1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,440 Speaker 1: Doing void. Welcome to the mental mate. 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:03,120 Speaker 2: Thanks mate. 3 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: It's probably not a great occasion for you at the moment. 4 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: It's Christmas time and your business. You're the founder of 5 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: Living timber Coo. It's probably reached its nemesis. But we'll 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: talk about that in a second, the bad news, because 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: you know, we've got to keep rolling on. I guess 8 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: at the end of the day, and you've got to 9 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: make big business decisions, big boy decisions. But explain to 10 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 1: me what Living timber Coo was doing or is doing, 11 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: and what was the genesis of the idea, and you 12 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: know what was the vision? 13 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 2: So pretty much I started Living timber in mum and 14 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 2: Dad's garage. I had the vision of creating custom pieces 15 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 2: of furniture for people out of recycled and reclaimed the salvage. Hardwoods, 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 2: austray and hardwoods. 17 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: Just stop you there? Why why are hardwoods? Excuse me? 18 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: Can I just stop there? Why hardwoods? Do you have 19 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: a love of Australian hardwoods or as a some and 20 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: what is it as a tactile with nature of the colors? 21 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: What are we talking about here? 22 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 2: The reason I went with hardwoods is because everything that's 23 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 2: sort of imported and everything that's sort of not custom made. 24 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 2: It is all all just softwoods or pine, or if 25 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 2: it's from overseas, it's tea and stuff like that. Whereas 26 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 2: hardwoods you've got such a broad range of species that 27 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 2: you can work with, which are incredible, sort of amazing 28 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,279 Speaker 2: grains and patterns and colors. 29 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: Can you help me a little bit here. Obviously I'm 30 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: no expert on this area, but I love wood. I 31 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: just love it. I love timber. When you say hardwood, 32 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: prepared to say soft wood, which is what the sort 33 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: of stuff you're getting? You know that that's the sort 34 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: of stuff that will be in the walls, which would 35 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: be putting jiprocket to or sometimes in the windows. Some 36 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: of the Western read seedars sort of a softer sort 37 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: of timber. Yeah. What what makes a hardwood different to softwood? 38 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: I mean? And what the difference you're in Australian hardwood 39 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: and high wood from anywhere else in the world. 40 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 2: So there's there's there's a big difference in hardwoods. So 41 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 2: you can still have hardwoods that are soft that you 42 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 2: can dent with your fingernails and stuff like that as well. 43 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: So what makes it hardwood? What does it qualified? Grain? 44 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 2: So you've got. If you look at timbers like a 45 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 2: whole heap of straws that are packed together, they sort 46 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 2: of you've got. The tighter those straws are packed, the 47 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 2: more denser that it's going to be. So if you've 48 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 2: got looser sort of open grain, which is a lot 49 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 2: of softer woods or softer hardwoods, they've got like a looser, 50 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 2: open open grain, they're a little bit more susceptible to damage, 51 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,440 Speaker 2: and overall longevity is just not there, whereas a lot 52 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 2: of our Aussie hardwoods that do have that really dense, 53 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 2: packed in tight sort of straw like sort of stuff. 54 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 2: You've got, like your items of furniture can last for generations. 55 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: Then give you give me an example of what a 56 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,359 Speaker 1: hardwood like. What's just howwood sound like them? It? What's 57 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: the name of the one? 58 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:04,519 Speaker 2: So you've got this spotted gum that's probably one of 59 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 2: the most popular ones. 60 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: Like it come from a gum tree? 61 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so spotted gum is one of the most 62 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 2: popular ones. And then black butt, which is another eucalypse. 63 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 2: They're the two main species that we were working with, 64 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 2: and they're the two main species that tend to last 65 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 2: forever sort of thing. So when you're making furniture out 66 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 2: of this stuff, it's it's something that you can probably 67 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 2: pass down to your grandchildren if you want to keep 68 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 2: it for that sort of real longevity. Yeah, long, long, 69 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 2: And what's it like to work with? It's not great 70 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:33,519 Speaker 2: to work with it. It is a little bit harder 71 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 2: to work. 72 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: With because you can't put an island because it's harder anling. Yeah. 73 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, So it's sort of one of those things where 74 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 2: like it dulls the blades really quickly. Like we got 75 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 2: blades when we were operating, we'd have our blades sharpened 76 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 2: it weekly, so every Thursday they'd come in take our 77 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 2: old blades, give us fresh ones, and just constantly replenish 78 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 2: them because otherwise you're trying to like it's it's ridiculous 79 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 2: to try and run hardwood through a block old blade. 80 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: Do we have a hardwood forest? I mean, do we 81 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: have I mean people growing this stuff like as in 82 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: terms of forestry. 83 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 2: Yes, and no, like there is plantation stuff like for instance, 84 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 2: Tasmanian oak that's another type of hardwood. It's a softer. 85 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: Species of it's like quite a pale color too. 86 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 2: It is really pale, which is what a lot of 87 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 2: people seem to love at the moment. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah, 88 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 2: it's everywhere, Like a lot of the times, you see 89 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 2: it in architravees and stuff like that as well. There's 90 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 2: plantation for us of that, but there is other sort 91 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 2: of salvage sort of logs that we tended to use. 92 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 2: We worked with a lot of meals across Australia and 93 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 2: we'd work with either nuisance trees or trees that had 94 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 2: fallen over homes or trees that have been taken from 95 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:45,840 Speaker 2: there's new development areas that we're going in. We'd try 96 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 2: and salvage those trees without them getting mulched, and that 97 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 2: day were the logs that we would try to sort 98 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 2: of salvage. 99 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: And what about things like old bridges getting pulled down? 100 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 2: Did you do Yeah, we actually used to use a 101 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 2: lot of that sort of stuff. Towards the end, we 102 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: didn't because we sort of scaled a little bit quicker 103 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 2: than what I thought we would have and it was 104 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 2: a little bit harder to source that much timber for 105 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 2: what we were doing. So then it went to we 106 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 2: were working with FC certified companies that were contracted so 107 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 2: they had a small section of forestry that they could 108 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,039 Speaker 2: work with, and then we were able to source those 109 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 2: timbers that way as well. 110 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: I've often wondered about hardwood, Australian ardwoods so compared to hardwoods, 111 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: say from Malaysia, because I built a house, quite a 112 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: big house, and it was all timber, timber externally and 113 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:39,480 Speaker 1: tim ceilings, timber floors, and the builder that I used 114 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: got me a timber called Merbau. Yeah, never heard of it. 115 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: I'd never heard it before, mr Bau. I think it 116 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: is hardwood, all right, Yeah, but I think you told 117 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: me came from Malaysia or somewhere. 118 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. Yeah, so it's not an Aussie hardwood, 119 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 2: but it's big here in Australia. 120 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: I was still important. 121 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, so we it's everywhere. Most decks that you see 122 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 2: will be mrber. 123 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: It's a dark color. 124 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 2: It is like a darker reddish. 125 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: Yeah. 126 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it is a nice timber. It looks beautiful, 127 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,039 Speaker 2: it's great. There's a lot of Australian species that look 128 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 2: very similar, but unfortunately they're not fire rated. So merbough 129 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 2: is fire rated for our standards here. 130 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: What does that mean? 131 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 2: So if you're close to like certain bush land, like yeah, yeah, 132 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 2: then they've got specific fire rating, so you'd have to 133 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 2: use something like merbow. You wouldn't be able to use 134 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 2: something like spotted gum. The oil contents a little bit 135 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 2: too high, right, so then if there was a fire 136 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 2: to break out, then there's a chance at that. 137 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,479 Speaker 1: All that's interesting, says oil content in the Australian natives, 138 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: because you know there are eucalypse aren't they. That's right, 139 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,039 Speaker 1: and we're to about eucalyptic oil, yeps oil, and then 140 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: that that's quite burnable. Because what's interesting about the murbow 141 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: funny finishes say about the oil because once year we 142 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: have to go and oil it. Oh you do, yeah, yeah, 143 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,599 Speaker 1: because once year we have to go and you know 144 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: it tastes my guys weeks oh yeah, and they put 145 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: on the sickens the oil. It sickens or some some 146 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: some oil that sickens brands makes. But if you don't 147 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: do it, it starts to it looks like it gets bleached. 