Jason Andrew

Arbor Group

Arbor Group is a financial services group supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth.

We do this through a range of operational, financial and capital solutions.

http://www.arborgroup.co/

The Arbor Group of companies comprise of:

 - Stark Naked Media (starknakednumbers.com)
 - SBO.Financial (sbo.financial)
 - Assurety (assurety.co)
 - Arbor Capital (arborcapital.co)
 - Arbor Permanent Owners (arborpermanentowners.co)

Co-Founder | Director

Arbor Permanent Owners

Arbor Permanent Owners is a holding company that buys exceptional, private businesses, deliberately built for long-term success. Inspired by Berkshire Hathaway, our goal is to be a custodian of Great Australian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and grow them over the long term.

CoFounder and Investor

SBO Financial turns bookkeeping and accounting into sophisticated finance for growth-focussed entrepreneurs.

Accounting looks at the past, operational finance focuses on execution in the future.

SBO is a member of the Arbor Group of companies. 

sbo.financial

CoFounder | Director

Stark Naked Numbers

Whether you're a startup or scale up, traditional accounting is way too confusing. Most CPAs either needlessly dress up your financials or are just focused on preparing you for tax season.
In this groundbreaking book, accountant and entrepreneur Jason Andrew shows you a radical new method of accounting. By stripping your financials down to the bare essentials, you can see your numbers stark naked and identify the facts that really matter. His simple techniques reveal the game-changing insights you need to turn your company into a profitable, cash flow machine.

In Stark Naked Numbers, you'll learn loads of counter-intuitive wisdom, financial truths you can start using immediately to accelerate you light years ahead of the competition. Lessons like:

- Why the profit your CPA reports to you is fake
- Why selling more of your product or service will not make you more profitable
- Why you should fire 80% of your customers

Complete with practical examples, you will gain tactical knowledge about critical questions, such as:

- How do I unlock the cash in my business?
- When can I afford to hire my next employee?
- When can I give myself a raise?

After spending over a decade as a Chartered Accountant at a global firm, author Jason Andrew started his own company, SBO - helping high growth businesses improve their cash flow, profitability and be accountable to their financial goals. With a wry sense of humour, he conveys the practical secrets the world's best CFOs and revered investors know about building a business that lasts.

Purchase a copy:

DTC: starknakednumbers.com
Via Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0648424006

Author

Arbor Capital

Arbor Capital invests patient capital into high-growth technology companies.

https://arborcapital.co/

Assurety

Assurety helps entrepreneurs solve complex, strategic problems.

We do this with a range of mergers and acquisitions and strategic advisory services.

Assurety is a member of the Arbor Group of companies.


www.assurety.co

Crowe Horwath Australia

Crowe Horwath's Corporate Finance division assists clients in a wide range of transaction and consulting assignments, including due diligence, capital markets advisory, business restructuring, valuations and expert reports.

Manager - Corporate Advisory

- Cashflow forecasting and analysis
 - Key Performance Indicator development  - financial and non financial
 - Organisation performance analysis and benchmarking
 - Strategic planning
 - Taxation compliance for small to medium enterprise

Supervisor - Business Advisory

Brisbane Junior Chamber of Commerce

The Brisbane Junior Chamber of Commerce is an NFP organisation focused on providing an environment for young business people, between the ages of 18 and 40 to:

•	improve their business, personal and leadership skills, 
•	create an environment for developing management, entrepreneurial and organisational skills;
•	mix and meet with like-minded people and provide an opportunity to build long term career defining networks.

President

Queensland Treasury Corporation

Projects Queensland is a unit within Queensland Treasury and Trade established to enhance the Queensland Government's infrastructure delivery capability.

Senior Analyst | Secondee at Projects Queensland

Prosperity Advisers Group

Undergraduate accountant
 - Australian Taxation compliance
 - Financial accounting
 - Corporate Secretarial compliance

Accountant

Hey, it's Jason

I’m a chartered accountant and have spent over a decade of my working life as a business and corporate advisor. I help my clients on a range of areas including M&A, financial strategy and performance improvement.  I also know just enough about Australian tax to be dangerous... 

My passion is helping business owners extract value from their numbers and financial data. My personal mission is to improve the financial literacy of entrepreneurs and change the current worldview of the accounting profession. 

My business partner and I are building a holding company of private companies, with the goal to build generational wealth. 

Thanks for listening. 

