and selling them on the roadside, by age 9 I had my first job sweeping out the back of the fruit shop for $3.50 an hour.
Fast forward 15 years fresh out of university, armed with my degree in biological sciences, I started working as customer service and cleaner for Wilderness Motorhomes… not quite how I thought I would put it to use! The business was relatively new and this gave me the opportunity to grow with them, from an entry level role in a team of 6 to Operations Manager looking after a team of 50 in 10 years.
When the earthquakes struck I was living in the redzone in Travis Wetlands, I ended up living back with my parents and felt as though it was time for a change. I moved to Auckland midway through my tenure at Wilderness.
After a couple of years as General Manager for one of Auckland’s largest car dealerships; I noticed a gap in the market and started my own company in the automotive industry. It was paying the bills but it wasn’t fueling my passion.
In early 2020 our landlord approached myself and my two business partners with a vacant site for a restaurant, we loved to eat out and had always talked about running a bar… how hard could it be?
We came up with our concept, a Japanese Yakitori Hut. Fit out was underway, our menu had been designed, staff were on the payroll and then Covid hit. Everything ground to a halt. We were due to open April 1st but instead we sat in our homes and wondered if we had bitten off more than we could chew.
Fortunately, come the end of lockdown everyone was excited to get back out and the restaurant started to gain popularity but it was hard. We had poured a lot of time, energy and money into getting it up and going.
Just as life started to return to normal and we were feeling optimistic we put our house on the market, just in time for a second lockdown. The campaign was fraught with challenges, we couldn’t have open homes and the house was burgled. We went to auction but the outcome was disappointing. We had already moved into a rental and were deciding our next step, my wife wanted land, I wanted to be close to friends. Neither seemed achievable as prices skyrocketed way out of our reach.
My wife’s second favourite pastime after riding her horses was looking at horse properties on TradeMe, having us thinking ‘hopefully one day’. Then, one day arrived! She came tearing into the bedroom to show me a property and I thought oh here we go, how far out of our budget is this one? She showed me the pictures and told me the valuation, followed up with ‘It’s in Eyrewell Forest’.
Moving back to Canterbury was not even on the radar but suddenly it was the clearest path forward. I called my parents and they drove out to see it the following day. Their feedback was it is perfect! We flew down, viewed it, put our offer in and on my birthday received the call that the property is ours.
Now, a year on as the sun comes up on 2022 I sit on my deck filled with gratitude looking out at the horses peacefully grazing, my wife and my newborn by my side. I’ve started a business that gives me the freedom to enjoy these moments and help other business owners realise their dreams, be they professional or personal.
Funny how life takes you full circle, the earthquakes moved me out of Canterbury and the pandemic brought me back.
Cheers to a happy, healthy (and normal!) 2022.
Written by Rob Vertogen