148 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 2: It'll go gray, yeah, gray look. 149 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. 150 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. If you leave it too long, that weather gray 151 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 2: look will just stay forever. Then then you have to 152 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 2: strip it back and then oil again. 153 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: Which is that that in itself is pain in the neck. So, 154 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: and in relation to Australian hardwoods, are they more resistant 155 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: to Australian bugs like you don't know, white ants or whatever. 156 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 2: Yes, and no. Like to be honest, once, once the 157 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 2: tree is sort of dead and the timbers are dried out, 158 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 2: the bugs love it, so it makes it even worse. 159 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 2: Something like merbough is not as susceptible because it's a 160 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 2: different sort of oil within that species of tree, so 161 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 2: then the bugs are less likely to eat into it, 162 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 2: whereas the bugs here are more likely to eat into 163 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 2: dry Aussie natives because they love the taste of it. 164 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 1: And where did you get like were you where did 165 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: you get this love and passionately? Just from the way 166 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: you're talking about you love timber? Yeah, and it sounds 167 00:07:57,800 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: like you really love Australian timber. And it sounds like 168 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,040 Speaker 1: to me, on top of that, you really love let's 169 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: call it recycled timber, reuse timber, like they're sort of 170 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: three different categories of what you're doing. Where did this 171 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: sort of passion come from? 172 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 2: To be honest, I don't, I don't really know, Like 173 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 2: I've always liked working with timber. 174 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: Well, you're a kid who played around with timbers a 175 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: little bit. 176 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, like my pop he was a chippy, so he 177 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 2: built houses and stuff. My dad wasn't. My dad went 178 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 2: into handyman work. But I think maybe I got my 179 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 2: love for it through Pop. But I'm a zoologist, that's 180 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 2: my that's my background. 181 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:33,959 Speaker 1: So I as in marine as in biology. Yeah. 182 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, so I worked with reptiles, that was my So 183 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 2: I worked here at Sydney at the zoo here in Sydney, 184 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 2: at Sydney Wildlife World, and I did that for a 185 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 2: number of years and then I sort of got a 186 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 2: little bit over that and was like, I really like 187 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 2: working with timber. And I started working with a fellow 188 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 2: that worked solely with recycled fence palings, and I was like, 189 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 2: this is really fun. I can probably do this on 190 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 2: my own. And then all of a sudden, just I 191 00:08:57,880 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 2: just wanted to learn as much as I could about 192 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 2: tim species and try and figure out everything. So I 193 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 2: worked with him for about two years and then I 194 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 2: just went, this is amazing. I'm going to try and 195 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 2: just go out on my own and see how I 196 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 2: go with it. 197 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: Because well, making furnitures slightly different because you know, you've 198 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: got to learn how to use CAD design or some 199 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: sort of design. Yeah, a CAD being computer assistant design. 200 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 1: Did you how did you teach yourself how to do this? 201 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:21,679 Speaker 1: Because you've got to draw it up. You've got to 202 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: draw the plan. It's you've not gott to draw up. 203 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: He could draw up my hand, but that's a punish. 204 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: You have to draw it up and then you have 205 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: to get shop drawings so that you're can to sort 206 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: of get your team to build it. And that all 207 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 1: requires effe. That's a skill base. That's that's not a 208 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: passion and love thing. That's a skill. 209 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:40,199 Speaker 2: That's something you have to learn. 210 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 1: You have to learn. How do you teach yourself how 211 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,439 Speaker 1: to draw this, how to do this stuff like build 212 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: shop drawings. 213 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 2: Well, I actually in school before going in zoology and 214 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 2: starting to learn about that, I actually was wanting to 215 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 2: be an architect, so I started to learn about that, 216 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 2: so that's sort of I had a little bit of 217 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:56,959 Speaker 2: background there where I'd learned in school to do a 218 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 2: lot of card drawings and stuff. So I had a 219 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,839 Speaker 2: little bit of background but not enough. And then I 220 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 2: virtually how to teach myself in the first couple of 221 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 2: years how. 222 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: To use the software and how to use the hardware 223 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: as well. So you taught yourself or your upskilled yourself 224 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: into doing that. Obviously you got the underlying fundamental passion 225 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 1: and love of timber. How did you This is probably 226 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: a hard one to answer. It's a hard question you'd 227 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: ask because I don't know the answer to it, or 228 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: I don't have a sense of it. How did you 229 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 1: teach yourself to become You got the skills, but how 230 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: did you teach yourself to become artistic enough and creative 231 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: enough to be able to create furniture? Because you know 232 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: it's creative, It's right, it is. We're not talking about 233 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: You're not talking about you know, the standard table. You're 234 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: talking about pieces that people want to buy because they 235 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: think are beautiful, that's right, or they want to work 236 00:10:55,320 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: with you to create something beautiful themselves apart from the materials. Yeah, 237 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:02,679 Speaker 1: how did you? How did you know you could be 238 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: any good of that shit? 239 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 2: So I don't. I sort of Ever since I was 240 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,679 Speaker 2: a kid, I've loved designing little things and like coming 241 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 2: up with different sort of creative ideas. Was I was 242 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 2: very artsy as a kid, and like I loved anything 243 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 2: to do with creating with my mind. 244 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 1: And then that sort of is first, and then that's right. 245 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 2: I can always see it. So I would always see 246 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 2: a design in my head first, and then i'd draw 247 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 2: it out on paper and then that's where we'd go 248 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 2: into CAD and be able to manufacture from there. So 249 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 2: it just sort of would always come to me. I'd 250 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,079 Speaker 2: sort of get ideas that would pop into my head 251 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:36,599 Speaker 2: and I'd sort of play around with it for a 252 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 2: number of weeks or months and like knuckle down exactly 253 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 2: what that design is going to be and how it'll 254 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 2: sort of work and if I can actually manufacture it 255 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 2: with timber, because it's a little bit hard. Like some 256 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 2: designs that I came up with looked amazing on paper, 257 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 2: but once you tried to work with it with timber, 258 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 2: it was a nightmare to try and manufacture. So I've 259 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 2: just always been a creative person. I suppose. I've loved 260 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 2: anything to do with creating some form of art, and 261 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 2: it just sort of came out in furniture, I suppose. 262 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: And how did you know that there would be demand 263 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: for this as a business. 264 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 2: Well, I saw that there was a lot of people 265 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 2: that were looking for specific sizes for certain things. Like 266 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 2: every time I would go into the furniture store with 267 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,040 Speaker 2: my partner. We'd go looking for furniture and what not 268 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 2: for our house, and I'd always hear people, I want this, 269 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:29,559 Speaker 2: but it's too big or it's too small, just a 270 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:31,720 Speaker 2: little bit bigger. And I said to my missus, I 271 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,439 Speaker 2: was like, like, why don't we just try and do this? 272 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 2: Like does it not make sense? Like I've got the 273 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 2: skill because when I first started, I wasn't manufacturing furniture. 274 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 2: I was doing like chopping boards and cheeseboards and coasters 275 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 2: and stuff. And I was like, I can turn this 276 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 2: in the furniture, Like why not. There's people that are 277 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 2: wanting it, so there's a demand there. And I saw 278 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 2: that that market was so niche that no one was 279 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 2: really doing it at the time. Ten years ago. There 280 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 2: was a few guys, but they were very they weren't 281 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 2: custom custom. It was like, hey, we got this design 282 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 2: in five different sizes, but that's it. Whereas I would 283 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 2: say to my clients, I'd go, hey, come in with. 284 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: A drawing while sketch. 285 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'd go I'll build whatever you want sort 286 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 2: of thing, because that's where I thrived. Like I loved 287 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 2: when people would come to me with something that looked 288 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 2: like you wouldn't be able to manufacture it and I'd 289 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 2: be able to bring it to life. 290 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: For so were you building with dows and what sort 291 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: of stuff? 