Mary Liptay
Great Northern Auction

Most Wednesday nights Great Northern Auction Company of Moncton, New Brunswick auctions cars, trucks, boats and heavy equipment from all over the Maritimes then sells them to the highest bidder. The business is based on connecting potential buyers with potential sellers. In earlier days they used fax and phone to share the data.

They move more than 150 vehicles per week – about a minute per vehicle auction time with two auction lanes running simultaneously. Operators and spouses Mary and Sean Liptay were about eight years in business and bursting at the seams when they sought assistance from Entrepreneurs’ Forum. Great Northern Auction found EF through a mentorship program at the Wallace McCain Institute. Mary says, “Our key concern at that time was where to go. We felt we needed more space to expand, and we were grappling with online potential.”

Mary says, “Our EF session had a great mix of people – from the automotive industry, from business, from finance. They really took our challenges to heart. Our Advisors gave us honest feedback, and in fact switched the focus of our expansion strategy away from a physical move to capital and cash-flow. They encouraged us to look closely at online capacities.”

That advice pushed Great Northern Auctions toward improved financial sustainability, and enhanced internet capacities. Great Northern Auction now uses online technology for promotion and registration, and bidding. Registered online bidders view live video stream of the auction and bid online.

Mary says, “Our revenue has increased, we’ve gained new contracts with financial institutes and multi-national corporations, and we’ve created two new full time positions. And now, two years later, we’re preparing commercial land where we will build our new location.”
Mary says, “What we got out in the end was valid feedback coming from people who’ve been in industry for years. The beauty of the program is that the people they get to the table will not tell you want you want to hear they will tell you want you need to hear.”