Now, here's how I might be able to help you:

👉If you're looking for a growth and future focused accountant to help you get on top of your numbers and taxes, check out SBO.Financial

👉If you're looking to buy a business and need help with financial due diligence, check out assurety.co

👉If you're looking to sell your business, please check out https://arborpermanentowners.co/

👉If you're looking to improve your financial literacy in a safe and self-paced learning environment, check out starknakednumbers.com

----

You can also:

 - Connect with me here
 - Sign up to our free newsletter for weekly emails on finance, business and wealth creation: https://sbo.financial/newsletter/
 - Check out my book, Stark Naked Numbers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0648424006

cheers

If you’re thinking of starting a business for the first time, do it:

a) before having kids
b) when they’re older (14 +)

Anything else is a recipe for unhappiness.

This isn’t a self-limiting belief.
It’s a bandwidth problem.

A young business will demand your full emotional and cognitive attention.  So will raising children.

Trying to give both 100% is how you torch yourself and still do neither justice.

I acquire exceptional SMEs. Follow me to learn more.

Just got off the phone with our banker - he got angry at me.

We just paid off our acquisition debt - 6 years earlier than the bank expected. Not a typo.

Which means that Arbor Permanent Owners has c.$35 million of permanent capital ready to invest into great Australian SMEs.

We move fast and with conviction - 90 days from NBIO to Completion.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

Our Criteria
 • Industrial, manufacturing or technical-services businesses
 • $5m–$50m revenue
 • $2m–$10m EBITDA
 • High re-ocurring/repeatable demand
 • Mission-critical products
 • Long customer relationships
 • Strong margin profile
 • Low customer concentration
 • Owner looking for a clean, respectful succession plan

Got a deal that ticks the boxes? Send me a DM or give me a call 0432646634

Arbor Permanent Owners - long-term custodians for Australia’s best SMEs.

Next time someone tells you it's cheaper to make coffee at home - send them this.

Book: The Art of Spending Money

Post | LinkedIn

JSESSIONID

li_at

LinkedIn

listen, you can't blame the bloke for selling $50m of his shares in his own company to buy a 3-bed, 1 bathroom family home in North Sydney.

I spent all of today updating the copy in our sales letters - based on the advice of hedge fund Billionaire Bill Ackman.

this Derrimut gym bloke is crying about the collapse of his gym chain.

"cost of living crisis, too much red tape on small businesses"

just need to look at the balance sheet to understand what has actually killed his business.

I've seen some pretty chunky Div7A loans in my time, but crikey me $14m is right up there.

“Cash is not ‘dry powder’ — it is a loaded gun. In a crash, $1 in cash buys $3 of assets. The investor who says ‘cash is trash’ is not sophisticated — he is broke. In March 2009, we bought senior bank debt at 50 cents. The yield was irrelevant. The margin of safety was everything. Cash is not lazy. It is asymmetric warfare.” - Howard Marks

𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘅 𝗕𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹: 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮

5 years ago - Virgin Australia was in an emergency landing. 

$5bn worth of debt.

Planes were forced to stay grounded because of COVID. 

And the government wasn’t bailing them out. 

Once a cheeky upstart that dared to challenge the world led by Branson’s rock-star swagger — Virgin Australia was staring into the abyss.

Most companies would have quietly folded their wings.

But a nationally critical business like Virgin couldn’t just disappear.

So Bain Capital stepped in to do what Private Equity does best. 

- Cost control
- Restructure the balance sheet
- Remove the lossmaking segments

5 years later, Virgin is back on the ASX trading for ~$2.5bn. Bang. 

All in all, Bain actually did a pretty solid effort here, saving us taxpayer dollars by preventing a government bailout and keeping the airline afloat. 

But are the worst times behind Virgin? I’m not so sure...

Let’s unpack how Bain Capital landed this cash-hemorrhaging machine and took off back onto the ASX.

Link in the comments.

graphical user interface, application, chat or text message

It was pretty fun contributing to the Financial Times on one of my favourite nostalgic hobbies - Warhammer - and unpacking the incredible business model behind Games Workshop.

A masterclass in community, IP, and pricing power… all wrapped in plastic sprue, overpriced paint and lore.

Turns out all those hours painting Warhammer minis as a kid were preparing me for a career in finance...

link in the comments

When I started my first business over a decade ago I literally had no idea what I was doing. I was a technically trained accountant that had skills to balance books and advise clients, but when it came to growing and building my own business from scratch, I was starting from ground zero.