292 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 2: So at the beginning we were a lot of a 293 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 2: lot of like like hand crafted joinery. When it got 294 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,600 Speaker 2: onto more of a scaled sort of side of things, 295 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 2: we had to step back from that because it just 296 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 2: wasn't viable for you. 297 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 1: That makes sense, not feasible. So give me first customer. 298 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: I do. 299 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 2: Actually, my first big customer, I can't remember my very well, 300 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 2: My very very first customer was my cousin Paul. So 301 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 2: he asked me to build him a dining table. He goes, oh, man, 302 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 2: I reckon, you can do it. And I'm glad that 303 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 2: he did, because that dining table sold for like nine 304 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,080 Speaker 2: hundred bucks to my cousin and that paid for my 305 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 2: first lot of tools. Because I started the company with 306 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 2: twenty six bucks in my bank account, so I had 307 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 2: I had nothing, no capital, nothing, So that sort of 308 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,200 Speaker 2: started everything. And then I got one big client where 309 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 2: I fitted out a hair salon with all their benches 310 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 2: and everything, and then the love just sort of stemmed 311 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 2: from there when I saw all the beautiful timber fitted 312 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 2: out in an entire shop. I was like, this is 313 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 2: this is it? This is what I want to do. 314 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: And when did the demand start to pick up for you? 315 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: It's like maybe he'd tell me which period, like year wise. 316 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 2: So I sort of found in maybe the end of 317 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 2: the second year, started the third year. 318 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: Would you were talking about a twenty twenty. 319 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 2: This was in twenty seventeen. Yeah, so I started in 320 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 2: twenty fifteen and in twenty seventeen I started to see 321 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 2: a bit of demand where people just started rocking up 322 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 2: to the factory and saying, oh, you built a peace 323 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 2: for my friend down the road. And I was like, okay, 324 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 2: yeah cool because at the time we located now in Penrith. 325 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, so just in Western Sydney there and in Penrith, 326 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 2: and we've been in the same spot the entire time. 327 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 2: So yeah, Like I first started in Wearington in mum 328 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 2: and Dad's car port, but after about six months it 329 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 2: sort of outgrew that and had to move into a building. 330 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 2: So yeah, and then we started getting people just rock 331 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 2: up and say, hey, you built this for my friend, 332 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 2: or you build this for my cousin or whatever, and 333 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 2: can you build this for me, and I was like yeah, okay, 334 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 2: and it just sort of kept going and then it's 335 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 2: sort of snowballed. And then next thing we were manufacturing 336 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 2: for Tullamarine Airport and some really yeah yeah yeah, so 337 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 2: we manufactured the big airport and melting Yeah, the big 338 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 2: Melbourne airport. 339 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: Yeah. 340 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,240 Speaker 2: So we manufactured these big bent limination archways with solid 341 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 2: timber opening doors and it was nine meters by three 342 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 2: point five meters. It's two of them. That was one 343 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 2: of our bigger projects that we did. So it's sort 344 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 2: of just speak. 345 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: So you're getting big customer deals. 346 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. We ended up getting to a stage where 347 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 2: we were manufacturing quite quite big products, not just furniture. 348 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: How exciting was that? It was amazing who were employing then. 349 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 2: We had at that time just one me and one guy. Wow, 350 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 2: we were manufacturing everything, doing everything just me. 351 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: It made me working twenty four hours a day. 352 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 2: I would every day, seven days a week, and I'd 353 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 2: average sixteen eighteen hours a day. 354 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: And it's just you're only still a young fellow, but 355 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: you would have been even younger than like ten years 356 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: ago and moost Enuff. How energizing was that for you? 357 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 2: Oh? It was amazing. I thrived off no sleep like 358 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 2: it was great, Like because you're doing what you love. 359 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I was excited to get up and go 360 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 2: in the morning, like I wanted to get to work 361 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 2: to build stuff like that was amazing. 362 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: And would you say, looking back now, would you say 363 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: that there was something you did right? And was there 364 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: also you know that was making it work? And was 365 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: it but was also was there something that you weren't 366 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: doing right? 367 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 2: Yeah? Definitely. So what I was doing right I think 368 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 2: was I feel like people saw my passion when I talk. 369 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: About I can feel it you talk, Yeah, there you go. 370 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 2: So like I found That's what a lot of people 371 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 2: get excited with me while I was talking about what 372 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,200 Speaker 2: we're going to build for them, because. 373 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, can I just because I think I think one 374 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,359 Speaker 1: of the reasons that is that say, just as I 375 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,360 Speaker 1: think survey one, A lot of people share your love 376 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:18,920 Speaker 1: of timber, yeah, and the way it can look, particularly 377 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: straining tim We a lot of us also share the 378 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:28,719 Speaker 1: love of reused timber, reloved timber, but none of us 379 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:30,680 Speaker 1: know to do it. Yeah, and then all of a 380 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: sudden we meet to do who shares the same passion, 381 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: but it can do it. Then it sort of combines 382 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, you think, what's the possibilities 383 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: here as the customer, there's lots of possibilities here. I mean, 384 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: that's a that's a big deal. 385 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's what we found. Is the main 386 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:49,919 Speaker 2: reason why we've got a lot of work was because 387 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,240 Speaker 2: I loved the fact that people would come to me 388 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 2: with crazy ideas and I would look at them and go, yeah, 389 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,199 Speaker 2: I can manufacture that, and I'd have no idea how 390 00:17:58,200 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 2: I'm going to build it, and I'd figure it out. 391 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: So so just at that point before you forget it out, 392 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 1: just at that point is that the I don't want 393 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:10,880 Speaker 1: to call the art of the sale, but is that 394 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:15,399 Speaker 1: what people wanted you to say? And that became a 395 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,360 Speaker 1: strength of your business in terms of driving demand because 396 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,119 Speaker 1: people just love your enthusiasm and you know, and not 397 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 1: oh that's too hard or it's going to be really expensive. 398 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: I mean, it was that a strength, I think. 399 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,199 Speaker 2: So I think it was a strength because there is 400 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 2: guys that are still out there doing stuff as well, 401 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:35,440 Speaker 2: but they won't take on sort of the same work 402 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 2: that we would take on. I would say it probably 403 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 2: would have been a strength because because I was sort 404 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 2: of game to take that sort of project on. Some 405 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 2: things were obviously way out of reach where I was like, 406 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 2: you can't you can't make timber bend like that or 407 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 2: whatever it may be. So there was some things where 408 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 2: I had to turn around and go, oh, look, sorry, 409 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 2: we can't do that, but we can do this, and 410 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 2: I'd give them a few other ideas that are similar that. 411 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 2: I knew that we'd be a manufacturer. So I think 412 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,160 Speaker 2: it was a strength in the business to be able 413 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,119 Speaker 2: to manufacture just about anything out of timber. 414 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 1: And what did you do wrong? Then? In hindsight, what 415 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 1: would you say? 416 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 2: I honestly think that where it went wrong is I 417 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 2: just grew way too quick, too quick for like, too big, 418 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 2: too quick. 419 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:26,840 Speaker 1: In terms of being able to resource the business with 420 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: people or capital everything about to buy the stock. I mean, 421 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: obviously you've got to keep timber, that's right. You've got 422 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: to have someone out there constantly going out and looking 423 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: what I'm going to buy. They're going to buy, They're 424 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,120 Speaker 1: going to buy that. You've got to store it. We're 425 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:41,560 Speaker 1: going to have a warehouse or something like that in 426 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: your factory. So that's capital, Yeah, that's that's patient or 427 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 1: lazy capital, that's right. You need money, yeah, yeah, and 428 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 1: then you're going to get people to do the work, 429 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: that's right, because you can only there's only some nails 430 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 1: a day that you can work exactly for a long 431 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 1: for a certain amount of time, that's right. 