Owner To Owner Podcast

Dave Strutton, almond farmer turned franchise business owner, on changing industries.

Episode Summary

Dave Strutton at heart was an entrepreneur. He switched successfully from almond farming to owning and running a successful Howards Storage World franchise. Dave shares his wisdom on how he made this major change success for him and his family.

Episode Notes

Dave Strutton is an ex almond farmer in South Australia. Life was good and his business was doing fine but he felt a change was needed. 

He took on a Howard Storage World franchise https://www.hsw.com.au/.  

It wasn't all smooth sailing, especially in the very early stages. Dave had to dig deep and rely on his well-honed business instincts to deal with those problems. He got through it all and ended up winning multiple awards for his franchise's performance.

In this episode Dave talks about;

• How the almond farm started as a hobby and became a business
• Getting all the family involved in developing the farm, which was a couple of hours out of Adelaide
• The extension of the farm into a tourism venture
• His desire to move the family back to Adelaide
• Dealing with the question of how he would make a living back in Adelaide - could be get a job or would he need to start or buy another business?
• How he happened upon the Howards Storage World franchise system
• Dealing with a catastrophe when the master franchisor went into liquidation
• What business skills and experiences he learned in almond farming that helped him navigate a new business, a new industry all while making  a major move with the family back to Adelaide
• His personal business philosophy
• What skills he sees as the most critical for any small business owner  
• The importance of business systems and some of the advantages of the franchise model