So when making key decisions, like hiring, when to accept or reject prospective clients, and when to expand or reinvest in growth, I always sought data to support it. 

The problem, like most things in business, is that the data was either incomplete or never there.

In business, we crave certainty:

- We want the spreadsheet to tell us what to do;
- We want advisors to validate our thinking;
- We want data to fill the uncomfortable gap where uncertainty lives.

But the decisions that actually move a company forward – acquisitions, key hires, pricing models, and product development – rarely come with perfect information.

At some point, every leader reaches a moment where:
- the data is incomplete
- the “experts” are biased and only speak from their own experiences
- the numbers lean both ways
- the risks can’t be eliminated
- and the clock is ticking

In these moments, all that’s left is your gut - which is really just a shorthand for "everything you’ve ever experienced in your life".

In the early years I never trusted my gut, primarily because I didn’t have the conviction in myself to make the call. To make the right decision armed with imperfect information. 

You know that unexplainable feeling “that something is a bit off”. It could be when assessing a new hire or a new business opportunity. Well historically, I would accept that maybe I’m wrong because the data and external opinions of others says that I am.

Most decisions are reversible - so making the wrong call isn't a big deal.

But over the years I have made a few significant "wrong" calls - even when my gut was telling me it was way off. 

These calls have cost me several millions of dollars in hard $$ and opportunity cost.

They cost me dearly - but it was a price to pay to help me realise I needed to trust my gut more. 

So what gave me the conviction to trust my gut?

My experience. That’s what’s changed.

With over a decade in the trenches, making decisions, I’ve been able to develop judgment.

Judgment is a muscle - and is one every business leader must develop to be effective.

In my latest article with Smart Company, I talk about how to develop judgement in business leadership.

“We have owned See’s Candy for forty-five years and it has been a wonderful business every single one of those years. But if we had paid three times what we actually paid in 1972, the return would have been mediocre instead of sensational. 

The business itself did not change; the price we paid changed everything. That single example contains the entire investment philosophy of Berkshire: a great business plus a silly price equals a lousy investment.” - Warren Buffett

yo how much does your family spend on groceries every month?

we're a family of 4:

2 adults 
1 year old and a 4 year old
protein heavy diet - good meat from butcher + 4/5 cartons of eggs a week 
includes the odd pre-made meal (Dineamic)

 $2k a month 

add daily coffee and fortnightly takeaway of $700 a month 

total c.$2,700 a month 

is that typical?

You know it's the top when hedge fund managers start giving relationship advice.

We're at the very beginning of dialling up growth mode at East West Engineering. 

Excited to announce the appointment of Domenic Chizzoniti, an industry veteran to capitalise on the growth in the sunshine state of QLD. This is the beginning of a national roll-out of new BDMs across the country.

Very exciting times for this Great Australian business.

East West Engineering is ramping up its national presence under new management, making significant moves to strengthen service, support, and availability for customers across Australia.

As part of this expansion, the company is proud to announce the appointment of Domenic Chizzoniti as its new Business Development Manager in Queensland. Domenic brings over 20 years of hydraulic and mechanical forklift attachment experience from a globally respected manufacturer, offering a wealth of industry knowledge to its customers. He is now the dedicated on-the-ground resource for customers across Queensland, ready to provide expert guidance and help businesses find the right material handling solutions. 

This appointment highlights East West Engineering’s continued growth and commitment to the materials handling and forklift industry. 
To further support national growth, the company is seeking additional business development team members to service customers across all states and territories in Australia. These roles offer the opportunity to join a rapidly expanding, Australian owned business, backed by solid engineering expertise and a strong customer-first approach. Relevant details can be found on Seek https://lnkd.in/gGQpmtvP 

“These appointments provide our clients greater access to our technical expertise, further demonstrating why East West Engineering is Australia’s leading engineered materials handling business.”

excited to share the stage with a couple of legends Stew and Pete to discuss ETA in Australia.

With the upcoming 'silver tsunami' of aging Australian SME business owners reaching retirement. We're seeing a groundswell behind the sector called Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (EtA). 

Entrepreneurs buying private, profitable SMEs off retiring business owners and injecting both energy, technology, and capital into growing them. These businesses are the heartbeat of the Australian economy and many young operators are seeing this as their opportunity to break out.