432 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:58,639 Speaker 2: So when it was just me and one other bloke, 433 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 2: it seemed a little bit simpler. Yes, I worked crazy hours, 434 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 2: but it was easier to stock timber. I'd have heaps 435 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 2: of timber there all the time. I branched out and 436 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 2: actually opened up a trade company under the same name, 437 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 2: and we would sell timber as well, so then that 438 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 2: would help me build a bit more capital to bring 439 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,640 Speaker 2: more timber in so that I would have stock always there. 440 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:22,840 Speaker 2: I ended up purchasing another company in twenty twenty three. 441 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 2: We took over that and then I expanded to seven 442 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 2: staff virtually overnight. And I think that's where our demidse 443 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:29,720 Speaker 2: sort of. 444 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: Grew too fast. Yeah yeah, well, I mean I'll take 445 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 1: that back in a second, because when I say grow 446 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: too fast, I don't like it. It doesn't really explain 447 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: the problem or the issue. Grew beyond my resources, that's right, Yeah, 448 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: and that's everyone. No one grows too fast. But you 449 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:46,920 Speaker 1: can grow beyond your resources. 450 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:47,639 Speaker 2: That's what it was. 451 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,440 Speaker 1: And all of a sudden you become a manager as 452 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: opposed to manufacturing manufacturer. You become a person manages other people. 453 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: That's right, and you're doing and that changes the whole 454 00:20:58,560 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: vibe of the joint. 455 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,479 Speaker 2: It did. That's exactly what happened. 456 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,440 Speaker 1: And so we've gone from you doing what you absolutely 457 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 1: you've always dreamed about. You skilled yourself up, you did 458 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,920 Speaker 1: all the right things. You were able to just authentically 459 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:15,479 Speaker 1: win jobs because people could see your authenticity about the 460 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: project they were passionate about, and they I guess you 461 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 1: were running Instagram, Well how were you marketing? 462 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,399 Speaker 2: So we we had socials everywhere? So what was it 463 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 2: called Living Timberco was everything that was? That was your 464 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 2: page everywhere. So we had that on Instagram, Facebook. 465 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: And what you show? What did you show them? The process? 466 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 2: Yeah? So I used to do daily videos on my 467 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,920 Speaker 2: on my stories and I would show people processes. I 468 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 2: was very big on teaching other makers as well, Like 469 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,160 Speaker 2: I loved being able to show how to manufacture things, 470 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:49,720 Speaker 2: which I thought was just amazing. 471 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: I worked with a lot of gold successfully, We're getting 472 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:53,439 Speaker 1: lots of following. 473 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, we weren't having a huge following in the maker space. Yes, 474 00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 2: we had heaps of heap of heaps of people, so 475 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 2: you ad yeah, yeah, And I actually ended up starting 476 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,200 Speaker 2: a podcast with another made of mine called the Woodbiz 477 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:07,200 Speaker 2: Podcast that we used to run for about three years, 478 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 2: and I was teaching people how to manufacture and run 479 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:15,639 Speaker 2: a business at the same time, which, in hindsight, yeah, yeah, yeah, 480 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 2: very brave. But it was good and like I enjoyed 481 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,640 Speaker 2: it. It was amazing. But like you said, as soon as 482 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 2: we grew to that point where resources became a bit hard, 483 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 2: I wasn't manufacturing as much. That's where I started a 484 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 2: step back from socials. I wasn't on there daily like 485 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 2: I used to be. I'd be lucky to get on 486 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 2: every other week. I was just too busy. I was 487 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,680 Speaker 2: still working crazy hours, but I was just managing a team, 488 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:42,880 Speaker 2: managing products that were coming in. The company that we'd 489 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 2: taken over in twenty three was a wholesale company, so 490 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 2: then it was different to working with retail clients. We 491 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 2: were then beginning to manufacture, like the constant, the same 492 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 2: products over and over again, and it wasn't what it 493 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 2: used to be. 494 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 1: Can I as interests you should say that. And sometimes 495 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: people come to me and they say, Mark, what should 496 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: I do in this this is how the business is 497 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,120 Speaker 1: going blah blah, And they if they are the type 498 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 1: of person you are, your personality, your character that is skilled, 499 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: great creative, absolutely love the material, the product, the process, 500 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,879 Speaker 1: you know, maybe the lay, even using the lay, the 501 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:33,680 Speaker 1: whole thing. I say to those people, you are a 502 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: person who builds things out of timber, but you're not 503 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: a person who should be in the business or building 504 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: things out of tim But they're different. And I say 505 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: to those people, and I actually had it with a 506 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: tattoo guy. There was a guy, a very well known 507 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: tattoo artist here in Sydney, like one of the best known, 508 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: a great tatoo like Japanese style tattoos. And my advice 509 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: to him was don't he was saying the same thing 510 00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: as you were saying. He said he had to step 511 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: back from the business, start to manage people and employ 512 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,639 Speaker 1: tattoo artists and all that sort of stuff, and run 513 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: the accounts and look at the debtors and look at 514 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 1: the creators blah blah blah, you know, do social media posts. 515 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: And I said, mate, why did you just step back 516 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: from that and employ someone to do that. Go find 517 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,399 Speaker 1: a person who likes to be an administrator. That's right, 518 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: because people who love to be creative like you, who 519 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: are artists essentially an artist, aren't any good administration as rare. 520 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,120 Speaker 1: And by the way, administrators aren't any good at artistry. 521 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,919 Speaker 1: But your business needs both, that's right. I mean, if 522 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: you had to come and see me years ago, I 523 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: probab would give me the same advice. I would say, mate, 524 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,120 Speaker 1: you're better off employing somebody just slowing down a little bit, 525 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: employing someone to run all your shit. And I'm not 526 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,119 Speaker 1: to a CEO or something not at that level, but 527 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 1: like a manager. 528 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 2: That's right. 529 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: Someone can manage the business and you stay the lead 530 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 1: creator of the business and oversee the quality control and 531 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: oversee who the clients are that you're doing and making 532 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: sure that the timbers write timbers and all that sort 533 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,959 Speaker 1: of stuff. Nearly like as someone who's a cross between 534 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: a general manager dash administrator and a chief financial officer 535 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: or a chief financial controller. Yeah, not a CFO to 536 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: control or some of the controls the money in, the 537 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 1: money out yep, and comes in and says Heyden, this 538 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: month's a bit loaning because there's a month that you 539 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: know people aren't buying. It's January. See, I don't know 540 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: if your business is seasonal, but I assume it's January. 541 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 1: It's a seasonal time. And you know this this month, 542 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,920 Speaker 1: we can't be buying any more timber. We won't buy 543 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 1: a tim for the next two months. He's just gonna 544 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: have to make do. Yeah, I mean that that's is 545 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:38,480 Speaker 1: that something that would have worked for you back then? 546 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 2: So surprisingly, eighteen months ago, I actually took somebody on 547 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,640 Speaker 2: to do that. My my co host in the podcast, 548 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 2: he actually that's what he used to do and he 549 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,240 Speaker 2: loved admin work. And that's he goes, I mean, I 550 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 2: want to come on board. Can we work together? And 551 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 2: I said, yeah, no worries. Unfortunately I let my ego 552 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 2: get in the way and I didn't let him step 553 00:25:58,240 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 2: into that role properly. 554 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you've got a bit now, you've got to 555 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,919 Speaker 1: let them. I was too stubborn and there's not so 556 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,639 Speaker 1: much ego. You may be a bit too tough on yourself, 557 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:11,920 Speaker 1: but it's sometimes it's I'm the owner, I'm the proprietor. 558 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: This is my baby. I can't I just it's not 559 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:20,080 Speaker 1: it's more like, I'm not ready yet to allow someone 560 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,440 Speaker 1: to control the outcomes. It's not it's not that you 561 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:25,119 Speaker 1: thought you're better than in perhaps, I mean. 562 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:27,400 Speaker 2: It was one hundred percent. 