I am a third-generation workshop business owner. My Grandfather was a mechanic with his own workshop, my father is a mechanic and former workshop owner as are my two brothers.

My husband has been in the industry for over 30 years, first as an NRMA patrolman and automotive technician in the Snowy Mountains, then 16 years as a workshop owner. He is a qualified Automotive Technician, Auto Electrician, Auto Glazier and a qualified Trainer and Assessor. In 2021, he was awarded for his excellence in developing and delivering the Certificate II qualification in Automotive Glazing for NSW Tafe.

In 2009, when our oldest child was only 10 months old, we mortgaged our house and started out from scratch as a small, one-man workshop. In 2010, we welcomed our second child and then a year later in 2011, our third. It meant three kids under three!

The following year in 2012, we said goodbye to my beloved mum after a long illness. In 2013, we had scaled to be one of the largest employers in town. Having outgrown the workshop, we sold our business, bought out a competitor and moved into a larger, purpose-built premises.

We went on to secure multi-million dollars in turnover and paid off multiple investment properties in less than ten years. We worked hard in that business, before selling in 2024 for more than the advertised price and cashing out for over 6 times what we paid for it in 2013.

But I can assure you, it wasn’t always easy, the road was littered with mental health setbacks, burnout, difficult conversations, sleepless nights, Mum guilt and some of life’s greatest shit-suations.

Now, we’re still invested in the industry, learning and working and operating a small specialist workshop in Jindabyne.

Gratefully, combining research with me-search and under Mark’s expert guidance, I am deeply committed to sharing the knowledge, experience and tools from years of burning the candle at both ends.

• Reported high turnover but couldn’t see the money
• Suffered slow financial growth
• Procrastinated and lacked confidence
• Implemented endless systems and procedures but struggled to find the right one that ‘fit’ our unique business
• Looked at the dollar figures in our workshop while neglecting every other area of my life
• Dreaded the crazy-busy, unpredictable and unproductive workday
• Avoided customer conversations
• Burnt out and overwhelmed
• Mental health basket case and high-functioning anxious mess