Join us at our annual Runway conference (27 Nov in Brisbane) to hear from two of the most prominent folks in the EtA community on whether to Buy vs Build a business.

- Pete Seligman - Multiple time acquisition entrepreneur, super investor in multiple searchers and SME acquisitions, and now investor at EtA fund SME Capital.

- Jason Andrew - Holdco operator at Arbor Permanent Owners, having just bought their first operating business and generating long-term enduring value.

Tickets in the comments below.

#entrepreneurship #ETA #acquisitions

SSSS protocol 

Sunday
Swim
Sauna
Smoking meat

strategic typos in all written communication (reports, blog posts, emails etc.) to signal it was written by humans not AI

this is an excellent summary. we're following this playbook religiously at APO.

As ETA entrepreneurs across the U.S., Canada, and Europe increasingly consider committed-capital, multi-acquisition HoldCos, one question keeps surfacing:

Which types of businesses work for this model—and why?
To help answer that, we put together a practical framework that connects this trend to the proven business attributes highlighted in the Stanford Search Fund Study and to the real-world performance of public serial acquirers in Sweden and Constellation Software.

At Endurance Search Partners, we pulled these strands together into one article.

It covers why certain industries and business models are truly HoldCo-compatible, how revenue quality and fragmentation influence long-term outcomes, why pacing matters so much in the early years, and how the “invisible assets” inside a HoldCo—relationships, know-how, judgment, culture—compound just as powerfully as capital.

Our hope is that it gives ETA entrepreneurs a clear, evidence-based blueprint as this model continues gaining momentum.

We’d welcome your reactions and challenges.

#ETA #SearchFunds #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #HoldCo #LongTermHold #PermanentCapital #SerialAcquirers #PrivateEquity #Entrepreneurs #EnduranceSearchPartners

Why Sweden’s Serial Acquirers and Constellation Software Are Public-Market Proof of What Works As ETA entrepreneurs consider shifting from a single-bu

Open article: Building a Committed-Capital HoldCo: A Blueprint for ETA Entrepreneurs by Richard Augustyn • 7 min read

Building a Committed-Capital HoldCo: A Blueprint for ETA Entrepreneurs

5% FCF yield for the GOAT SaaS compounder?

Looking like a pretty good deal.

Austral Herbs

Greenstorm Foods

Managing Director

Greenstorm Capital

Greenstorm Capital is an entrepreneur-led single-acquisition investment fund (aka 'Search Fund') with a group of experienced business mentors & investors, looking to acquire an Australian business to operate for the long term.

Australia's first female-led traditional search fund - Search begun in January 2022 for a great Australian-based SME with EBITDA between $2-5M in a stable industry. With Paige leading as CEO and ambitions to grow over a 5-10 year period.

Greenstorm Capital was renamed to Greenstorm Foods and acquired Austral Herbs in April 2023

Founder/Entrepreneur (Searcher)

Epilepsy Action Australia

Operational management of well-established not-for-profit organisation based in Sydney with nation-wide operations. Leading technological advancements and process developments.

Presented to the Board on General Management & Operations, Finance, HR, Fundraising & Education departments and Special projects. Reported to the Finance, Audit, Compliance & Risk Committee.

Implemented 2 new CRMs across Fundraising and Client Services. Saving in excess of $500K | Revised financial reporting inc. re-designed chart of accounts | Updated financial and compliance reporting | Managed fundraising initiatives | Managed remote working project

Operations Manager

Antares Solutions

Sydney-based Microsoft IT Consulting Firm with ~50 staff. 
Finance | HR & People | Internal Processes | Internal Systems | Inter-Department Processes | Internal Recruitment | Office Management | Accountable for Organisational Efficiency

Part of 6-person Leadership team | Process & System development focus | Working within the EOS framework for strategy and business improvement | Implemented Employee system BambooHR and improved Recruitment, Onboarding, Employee/Manager communications and Performance Management across the business.

Longtail UX Pty Ltd

Company Secretary

Career FAQs

Airbrushing Around

Airbrush Face Painting & Tattoos for events, corporate, sporting clubs etc.
Owner/Operator:  Business Operations | Managing/Training Staff 15+ Casuals | Supply Management, Stock control | Marketing: Flyers, Website etc

Founder/Operator

WebPaige Designs

Basic HTML Web Design with Dreamweaver | Graphic Design for Print and Online using Adobe Suite | Target Market: Sole Traders & Small Businesses 

Achievements:
●	Designed, developed & maintained 12+ websites
●	Learnt key skills for communicating and managing expectations with a variety of clients
●	How to create a sales pipeline and generate own business

Designer

Encore Beauty

Office Manager

Founder at Greenstorm Capital

Co-Owner of Greenstorm Foods, CEO of Austral Herbs - Australia's leading Organic Herbs & Spices import & wholesale distributor, for over 25 years.

