“Getting Plastered” pays off for award winning student

June 4, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Marni Walsh

At just 21, Melancthon’s Carly Phillips is a full time student on the honour roll in Business at Georgian College in Owen Sound; an entrepreneur with two home grown ventures – and a waitress on the side.

This month, the faculty at the Owen Sound Campus presented her with the Owen Sound and District Chamber of Commerce Award for talented entrepreneurial students for her newly established drywall business – the aptly named “Gettin’ Plastered.

The $500 award for self-employed students under 30 years of age, who have shown initiative and innovation in a business venture, will provide a nice boost to the business, which has been growing steadily for several months locally.

Carly trained for the business locally with Rob Broster of All Phases Drywall for about a year, after returning from Alberta where she gained experience in her first love: horsemanship.

She trains and breaks horses – for which she has also hung out a shingle.

Carly says she has been breaking, training and selling her own equestrian projects since high school and always welcome more work.

“I focus on making a calm, willing horse that is enjoyable to ride and safe to go on in any direction,” she says. “My ultimate goal is to make horses my profession, but for now drywall pays the bills.”

With Rob Broster, Carly became trained in taping as a way to make a bit of extra cash in the summer, but says she “never really thought it would get even this big.” After her first solo job at a relative’s house last summer, word spread and her business has been “snowballing ever since.”

“I mainly offer taping, mudding and sanding for smaller drywall jobs, like patch work, renovations, or if someone wants to finish their basement, or has an addition they just built,” she says.

She travels anywhere in the area of Shelburne, Dundalk, and Flesherton.

As a Business student at Georgian College, the Centre Dufferin District High School graduate says she is learning “a little bit of everything – accounting, marketing, microeconomics and more. Her goal is to run her own business and work for herself, “no matter what it is.”

“Balancing school and business does become a bit of a struggle, especially when work gets busy,” says Carly, “I work a second job waitressing in addition to the drywall, and juggling all three, plus a life away, doesn’t leave you much time to stop and think.” Despite this, Carly remains on the honour roll and was just accepted for a Summer Company grant of $3,000 to run a business over the summer.

The daughter of Karren Wallace and Ken Phillips, Carly says being an entrepreneur “must run in the blood.” Her sister, Kelsey Phillips, also runs her own small business, KP Farms, selling fresh, naturally raised meat and eggs.

When asked for advice for other young entrepreneurs, Carly said, “Just do it. Never stop believing in yourself. It takes motivation, creativity and passion to run a business and there will be times things get hard, so just hold on through.”

Carly adds the eye catching name of her company, “Gettin’ Plastered Drywall Finishing” was “an idea thrown out by a classmate while we were playing ping pong at school one day.”

“It definitely gets peoples’ attention!” she says.

Carly’s goal is to provide honest, affordable service that leaves the customer happy. Find her on Facebook with “Gettin’ Plastered Drywall Finishing.” Phone: 403-805-6114, or email carlymphillips@gmail.com.