After Spending 25+ Years In Food Distribution And Supermarket Logistics, Ken Channeled His Passion for Horticulture and the Desire for A Career Change Into A Business of His Own.
Episode Timeline
- 00:00 – Intro
- 00:26 – What Coochie Hydrogreen does
- 01:13 – Career prior in food service distributing to restaurants, hotels & more
- 02:27 – Night shifts at Woolworths logistics distribution facility
- 03:44 – Supplying 50+ supermarkets & cost of delivery insights
- 05:28 – Passion for horticulture & looking for a career change
- 06:35 – Studying Certificate 3 in Horticulture while at Woolworths
- 08:08 – Passion for horticulture came from mum
- 08:59 – Couldn’t get a council job, age possibly an issue at 59
- 09:36 – Discovery of Coochie through brother’s franchise
- 11:14 – Launching Coochie in his region & owner feedback
- 12:17 – Support from Coochie & business growth
- 13:34 – Growth progress from zero clients
- 15:06 – Initial doubts & simple local marketing strategies
- 16:39 – Growth via face-to-face marketing & bowls club clients
- 18:16 – Other local marketing: rugby league, beer coasters & more
- 19:08 – Coochie advantage: lawn comparisons with neighbors
- 19:49 – What he loves after 5 years & future goals
- 21:30 – Hiring staff & how the business operates
But, owning his own business wasn’t necessarily in the plan. The plan was to transition from supermarket logistics with a Certificate in Horticulture, and into the council parks and gardens division.
Disconsolate about the fact he couldn’t secure a job with the qualification after 4 years of study, was thinking his age at 59 was becoming a problem.
A chance conversation with his brother who had just purchased a Coochie Hydrogreen franchise after being a customer, and everything seemed to just align very quickly for Ken from that moment onwards.
Now with 400 or so clients in his region, and a target for 500 in the near future, Ken is looking forward to more growth.
