1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

Sacrificing time with my daughters.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I am the most unlikely person to become a leader.
I had a terrible childhood and I’m not very smart. I was expelled from my first high school and dropped out of my second.
I had my first daughter and decided I was going to give my kids the best chance at life possible, I bought a cheap mowing business and worked non stop 7 days a week to put my family in a better financial position, I kept trying to improve every week and wouldn’t stop unless I did better then the week before. I don’t want to waste a moment as the end goal is to retire early and spend as much time with my 2 daughters.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

8 hours sleep is a must, I wake up get my 2 daughters ready, My wife does lunches and uniforms, I do breakfast and brushing teeth. My wife and I take them both to school every morning together and pick them both up together. We work very efficiently while the girls are at school to spend time with them each night, The girls will often want to watch their TV shows which is when my wife and I do more work. We then have dinner together and my wife does the girls homework while I do a bit more work.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

People like honesty, you’re allowed to admit when you’re not good at something. I’ve found my franchisees often try to help me in areas I struggle as long as I’m honest. People get frustrated when you set a high expectation and don’t meet it, It’s better to set a realistic expectation and exceed people’s expectations.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

I don’t often read books, I believe that books are a useful source of information but not the only source. (I also have a very short attention span unless I become obsessed with something).
Instead I talk to or watch videos of people that have a uniquely different perception of life.
Jim Penman, Jordon Peterson and Andrew Tate come to mind.
(Although most don’t like Andrew Tate).

I believe there is no wrong or right answer way to live life, we each get one shot, just because most live their life a certain way doesn’t mean it’s right for me.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

The end goal is to live a happy life and help the people you care about live a happy life. Money is a tool that can assist you to purchase things that may bring you happiness. You’ll get more happiness from helping people and earning peoples respect then you will from owning any material possession. Life is short, Figure out how you want to be remembered and aim for that.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I used to order an Ultimate double whopper meal from my Local “Hungry Jacks” store, One of the workers in the kitchen went to school with me and heard about my success in business through other friends of his in the Frankston area.

He would put extra bacon on my burger each time I went and then message me on Facebook later that day to talk to me about his life. He did this for months on end. He had told me about his issues with his girlfriend and how he felt stuck in life as he couldn’t get another job and could barely afford his rent. His story stuck in my mind so I worked really hard on building up another mowing round, as soon as I had it I told him to quit his job as he was going to work for me. He worked for me for 2 years and spent everyday after work staying at my house talking to me while I’d fix the equipment ready for the next day.

He soaked up as much information as possible, I sold him a part of my business on a payment plan loan as he couldn’t afford to buy it, He paid me back within 6 months and now consistently earns $1000 per day, He is currently saving for a new home and had found a new girlfriend, they’re now planning they’re weeding as he proposed to her. He still speaks with me nearly everyday and tells me about things he’s improved on and things he is still trying to improve on. He constantly reminds me how I changed his life and keeps me motivated to keep pushing as it inspires him even more.