Son’s success does father one better

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: Bill Donahue, owner of Crown Supply, stands among some of the lighting fixtures at the Providence location. /
CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: Bill Donahue, owner of Crown Supply, stands among some of the lighting fixtures at the Providence location. /

Twenty-six years ago, William Donahue III made a deal with his son, William Donahue IV. The younger Donahue could take ownership of his father’s electrical supply business, Crown Supply, if he finished school in four years, and the company didn’t lose money while he managed it for his dad.
Fast forward and the younger Donahue, now 43, not only graduated the University of Massachusetts Lowell on time, but has grown Crown Supply from three employees and $300,000 in annual revenue to a multimillion dollar business with 29 employees, two locations and 13,000 items on the shelves.
“It wasn’t anything planned,” Donahue said. “It was an opportunity my father saw.”
His father, an electrical contractor, invested in Crown Supply along with a partner in 1984. When things started going south, the elder Donahue looked to sell. But then his son, one of his most loyal employees, found a “natural fit” at the shop at 26 Silver Spring St. in Providence. He took up his father on his offer and completed, “by the skin of my teeth,” an electrical engineering degree in four years by persuading college officials to accept his motorcycle racing hobby as a half-credit physical education credit. The business was his.
At first his staff and vendors expressed doubts about the 19-year-old college student taking the store’s reins. Suppliers chuckled when he went to trade association meetings, and some doubted he could compete. But Donahue spent hours learning every aspect of the business to prove he was just as capable as the employees who were old enough to be his grandfather, who, coincidently, was also an electrician.
“Even if it took me all day long I’d get it done,” Donahue said.
His electrical engineering degree provided him some creditability and soon customers were turning to him for advice. His employees grew to trust him and his father provided a guiding hand. The Donahues bought out the partner and the younger one became the boss, though the paperwork remained in his father’s name until five years ago. When the official handover happened, Donahue held no grand celebration. Instead, he bought his father a Rolex and expressed his deep appreciation. Most of his employees did not notice the official switch because the younger Donahue had been at the helm for more than two decades. And during the span of 25 years, Donahue has placed his mark on the business. In the 1980s, Donahue drove by his father’s storage building in Milford, Mass., every day on his way to the Providence store. Donahue sold a lot of supplies to contractors in Milford, his hometown, and had an idea. His father agreed to clean out his storage room and turn it into a small shop. Today, the store has taken off with two buildings and had robust showroom sales before the economy took a dive.
About 17 years ago, Donahue realized that many of his customers, electricians, could easily install the wiring for fire- protection systems. But many were reluctant to take on the added liability and lacked the expertise. Donahue read up on the systems and persuaded some of his customers to tackle the jobs. They did, made money and returned to Donahue with grateful thanks.
His relatively young age also gave him an edge with the advent of the Internet in the early 1990s. While many suppliers saw it as a doomsday scenario, Donahue saw an opportunity to reach more customers. Today, Crown does ample business via the Web.
Three years ago Donahue expanded his main building, adding to his showroom and created a 20-seat training room. In June he purchased a building across the street, which gives the business more room to grow.
Such plans, however, are not on the horizon. The downturn in construction has hurt Donahue’s business. He’s compensated by scaling back employees’ hours and identifying savings wherever he can. Luckily, Donahue said, he has not resorted to layoffs, something he said he couldn’t do to his employees, whom he considers family.
In truth, some of his employees are family. Many of his nephews have worked at the store stocking shelves and assisting customers. His mother works three days a week, and his father still drops in from time to time.
Back at home in Smithfield, Donahue and his wife have two children, a son, 15, and a daughter, 13. But whether or not they will take the reins of their father’s business remains to be seen.
“I’m still waiting to see if they have the work ethic,” Donahue said. “But my parents always thought I’d be the lazy one.” •?COMPANY PROFILE
Crown Supply
OWNER: Bill Donahue
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Electrical and fire alarm supply company
LOCATION: 26 Silver Spring St., Providence, 41 Central St., Milford, Mass.
EMPLOYEES: 29
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1947
ANNUAL SALES: WND

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