563 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: I didn't want to let it go. 564 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:32,359 Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. That was my baby at that point. It 565 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 2: was about around eight and a bit years that I've 566 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:35,640 Speaker 2: been running it, and I was like, man, you can't 567 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 2: just walk in here and take over and do all this. 568 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:39,679 Speaker 2: But that's what we were working towards doing. And I 569 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 2: just couldn't let go of that. 570 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,320 Speaker 1: That's an insecurity, it is. And there's an insecurity by 571 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 1: the way that you will never do again. You would 572 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 1: never repeat that mistake. Yet, that's right, because that insecurity 573 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,200 Speaker 1: comes from not knowing what it's like to hand something 574 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,879 Speaker 1: over to somebody. And I mean I often say this 575 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 1: to people sometimes you just got to jump off the 576 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,119 Speaker 1: cliff and let it happen, and I hope you and 577 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:04,240 Speaker 1: hit water, you know, because you can't sit down and 578 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:09,400 Speaker 1: work out, Wow, can this person do that job as 579 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,639 Speaker 1: well as me? Probably not, But as long as they 580 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: can do a good enough job, and over time you'll 581 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,400 Speaker 1: either see them grow into the business, into the role, 582 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 1: or not grow into the role, at which point you 583 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,360 Speaker 1: have to make another care mate. It's not working, that's right. 584 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: At which point you know, because it is your business 585 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: and you've got to sit there your fingers crossed. You've 586 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 1: got to take those sort of leap of faith. 587 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:31,680 Speaker 2: That's right. 588 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: And you know the number of businesses that I've had 589 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: over the years, I started with a chief executive offer 590 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,199 Speaker 1: and like someone who's in charge of the joint and 591 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:43,240 Speaker 1: then as the business grows a lot of times those 592 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 1: individuals weren't any good for the business any longer, and 593 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,399 Speaker 1: I've had to move mine. Or a GFC occurs, or 594 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 1: a COVID occurs, a GFC occurs or a COVID occurs, 595 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,639 Speaker 1: you have to change positioning. And it's more about managing 596 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 1: money or something like that than again you can make. 597 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 1: You have to make a change. You have to be 598 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:03,960 Speaker 1: prepared to make those calls. That's why it's hard. 599 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,439 Speaker 2: When it's a friend, it is so he was like 600 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 2: a I wouldn't say he's like a mate, like he 601 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,639 Speaker 2: was just in the industry and we would work together. 602 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,119 Speaker 2: So our first business went well together and we were like, 603 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 2: let's do it. And I really wish that I had 604 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:20,719 Speaker 2: have Like it's hard because past has passed. It happened, 605 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,120 Speaker 2: But if I had have just let go and went, yep, mate, 606 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 2: it would have been a different story. He actually did 607 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 2: that same role now for his dad's bathroom renovation company, 608 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:34,040 Speaker 2: and that's grown exponentially because his dad stepped back and went. 609 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: Yep, he's really good at it. 610 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 2: So in hindsight, if I had let him take over, 611 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 2: then would have been a very different story today, I think. 612 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: So where you're at now with this thing that you 613 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: you know, like clearly you loved it, you still love it. 614 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 1: You put a lot of years into it, eight years 615 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: you're you know, you've obviously learned a lot from it all. Well, 616 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: where's the business at now? 617 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 2: So the business has completely gone now, it's completely closed up. Yeah, 618 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 2: we've closed up as of two weeks ago. 619 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: Do you have to go to administration or what? 620 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 2: So we went into liquidation liquidation Yeah. 621 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, the liquidate didn't try and sell the business. 622 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, so we it was voluntary liquidation. 623 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: We went into Yeah, So what was the overwhelming piece? 624 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: Lack of demand, like inability to supply, cost, cost pressure, 625 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 1: what was it? 626 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 2: There was quite a lot of stuff, so supply became 627 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 2: a little bit more harder. With the scale that we 628 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 2: were at, we weren't able to get as much timbering 629 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 2: as often as we could, like we used to be able. 630 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: To get relative to the business the jobs you've taken on. 631 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 2: Correct, Yeah, as well as there was a lot of 632 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 2: factors in the forestry industry and stuff. A lot of 633 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 2: that was starting to get taken away from a lot 634 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:47,480 Speaker 2: of the big milling companies and stuff like that. They 635 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 2: weren't allowed to many of like meal, as much timber 636 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,040 Speaker 2: as they used to, and it was starting to just 637 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 2: get to that stage where there was so much sort 638 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 2: of demand but not as much supply. And then we 639 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 2: got the other end of the spectrum where the demands 640 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 2: started to drop. As soon as interest rates started rising 641 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 2: in the economy about eighteen months ago or so, we've 642 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 2: sort of found that the more higher end custom products 643 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:10,360 Speaker 2: started to come down. 644 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 1: So people were just saying, look, I'll go to somewhere 645 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: else already built, it's already made, I'll copy it. Sweet. 646 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: I can't be indulgent, that's right. I can't indulge my 647 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,320 Speaker 1: dreams and my passions for the time being until the 648 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 1: rates come back exactly. 649 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, And that's what we found was sort of it was. 650 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,000 Speaker 2: We started to see it a little bit, and that 651 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 2: was the main reason why I expanded and took over 652 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 2: another company in twenty twenty three, because I thought I 653 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 2: need to pivot somewhere. We started to notice that with 654 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:40,920 Speaker 2: the interest rates slowly creeping, that our sales were starting 655 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 2: to decline. They went, all right, well, let's get into wholesale. 656 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 2: If we wholesale, we can manufacture for the big box stores, 657 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 2: which we've manufactured for quite a few which was great, 658 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 2: but the margins were a lot less, and then the downside, 659 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 2: we're doing that in twenty twenty three. We'd just come 660 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 2: off the back of an expansion in twenty twenty where 661 00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 2: we jumped into a building three times a size and 662 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 2: put couple other people on and stuff like that. Rent 663 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 2: that's right, more rent, more overheads. 664 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: The bier premises are, the more electricity pay, and more 665 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 1: people going to have to fill it. 666 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,920 Speaker 2: And overheads just became exponential. So I didn't actually have 667 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 2: stable margins by the time I then did my other 668 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 2: expansion in twenty twenty three, and that's sort of where 669 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 2: I should have probably stepped back a bit and went, no, 670 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,719 Speaker 2: let's think about this, Yes, this opportunity is come up 671 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 2: to take over this other company and merge it with ours. 672 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:28,560 Speaker 2: Is it safe to do so at the moment or 673 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:32,520 Speaker 2: is it not? And yeah, evidently it just wasn't it too? 674 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,959 Speaker 2: We still were sort of paying off debts from our 675 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,960 Speaker 2: expansion that we did in twenty twenty. I should have 676 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 2: essentially left it another twelve months, let that all clear up, 677 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:44,720 Speaker 2: and then maybe look at expanding again. 678 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: So it just maybe explained to it in terms of 679 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: lessons learned, how would you now say, it's yourself you're 680 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 1: talking to back in twenty twenty three and an opportunity 681 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: arises to buy this wholesale company, knowing what you know? Now, 682 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: what would you say to yourself? Because you know, we 683 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: get caught up. There's a seduct This is very seductive. 684 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 1: There's a opportunity to buy this business. I can really 685 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: see all the logic around it, you know, how it 686 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: all fits in, all looks great like In terms of 687 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 1: a puzzle, how do you deal with that seductiveness relative 688 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:33,480 Speaker 1: to say, just being patient and being prepared to miss 689 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:34,080 Speaker 1: out on something. 690 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,400 Speaker 2: So if I was to look back at it now, 691 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,480 Speaker 2: I would have one hundred percent chosen my passion over 692 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 2: over growth, mainly because that passion did fizzle quite a 693 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 2: bit once we did do that growth. So I had 694 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 2: the choice to do it all over again, I wouldn't 695 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,000 Speaker 2: have wouldn't touch that coin. 696 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 1: What would you say to yourself, though. 697 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 2: I would, I would tell myself to stick with your passion. 698 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,880 Speaker 2: Do what you love. If you love manufacturing, even though 699 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 2: I was working crazy hours every single day, I still 700 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 2: enjoyed it. It was amazing, And I would have said, 701 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 2: let's double down on socials and maybe push socials. 702 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,520 Speaker 1: More and stay in your lane a little bit. 703 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,120 Speaker 2: That's right, Stay in the lane. Don't expand into something 704 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,640 Speaker 2: that you don't want to expand in. Do purely because 705 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 2: of cash float Like, yeah, I was looking at it 706 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,800 Speaker 2: in the sense of it's a company that's been running. 707 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 2: That company that we took over was running for twenty 708 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 2: three years. So I was like, it's a well known company. 