Self
Consider here the vision for yourself (and possibly your family)
 

Guiding questions:

• What roles do you want to see yourself in the future? Are you a:
  • technician?
  • function leader?
  • passive owner?
  • former owner (have exited the business)?
• How much time are you spending in the business?
• What do you want your day/week to look like?
• What is the level, type and frequency of engagement with the business?
• Do you want to have a passive dividend income to satisfy financials wants and needs?

I have discretionary time and reduced my daily demand, and I’m now working the equivalent of 3 days a week.

I am connected to the business and get my satisfaction from continuing to solve our customers problems and seeing others in the business grow.

The dividends are satisfying my financial wants and needs.

I have handed over the roles I no longer enjoy doing and have time to devote to my owner role and organisational leadership work. 

I have time to explore other entrepreneurial opportunities and am not tied to the business day-to-day.

Our financial position is able to support my desire to build other businesses.

When I look ahead, especially over the next 10 years, my vision is pretty straightforward:

I want this business to give me solid, reliable income now, and choice and freedom later. I don’t need bells and whistles. I just need something that works, makes sense, and lets me live the life I want with my partner without being chained to tools forever.

Over the next 10 years, I want this business to give me reliable income now and the freedom to choose how much I work later. I enjoy the hands-on repairs and problem-solving, but I don’t want to stay on the tools full-time forever.

Future Role

• Short term: Technician with oversight. My partner manages customers, admin, scheduling, and finances so I can focus purely on the work.
• Medium term: Step into a light function leader role —quoting, quality checks, and guiding how the business runs without doing every job.
• Long term: Passive owner with trained technicians so the business earns even if I’m not working.
• Optional exit: Happy to sell in 8–10 years if the business is stable and profitable.

Time in the Business

• Now: Mainly on the tools, with quick oversight of operations.
• In 3 years: Around 20 hours a week, ideally 50% or more off the tools.
• In 7–10 years: 5–10 hours a week, mostly strategic or high-value tasks.

Ideal Week

A couple of mornings doing the repairs I enjoy, occasional quoting or quality checks, and the rest of the week free for travel, lifestyle, and personal time with my wife & dog with overseas customer work completed by team member

Engagement Level
Daily check-ins, weekly review of schedule and cashflow, and a monthly review of numbers and improvements. I want involvement without being the bottleneck.

Passive Income
Yes. The goal is a business that pays us dividends and supports retirement choices & not just something that depends on me turning up every day. Staff take care of operations

Customer & offering

Understand who is your customer, why they are your customer and the unmet need. This will inform your product vision.
 

Guiding questions:

• What is the burning customer need?
• Why would they choose you?
• Where does your offering start and end?
• What don't you want to offer?
• Where is your product offered?
  • Local, regional, national, global?

We are extremely focused in our core offering. We are known for our high-quality widget technology, and we have focussed on this niche in our business to avoid being distracted.

We have a significant presence in Australia in two distinct markets:

• heavy industrial operations  in several distinct vertical markets
• commercial operations with a large horizontal market.

Story

When first starting the business, we focussed on one small type of engineering widgets for a  specific heavy industrial use. As the business developed, we then realised we could supply very similar widgets to other heavy industrial markets, as well as a much broader commercial industry without significantly affecting our product development or resourcing constraints.

I want a customer mix that gives us steady, predictable work without overwhelming admin. Right now it’s 80% retailer and 20% private; in the long run, I would like a more balanced mix where we keep the reliable retailer volume but grow private jobs that value our craftsmanship and pay well.

Retailer work should run smoothly through strong relationships and clear systems. Private work should feel personal but efficient, with a member of staff or AI handling the liaison so I can focus on the repairs. The goal is a loyal customer base that trusts our quality, respects our time, and helps build a business that’s rewarding and sustainable.

Why would customers choose us?

Because we are reliable, fast, and the quality of the repair is done right the first time. Retailers know we solve problems without fuss. Private customers appreciate honest advice, fair pricing, and craftsmanship they can trust.

What don’t we want to offer?

We don’t want to take on overly complex rebuilds,  re upholstery work beyond our capability, or jobs that require extensive project management and back-and-forth. No chasing difficult customers, no unrealistic expectations, and no services outside our expertise. quick, efficient, in & out is what we want.

Where is our product offered?

We service our local area through a mobile, on-site repair model and workshop-based repairs across WA.Retailer jobs come through our established partners; private jobs come through direct enquiries, referrals, and online visibility.

Ownership
This is about how the owners team reflects on their desires on ownership, exits and investments.
 

Guiding questions:

• What is the attitude to future ownership?
  • family only?
  • employees?
  • business partners?
• What is the appetite for external investment?
• What is the attitude to selling the business now or in the future?
• Who has control of this entire vision?

We are a family company and we want certain financial returns to sustain our family. We want to control the ownership and build a healthy dividend return business.

Future owners will be family members that work in the business, or will be leaders that excel in service of our business.

We remain open to selling the business if the future owners decide that is the best thing to do.

I want to keep ownership simple and in the family. I am not looking to bring in employees as owners or take on business partners. I have been there before and do not want to tread that path again. I have no appetite for external investment. I prefer to grow steadily and stay in control. I am open to selling the business in 8–10 years if it’s running well and the timing is right, but not interested in selling now. Ultimately, full control of the business stays with me.

Organisation leaders

Organisation leaders are the ON leaders, and are primarily responsible for forming organisation strategy.
 

