From Butcher to Mining Hydroblaster to Lawn Care – The Diverse Careers of Ash Gulwell!
Episode Timeline
- 00:00 – Intro
- 00:35 – Describing what Coochie does
- 01:54 – First job in a butcher shop, then apprenticeship
- 04:40 – Career shift into the mining industry in Gladstone
- 07:10 – Wanting to start his own small business
- 08:36 – Finding Coochie Hydrogreen as the right fit
- 09:36 – Initial doubts: sounded too good to be true
- 11:07 – Research and buying process
- 12:25 – Fears and challenges before starting the business
- 13:35 – A normal day in his franchise
- 14:26 – Keys to success in growing the business
- 15:57 – What new customers really want
- 17:06 – The Coochie lawn care process explained
- 17:57 – Advice to new buyers & future of his territory
Ash is now 3 years into his journey of owning a Coochie Hydrogreen franchise region in Gladstone, QLD, with out of the ordinary levels of growth, but his career started very early and in a very different environment.
Starting out as a 14 year old running down after school in the afternoons to work in the local butchers, and then again for a few hours on Saturday mornings, Ash got to work hard and pretty early in life.
An apprentice since leaving school at the end of year 11, Ash ended up managers stores and in retail all up for 15 years. It was one of his apprentices who suggested working in and around the mining industry, which prompted him to check it out in Gladstone.
8 years later, after working in hydroblasting in a refinery, and moving into managing teams in that environment, Ash knew he wanted to get a bit of balance and control of his path back into his life.
A look around at the business market with a broker saw Coochie Hydrogreen put in front of him – a business he knew nothing about.
After a call into Head Office to talk about the business, he didn’t realise he was speaking to and firing questions about the franchise to the CEO!
Impressed with what he heard, and his subsequent research, Ash finds himself 3 years later in a business and region that is growth as he adds additional vehicles to keep up with demand and opportunities.
This makes so much sense Liam. Thank you for this eye-opening article!
Thank you Gemma for reading and leaving your feedback – it\’s much appreciated!
I agree with Gemma – this is really an insightful post. I will definitely recommend it to my social circle.