Michael Robertson & Marc Smith, JL King & Co (Part One)

Jacqui Naunton, White Deer Graphic Design (Part Two)

Remarkable Regional Business – Episode 47 (Part Two)  Guest: Jacqui Naunton Business Name: White Deer Graphic Design Website: https://whitedeer.com.au/ [https://whitedeer.com.au/]   She runs calls at 10am, 1:30pm and 8pm on the same day every fortnight. Because her clients are in Australia, Europe and America. All from her hometown in Bendigo. In Part Two of this conversation on Remarkable Regional Business, Caleb Maxwell continues the discussion with Jacqui Naunton from White Deer. The conversation gets into the detail of how each of her three offerings actually works, what people pay, how the Co-Creation Design Club runs, and the marketing channels that have built her a global audience. Jacqui also shares the business philosophy that has underpinned everything, from how she thinks about consistency and showing up even when she doesn't feel like it, to why she acts on ideas within weeks rather than sitting on them for months while other business owners are still ruminating. Topics Covered / The full breakdown of each offering The DIY course for newer businesses, the Co-Creation Design Club for businesses wanting ongoing support and co-creation, and the done for you studio for clients who just want it handled. / How the Co-Creation Design Club works Unlimited Slack access, live calls across three time zones every fortnight, screen recordings, live design sessions and coaching all included, and why no one has ever overstepped what Jacqui thinks is fair. / Price points and how they are structured How Jacqui has anchored each offering to a different stage of business and why the model works across a wide range of clients from solopreneurs to businesses with teams and VAs. / Marketing channels that are actually working YouTube, Facebook ads, Instagram, email list and podcast, what each one does, which ones bring the most clients, and how she knows. / Building a global audience from a regional base How Jacqui has grown audiences across multiple platforms simultaneously from Bendigo, and what she has learned about what works and what doesn't. / The business philosophy behind it all Show up consistently. Act on ideas quickly. Put it out there and fix it rather than sitting on it for six months. And keep doing the monotonous things even when you don't feel like it. Watch Part One to hear how White Deer started, why Jacqui flipped her business model six years ago, and how she sold a course she hadn't written yet from a family holiday in Tasmania. // Links https://whitedeer.com.au/ [https://whitedeer.com.au/]

Jacqui Naunton, White Deer Graphic Design (Part One)

Remarkable Regional Business – Episode 47 (Part One)  Guest: Jacqui Naunton Business Name: White Deer Graphic Design Website: https://whitedeer.com.au/ [https://whitedeer.com.au/]   She sold a course she hadn't written yet, from a family holiday in Tasmania, to 55 people she'd never met. And that was just the beginning. In Part One of this conversation on Remarkable Regional Business, Caleb Maxwell sits down with Jacqui Naunton, owner and founder of White Deer, a design studio based in Bendigo that is serving clients all over the world. But this is not a traditional graphic design story. Six years ago Jacqui flipped her business model entirely and started teaching business owners how to do their own design, because she could see that Canva was changing everything and most people were using it wrong. What followed was a business that now operates across multiple income streams, reaches global audiences across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and podcast, and allows Jacqui to work only a couple of hours a day while being mostly at home with her growing family. Topics Covered / What White Deer actually is  A graphic design business with three distinct offerings, done for you design, an online course, and a membership, and why the combination of all three is what makes it work. / Why Jacqui started teaching design to business owners How a suggestion from a business coach turned into a business model, why she initially thought it was career suicide, and why she did it anyway. / The first course launch How Jacqui built an email list, ran a masterclass from a family holiday in Tasmania, sold 55 spots in a course she hadn't written yet, and then created it live week by week as people went through it. / Passive income in quotation marks Why Jacqui wanted a business model that didn't trade time for money, and how that desire shaped every decision she made in the six years that followed. / Building an online audience from scratch Five and a half years of podcasting, two to three years of YouTube, and how consistent content creation became the engine that drives everything. / Understanding what clients think they need versus what they actually need Why most business owners think they have a design problem when they actually have a brand problem, and how Jacqui positions her offerings to meet people where they are. This is Part One of the conversation with Jacqui Naunton from White Deer. Continue to Part Two to hear the full breakdown of each offering, the marketing channels that are actually working, and the business wisdom that has kept her growing. // Links https://whitedeer.com.au/ [https://whitedeer.com.au/]

Michael Robertson & Marc Smith, JL King & Co (Part Two)

