Dave and Dee Byatt started Monaro Screens in 1994 with nothing but the tools in their shed and a dream to deliver premium products and superior service. From their first factory in Queanbeyan with four staff, the Byatt family business now employs more than 25 locals across two large premises in Fyshwick. Having grown up around the business, their son Ben (one of three boys) took over the reins in early 2022.
What made you want to start or join a family business?
Ben: Joining a family business was never an easy decision … we were always told to follow our passion and dreams no matter what they were.
Growing up around the business, I saw the hard work, long days and nights, and the stress business had on Mum and Dad; some would think this would be enough to scare us kids away from even considering being involved in the family business.
However, after getting involved in the customer service side, I started to realise how rewarding this business could be, with both satisfied customers and staff, and really started to enjoy my long journey to becoming one of the owners of the business.
Being able to control customers’ and staff members’ experience and expectations of Monaro Screens can be extremely challenging but even more rewarding and these are the things that make being in business all worth it.
What values guide your family business?
From the moment Dave and Dee started this business, we’ve held and operated with the same values to this day.
Customer service is a key value to our company – simply showing up when we say we’ll show up, producing a quality product, cleaning up after ourselves, and some simple after sales service – which makes us stand out from the crowd.
Dave and Dee started Monaro Screens ensuring they treated their staff and customers how they would want to be treated, another simple thing we still do to this day.
We have always been firm believers that without customers and staff, our business simply does not exist, which Is why we’ll often go the extra mile for customers, and in particular, our hard-working team.
We often chuckle when people are blown away by our customer service, which to us seems quite simple, but we’re continuously reminded that it’s a dying factor in our industry.
Same with our staff, we’re chuffed when people experience our management and culture and are shocked at it as they simply did not receive the same treatment at previous roles.
What unique advantages do you feel a family business brings?
The Canberra community is so incredibly supportive of local and family business as they know that money will circulate back into their own community.
I think people genuinely see the difference when a business is family owned and operated as it shows in their staff and work, and we genuinely want to assist the community and leave people’s homes with our clients feeling good about choosing us from the range of options they have.
Without our extremely supportive community we would not be as big as we are today, especially during the Covid debacle where all family businesses desperately relied on our community to choose local to keep us afloat.
How do you balance family relationships with business decisions?
Since getting involved in Monaro Screens and even more as I moved into management, I’ve had a strict rule of keeping work at work, and family at home – something Mum and Dad were very supportive of.
During my early years at Monaro I was still living at home, which became incredibly difficult at times … however, we stuck to the rule and we really made it work quite well which probably brought us closer together.
People are often shocked I call Mum and Dad ‘Dee and Dave’ when at work as if I’m insulting them, but it’s a respect thing; respecting our roles within family business, and acknowledging it’s not easy running a business together and the difficult decisions and conversations that are needed, and not letting those factors ruin our tight family bond we had before this all started, ensuring work is excluded from dinner table chat and keeping the two worlds separate.
What strategies have you used to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
We ensure we leave work at work when catching up as a family, and avoid bringing work home so we can keep that healthy work-life balance within our family.
Whilst we are a family business and incredibly tight in both aspects, it’s almost like we have the two separate worlds and at times, people wouldn’t know we were family at work and that’s how we want it.
How has your family business adapted to change?
Making sure we are at the front end of changes or trends is our main priority to ensure that we are keeping our customers and staff looked after and informed, and able to offer the latest products and technologies, which further separates us from our competitors.
We often keep an eye on our market and what new technologies we can implement into our business, whether it be from our machinery point of view or back-end programs to better service the market.
Industry changes can affect how we run our business and relate a lot to staffing, so seeking the best professional advice from groups such as Canberra Business Chamber and Master Builders Association is crucial to ensure we are complying and looking after our staff and business.
How does your family business contribute to the local community?
We’ve always been firm believers in giving back to our community that gives so much to us. For many years we’ve been involved in many local sporting clubs including AFL teams, NRL teams and golfing clubs.
We have always given back to many charities, from one-off donations or ongoing sponsorships, our main one being a proud sponsor of local organisation, Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS), which we’ve been supporting for over five years.
Is it important to support other local family businesses?
We’ve always believed it’s incredibly important to support other family businesses. These are the businesses that are employing the majority of our workforce and are risking their entire world to make business work, to ensure that they can pay their staff, and their staff can put food on the table for their loved ones.
The ’behind the scenes’ work is often left unseen in family businesses, with most owners wearing far too many hats, and working far too late. If I can support fellow family businesses to make sure their hard work pays off, then that’s something very simple and rewarding.
How did the COVID pandemic impact your family business?
The pandemic was the most stressful and challenging time in our careers at Monaro Screens. It took an incredible financial toll on the business.
For majority of the pandemic, the government left us to fend for ourselves, and we relied on fellow family businesses to exchange advice, ideas and support.
What roles do different family members play in the business?
Dave, until his retirement in July this year, was our managing director, managing the day-to-day business up until a few years back when I took over.
Dee is our accounts manager, originally self-teaching herself everything she needed to know about accounting, who is now slowly stepping back with the assistance of our new bookkeeper.
I (Ben) am the General Manager, previously starting in customer service, working my way through multiple roles within the business, and now wearing multiple hats since taking over the reins. I ensure the business is functional and running smoothly in every aspect, from customer service to marketing and HR, you name it, whilst ensuring we stick to our core values.
What advice would you give other families looking to start a business?
First and foremost, separate family and business – come to work as colleagues, outside of work as family. This is what has made the three of us closer and stronger in both business and family.
Ensure you create a caring, safe and comfortable working environment and really look after your staff. I constantly see so many great businesses who don’t do this and it becomes a major setback when great staff leave organisations.
Finally, if you’re dealing with customers, treat your customers how you would want to be treated. A great experience can go a long way by word of mouth, but a bad experience can go even further!
Contact details
Contact our friendly office staff via the ‘contact us’ page on our website, call us on 6239 2664 or simply drop by our showroom, open 6 days a week.
Monaro Screens, 4/75 Wollongong St, Fyshwick
