On Friday 11 October, the Victorian and Tasmanian family business community came together at the Family Business Insights VIC/TAS State Conference in Melbourne at The Commons Collective.
It was a great day filled with keynote presentations and speakers, starting with our Family Business Excellence Award VIC/TAS winner announcement and finishing with a networking event.
Family Business Excellence Awards
The Family Business Insights VIC/TAS State Conference started with a presentation to VIC/TAS awards winner of our Family Business Excellence Award.
The Family Business Excellence Awards are presented to an outstanding family business demonstrating excellence and achievement in the core business principles of Governance, Entrepreneurship and Stewardship, and exhibits how family ownership and involvement has helped the business to achieve a competitive advantage.
Sunrise2Sunrise were the winners of the 2024/25 Established Family Business Award for Victoria and Tasmania. The award was accepted by Rhavi Bhatt, alongside his wife and two children.
“What a day! Firstly, I want to thank you for this recognition today. I’m deeply honoured to be standing here on behalf of my family and the team.”
“Sunrise2Sunrise, as the name says, is a 24/7 service. My wife came up with the name. I started the business after seeing the big gap, where problems get bigger before they make it to the decision-makers, which affects the vulnerable people out in the community. My initial goal was to continuously educate people to understand the NDIS scheme and child protection.”
“I can’t do things on my own. I have the privilege of working with a dedicated team. They work day in and day out to provide support. We call them life-changers. This award goes to all of our life-changers for doing all the work required to provide that support.”
Rhavi’s daughter, Rhythm, added a few words about her father:
“His dedication and hard work has made the business a success but has also shaped me into a better person over the last 11 years.”
Dynamic NDIS provider, Sunrise2Sunrise began in 2018 as a small family startup, awarded a 'Boosting the Local Care Workforce Program' grant in 2020, they have grown into an organisation with 750 employees in just six years. They’ve demonstrated a deep commitment to their community with their personlised care approach and unwavering dedication to reducing inequality and enhancing the lives of the people they support. Their family values of care, inclusion, and compassion are at the heart of their operations, treating people as an extension of their own family. This personalised approach, combined with innovative therapies and engaging community programmes, empowers individuals to reach their full potential, creating a sense of belonging and fulfilment.
Family Business Insights VIC/TAS State Conference
Our MC, Michael Stillwell and FBA State Director VIC/TAS Aubrey Stillwell kicked off the conference by welcoming all guests and introducing special guest Hon. Natalie Suleyman MP to give a short address.
The Minister for Small Business, Hon. Natalie Suleyman MP, acknowledged and congratulated the family business sector for their contribution to the economy and way of life in Victoria, sharing some key statistics. She acknowledged the importance of maintaining a legacy, providing for your family and staff, and the unique challenges and specialised support needed.
"I imagine that the stakes for running a family business would be really incredible, it can present some really unique challenges and need specialised support. And in particular with today's challenges."
"We understand that in supporting your family, your business and your workers is about also protecting your legacy."
The Minister shared how the Victorian government is supporting the business community through resources and education through Business Victoria, as well as, some future plans for grants to support the sector.
FBA CEO, Catherine Sayer, provided an update on FBA's strategy with a focus on Membership Growth, Advocacy and Brand Awareness. Catherine shared the latest advocacy activities being undertaken at FBA in support of the family business sector, latest statistics on the National Family Business Day campaign from September, partnerships and strategic alliances.
For our keynote address, Andrew Muir, Former CEO of The Good Guys, shared the insightful story of how his family business evolved over the years and took their 'unfair share' of the market.
Starting his presentation with a family video, Andrew shared the story of the Muir family business starting in 1952, while providing key lessons for success along the way.
Ian Muir, Andrew's father, started the business at 21 years of age, opening his first shop and put a few appliances in it. By 1987 they had 6 shops, turning a modest profit. Andrew credited his father for putting his ego aside and not letting self-deception ruin you when making business decisions, "if a store was making a loss - he would close it." This differentiated Ian from his competitors, as he was willing to make these tough decisions, "he would cut the cloth to suit the breeze". According to Andrew, it is a key reason for the businesses success, "we wouldn't have been successful if Ian didn't do this."
In 1987, Andrew joined his father in the business, which at the time was surviving but not thriving. Andrew shared they had come to a cross roads and had three choices: "Get Big, Get Niche or Get Out." They decided to have a go at getting big.
Andrew shared The Good Guys unique franchise model, which benefitted the franchisee equally as the franchisor. They had a strong belief that the more successful the franchisee, the more successful the franchisor, offering a 50/50 split on the PNL of each store. As Andrew shared, Ian used to say "50% of a profit is better than 100% of a loss".
In focusing on getting big, their efforts turned to strategy, structure and customer experience. Their aim, to get an unfair share of the market.
Andrew's talk was full of takeaways about franchising, how to structure for growth, ways to gain an unfair share, how to WOW your customers and not letting ego get in the way of making critical business decisions.
Insolvency specialists, Elizabeth Guerra-Stolfa from Rigby Cook Lawyers, Adrian Misano from Matthews Steer and Ivan Glavas from Worrells shared key lessons in managing insolvency risk and the protective measures that can be taken, from both accounting and legal perspectives, to protect business assets and family wealth.