709 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:33,320 Speaker 2: They've got quite a few clients. And I was like, 710 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,560 Speaker 2: it's great, it's easy money. The downside was it wasn't 711 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:39,560 Speaker 2: It wasn't exciting stuff to build. 712 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:41,360 Speaker 1: It wasn't so you had to manage it. 713 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 2: And then you had to manage it. That's right. So 714 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,400 Speaker 2: then it was almost like having sort of almost like 715 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,480 Speaker 2: having two separate companies that I was trying to manage 716 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,000 Speaker 2: together because there's this wholesale manufacturing company that's just pumping 717 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 2: out the same things all the time, and then there's 718 00:33:55,880 --> 00:34:00,640 Speaker 2: Living Timberco at its heart where it was custom, beautiful, manufactured, 719 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:04,080 Speaker 2: handcrafted furniture, and I'm trying to balance both of those. 720 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,520 Speaker 2: So yeah, if I went back, I would tell myself 721 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 2: to stick with your passion and like, screw the money. 722 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 2: It is what it is, It'll come if you keep 723 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:13,960 Speaker 2: following your passion. 724 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:17,279 Speaker 1: And it was also bad timing too, like maybe just 725 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:19,680 Speaker 1: not the time that's right, you know, maybe it's maybe 726 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:21,920 Speaker 1: you could have waited and done the wholesome business five 727 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,680 Speaker 1: years down the track exactly. And if you can't, if 728 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:27,000 Speaker 1: you can't buy that one, you create your own PABs 729 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:30,919 Speaker 1: or start from the beginning, because it can. I ask 730 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:34,880 Speaker 1: you the moment do you remember, and I'm sure you do, 731 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 1: the moment that you decided to go on to volunteer liquidation. 732 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,879 Speaker 2: Yes and no, Like it was that was pretty soon. 733 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,400 Speaker 2: I did see it sort of coming. I was fighting 734 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:50,280 Speaker 2: it because I didn't want it to. Yeah, I've spent 735 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:51,879 Speaker 2: ten years of my life building this thing. 736 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,080 Speaker 1: So when you know that sort, that's my point, Like, 737 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:58,759 Speaker 1: when do you know shit is inevitable? Stop? Stop the fight? 738 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,439 Speaker 1: Like if you could have in a voluntary degradation, say 739 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:04,240 Speaker 1: six months later, would you save yourself a lot of time, energy, hassle, 740 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:05,520 Speaker 1: part pain, et cetera. 741 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,120 Speaker 2: If I'd have done it six to twelve months ago, 742 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:09,480 Speaker 2: probably would have been a lot easier. 743 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:13,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, And what was it that held you back from 744 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:13,520 Speaker 1: doing it? 745 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:17,600 Speaker 2: I think stubbornness. I didn't want to lose it. I 746 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:18,680 Speaker 2: really didn't want to lose it. 747 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,880 Speaker 1: So how do you reconcole that? Because that's a great thing, 748 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,880 Speaker 1: not being stubborn and being determined and not want to 749 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,239 Speaker 1: lose the thing that you built? I get it. Yeah, 750 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:29,719 Speaker 1: But how do you reconcole that with what would have 751 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:33,400 Speaker 1: been a more practical outcome for you? How did other 752 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: people judge this that? When do I say that's enough, 753 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:36,920 Speaker 1: I've got to give up? 754 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:38,480 Speaker 2: Yeah? 755 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: How would you do that again today? How would you 756 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: make that decision? 757 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:44,840 Speaker 2: If I was to make that decision again today, I 758 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:50,360 Speaker 2: would probably Like I'm very big on working on yourself, 759 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,960 Speaker 2: so like I work on my own mentality quite a lot. 760 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,279 Speaker 2: Whereas I gave that up in twenty twenty three when 761 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,640 Speaker 2: I took over that other company and I just worked 762 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 2: on the business, stop focusing on helping like benefiting me. 763 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 2: I think if you if you work on yourself and 764 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,359 Speaker 2: like it'll it'll be more beneficial long term. 765 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:11,919 Speaker 1: You mean being in touch with this of being aware, 766 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,080 Speaker 1: being aware what it is doing to you. 767 00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:15,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I got to a stage where I was 768 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 2: just stress mode and that was it. There was no 769 00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:19,720 Speaker 2: and I would just push it to the side. 770 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:21,279 Speaker 1: You're just doing every day, that's right. 771 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,680 Speaker 2: I'll just work, work, work, and I wouldn't think about, hey, 772 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,160 Speaker 2: what is this doing to your body? What is it 773 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,279 Speaker 2: doing to your mind? And I actually had a big 774 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:31,440 Speaker 2: mental breakdown in August twenty twenty four, so that that was. 775 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: Quiet and how does that manifest itself? So I think 776 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:35,479 Speaker 1: you get depressed or something. 777 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:38,239 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was quite a big sort of issue. I 778 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,920 Speaker 2: sort of felt it coming and then all of a sudden, 779 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:43,040 Speaker 2: I had this big crash and I couldn't even go 780 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,920 Speaker 2: and set Like I was on the couch and I 781 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:48,279 Speaker 2: was just like, I don't know, it just randomly will 782 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,640 Speaker 2: start balling and crying and my wife was like, what's 783 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,239 Speaker 2: going on, She's panicking. I had an idea what was 784 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:55,319 Speaker 2: going on, and then it turns out that it was 785 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:57,640 Speaker 2: just this big burnout and crash that i'd had. 786 00:36:57,719 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 1: Were you sharing? Was it a a result of you 787 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:04,520 Speaker 1: not sharing things with your wife and others? Yea, everything 788 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:06,479 Speaker 1: to me, I'm going to hold it back in. Yeah. 789 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,120 Speaker 2: I was like, this is happening, but I need to 790 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,680 Speaker 2: deal with everything else outside. So I was trying to 791 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:12,400 Speaker 2: deal with all the business getting that. 792 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,600 Speaker 1: Go there do you go again? I think so, yeah, 793 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,720 Speaker 1: Well I don't mean to go in a bad sense. No, yeah, definitely, 794 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:19,759 Speaker 1: but this is my problem. I go to sort it 795 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:20,960 Speaker 1: time of tund that's right. 796 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:22,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's how I looked at it. I was like, 797 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:24,200 Speaker 2: the weights on my shoulders. I got to deal with it. 798 00:37:24,239 --> 00:37:26,919 Speaker 1: And would you say, and how have you reconciled from 799 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 1: that moment where you know you crashed to the moment 800 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:33,240 Speaker 1: where we are now, how have you reconciled that's for yourself? Like, okay, 801 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:35,440 Speaker 1: well I had to put a voluntary liquidation, that's hidley. 802 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:37,200 Speaker 1: How have you reconcile that in your own mind? 803 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:41,640 Speaker 2: So I actually went deep into working on myself mentally. 804 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:45,080 Speaker 2: So I do daily meditations now and I work on 805 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:47,719 Speaker 2: myself I do breath work, I do yogurt, I do 806 00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:50,640 Speaker 2: all that sort of stuff to work on me. And 807 00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:54,799 Speaker 2: I found that even going into voluntary liquidation, if it 808 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:56,759 Speaker 2: was twelve eighten months ago, I would have been in 809 00:37:56,800 --> 00:38:00,759 Speaker 2: this panic mode and stressing out and whatnot. But I 810 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,279 Speaker 2: feel like it was more clear more. There was a 811 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 2: lot more clarity, I think because I did work on myself. 812 00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:10,360 Speaker 2: I worked on how to regulate my own emotions and 813 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:15,640 Speaker 2: just pushed myself to teach myself to feel what I'm 814 00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:19,319 Speaker 2: feeling and say, right, you're stressing out, Why you're stressing out, 815 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:21,799 Speaker 2: figure it out, and then work on it, rather than 816 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,640 Speaker 2: going you're stressing out, forget about it. You've got to 817 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:27,080 Speaker 2: deal with this. And I found by doing that and 818 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:32,040 Speaker 2: doing my meditations and working on myself and figuring out 819 00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:34,520 Speaker 2: my own emotions when they are starting to arise, and 820 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:37,160 Speaker 2: talking to people about it and stuff like that, I 821 00:38:37,239 --> 00:38:40,520 Speaker 2: found that open. Yeah, that's right, and it helped me heap. 822 00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:43,400 Speaker 2: So when all this stuff had happened and the company 823 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,560 Speaker 2: went into liquidation, I was like, Okay, yep, this is 824 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:48,919 Speaker 2: what we've got to deal with now. There's no point 825 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,440 Speaker 2: in dwelling. What's the point is sitting here and crying 826 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 2: and stressing and yelling and going no, you can't do 827 00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:54,960 Speaker 2: this to me, blah blah blah, Like it is what 828 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:55,279 Speaker 2: it is. 829 00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:59,439 Speaker 1: Can you get angry with the government conditions? I mean? 830 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:02,960 Speaker 1: And if so, is it okay to be angry with somebody? 831 00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:05,560 Speaker 1: And you know where does blame sit and all this stuff? 832 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:09,479 Speaker 1: And yeah, self pity where all those things fit? 833 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:14,480 Speaker 2: So like, yes, yes, there is sort of some blame 834 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:16,360 Speaker 2: there within the government. But at the end of the day, 835 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:18,279 Speaker 2: I'm the director of the company, so I make all 836 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:22,480 Speaker 2: the decisions. Everything comes on to me, regardless. Economic pressures 837 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:24,719 Speaker 2: were a big part of the reason why we close down, 838 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:27,960 Speaker 2: which I suppose falls in part on the government and 839 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,239 Speaker 2: what's going on with the economy and whatnot. But be 840 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:34,640 Speaker 2: on end or I'm the director of the company. I've 841 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:37,680 Speaker 2: got to take sort of the blame sort of comes 842 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:39,560 Speaker 2: to me at the end of the day because I 843 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:41,240 Speaker 2: make all the decisions within the business. 