As Australia's first female-led Traditional Search fund, Greenstorm Capital, was founded in 2022 to find and acquire a business in Australia. Acquiring Austral Herbs in 2023, I'm currently focused on continuing the owner’s legacy and transitioning the business into its next stage of growth.

Passionate about leading great team with great processes and making a great business more than what's on paper.

Paige Kohalmont

A year ago, we moved into our new factory.

I knew it would be better.

But I could never have imagined it would feel this right.

When we first unpacked, we were still sharing the space with tradespeople, saws buzzing, jackhammers echoing, for almost four months straight.

We were still figuring out compliance paperwork and still configuring shelving [and yes, still doing that a year later].

We cycled through more staff than we expected, but we were determined to find the right people, the ones who’d be here for the long haul.

And I’m confident we’ve got them now.

Twelve months in, the shelves are sturdier, the layout flows, and the team feels stronger than ever.

There’s still plenty to build [literally and figuratively] but standing here today, I can see the future more clearly than ever before.

Here’s to one year down, and many more to come in a space that finally feels like home 🎉

#PostAcquisitionLeadership #PeopleFirstLeadership #OperationalExcellence #SmallBusinessLeadership #SearchFund #BusinessGrowth

So you bought a business… now what? I share lessons on leadership, team-building & making post-acquisition ownership less chaotic | CEO at Austral Herbs

Most deals fall apart long before anyone realises why.

Before I bought Austral Herbs, I assumed the seller and I were aligned on what the handover involved. 

But there were a few areas where we hadn’t quite synced up.

I quickly learned that many sellers don’t realise how much working capital a buyer needs on day one. 

Payroll doesn’t pause. 
Suppliers don’t wait. 
Customers still expect stock on shelves.

You can have a great price and still end up with a deal that doesn’t work if the business isn’t handed over with the working capital it needs to keep running [read that again].

Working capital isn’t a “bonus.” 

It’s the fuel that keeps everything moving while the buyer finds their feet.

When a seller understands this, the whole process is smoother. 

When they don’t, the deal becomes a series of preventable surprises.

If you’re selling, take the time to understand the handover from the buyer’s side. 

It’s not about giving up more — it’s about giving the business a real chance to keep running once you pass it on.

#SearchFund #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #SmallBusinessLeadership #BusinessAcquisition #LeadershipInPractice #ETACommunity #OperationalExcellence #BusinessOwners

This wasn’t the plan…but it’s been one of the best decisions we’ve made.

Two years ago, Tel, my husband, joined Austral Herbs. 

What started as a bit of help [picking orders, counting stock, and lending a hand with our relocation] quickly became something much bigger.

He’s since become a key part of the team, helping design our factory layout, troubleshooting the impossible, and stepping into production leadership when we needed it most.

Even though we’ve worked together before, this was different, and what a happy accident it turned out to be.

Not everyone gets to work with someone they trust completely, who sees the same challenges and celebrates the same wins.

It’s been one of the best surprises in this journey so far.

I may be a little biased, but he’s been a huge part of how far we’ve come.

Here’s to two years of working side by side, and all the progress, laughter, and learning that’s come with it.

#PeopleFirstLeadership #TeamCulture #PostAcquisitionLeadership #BusinessGrowth #OperationalExcellence #LeadershipInPractice

It’s the question I get on almost every site tour:

“So… what do people use this one for?”

I usually laugh and say, “Well, I can tell you where it came from, who we bought it from, its organic certification and quality specs… but not what it’s used for.”

And for a long time, that made me feel like a fraud.

[How could I run a business when I didn’t even know what our products were used for?]

Now, I see it differently.

Our customers are the experts in application.

We’re the experts in supply.

Our strength is in maintaining quality, consistency, and compliance.

That’s what we do best and that’s what makes our customers successful.

It took me a while to realise that not knowing everything about every product wasn’t a weakness, it was focus.

Knowing where we add value [and where we don’t] is what makes us good at what we do.