Guiding questions:

• What level would you like to see your organisation leaders operating at?
• Are these leaders well trained?
• Are they exemplars of your culture?
• Do you have a process to develop these leaders?

We built the infrastructure that empowers us to scale and distribute leadership.

Our internal training systems educate our organisation leaders to be as good as they can be. They know OUR WAY and continue its innovation. 

I see myself as the the organisational leader as well as the owner. Maybe in 3 years I may consider a Manager/technician role in the business. They would have to be someone who is a technician first and take on some management duties from me

Operations leaders

Operations leaders are the IN Leaders, making sure that you are delivering your offering effectively and that they are conscious of how to lead effective teams.
 

Guiding questions:

• How would you like to see your operations leaders operating in your business?
• Do you have a process to develop these leaders?

We have systems where every team leader is trained properly - and we regularly see all teams with high performance assessment scores.

It is important that our team leaders are active in their craft, and they are given sufficient training to maintain this.

We have a flat structure and don't want to grow the business to a size where we have lots of staff, this only creates headaches.

People & culture

Your people are essential to sustained value creation.
 

Guiding questions:

• Have you created an authentic living values system that is used daily?
• How would people describe their day-to-day time in your business?
• What makes them stay working in your business as opposed to alternative options?
• Have you paid fair, sustainable salaries?
• Have you enabled internal role mobility, so people can remain working for you in different roles as their needs change?
• Have you put in places systems ensure people are treated well, trained and properly resourced?

Our values are regularly revised to ensure they are relevant, and can be deployed authentically.  

We provide an environment where people can develop and be highly effective.

We pay sustainable, fair salaries that is on average 10% higher than comparable positions.

We built great systems documenting our roles and systems, to enable higher mobility of people amongst roles. 

We believe culture eats strategy for breakfast and our focus here has demonstrated its success. We are an employee of choice in our field, with a waiting list of good quality people who would like to work here.

Our values are part of our day-to-day lives.

We put a lot of work into entering the right people, keeping them engaged and ensuring high integrity exits. We listen to our people and take their feedback seriously.

We want a small, capable team that feels like family, built on trust, honesty, and pride in the work we do. Everyone knows their role, pulls their weight, and takes ownership of delivering quality repairs the first time. We keep the environment supportive and straightforward: clear communication, mutual respect, and no drama. Our manager leads with consistency and creates a space where people feel valued and trusted to get on with the job. We get things done, we look out for each other, and we make room to enjoy the work and have some fun along the way. The goal is a team that works hard, takes pride in their craft, and feels genuinely connected to the business and each other.

Ex-employees

Ex-employees can impact your brand about what it is like to work at your business. Those that have left with high integrity can be the source of filling future roles.

Guiding questions:

• How would you like to see employees who used to work at your organisation view their time with you?

We have a plan that allows people to exit with high integrity.

When people left our system, we tried to do this with the highest of integrity. Given this, we have been able to recruit people for roles where they ‘re-entered’.

When someone leaves my business, I want them to walk away better than when they arrived, not just with stronger technical skills, but with the life skills and confidence that set them up for whatever comes next. I take real pride in training people for more than the job. I am tough because I expect high standards, but I am also genuinely invested in their growth.

My hope is that when they look back, they see their time here as a turning point: a place where they were pushed to be better, supported when it mattered, and treated with fairness and respect. And even after they move on, I want the relationship to continue. Many of the people who’ve worked with me stay connected for years, and that’s important to me. It means I did right by them, and that the business helped shape their future in a meaningful way.

Our industry

Your business sits in an industry ecosystem.
 

Guiding questions:

• How would you want to influence people in your industry
• How would you like your industry to change in the future?
• How would you consider setting your industry up to be more resilient to change?  

I want to see our industry recognised for real skill, reliability, and professionalism &not just “handymen” fixing furniture, but tradespeople who take pride in quality workmanship. I want us to raise the standards so customers trust the repair process and value the craft behind it. In my own business, I am committed to showing that you can run a repair service with strong ethics, clear communication, fair pricing, and work that lasts. If we can set that example, we help lift the whole industry and build more respect for the trade.

Government
Your business sits within a regulatory framework.

Guiding questions:

• What are your attitudes to current taxes & regulations?
  • Would you want to challenge them? 

We are good corporate citizen and pay all our taxes.

We formed a government lobby group to enable better access to export markets in our niche. 

Environment
How can your organisation contribute from an environmental perspective?
 

Guiding questions:

• Do you want net-zero / net positive?
• Do you want to measure footprint?

We contribute to a number of positive environmental outcomes. We have implemented programs to:

• be net positive
• actively monitor and reduce our footprint 

I want us to treat waste from customer jobs responsibly and show care and respect for the environment, nothing fancy, just doing the right thing. We dispose of materials properly, avoid unnecessary waste, and make choices that keep our impact as low as possible while still getting the job done well. Everyone has a responsibility to the environment & we will always do our bit.

Community

Outside of your offering, what impact would you like to see from a broader community perspective?

I want our business to contribute to the community in ways that are practical and meaningful. We create local employment where we can, give opportunities to people who want to learn a trade, and support charitable causes that matter to us, especially those that help families get back on their feet or reduce waste through repair and reuse.

I also want to introduce something unique for our industry: offering occasional “community repair days,” where we fix small items at no charge for people who genuinely need the help. It’s a simple way to give back, support dignity, and keep good furniture out of landfill. If our business can make life a bit easier for someone while building pride in local craftsmanship, then that’s the kind of community impact I am proud to stand behind.