844 00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:43,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. So it's interesting because I read a book min 845 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,759 Speaker 1: years ago called What It Takes, and I think I 846 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 1: dedicate a whole chapter this, But I'm glad you raise 847 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,680 Speaker 1: it because you just reminded me of it. Every now 848 00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:54,799 Speaker 1: and then I say in one of those chapters, you've 849 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:59,480 Speaker 1: got to take a step back from yourself and just 850 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,200 Speaker 1: observe yourself wrestling in the mud with all the shit, 851 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:06,600 Speaker 1: all your drama, because that's a lot of people just 852 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:09,480 Speaker 1: can keep wrestling in the mud and just and there's 853 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,120 Speaker 1: no one, no winner. You're just going to simulately to suffocate. 854 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:16,000 Speaker 1: And I think it's important every now and then for everyone, 855 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,400 Speaker 1: every business to take a step back and observe what yourself. 856 00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,560 Speaker 1: If you can, like I mean, remove yourself from yourself 857 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,439 Speaker 1: in a quantum sense I'm talking about and say, well, 858 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:28,440 Speaker 1: what the hell are you doing down there, Dean? Look 859 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:32,960 Speaker 1: at you. You're and you're you know, you're just wrestling 860 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,480 Speaker 1: wrestling wrestling, and you're not going You're not getting anywhere, 861 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,160 Speaker 1: You're just slipping off them. If you can imagine that 862 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:42,239 Speaker 1: that process and there's no winner, that's right. And once 863 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:44,720 Speaker 1: you step back from that, you can say, well, maybe 864 00:40:44,719 --> 00:40:46,600 Speaker 1: now it's time to call it quits. And people often 865 00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:48,120 Speaker 1: say to me, like, when do I know it's time 866 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:50,600 Speaker 1: to give up? Yeah, well, I think if you can 867 00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:53,839 Speaker 1: just remove yourself from your own ego. And I don't 868 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:56,800 Speaker 1: mean it in an egotistical sense. I mean, remove yourself 869 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,040 Speaker 1: from me, that's right, Yes, and look at my just 870 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 1: have a look. 871 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:03,239 Speaker 2: Remove yourself from your physical body to see what's going on. 872 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:04,960 Speaker 1: Which is what you do when you do yoga or 873 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:08,640 Speaker 1: you do meditation, et cetera, the same thing. But I'm 874 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:10,239 Speaker 1: sort of just trying to be a little bit more 875 00:41:10,239 --> 00:41:12,319 Speaker 1: practical for most people. But I do it. I mean 876 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:14,399 Speaker 1: I often do it, like I've done it many times over. 877 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:17,080 Speaker 1: I do it all the time. What's actually what are 878 00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:18,160 Speaker 1: you actually doing? Mark? 879 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:18,640 Speaker 2: Yes? 880 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:22,600 Speaker 1: And and then and then once you get a bit 881 00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:24,960 Speaker 1: of clarity around that, because it's about getting clarity about 882 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:27,360 Speaker 1: what you're up to share it, talk to some people, 883 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:30,160 Speaker 1: that's right, anyone who's close to, anyone you trust, which 884 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:33,600 Speaker 1: is why it's important in business to have people around 885 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:34,320 Speaker 1: you that you trust. 886 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:34,879 Speaker 2: That's right. 887 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know they're not necessarily mentors or whatever the case. 888 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:43,200 Speaker 1: Just someone who you can verbalize and articulate what you 889 00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:44,560 Speaker 1: just observed, not what. 890 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:46,600 Speaker 2: You're feeling, no, no, no, what you. 891 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:47,600 Speaker 1: Observed about yourself. 892 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:48,080 Speaker 2: That's right. 893 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,040 Speaker 1: You know what, the other day, I was just thinking, 894 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:51,960 Speaker 1: I was watching myself and I just think this is 895 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:55,640 Speaker 1: a bullshit. It's not going anywhere. Just scrape myself off 896 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:56,960 Speaker 1: the wall and I fall back down. I'll go back 897 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,680 Speaker 1: on a full way down. I mean, if you're religious, 898 00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:02,920 Speaker 1: it's been locked in purgatory. You're never going to get out. 899 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,360 Speaker 1: You're not getting out. So in which case you say, okay, 900 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:08,080 Speaker 1: well you can have it on your own, I'm out 901 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:13,399 Speaker 1: because there's I think, in my personal view, I don't 902 00:42:13,400 --> 00:42:18,560 Speaker 1: think there's any shame in closing that any business. In fact, 903 00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:23,560 Speaker 1: I think it's as long as you're prepared to it's enlightening. 904 00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:26,520 Speaker 1: You can learn stuff about what never to do again. 905 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,360 Speaker 1: And what's really good about you doing is that you 906 00:42:29,440 --> 00:42:32,640 Speaker 1: are prepared to go and share it, so you're actually 907 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:34,719 Speaker 1: teaching other people. Because not many people get on the 908 00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:36,920 Speaker 1: show and talk about there are always is about success. 909 00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:40,480 Speaker 1: Not many people have the wherewithal to sit down and 910 00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:45,239 Speaker 1: talk about this. And business has more failures, many more 911 00:42:45,239 --> 00:42:47,319 Speaker 1: failures than success, many many more. 912 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:47,839 Speaker 2: That's it. 913 00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:51,839 Speaker 1: Even the great businesses, many many more. I mean, I've 914 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:56,040 Speaker 1: seen so many of them, and rarely do they want 915 00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:59,800 Speaker 1: to share it. And what you've been talking about today 916 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:04,880 Speaker 1: is people will be listening to this. A lot of 917 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,439 Speaker 1: people will be sitting here one because we have tough 918 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:11,000 Speaker 1: economic conditions at the moment, and looks like twenty twenty 919 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:13,600 Speaker 1: six could even be tougher again because the interest rates 920 00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:15,160 Speaker 1: are not going to go down, They're going to stay 921 00:43:15,160 --> 00:43:18,200 Speaker 1: where they are, and indeed some commentators are saying that 922 00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:20,839 Speaker 1: they're going to go up. We will be in from 923 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:24,960 Speaker 1: tough time and there will be people thinking to themselves, Wow, 924 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:28,560 Speaker 1: this could be me. What happened to Dean? 925 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:29,440 Speaker 2: That's right? 926 00:43:29,560 --> 00:43:34,239 Speaker 1: And what's that process like? And how do I deal 927 00:43:34,239 --> 00:43:37,399 Speaker 1: with it? For you, it's probably a relief, it really is. 928 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:41,160 Speaker 2: Like I feel, as odd as it is, I'm actually 929 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:44,960 Speaker 2: much happier than I have been in the last two years. 930 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:48,680 Speaker 2: It's this big almost like yeah, like this weight lifted 931 00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:50,759 Speaker 2: off my shoulders. But the way that I'm looking at 932 00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:54,680 Speaker 2: it is as well, is like you said, this isn't 933 00:43:54,719 --> 00:43:57,920 Speaker 2: just the failure. The business hasn't just failed. I've learnt 934 00:43:57,960 --> 00:43:59,560 Speaker 2: so much over the last ten years. 935 00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:01,120 Speaker 1: And enjoyed stuff too, and I've loved it. 936 00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:02,520 Speaker 2: That's right. I've loved every bit of it. 937 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:03,399 Speaker 1: And you still love Wood. 938 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:05,759 Speaker 2: I still love Tim, but I still love it, that's right. 939 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:09,799 Speaker 2: I enjoy what I did and I still love every 940 00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:13,120 Speaker 2: single part of it. I will probably take a step 941 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:14,680 Speaker 2: back for a little bit from it, just to sort 942 00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:17,680 Speaker 2: of unwind and relax and sort of gather thoughts and 943 00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:19,920 Speaker 2: do whatever I'm doing. But I'm looking at this as 944 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:23,799 Speaker 2: the next path forward now. So yes, yes, it's the 945 00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:26,840 Speaker 2: end of living Timberco's it's really sad that it's all happened. 946 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:28,680 Speaker 2: But I've learned so much so that then that way 947 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:31,200 Speaker 2: I can build myself up again. I'm already sort of 948 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:33,399 Speaker 2: slowly working on something else in the back of it now, 949 00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:35,920 Speaker 2: So I thought, what's the point of sitting down and 950 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:37,600 Speaker 2: doing nothing, twiddle my thumbs. 951 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:38,440 Speaker 1: And feeling sorry for yourself? 952 00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:41,359 Speaker 2: That's right. I now know what I don't need to do, 953 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:43,160 Speaker 2: like I know how to not do it, so that 954 00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:45,200 Speaker 2: in that way I can I can learn from what 955 00:44:45,239 --> 00:44:47,839 Speaker 2: I've done in the last ten years and grow from 956 00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:51,480 Speaker 2: that scale, maybe a little bit slower, bring people on 957 00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:54,680 Speaker 2: a little bit slower, all that sort of stuff. It's 958 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:57,080 Speaker 2: it's to me, a failure is a lesson. 959 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:01,160 Speaker 1: It's interesting, you should say, because some often people in 960 00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:04,160 Speaker 1: businesses not about learning about what you need to do, 961 00:45:04,239 --> 00:45:06,359 Speaker 1: what you should do. There's a lot of times learning 962 00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:10,080 Speaker 1: about what you shouldn't do. That's right. Those lessons are 963 00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:12,640 Speaker 1: probably to some extent more valuable, but they are only 964 00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:16,560 Speaker 1: lived in experiences. There are things no one can really 965 00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:19,040 Speaker 1: tell you about. You have to there's too many of them. 966 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:24,319 Speaker 1: You have to live that experience. And and just one 967 00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:29,560 Speaker 1: final questions. Slightly off pieces, a little bit different. But 968 00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:33,800 Speaker 1: when it comes to someone like you in this game, 969 00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:38,480 Speaker 1: that is I love a timber and using Timbra's furniture. 