#PostAcquisitionLeadership #OperationalExcellence #SearchFund #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #SmallBusinessLeadership #LeadershipInPractice

It was a Thursday night, and I remember telling my husband, “I don’t know how we’re going to get through this.”

Those first few months in our new warehouse was absolute chaos.

We had tradespeople jackhammering while we were unpacking.

My desk, printers & misc. office items in the middle of the warehouse.

Shelving half-finished.

Stock arriving & still dispatching customer's orders everyday.

We were still finding our rhythm — and honestly, just trying to keep the wheels in motion.

One year later:

✅ The layout finally flows; smarter shelving, more space, fewer headaches.
✅ A team that’s not just skilled, but solid.
✅ Processes that make sense and keep improving.
✅ A calm energy that only comes when the right people are in the right roles.

It’s still a work in progress, but now it’s progress we can enjoy.

Twelve months ago, I thought we were just moving into a new building.

But really, we were rebuilding the business, one system, one person, one small decision at a time.

If you’ve ever relocated to a different building or location, what was your biggest challenge and what did you learn from it?

P.S Here are some before and after pics. Enjoy! 

#PostAcquisitionLeadership #OperationalExcellence #SearchFund #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #SmallBusinessLeadership #LeadershipInPractice

I’m learning what it really means to build a business that can run without me.

When I first acquired Austral Herbs, everything ran through me; every question, every approval, every problem etc.

At the time, that was what was needed: being across everything, all the time. 

But that doesn’t scale, and it doesn’t serve the team.

Now, we’re in a transition phase. 

Delegation is in progress. 
Decisions are being made without my sign-off. 
And the team is stepping into ownership in ways that make me incredibly proud.

It’s not perfect [there are still things I need to solve] but I can see the shift happening.

And it’s a rewarding one.

It’s becoming clear to me that true leadership isn’t about stepping away completely [although there are strong elements of this]. 

It’s more about building confidence, trust, and capability so the business can stand strong — with or without you.

#PostAcquisitionLeadership #SystemsThinking #OperationalExcellence #LeadershipInPractice #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition

We lost a day to a public holiday and still nearly doubled production.

Not bad for a “short” week.

A 46% increase.

Now, it could’ve been a great week with all the right factors lining up.

But it also reflects the momentum we’ve been building.

A re-energised team.
Renewed focus.
Small, consistent improvements adding up.

We’ve been:

→ Training newer team members to take on more responsibility
→ Sharing KPIs and results weekly (and importantly, explaining them)
→ Building confidence through clarity

It’s easy to focus on “big wins,” but these moments, when effort translates into visible progress, are the ones that make me proudest.

Whether it’s a fluke week or not, it’s proof that consistency compounds.

What’s one small change you’ve seen create a big shift in your team lately?

#PeopleFirstLeadership #TeamCulture #OperationalExcellence #PostAcquisitionLeadership #SmallBusinessLeadership #LeadershipInPractice

We rolled out our new pre-order functionality last week.

It’s only on a handful of products so far, but even this small first step already feels like progress in the right direction.

One thing we hear often from customers is how frustrating it is not knowing exactly when stock will arrive. 

And honestly, I get it. 

Running an inventory-heavy business means so many parts of the supply chain sit outside our control — growing seasons, organic certification, freight delays, international suppliers… the list goes on.

So pre-orders won’t fix everything overnight, but they do give our customers more certainty.

They can reserve what they need.
They won’t miss out when stock lands.
And we can plan production and packing more accurately.

Right now, we’re in phase one.

Slow, careful, deliberate.

Testing as we go and tightening the process each week.

It’s one of those improvements that seems simple on the outside, but takes a surprising amount of operational coordination to get right.

But if it makes things smoother for our customers, it’s worth every bit of effort.

#OperationalExcellence #SystemsThinking #AustralianManufacturing #SupplyChainManagement #SmallBusinessLeadership #CustomerExperience #BusinessOperations #PostAcquisitionLeadership

One thing I learned early on: the details you put in place before day one are the details that protect you after day one.

After acquiring Austral Herbs, I knew I couldn’t run the business blindly, especially in the early months when every decision feels high-stakes.

So from the very beginning, we built two things:

- A weekly operational cashflow. 
Without knowing what money was coming in, what was going out, and what was tied up in stock, I couldn’t make a single confident decision. 

Getting that visibility early meant I could plan, prioritise, and avoid surprises.

- A pathway to real data visibility. 
This one took time [almost nine months] but it changed everything. 

