About:
G'day, I'm Tom Hazeldine.
I've been mowing lawns since I was big enough to push a mower around for pocket money.
20 years later and it's a serious business, but I still love the smell of freshly cut grass and putting a smile on my customers' faces.
These days I spend most of my time helping people start up new lawn and garden businesses with a sustainable foundation and customer satisfaction top of mind.
My Story
The Lawn and Garden Professionals Group Australia (bit of a tongue twister) was born out of frustration in seeing the big guys always win and the little guys losing, with a need for more industry support for the self employed, independent lawn and garden contractors.
After starting and failing at a couple of my own businesses here and there, I finally bought into one of the well known franchises and spent 7 years there.
I quickly figured out that the reason I had failed in the past was because I had no idea about running a business.
That's where a franchise system works well, they show you the ropes and the rest is history.
But, what do they really offer after you have the hang of things? Not a great deal, except being locked into a contract.
I realised, like many before me, that if there was a way of learning the ropes without spending a fortune on a franchise, then there would be many business owners far better off than they are now.
People who couldn't afford a franchise could still start an independent business with the same chance of success as a franchise owner, and people who needed that support, like myself, could confidently get it without taking out a $40k loan (that's what I did, plus $7-8k yearly franchise fees)
