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Haris Kulenovic first began in the window coverings industry when his parents established WA business Coolico Blinds & Curtains about 11 years ago. Since then he has evolved into an emergent window furnishings specialist with sole responsibility for the company’s sister business, Streamline Shutters.
“When I first started working in my parents’ business, I was only 10 years old and didn’t have much of a clue about window coverings,” says Haris Kulenovic. “However, as I grew older and into my early teens, I began to help out. I would go with my dad to weekend installations, and unload and unpack deliveries. I started to formally work when I was 15, during every day of my school holidays. This was when I began to learn about the installation process and the different products. From the age of 15 to 19 I would work some weekends and all school holidays. Over this period I learnt almost everything there was to know about the installation process, measuring, repairing faults and other bits and bobs.”
The trigger for his now full-time employment in shutter wholesale business Streamline Shutters was when his aunt, who ran the business, went on holiday. “This required me to work in the office for the first time. Before starting, I spent a couple of months working two days a week, learning the processes of quoting jobs and answering the phones to take some of the load in the office. Most importantly, I got more involved with ordering shutters.”
“Until that time, Streamline Shutters had been small enough to be operated from Coolico by my auntie. Eventually the business grew enough and there was a larger workload, which had become too much for her to handle on her own, on top of her other work in the business. A number of factors meant that I now had the skills, experience, confidence and time to be employed full-time by Streamline: I had learned some of the operations of Streamline whilst my auntie was away; I had experienced more of the office side of things; I had gained greater knowledge of installation which allowed me to be of some troubleshooting and technical support to customers; and importantly I’d taken the decision to defer starting university –
Working in this capacity over the last 12 months, Haris has gradually taken on sole responsibility for the Streamline Shutters workload. He now acts as de facto Manager of Streamline as well as continuing to work as the shutters salesperson for Coolico, which is effectively Streamline’s main customer. Working in a family business certainly has its advantages, he says.
“Helping me perform in my current role was that experience of being in the business for six odd years and the support and education I received at home as well as at work. And there’s always a lot of support from a family business. Any questions I have had have been answered and if times ever got tough or busy or I was confused my family were always there to lighten the load and get through whatever situations we might encounter.” Haris says his days are rarely the same although his tasks generally cover a range of key skills, from correspondence to ordering shutters, processing quotations to sales calls and inhome measuring.
“When our containers physically arrive, I am the one to unload the container, book the customers for the installations and inform our non-Coolico customers that they can pick up their shutters. I unload our blind deliveries twice a week and book in customers for those installations. Mixed in with that would be taking calls and answering questions from customers.”
“The responsibility I now have is a bit of a double-edged sword. When things are busy and running smoothly you feel proud and rewarded for your work but when times are quiet and mistakes are being made, there’s a sense of accountability that ensues. Overall though, I think it is human nature to enjoy hard work and the resulting feeling of accomplishment.”
He says he looks forward to continuing to learn the ins and outs of the business and to drive its financial success. “My ambitions for Streamline are to grow the business to a point where there is enough passive income for my dad so he can finally retire. At the end of the day that is the bottom line when it comes to why we work. The key is that I am not only working for my own financial stability but for my family as well.”