Once we could see what was happening across sales, purchasing, production, and operations, decisions got clearer. The noise settled. Patterns appeared.

None of this is exciting [well, to some at least. I do love a good spreadsheet or two]. 

None of it makes headlines.

But it’s the difference between feeling like you’re chasing the business and feeling like you’re actually running it.

I’m still learning. Still refining. Still improving the systems behind the scenes.

But those two early decisions made all the difference and they’re the reason the business feels steadier today than it did a year ago.

#EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #SearchFund #PostAcquisitionLeadership #OperationalExcellence #SystemsThinking  #BusinessAcquisition

There’s a side of being a CEO that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough.

It’s the people who make the role sustainable.

When I think about the last year at Austral Herbs, I’m very aware that I don’t do this job alone.

My mentor and board keep me grounded and focused.

My ops manager brings clarity to the chaos.

My EA enables me to do my role at the level it needs. 

And Tel, in his production leadership role, helps put the puzzle pieces into perspective when they seem more jumbled than they are.

When people say “it must be a lot running a business,” it is. 

But it’s a lot more doable when you’re surrounded by people who genuinely want to see it succeed.

I can make decisions because I trust the people executing them. 

I can focus on the work that matters most because the right people are owning their parts of the business. 

I can lead because I’m supported by people who lead in their own way every day.

This isn’t a solo role. And it’s better because of that.

#PeopleFirstLeadership #SmallBusinessLeadership #TeamCulture #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #LeadershipInPractice #OperationalExcellence #SearchFund

There’s nothing more frustrating than watching someone ignore the one thing that would’ve saved them.

[A bit like telling my 4-year-old not to jump off the back of the couch, moments before bumping her head!]

During my acquisition of Austral Herbs, I kept encouraging the seller to get good advisors. Not to complicate things — but to protect them.

They didn’t take the advice.

And so much of the confusion we faced in the deal came from gaps the right advisor would’ve caught immediately.

Handover expectations drifted. 
Simple details became complex conversations. 
And misunderstandings slowed everything down that didn’t need to be slowed [which caused a few too many grey hairs for me lol].

You can explain things clearly. You can support someone through the process. You can repeat the same advice three different ways.

But you can’t make someone take responsibility for their own side of the deal.

It was a good lesson for me too: You can lead someone right to the water — but you can’t make them drink. 

Especially when the deal depends on it.

#SearchFund #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #LeadershipInPractice #SmallBusinessLeadership #BusinessAcquisition #ETACommunity #PeopleFirstLeadership #PostAcquisitionLeadership #BusinessGrowth

Everyone talks about growing fast. I care more about growing well.

We’ve had seasons of fast growth.

And they looked great on paper.

But behind the scenes…we were stretched thin.

Processes lagged behind and people became burned out.

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of “more.”

But I’ve learned that not all growth is good growth.

If it compromises consistency, culture, or quality, to me, it’s not worth it.

Growth should make your business stronger, not shakier.

Your people more capable, not more exhausted.
Your systems more efficient, not more complicated.

At Austral Herbs, our best growth hasn’t been explosive — it’s been sustainable.

The kind that compounds over time. Foundations first.

The kind you can build a future on.

Because I don’t want a business that grows fast.

I want one that lasts.

#PostAcquisitionLeadership #SystemsThinking #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #OperationalExcellence #SmallBusinessLeadership

We’re not trying to be everything to everyone [and that’s deliberate].

At Austral Herbs, we know where we add value:

- Maintaining quality.
- Delivering consistency.
- Ease & flexibility of ordering.

That’s our lane, and we’re proud to stay in it.

For a long time, I thought growth meant expanding to new products, new categories, new everything. 

But what I’ve learned is that focus can be just as powerful as ambition.

The more we doubled down on what we do best, the stronger our systems became. 

The clearer our brand positioning got. 

And the better our customer relationships grew.


It’s clear to me that in a world where everyone’s trying to do it all, clarity is rare — and it’s a competitive advantage.

What’s your take on this?

#OperationalExcellence #SystemsThinking #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition #PostAcquisitionLeadership #BusinessGrowth #SearchFund

taplio

The Battle

Jason Andrew

Paige Kohalmont

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJason Andrew's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePaige Kohalmont's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Jason Andrew

Paige Kohalmont

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jason Andrew's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePaige Kohalmont's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJason Andrew's LinkedIn Performance