Calgary exec bootstrapped her construction business without a single loan

Article content

Lara Murphy is the co-founder of Ryan Murphy Construction Inc., one of Calgary’s homegrown success stories. Murphy founded her first company in high school and today she runs a multi-million-dollar business.

Her firm is a 2016 PROFIT 500 winner, and in 2021 it earned Alberta Venture’s ranking of the 50 Fastest Growth Firms. The company is female-owned, and nearly three-quarters of its employees are female. One-third are LGBTQ, and the firm is working on other aspects of diversity. Murphy also was a recipient of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in November 2022 for her community work.

Murphy’s personal investment portfolio includes a broadly diversified selection of equities and real estate and stakes in female-founded startups.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, and lived there until I was just shy of 17. I’m adopted but grew up with two younger siblings who were my parents’ biological children. I have great childhood memories but was different from my family: I looked like a Greek import! And I’ve always enjoyed going against the grain.

Did your parents talk with you about money or success when you were a kid? What did you absorb either implicitly or explicitly?

My dad was a business owner with a few different companies in the transportation industry. I often went to his office, and from a young age I really loved the exchange with clients. I recall making flyers out of coloured cardboard and delivering them to the houses in the neighbourhood – my first cold-calling experience.

I also remember there were times when dad’s business wasn’t going so well – interest rates were very high in the 1980s, but I had no concept of what that meant at the time.

My mom had been a nurse but then she stayed home with us, and she noticed that I had a lot of excess energy. Dad was very busy, so mom encouraged me to pick up a hammer and help out. I certainly didn’t grow up with the message “Girls don’t do that.”

In high school I formed my first company: Handy Student Maintenance (HSM). I did everything: mowed lawns, shovelled snow, built fences, painted, gardened, you name it. This definitely laid the groundwork for business. For the entire time I was at Mount Allison University I kept small businesses going and worked the summers to pay for school.

When did you get your big idea to build a construction company?

At age 25 I bought my first home, which was built in the 1830s. I renovated it, beginning my journey into construction. In 2006, I met someone and moved to Calgary to start over. I knew no one there and realized I would have to become comfortable feeling uncomfortable. I invested a lot of time in my community and today I serve on three not-for-profit boards.

That line in the Leonard Cohen song Anthem really resonates with me: 'There is a crack in everything – that's how the light gets in.'

I took on small residential jobs in the oldest neighbourhood in Calgary, then I began working in the commercial/retail space, making my name one project at a time. Around that time I had the crazy idea to own a construction company, and by 2008 Ryan Murphy had a website. But back then I didn’t have a vision to become a multi-million dollar business!

Outside of your business, how do you invest?

The best advice I’ve received along the way is to start small and let the power of compounding do its thing. Also, recognize what you can afford to lose. I invest in three asset categories:

• A broadly diversified portfolio of equities. This is a bit of a mixed bag.
• Real estate in the form of multi-use properties. The house I bought at age 25 is large and contains several apartments that have been a great source of revenue. In addition, the Ryan Murphy offices have apartments above them.
• Companies started by friends: I recognize how to set boundaries, I’m selective, and I realize I’ll win some and I’ll lose some.

I think entrepreneurs are so passionate about building their businesses that their personal investment portfolios are often overlooked. Also, we aren’t born understanding how to invest, so I’ve made it a priority over the years to keep reading, learning and talking about investing. I want to make sure I’m invested in enough of the right things to make a difference over the long term.

I have spent a lot of time asking myself questions such as: What is the end game? What am I looking to do? Do I want to retire at 55? Will I live to 90? Will I inherit money? Do I want to leave a legacy of some sort? What about caring for my elderly parents?

And, importantly, how can I make sure I won’t have to eat cat food?

Who has had the greatest influence on you along the way?

My soccer coach! As a kid I played a lot of different sports and, in particular, soccer. It was an inexpensive sport to play, I liked the team aspect, and I fell in love with the play and different formations. I was recruited to play in Europe and then played competitively for Mount Allison at 17, and I found that my leadership ability was part of my makeup: I loved being the captain and corralling the team of women.

