Garth Mann has carved out a niche in two contrasting careers.

So, the former optometrist and present-day Statesman Corporation president could be excused for resting on his laurels.

But that’s just not his style.

Mann says he’s planning a third career, but the 55-year-old isn’t tipping his hand as to what that next venture might be.

Dave Olecko, Business Edge
Garth Man of Statesman Corp. went from optometry to home building.

For one who has made a successful transition from the doctor’s office to home-building, don’t be surprised if the indefatigable Mann takes another 180-degree turn.

1. What was your boyhood dream?

“Work hard, try to be successful and do a good job. We came from a very meagre existence. My father died when I was a younger teenager and so I felt compelled to move forward in life. I think that’s been my mandate throughout my career. My mother (Birdie) really raised the family. She was a schoolteacher. You get out and roll up your sleeves and go to work and get educated and make it happen to yourself.”

2. Where did you get that motivation?

“I think it’s probably my mother. She certainly was the one who made me strive to succeed. I think she was a very straight-laced lady and a very socially conscious lady. I think I learned from her that in order to be successful you have to be people-orientated. And I think I learned from her that hard work is not a bad thing.”

3. So has that work ethic been the foundation of your success?

“I think you make your own roads generally in life and they may not all work out to be fair, but sometimes you just have to grin and bear it and move forward. There are things that happen both positively and negatively, but what’s important is how you react and whether you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go forward or whether you fold and say you can’t do it. Those are the crutches we live with, I guess.”

4. What’s it been like having two contrasting careers?

“I think people today look at life a little differently. I think we have a tendency to be a little more flexible perhaps than our parents used to be. You just do what you enjoy. I certainly enjoyed my practice, and now I’m in that same category in building. There’s nothing similar about them. They’re completely different careers.”

5. Is there another career beyond this one?

“Yup. We’re working on something and we’re grooming the company for a succession plan for employees and family members.”

6. How did you survive the recession in the early 1980s when home prices crashed?

“It was a matter of survival at that time and a lot of builders in Calgary disappeared. We were able to survive because I was a little diversified (with the optometry practice) and we sold homes for a dollar and had people assume mortgages that were on the titles. From that, you learn and grow and remember.”

7. Have you noticed any recessionary signs?

“Not (here). I think other parts of Canada are more likely to be impacted, but I don’t think we’re exempt. I think that this business is very susceptible to swings in the market, and the Sept. 11 issue (attack on the U.S.) has caused people to rethink things.”

8. Describe your business philosophy?

“I’m pretty optimistic and pretty upbeat. I’ve always looked at my product and asked: ‘Would I live in it myself?’ I do live in a Statesman home. So I always build it with a degree of quality in my mind and the Statesman name is probably recognized for that. There’s always been good demand for our product and as a result it usually goes up in value. I like people to be profitable when they buy one of our units.”

9. Of which achievement with Statesman are you most proud?

“We’ve won a number of local and national awards for some of our innovative housing.

“The villas have been copied by every builder in Canada and the United States, so I guess that’s one of the greatest compliments you can pay. Our designs are unique and different, but they’re very livable.”

10. How do you see your business evolving?

“You’ll find more people want to down-size and look at housing a little differently. I think the large estate expensive homes over the next 20 years will maybe decrease in value because the young people won’t be there to buy them.”

11. What’s the best advice you can offer a young entrepreneur?

“Focus on what it is you believe in, do your due diligence in terms of finding out if there’s a market for whatever it is you want to do. Don’t be afraid of hard work and don’t be afraid of failure. Also, don’t be afraid to go it alone. Not many partnerships work out. And always have an ace up your sleeve . . . always be able to feed your family no matter the famine that comes along in terms of a recession or whatever.”

12. What was your ace?

“I could always work at my (optometry) practice. Back in 1982, I was still actively practising, so the bank looked at me and said they would bear with me a little more than they would someone else because they knew I could pay my debts somehow.”

13. What in your mind is the key to developing and retaining a loyal staff? “When unemployment drops . . . your staff is always being attacked by other companies wanting to save time in terms of training. So what we’ve done is set up an employee profit-sharing plan. All our employees (130) benefit from the success of the corporation.”

14. Is there one entrepreneur or celebrity you’d walk over hot coals in bare feet to have lunch with?

“It’d be interesting to listen to the philosophies of perhaps someone like Ron Southern (Atco president). I think he’s a bit of a guru in . . . terms of his business acumen. Some of the businesses and the businessmen in the community may not be able to impact me that much because I’m not in their business, but I always enjoy listening to other people’s philosophies.”

15. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in business?

“I think being forthright, having a high level of integrity, trying to do the right thing and being fair.”

16. You take a day off from work tomorrow. How do you spend the day?

“I don’t take many days off, but I’d probably golf with my friends. We go to the mountains to golf a fair bit and I like to golf in Arizona.”

17. What’s your view of the state of the medical profession and health care in Alberta?

“I think the difficulty in Alberta is that we’re saddled with the Canadian philosophy of health care and, unfortunately, it doesn’t necessarily stimulate and breed the best that there can be. I think the physicians today are underpaid for what they do in a lot of cases. It’s a highly responsible position and requires just a tremendous amount of dedication, time and sacrifice. I don’t think the rewards are there. I had a very successful practice, but I just found my interest was starting to wane in terms of the professional end of it. I was getting more skilled and more knowledgeable in the business end. So I made the decision to go into business. I miss the practice, the patients and camaraderie.”

18. Would you ever go back to your medical practice?

“I don’t think I’d go back to it again. The problem is that there’s a lack of appreciation for the professions, and doctors don’t deal directly enough with the patient because of the situation with the health-care regimes. They’re dealing more on a third-party basis with their patients and I don’t think that breeds the best of relationships for both patient and doctor.”

19. Would early retirement suit you?

“I’m one of those people that needs to keep stimulated. That again, could change. I am looking forward to a succession plan in the company whereby people that are here can start to do more and take on more responsibility. But I don’t think you’ll ever see me retire.”

20. How do you define success?

“It’s an inner feeling of contentment. I don’t think it has anything to do with monetary status. I think it’s just whether you feel good with what you’ve accomplished, no matter what it is.”

IN PROFILE: Garth Mann

* Born/raised/age: Winnipeg, Calgary, 55.

* Title: President, Statesman Corporation.

* Education: University of Waterloo (Ont.), degree in optometry.

* Career: Mann had an optometrist practice in Calgary (Lake Bonavista Medical Centre) and Olds, Alta.,

from 1969-89. He founded Statesman Corporation in 1976.

* Role model: Birdie Mann (mother).

* Passions: Golf, hiking, skiing.

THE COMPANY: Statesman Corp.

* President: Garth Mann.

* Profile: Statesman has built and marketed to more than 6,000 residents and has developed more than 40 adult-oriented communities in the past 25 years. Its core market is Calgary and area, but the company also has properties in Edmonton, Kelowna, B.C., and Arizona.

* Slogan: “What a beautiful way to live.”

* Website: www.statesmancorporation.com

* Address: 7370 Sierra Morena Blvd. S.W., Calgary T3H 4H9.

* Phone: 256-4151.