Starting a business of any kind takes hard graft. That graft can look different depending on the business but for Blackwatertown man, Ross Gribben it’s been literal toil in the soil.
From a young age, it was clear that Ross always had a flair for entrepreneurial life. Dabbling in many different business ventures over the years, he’s always turned his hand to any job that came his way, no matter how rough and ready!
His first business venture was a bouncy castle business started with his older brother, Conall. A seasonal job during the summer months, both brothers were working full-time alongside their new business. Getting a taste of entrepreneurial life, Ross was keen to start a new venture that would keep him busy during the winter months.
That’s when ‘The Coal Man’ business sparked. Ross began supplying fire logs and coal to homes and businesses throughout the county.
This temporary role soon developed into a job which saw Ross out delivering late into the evenings and every weekend.
A job that kept him busy for the last three years, Ross was able to build up a strong clientele and great reputation.
Over time, he began to receive requests to complete maintenance work when delivering goods. And not afraid to give anything ago, it was when he started completing small maintenance tasks that he quickly realised there was more he could offer.
At the time, Ross was working full-time as a joiner completing his side jobs in the evenings and weekends. It wasn’t until 2023, when Ross was made redundant from his work that he quickly realised he needed to push his business forward to make it survive the future. Through trial and error and lots of self-taught videos, a year later the ‘Gribben Group’ was officially established with a focus on landscaping and property maintenance.
Gribben Group was born out of taking on a single fencing job. Like the boards being added to the posts… the jobs continued to come one after the other.
Ross saying that he was “just winging it” from that moment and the jobs just kept getting “bigger and bigger”.
Gribben Group now offer services in landscaping, fencing, composite decking, joinery and general indoor and outdoor property maintenance.
His latest purchase this year – a digger – has enabled Gribben Gribben to expand their service range and now offer property cutting and demolition. Digger rental is also available for anyone interested!
Working alongside Ross are two full-time members of staff, a bricklayer and joiner.
To this day, fencing is still Ross’s most sought after service, with composite decking a very popular service for clients interested in giving their gardens that ‘luxury’ feel.
From small to large projects and, with an eye for detail, every job has a different style. Previous work includes rustic, country, modern, timeless – with each job completed to the customer’s taste.
Each project begins with a consultation, where you will discuss budget, sizing and desires. They offer services for both commercial and residential and work all over the North and South of Ireland.
“I like being able to stand back at the end of it and seeing the work really come to life. It’s always a great sense of accomplishment when any job is finished, its proud knowing that I got to be apart of making it happen,” said Ross.
“Client reviews are an important thing for me because I like hearing that people are happy with the end project and really happy with the overall service they have had, it makes me feel like we have done a good job. You then end up getting a lot of word-of-mouth referrals that way too and it drives me to make sure every job is done to perfection.”
Looking to the future, Ross is hoping to expand his equipment range and team to be able to take on bigger projects.
Gribben Group have limited availability over the coming months, with Ross recommending to get in touch soon to secure your spot!
Click here to follow Gribben Group on Facebook
Call Ross on 07784 548725 for more information!