970 00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:50,480 Speaker 1: Have you got someone who's architecture or design that you've 971 00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:54,120 Speaker 1: always loved. Is there's someone who like Frank Lloyd Wright 972 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:55,640 Speaker 1: for example? You know, I don't know if you know 973 00:45:55,680 --> 00:46:00,600 Speaker 1: Frank Lloyd Right, the famous interior, famous architecture generally, but 974 00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:02,759 Speaker 1: he always designed his own furniture. Yeah, and he had 975 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:05,360 Speaker 1: that sort of Japanese sort of was always timber, and 976 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:07,960 Speaker 1: he had that Japanese sort of sort of influence on 977 00:46:08,080 --> 00:46:11,400 Speaker 1: him because he lives in Japan. Flog tip. Is there 978 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:15,160 Speaker 1: someone like him that inspired you and still inspires you? 979 00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:21,880 Speaker 2: I don't one hundred percent no, really like it's it's 980 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:26,000 Speaker 2: as weird as it is. I I went into this 981 00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:29,960 Speaker 2: industry not knowing anything about the industry, not knowing anything 982 00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:32,680 Speaker 2: about furniture design, nothing, So I didn't have anybody that 983 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:36,800 Speaker 2: inspired me. My inspiration came from my own artistic creations 984 00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:40,440 Speaker 2: that I would make, So there wasn't any one person 985 00:46:40,440 --> 00:46:42,279 Speaker 2: that I would look at over the years. Yeah, I 986 00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:43,839 Speaker 2: found people. It was like, oh, he does some really 987 00:46:43,840 --> 00:46:46,280 Speaker 2: cool shit. I want to see when he do similar 988 00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:48,480 Speaker 2: sort of designs and stuff. But I didn't have anyone 989 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:52,000 Speaker 2: that I really like would go, oh, he's an inspirational person. 990 00:46:52,040 --> 00:46:54,200 Speaker 2: That's why I've done what I'm doing. 991 00:46:55,239 --> 00:46:58,040 Speaker 1: Theo's eyes because I've always I love furniture and I 992 00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:04,160 Speaker 1: love timber and Frank Lloyd right timber design is it 993 00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:08,240 Speaker 1: looks a bit hard and not that comfortable. But actually 994 00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:12,239 Speaker 1: I've had some pieces made over the years sort of 995 00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:14,440 Speaker 1: copying what he makes. And I actually bought some stuff 996 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:17,560 Speaker 1: from the Frank Lloyd Wright place in Japan who has 997 00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:22,560 Speaker 1: all these past word it has all his designs. Bought 998 00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:26,640 Speaker 1: lamps like big tool lamps and stuff like that, and 999 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:30,520 Speaker 1: and I and I because I love that stuff. I 1000 00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:34,400 Speaker 1: just love. But his stuff's a bit sort of rigid. 1001 00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:37,520 Speaker 1: It is like it's a bit architectural. Maybe it's probably 1002 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:39,719 Speaker 1: a better way of saying it's a bit not soft. 1003 00:47:39,719 --> 00:47:40,120 Speaker 2: That's right. 1004 00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:43,799 Speaker 1: It's edgy, very edgy. Yeah, yeah, And uh. And I've 1005 00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:47,320 Speaker 1: often wonder about people like you whether or not you 1006 00:47:47,600 --> 00:47:50,879 Speaker 1: sort of were a person who collected these things over 1007 00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:56,640 Speaker 1: the years, because because I've collected lots of stuff on photographs, 1008 00:47:56,640 --> 00:48:00,239 Speaker 1: I'm talking about magazines and stuff like that, and then 1009 00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:01,400 Speaker 1: when I got to point in my life where I 1010 00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:03,560 Speaker 1: could afford it, I actually thought, now I'm going to 1011 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:07,279 Speaker 1: get that made. And I've got friends who when they 1012 00:48:07,320 --> 00:48:09,520 Speaker 1: went to school used to collect books on boats and 1013 00:48:09,560 --> 00:48:15,160 Speaker 1: aeroplanes and houses, and they sellect the magazines, and those 1014 00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:18,520 Speaker 1: days everyone have magazines, and then one day they became 1015 00:48:19,719 --> 00:48:22,440 Speaker 1: that person. I just wondered about you, whether or that 1016 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:24,160 Speaker 1: was something you always collected as a kid. 1017 00:48:24,640 --> 00:48:29,480 Speaker 2: Well, I think so not really, No, Like, that's the 1018 00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:34,359 Speaker 2: weird thing about the industry that I moved into. My 1019 00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:37,680 Speaker 2: whole background is in animals and conservation. That's everything I've 1020 00:48:37,680 --> 00:48:41,799 Speaker 2: always thrived to do. So the timber side was kind 1021 00:48:41,800 --> 00:48:43,200 Speaker 2: of a little bit of a mixture of that, with 1022 00:48:43,920 --> 00:48:47,440 Speaker 2: recycling timber and whatnot and manufacturing and then getting the 1023 00:48:47,560 --> 00:48:49,719 Speaker 2: artsy sort of thing out of there. But there wasn't 1024 00:48:49,800 --> 00:48:52,880 Speaker 2: really a I wouldn't collect. The only things I collect, 1025 00:48:52,920 --> 00:48:55,919 Speaker 2: which I've collected for years is chisels. I don't know why. 1026 00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:57,919 Speaker 1: I love chisels, so they're cool. 1027 00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:00,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've got a huge collection of random dew diferent 1028 00:49:00,320 --> 00:49:04,840 Speaker 2: Australia manufactured chisels, some from like like early nineteen hundred 1029 00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:07,640 Speaker 2: sort of things. So that's one thing that yeah, I 1030 00:49:07,680 --> 00:49:10,919 Speaker 2: do collect that sort of thing. But I think that's 1031 00:49:10,960 --> 00:49:14,440 Speaker 2: just because of my love for timber and working with and. 1032 00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:19,319 Speaker 1: The tools and the tools use. And just just on 1033 00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:23,440 Speaker 1: the zoology piece, A lot of people know what zoologists are, 1034 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:27,600 Speaker 1: but as someone who's a study of animals, that's the 1035 00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:34,080 Speaker 1: best way of putting it. And I did you do 1036 00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:38,000 Speaker 1: your studies at university and zoology? So I never knew 1037 00:49:38,040 --> 00:49:41,040 Speaker 1: what a zoologist was either, but one stage there I 1038 00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:45,520 Speaker 1: now happily, luckily live in a house that was built 1039 00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:50,440 Speaker 1: for a very famous Russian zoologist. And he was a 1040 00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:54,160 Speaker 1: marine biologist, but a zoologist broadly, but he's specially with 1041 00:49:54,200 --> 00:50:00,359 Speaker 1: marine biology. And his name was Nikolay maclay mclovich. Yeah, 1042 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:04,920 Speaker 1: you know the person very famous scientists from Russia. Well 1043 00:50:04,920 --> 00:50:06,880 Speaker 1: what was it, by the way, when I say Russia, 1044 00:50:07,560 --> 00:50:11,960 Speaker 1: it's currently Ukraine, but Russia controlled this particular area in 1045 00:50:12,040 --> 00:50:15,400 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century. In the eight in sixties, seventies and 1046 00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:20,080 Speaker 1: eighties and nineties, and he he came to Australia via 1047 00:50:20,120 --> 00:50:25,040 Speaker 1: pap New Guinea and a little story to finish off 1048 00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:28,919 Speaker 1: and zoology story. And they came to say via pap 1049 00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:34,200 Speaker 1: New Guinea because he had a lung disorder and he 1050 00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:36,560 Speaker 1: found that the warmer he was obviously in Russia, but 1051 00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:39,279 Speaker 1: the warmer weather was good for his health. So he 1052 00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:41,400 Speaker 1: came down Papun New Guinea, and in Papun New Guinea 1053 00:50:41,440 --> 00:50:47,040 Speaker 1: he discovered that a black person's brain is not inferior 1054 00:50:47,120 --> 00:50:49,160 Speaker 1: to a white person's brain. And he was the person 1055 00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:55,239 Speaker 1: who was responsible for dispelling that myth that black people 1056 00:50:55,280 --> 00:50:59,399 Speaker 1: are inferior to white people intellectually. And then they named 1057 00:50:59,400 --> 00:51:01,719 Speaker 1: a coast in pap New Guinea after he was called 1058 00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:04,160 Speaker 1: Maclay Coast. And then he went from there he came 1059 00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:08,759 Speaker 1: to Australia. And when he came to Australia, he was 1060 00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:14,160 Speaker 1: studying marine animals, particularly sharks and some fish who just 1061 00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:16,479 Speaker 1: looking at their brains and doing experiments and stuff like that. 1062 00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:23,719 Speaker 1: And he was able to get a house built by 1063 00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:26,120 Speaker 1: subscription through the New South Wales government was at that 1064 00:51:26,160 --> 00:51:27,840 Speaker 1: stage we were not a federation. This is in the 1065 00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:33,120 Speaker 1: nineties and that house was built via subscription, so people 1066 00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:36,880 Speaker 1: put money into it. And he established the first marine 1067 00:51:36,920 --> 00:51:41,440 Speaker 1: biological station in the Southern Hemisphere and the only second 1068 00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:44,399 Speaker 1: one in the world. And he lived I live there 1069 00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:50,880 Speaker 1: now and in this particular he unfortunately passed away in 1070 00:51:50,960 --> 00:51:55,680 Speaker 1: about eighteen ninety eight or something like that, and he 1071 00:51:55,760 --> 00:52:02,080 Speaker 1: dedicated his life to studying animals and animal brains and 1072 00:52:02,200 --> 00:52:07,760 Speaker 1: animal behaviors. Crazy and right here in Australia. And the house, 1073 00:52:07,800 --> 00:52:09,799 Speaker 1: by the way, this house was in what would be 1074 00:52:09,840 --> 00:52:13,640 Speaker 1: considered be remote then, but today it's not remote. It's 1075 00:52:13,719 --> 00:52:15,920 Speaker 1: it's in Watson's Bay. But those days it was a 1076 00:52:15,920 --> 00:52:18,200 Speaker 1: long way to get from the city to Watson's Bay. 1077 00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:22,080 Speaker 1: In fact, you wouldn't never go there. You wouldn't there 1078 00:52:22,080 --> 00:52:23,719 Speaker 1: was nowhere to get there, and you weren't going together 1079 00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:25,239 Speaker 1: buy a horse and car. There was no bus or 1080 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:29,160 Speaker 1: trains or or anything else. Cars, that's for sure. And 1081 00:52:29,160 --> 00:52:31,520 Speaker 1: that's my own exposure to a zoologists that I've ever 1082 00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:35,000 Speaker 1: had in my life. And I found him to be 1083 00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:38,480 Speaker 1: that world to be quite a fascinating world. And and 1084 00:52:38,520 --> 00:52:40,760 Speaker 1: what's interesting to me is that you were in that world, 1085 00:52:40,920 --> 00:52:43,600 Speaker 1: but you went from that world to another world, which 1086 00:52:43,600 --> 00:52:50,680 Speaker 1: I absolutely love Timber Hardwood. Like it is between zoology, 1087 00:52:50,840 --> 00:52:55,520 Speaker 1: animal particularly animal brains, and Timber. I had no idea 1088 00:52:55,560 --> 00:52:58,880 Speaker 1: who was coming in today. You're you're You're played in 1089 00:52:58,880 --> 00:53:01,400 Speaker 1: both territories. So I respect to the fact that you've 1090 00:53:01,400 --> 00:53:04,200 Speaker 1: had to put your business liquidation. From my point of view, 1091 00:53:05,040 --> 00:53:09,080 Speaker 1: you have had, you have done something. You hung out 1092 00:53:09,120 --> 00:53:11,799 Speaker 1: in two of the best areas that I consider in 1093 00:53:11,840 --> 00:53:14,680 Speaker 1: my life. And I couldn't do either of those things. 1094 00:53:14,719 --> 00:53:16,239 Speaker 1: I couldn't do anything of the zology and I've got 1095 00:53:16,280 --> 00:53:20,960 Speaker 1: absolutely zero skiol when it comes to designing and or making. 1096 00:53:21,120 --> 00:53:24,200 Speaker 1: So well done, Thank you, and I wanted to leave 1097 00:53:24,239 --> 00:53:27,680 Speaker 1: you that. Yeah, well done. Congratulations. Sorry to hear their 1098 00:53:27,760 --> 00:53:31,040 Speaker 1: business and liquidation, but big deal. That's right, well done, 1099 00:53:31,280 --> 00:53:32,480 Speaker 1: well and congratulations. 1100 00:53:32,560 --> 00:53:33,239 Speaker 2: Thank you so much. 1101 00:53:33,360 --> 00:53:34,120 Speaker 1: Two great careers. 1102 00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:37,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's amazing, and I'm still moving back into the 1103 00:53:37,480 --> 00:53:39,239 Speaker 2: zoology stuff now where I'm going. 1104 00:53:39,160 --> 00:53:41,959 Speaker 1: There, Hang in there and don't let the bases grind 1105 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:42,279 Speaker 1: you down. 1106 00:53:42,360 --> 00:53:44,839 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it. Thank you very much. Thanks for having mate, 1107 00:53:44,840 --> 00:53:45,600 Speaker 2: really appreciate it.