Remarkable Regional Business – Episode 46 (Part Two)  Guest: Michael Robertson & Marc Smith Business Name: JL King & Co Website: https://www.jlking.com.au/ [https://www.jlking.com.au/]   By the time they moved back to Bendigo they had already outgrown the new facility. And they hadn't even moved in yet. In Part Two of this conversation on Remarkable Regional Business, Caleb Maxwell continues the discussion with Michael Robertson and Marc Smith from JL King and Co. The conversation moves into greater detail of how to build and run a food manufacturing business at a serious scale. Michael talks through the chaos of operating across six different sheds around Bendigo before the new facility was built, how the Simply Tasty brand came together, and the process behind developing and launching new products. Including a crazy lasagna soup that came from a Chicago supermarket visit but flopped in Australia. Marc brings his perspective as the recently appointed CFO on what the business needs to get to the next level, from systems and data to taking some of the load off a managing director still emailing late into the night. Topics Covered / The Simply Tasty brand How the name was chosen by a vote of ten people and what the product range looks like today across salads, baked dishes, pasta, Asian style meals and pub meals. / Contract manufacturing at scale How JL King and Co produces 24 products for IGA's private label brand and manufactures a Woolworths salad line up the entire east coast of Australia. / New product development How trends, overseas travel, buyer relationships and customer feedback drive the product pipeline, and what happens when a Chicago-inspired lasagna soup flops in 6 months. / Building and outgrowing the new facility The chaos of six different sheds, the decision to build, and what the move to the new site has made possible. / Letting go as an owner/operator Why Michael still holds on to more than he probably should, why the new facility made him want to hold on tighter, and what Marc’s role is helping to change that. / What's next for JL King and Co Systems, data, sustainability, solar expansion, packaging improvements and the growth strategy taking shape right now. Watch Part One to hear the full origin story of JL King and Co, how a competitor's phone call changed it all, and how customer demand turned a produce wholesaler into one of regional Victoria's most significant food manufacturers. // Links https://www.jlking.com.au/ [https://www.jlking.com.au/]

Michael Robertson & Marc Smith, JL King & Co (Part One)

Remarkable Regional Business – Episode 46 (Part One)  Guest: Michael Robertson & Marc Smith Business Name: JL King & Co Website: https://www.jlking.com.au/ [https://www.jlking.com.au/]   He got a phone call from the man he was competing against. “Come and have a chat.” And that one conversation changed a whole lot for JL King and Co. In this conversation on Remarkable Regional Business, Caleb Maxwell sits down with Michael Robertson, managing director and owner of JL King and Co, and Marc Smith, the recently appointed CFO. JL King and Co is a family owned food manufacturing and distribution business based in Bendigo that has been part of the region for over a century. Today it produces more than two million meals a week and distributes across the entire country from Broome to Hobart. Michael traces the journey from an eight pallet truck running to the Melbourne market twice a week with docket books and a calculator, to one of the most significant food manufacturing operations in regional Victoria. The business grew one request at a time, from slicing cabbage to cooking potatoes to building a full manufacturing operation from the ground up. Topics Covered / What JL King and Co is today A Bendigo based food manufacturing and distribution business producing more than two million meals a week and supplying customers across every state in Australia. / The history of JL King Over a century in Bendigo, from the King family through to the Quinn family, and how Michael Robertson came to take over the business as a competitor in 1997. / How manufacturing started The customer led evolution from fresh produce wholesaling to coleslaw, to cooked potatoes, to a full prepared meals operation with its own chef and product range. / Simply Tasty and the brand story How a vote among ten people produced the name that now appears on shelves in IGA, Woolworths and delis across Australia. / Community investment in Bendigo From sporting club sponsorships to the McKean McGregor Ball raising close to a million dollars for the hospital are just some of the ways JL King and Co supports the Bendigo community. / Why they chose to stay in Bendigo Despite supplying more prepared food into Queensland than Victoria and even conversations with the Queensland government about grants, Bendigo was always the place to be. This is Part One of the conversation with Michael Robertson and Marc Smith from JL King and Co. Continue to Part Two to hear how the Simply Tasty brand came to life, what it takes to build a food manufacturing operation at scale, and where the business is headed next. // Links https://www.jlking.com.au/ [https://www.jlking.com.au/]

Phil McConachy, The Mill Castlemaine (Part Two)

Remarkable Regional Business – Episode 45 (Part Two)  Guest: Phil McConachy  Business Name: The Mill Castlemaine  Website: https://millcastlemaine.com.au/ [https://millcastlemaine.com.au/]   Don't let the humility fool you. Phil McConachy is a mastermind. In Part Two of this conversation on Remarkable Regional Business, Caleb Maxwell continues the discussion with Phil McConachy from The Mill at Castlemaine. The conversation shifts from what The Mill is to how Phil got there, what shaped his thinking, and what it actually takes to build something that becomes a genuine asset to a regional town. Phil talks through the years of farming and raising four sons in Castlemaine, how the skills from his earth moving days turned out to be exactly what he needed when he bought The Mill, and the philosophy behind everything from how he looks after tenants to how he supports the local community. Topics Covered / What the earth moving business taught him Problem solving, communication, and paying people well enough that they give blood when you need it. / Moving to Castlemaine and the farming years How a compass on a map between two sets of parents led Phil and his family to Castlemaine in 1999, and what twenty years of farming and raising four boys taught him. / Community investment and why Phil doesn't see it as an exchange From footy club sponsorships to indigenous organisations to the Botanical Gardens, how Phil thinks about giving back to the town the Mill calls home. / The flood mitigation system nobody asked him to build Why Phil designed a full flood protection system for one of his buildings before he would morally rent it out. / The future of The Mill What is being built right now, who is moving in, and what Phil hopes the site looks like in fifty years even if he won't be around to see it. / Business wisdom from a man who built something remarkable without a plan Human resources as the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity. Communication as a craft. And why Phil always tells new tenants to dream big before they worry about what it costs. Watch Part One to hear the full story of The Mill at Castlemaine, how it came to be, and the remarkable collection of businesses that call it home. // Links   [https://www.anther.com.au/]https://millcastlemaine.com.au/ [https://millcastlemaine.com.au/]