Who's Who Women in Business

who's who women in business 9 Kim Burron, Burron Lumber Like Father, Like Daughter { groWing uP in the faMily business } By Andrea Geary Kim Burron has reason to be optimistic about the family company's future. PHOTO By DARCy FINLEy k im Burron jokes that she was like a son to her father, Ray. He taught her practical business skills during the countless hours she spent working with him in the family business, then called Burron Lumber, starting when she was about 14. "I used to be this young little sprout on the floor, selling waterbeds," she says. "I always had a job with my dad. I've virtually held every position in the business." Following Ray's death in December, Kim is now tasked with running Burron's, the business he opened in 1976. "It was wonderful to work with my dad for that many years," she says. Burron's now offers roofing, windows, doors, siding and beds at 911 Lagimodière Blvd. With a deep respect for her father and his accomplishments, Kim's goal is to take his dream and make the business even bigger and better. She wants to modernize the company, upgrade and grow it in honour of his memory, and she is supported in her new role by the company's long-term employees. "They've become part of our family," she says. Unlike his daughter, Ray didn't start working in the lumber and building products field until he was older. He and his wife were teachers. But his brother, Floyd, had opened a lumber business in Saskatoon, and he urged Ray to do the same in Winnipeg. Ray bought seven acres near the corner of Lagimodière and Marion Street and started working out of a garage. Kim recalls that he did all his ordering and accounting on a small shelf located at the back of the garage. Even at a young age, Kim says she knew she wanted to run a business. After high school, she attended Bible school in Montreal, and then returned to Winnipeg and worked part-time at Burron's while she was in university. When the local economy was doing well in the 1980s, Ray expanded the business to include furniture, appliances, waterbeds and mattresses, and he constructed a building next door in which to sell these household products. Kim says her father later reduced the company's household stock to mattresses and waterbeds, and sold the new building. However, he added shingles, windows and doors to the building supply side and began offering installation service. "We've always tried to give value," she says. "Instead of selling one product to one person for $1 million, I'd rather make one dollar from a million people." Kim, 48, says she gains strength from her religious beliefs, which she shares with her family. She is training to be ordained as a minister. With her faith and the support of her family and 12 employees, she feels confident about Burron's future. "We're going to be here for a long time." •

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