Business of the month: YorLan Property

Mark Rodwell of YorLan Property has honed his building skills, acquired over some 30 years in the industry, to lead his company to the forefront of the competition in both the commercial and private sector.

Working closely with clients, architects and local authorities, YorLan ensure all work is completed to the highest of standards and their customers are not just satisfied – they’re delighted with their choice of professional builders.

Mark, has your business always been based in this area?
I started YorLan Property when I lived in Breighton. I’ve been in this area for twenty years now; we also operate across the whole of Yorkshire, and sometimes Lancashire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

Tell us about your industry training?
I started as an apprentice bricklayer in 1983, and have since taken further courses for various machinery, tools and specialised equipment. I have recently passed the PTLLS (Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector) course at college, which will prove useful should I take on an apprentice myself.

Tell us a little about YorLan Property?
We undertake every job as if we were working on our own home. All our tradesmen are qualified, time-served, conscientious craftsmen. We’re fully aware of the trust a customer has by letting builders into their home, and like to know that our customers are confident that we will respect their home, possessions and garden throughout the whole process. Although it may be our building site, it’s still somebody’s home…

How do you find the local area from a business perspective?
There are still people who want quality work doing, and are prepared to pay a fair price for that; there are also people continually looking for the ‘cheapest quote’, despite the many TV programs showing that this is not the best policy. We have been VERY busy for the last two years and have work booked for many months to come.

Looking ahead, what does the future hold for YorLan?
As long as we maintain our current stability, we’ll be happy. We’re not selling a product, we’re selling a service and like to think that it’s to a high level. Most of our work is from ‘word of mouth’ and people are prepared to wait for us to undertake work for them. Building work is much more than the finished product. We ensure that disruption and mess is kept to a minimum and we involve the customer every step of the way.

Lastly, what are the main benefits you find to advertising in our magazines?
It’s very useful to us. It gets our name out to new customers; which, in turn, expands by ‘word of mouth’. Building work is not continuous – once we’ve built an extension, the customer doesn’t usually want another in six months. Therefore getting our name and reputation out to as many people as possible is vitally important. These magazines are a much more efficient way to advertise than newspapers, as people tend to hold on to them for future use.