I started out interested in environmental law but ended up studying history and political science. One day my soccer coach said, “Hey you run these various businesses every summer – maybe you should look into making that into a career.”

Up until that moment I had never once thought about construction as a career. This totally changed my focus. I had always known that I wanted to do something different and that I had to take my own path. Today when I speak to the next generation I try and give back and tell them my story. Most guidance counsellors will direct students to career opportunities but only in areas related to what they are studying.

Needless to say, I don’t really use history or political science in my day-to-day work at Ryan Murphy, but I know how to write a very good essay, and this skill parlays well when we work on requests for proposals (RFPs).

What are the skills, characteristics or attributes that make you suited to entrepreneurship?

Although I heard from several individuals that construction wasn’t a place for women, my entry level experiences definitely piqued a curiosity. I often think to myself, “Why not?” I tend to be a person who looks for solutions: I excel at problem-solving.

I describe myself as a lifelong learner, and I think at the core of being an entrepreneur is a hunger for knowledge and learning. Importantly, as my industry experience became more and more in-depth, I learned what I didn’t want to do. I learn when things aren’t always optimal, such as when I started a business in 2008 during the financial crisis. In retrospect, that time engrained in me the idea that you need to go slow to go fast. I realized that over time I could potentially run a successful business, and I thought a lot about what it would be like to be a great quarterback.

There is no playbook for starting a business from the ground up. We had no angel investors; it was all just bootstrapping. We’ve never had even one loan. I have learned along the way that it is important to find someone who has done what you want to do – don’t just find your cheerleaders, because they will always be there.

Do the research and get in the right rooms. I initially joined some industry associations such as the CREW [Commercial Real Estate Women] Network, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club. I did a lot of mingling, asked a lot of questions, and gradually gained more confidence. Other women went out of their way to put me in these rooms.

What is the most recent thing you have learned about yourself?

COVID gave us all the opportunity to really think about what you are doing and who you want to spend your time with. I realized clearly that I want to share my life with my partner, travel a lot and not feel guilty about saying “no” to things.

I have learned that I am stronger than I ever imagined. I’m always amazed at my resiliency in different situations: I can just bounce back! That line in the Leonard Cohen song Anthem really resonates with me: “There is a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.”

What do you do for fun?

Our Ryan Murphy team has signed up for a charity marathon in support of kids with cerebral palsy. This to me is a triple win – it’s a team event, it’s for a good cause, and we’ll all get fitter. Our firm has built several athletic studios, so I’ll take fitness classes and my partner and I ski every weekend. I also travel a lot to conferences, to visit clients across the country, or just for personal adventures. Lastly, my partner and I love spending time with our two pugs, Rosie and Bubba.

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Writer Barbara Stewart is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 30 years of investment industry experience. She spent five years as a foreign currency trader, more than two decades as a portfolio manager for high-net-worth entrepreneurs, and for the past six years she has been performing interview-driven research for financial institutions around the world.  Barbara is a keynote speaker for CFA Societies, banks, stock exchanges and industry conferences globally, and she is a columnist for CFA Institute and Canadian Money Saver magazine. She is on the advisory board of Kensington Capital Partners and also is the Ambassador for the Kensington Women’s Forum. In addition, 13 years ago Barbara saw a need to challenge outdated financial industry stereotypes and share positive messages about women and money. Today, Barbara is recognized worldwide as one of the leading researchers in women and finance. Her Rich Thinking® global research papers quote smart women and men of all ages, professions and countries and are released annually on International Women’s Day, March 8. To find out more about Barbara’s research, visit www.barbarastewart.ca.

More from Canadian Family Offices:

• Next-gens: Jonathan Westeinde of green developer Windmill, on finding his own path
• Family businesses risk future without ESG emphasis: report
• Mountain climb was catalyst to launch neck and back pain startup

Please visit here to see information about our standards of journalistic excellence.