The energizer

Age: 80
Company: Wilson Group of Companies
Business: gas retailer
2009 EOY category: Business-to-consumer products and services; Atlantic entrepreneur of the year

David Wilson knows what it takes to be successful in business: develop a good work ethic. Innovate. Be more aggressive. Remember the customers are always right and don't argue with them. Seize the opportunities in front of you. Have a balanced life. Don't goof off on Fridays. Don't take anything for granted. His biggest piece of advice? "Don't lose touch with your customers. Don't get caught up in so broad a business that you forget who they are."

Those simple rules have guided Wilson, the chair of Truro, N.S.-based Wilson Group of Companies and this year's Atlantic Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, since he joined his father in the family business after the Second World War. Restless with doing things the old way, Wilson saw an opportunity to replace the coal and wood furnaces of the day with automatic clean oil heating. "The major oil companies were already established in our community," he says. "I decided to get out of the office and canvass homeowners door to door, offering them a free inspection of their chimneys. While I was in the basement, I would sell them on automatic oil heating as our competitors sat on their butts waiting for the phone to ring. Plus, I got paid for cleaning their chimneys."

At the time, the company imported all of its equipment from the U.S., so Wilson borrowed the family car and drove to New York, where he could stay with his mother's brother and line up suppliers of oil equipment. He bought a used bread-delivery truck to deliver the parts to installers and created a 100% customer-satisfaction policy. "Then I saw an excellent opportunity to exchange rebuilt motors, pumps, valves, and controls right off of our vans," he says. "This service took off and gave me good margins." That ingenuity and faith in his customers helped Wilson Fuels become the leading independent fuel oil supplier in Nova Scotia.

The spry octogenarian also learned to follow another golden rule over the years: Know thy sector. With a laugh, he recalls a failed venture in exercise-equipment manufacturing. "We lost quite a bit going to international shows where we knew nothing about exercise equipment," he says. "Now we try to stay within the energy sector." It's little wonder, then, that a few years ago the Wilson family eagerly seized the opportunity to acquire Esso gas stations in Nova Scotia. The move gave the company a foothold in the retail gasoline business in the province and allowed it to expand into the other three Atlantic provinces.

Now semi-retired, Wilson is still active in the family businesses, even though the eighth generation—his three children and their cousins—have things well in hand. Following his own advice, he recently hopped onto a fuel truck to make a few deliveries because he felt he was attending too many board meetings and losing touch with customers. "I'm there as a backup," he says. And he'll be there for as long as he can.

First job: For four summers I worked as a seaman on Imperial/Esso oil tankers.
Personality type: Humility, compassion, integrity, sharing with all staff.
What do others think is your personality type: I hope they don't think I'm egoistic.
Strength: Compassion, tenacity, and determination.
Weakness: Sometimes I jump to conclusions about things because I'm so passionate about them and I want action to be taken. Then again, this is how my vision came to be.
Proudest moment: Being reasonably successful.
Worst business nightmare: Back in 1960, when the bank pulled my chequebook. It was a good lesson that I never forgot.
Biggest factor contributing to your company's growth: Vision and determination.
Biggest obstacle that has kept the company from growing even more: Financing. I'm a product of the 1930s—the Great Depression. I had to get around tight bank credit and working capital with ingenious schemes.
How would you like to improve yourself: An MBA probably would have helped.
How would you like to improve your company: Keep implementing my vision.
How do you achieve a work/life balance: Diet, fitness, participating in sports such as skiing and swimming.
What are you reading right now: Magazines and newspapers: The Economist, Business Week, The Globe and Mail, Truro Daily News, SkiCanada, Hockey News, The Chronicle Herald. Books: Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn, Monica Graham's The Great Maritime Detective.
What do you do in your spare time: I love to read and I'm passionate about skiing, which I inherited from my father. I enjoyed all sports—hockey, sailing, tennis—but it was skiing that really grabbed me. So much so that I started purchasing shares at Wentworth Mountain, which has developed into a major ski resort and will be hosting the alpine and freestyle events for the 2011 Canada Winter Games. I also acquired the highest ski area in New Brunswick, Crabbe Mountain near Fredericton.
Most treasured possession: My grandchildren, Nate and Myka.
Words to live by: Keep a balanced lifestyle with the right diet and exercise.
What expression do you most overuse: Urp, urp! It's a Wilson family greeting.
When are you the happiest: When goals are achieved—to see an idea succeed and flourish.
What characteristic would you most like to have: Greater financial comprehension.
How should we develop an entrepreneurial culture: I don't know, I think it's in the blood! I followed my father's example: long hours and a hard work ethic.
If you could do anything, what would it be: The same, just do it better.
What's your next big move: Terrace Hill, the Anglican Cemetery in Truro. Never take yourself too seriously!