Elizabeth set the scene with the current challenges facing family business at the moment, from inflation pressures to a post-COVID world where businesses run differently. The three agreed that while the current landscape presents many challenges, there are also opportunities. "It's about having a good strategy and plan for your business. Get advice and stay on top of your business." For example, if other competitors in your industry are choosing to cut costs in marketing and advertising, you could make a big splash by doing the opposite. There is opportunity to be strategic.
They shared that the key driver for successful businesses is change. "You can't be the business you used to be. It's about what the customer needs. Be different."
"There are bigger measures than sales. If nothing changes, then nothing will change. If you don't change anything about your business, you can't expect a different result."
They also discussed the dangers of using debt to pay debt. "It can become a habit, and then you won't be able to afford a hiccup. It's dangerous."
Another warning was given around not understanding your numbers properly. "It's not just about sales, look at other measures. For example, look at how much you make on a sale and are your debtors making payment?"
Ivan provided some background on liquidation processes, sharing that it is not always a bad thing and explaining many misconceptions.
Once again, Ivan reinforced the importance of knowing your numbers. "94% of insolvency is from not knowing your numbers. Not understanding what's wrong and therefore not being able to fix it. Be on top of your numbers, know your numbers and then you can act." He gave a helpful analogy using a tree as an example. "If you are a tree and you have branches die. Just cut them off. Cut off the dead branches and keep growing elsewhere. You don't need to kill the whole tree."
Finally, Elizabeth shared the importance of your Terms and Conditions in your business. "Look at your Ts and Cs and make sure they match your business."
The three insolvency experts finished on a very clear message, "Ignore the red flags at your peril. Seek out the right person to address the issues."
Download Slides for Insolvency Presentation
For our third session of the day, we were joined by Murray Furlong, General Manager of Fair Work Commission and Rae Bonney, Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing Specialist. The pair discussed workplace health and safety from two different perspectives. One being the organisations responsibility to the health and safety of their staff. While the second being the responsibility of the individual to manage their own mental health and wellbeing.
Murray began by providing an update on the key legislative changes that have taken place over the last 2 years, explaining it is critical for all family businesses to be across them and how they will impact their business.
He then busted some myths about unfair dismissal processes, explaining that it is all about people and dignity, and ensuring a conflict solution between humans through a human-centred approach.
Murray acknowledged the challenges involved in managing employees who are also your family members, suggesting "the best action as leaders in family business is to hope for the best but prepare for all outcomes." He explained the importance of having performance plans in place and regular appraisals so that you can deal with issues as they arise. He suggested having direct conversations with people and not around, or about them. Document major events, seek advice and maintain composure.
The session then invited Rae Bonney to share her expertise. She reinforced that employers have clear legislative reforms in Australia to follow which reinforce their obligations to create a safe environment and workplace. However, it is equally important for individual employees to take charge of their own wellbeing.
In sharing her 'Self-Management Plan', Rae vulnerably opened up with the audience, sharing her own personal mental health and wellbeing challenges. She highlighted her challenges, how they affect her day-to-day. What actions she takes in order to take responsibility and mapping out the things that keep her grounded.
Rae explained the importance of boundaries, "not boundaries as restrictions but boundaries of care". Taking the audience through what those boundaries could look like as an individual in a family business, and how to ensure you have circles of support.
Download Slides for Mental Health and Wellbeing Session
For our final session of the conference, the Considine family, Brendon and Daniel, shared their experience in selling their family business. The pair, facilitated by Ken Matthews, Director of Allanfyne Advisory, explained their succession journey, which led to a decision to sell the family business.
Any family business, however successful, will reach a day when ownership will change hands. Whether it’s passing the business down to family members or selling, there is no one solution as each family’s expectations and situation are different from the next.
For this session, we were taken through the Considine family's decision to sell their family business, Secon, and their experiences throughout the sales process.
Established in 1969, Secon is a leader in the freight industry, with loyal and long-standing clients and a reputation for service excellence. Secon operates with approximately 160 staff across two strategically located sites in Victoria and provides specialised port logistics, bulk logistics, warehouse and distribution services.
Daniel was originally an Occupational Therapist, practising in London and not part of the family business. His late uncle, Terry, saw something special in him and reached out to discuss the possibility to become the successor of the family business. After some thought, Daniel was in, "I put away the OT shoes and I was all in."
Daniel explained how Terry guided him through the learning phase, slowly slowly learning the lingo. Terry told him to "'Bring in a notepad to the meeting and write down everything you don't know and I will explain it to you.' The notepad was pages long but slowly it got shorter and shorter."
In 2022, after 55 years in business, the family decided to sell. Brendon and Daniel explained some significant considerations for the family in that sales process. Firstly, they wanted to make sure their staff were protected. "Our staff became part of our family. If we were going to sell, it had to be a good fit. We did as much due diligence on them as they did on us". The other considerations were strategic alignment, fulfilling the family legacy, ethics and consistency.
Daniel, remains the CEO of Secon post-sale, he shared how this decision was made and the families experiences maintaining their roles in the business post sale, and the overall impact on the family.
Thank you to all those who attended, presented and made the event such a success.
Photo Gallery
Photos by Hamish John Appleby, APPLEBY PHOTOGRAPHY
Thank you to our Table Sponsor:
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Thank you to our VIC/TAS State Sponsor:
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