From humble beginnings as the son of a single mother who worked as a domestic and seasonal farm worker to provide for her family, to owning his own engineering company.
Antonio Jones (40), managing director and owner of AR Jones Engineering, certainly persevered even when the odds were against him.
Born in Klawer, he completed his schooling at the local primary school and matriculated from Vredendal Secondary. After school he applied to universities, but could not attend due to financial constraints.
Jones started working at Saldanha Steel, now ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa), and completed his in-house training in Newcastle.
During this time his family was living in an informal settlement in Klawer. “As soon as I saved enough money, I bought my mother a house to ensure she had a roof over her head,” Jones recalls.
While working, he still had a dream of obtaining a university degree and exposure to the steelmaking process ignited the dream to become an engineer. “I fell in love with engineering itself and how science is used to solve everyday issues within society.”
“In 2005 I quit my job at Amsa to study Chemical Engineering full-time. I funded my studies myself.”
He worked very hard and was awarded bursaries for his second and third years of study. “During my second year I was awarded the rector’s award bursary and during my third year I received a bursary from Eskom.”
After completion of his studies, Jones started working at the Kriel Power Station in Mpumalanga, he then returned to Amsa, as an engineer, where he worked for about five years.
“I worked in the energy department as a project manager and implemented a lot of energy saving projects.”
In 2016, Jones once again left his job at Amsa, this time to become an entrepreneur and established his own company, AR Jones Engineering (Pty) Ltd – an engineering servicing company.
In his current position as managing director and 100% shareholder, his focus is mainly on sales and marketing of his business, but he also has to focus on operations as well as human resources and financial aspects of the business.
“My aim is to grow the company to become a sustainable organisation that will add value to my clients. As the company grows, I also hope to create more jobs to have a positive impact on the local community,” Jones says.
Challenges
It has not been all smooth sailing, however.
“One of the biggest challenges in any business is to penetrate the market and establish your company as a reliable organisation. If people don’t know your company they are not willing to make use of your service or product.”
He adds having been an engineer, he only had to focus on the technical aspect of the job, but as a business owner, he suddenly has to focus on being a salesman as well.
“I remember in the beginning how difficult it was to make a cold call to tell people what your company does and asking to do business with them.”
Jones also says it is sometimes disappointing to prepare the perfect pitch only to be rejected time and time again.
A few highlights for the business over the last three years have been his first sale; installing a PV solar system for a client and getting more orders, and being able to employ his first employees.
His ambition is to see his vision for the business become tangible and seeing the company name on vehicles and safety overalls and being able to see a satisfied client.
“For the community, I want to be an inspiration to show that with hard work you can achieve your dreams. It is more than just providing a job, it is about giving hope, especially for the youth that lost hope in the future.”
Passion
Jones says his recipe for success is finding something you’re passionate about, being good at it and finding a way to monetise it.
“I am passionate about coaching in business and motivating people to achieve their best. I feel everyone has the potential and talent to change their own circumstances and have an impact on someone else’s life,” says Jones, who is also a registered business coach for Seda.
In his spare time he participates in half marathons and he loves the ocean and was a volunteer for the NSRI.
The most important lessons he has learned as an entrepreneur have been: “Fear robs you of reaching your full potential, building relationships are essential in business and you need to have a strong support base of people that encourage you to reach your full potential.”
During the last three years Jones has learned to persevere. “It is tough to start a business. For the first two years I had to really dig deep to continue. But I am starting to see the results.”
