Australia
Custom Homes
We're Owen and Matt Gardner, owners of Gardner Construction. I've been running Gardner since 2001, Matt joined me in 2010, and we've been going strong ever since.
Like most builders, we didn't launch this business with capital or a clear strategy. We had instinct, work ethic, and a willingness to figure it out as we went. And for a long time, that was enough. We kept the lights on. We stayed busy. We ran four or five jobs at a time and thought that was just how the industry worked. But we were sitting on a 10% gross profit margin, had no real framework for growth, and if I'm honest, no real understanding of our numbers. We were good at building. We just weren't running a business, not a real one.
When we first considered APB, our wives weren't convinced. "Why are we doing this? It's going to cost us money." And I understood the hesitation. We weren't doing badly. But there's a big difference between not doing badly and doing well, and deep down, I think we both knew it.
The moment we got into coaching, everything changed. The way APB frames money, systems, people, and the fundamentals of running a building business, it was like someone finally turned the lights on. Once you see what you don't know, you can't unsee it. And there was a lot we didn't know. I used to feel like I was being pulled in all directions. There was no focus, no clear plan, just a lot of work and not enough of the right results to show for it.
We started with the basics: understanding our numbers, tightening our margins, putting the right people in the right roles. From there, the growth came naturally. We deliberately pushed our gross profit margin from 10% to 20%. At the same time, almost as a byproduct of getting the foundations right, our turnover doubled year on year from 2020 onwards. We went from running four or five jobs to running 15 projects simultaneously with a team of 35.
The intention was never to scale to where we are now. It started simply, understand the business a little better, get the cash flow under control, make smarter decisions. But once you fix the foundations, growth tends to follow. Next thing you know, you've got 35 employees and you're running 15 projects at once, thinking, how did that happen?
Today, we genuinely love what we're doing. Better jobs, better margins, better quality, that's the goal we're moving toward, and for the first time, we have the systems and the people in place to actually get there. Ask our wives now whether the investment was worth it. They can't deny it.
If you're a builder who's been on the fence about APB, I'd say this: there is no other coaching program in the world solely dedicated to builders. The coaches understand what you do, why it's hard, and exactly what needs to change. The return on investment is undeniable. Once you're in, you'll never go back.
Australia
"Now, I’m making tenfold. I’m having holidays whenever I want. I’m picking my kids up from school a couple of days a week, and coaching my son’s football team."
Australia
“I just wasn’t quoting my projects correctly… we priced the job, we finished the job, and on completion, I realised I made no money..."
Australia
“It's been really nice to associate yourself with people that truly do care, and networking at events with other like-minded people helps to inspire each other to hit that next level, and going next level is exactly what it is.”
