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Young Guns increase their employees from two to over 400 by Trent Young 14 October 2015 Co-founder of Young Guns Container Crew, Trent Young, presented the following paper at the National Indigenous Business Month breakfast meet and greet in Brisbane recently. Firstly I would like to pay my respects to the traditional owners of the land we gather here today next to the Brisbane River. It is very humbling to be part of the inaugural national Indigenous business month event here in Brisbane. Michelle Evans and the Melbourne business school (along with some of the Murra students) need to be thanked for starting what I think we all hope will be a spring board for further Indigenous business interaction and success. Young Guns was started in 2004 some 11 years ago. Both my brother and I were the first to go to university in our family and typically as students money was extremely tight so we at different stages got jobs unpacking shipping containers and that was where the concept was born. We now service some Australia’s largest multinational businesses, after starting with 2 employees we now have around 400 employees some of which are destined for great things. We strive to create a thriving workforce where employees are not just satisfied and productive but also engaged in creating the futurethe company’s and their own. This has also been a spring board for a couple of other ventures one of them being a First Grade Recruitment. On reflection, having grown up in the bush in Roma district where
our mother Anne still runs the family farm between St George and Mitchell, I was exposed to a lot of entrepreneurs, also known as farmers (not that I identified it at the time). What appealed to me was the fact that each farmer runs their own business and has the autonomy
to make decisions impacting their future successes (except when it doesn’t rain). And to have that freedom to be in control of my own destiny is something that really appealed to me. This was a big driver for me when considering the risk of starting my own business.
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So here we are in 2015 and I was very privileged to participate in this year’s Murra program. Funny enough I stumbled across Murra on twitter of all places which I use as an information library. I guess the longer you are in business, you become exposed to new things, and you realise the “what I don’t know” is quite significant and with knowledge being power, this gap can be the thing that slows you down or speed you up depending on the path you take. You have to be thirsty to learn new things especially when you understand that it will enable you to have a positive impact on your business, your family and the community. If I could sum Murra up in one word... it would be WOW…. Melbourne Business School (along with support from IBA) could not have been more accommodating. From day one it was very clear that we were very fortunate to be involved with MBS people who have such a great moral compass, delivering world class business content to Indigenous entrepreneurs. The people involved want to make difference! Even to the point that I have forged a couple of friendships with the lecturers. The business owners and leaders all came from a variety of fields and backgrounds from art fashion to a surf board wax supplier - Robby Page; a unique man who has travelled the world as a professional surfer. Everyone arrived at the school on a different journey with different challenges and we learnt just as much from each other as
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we did from the lecturers. In some cases it was the clarity that you were on the right path or on the other hand it completely challenged the way you thought about certain areas. The take away value was very good and definately had a positive impact on myself. They were happy to share the content and plenty of templates were provided for future reference. One other outcome that was probably not expected by the participants was the social networks created and the friendships forged. I would highly recommend the Murra experience. Being National Indigenous business month, the one question that will continue to be asked is; what is the future for Indigenous business in Australia? Well today’s event along with a number of others over the past 5 or so years is evidence of change. Including recent federal government policy. The power of Indigenous business is not only for self but that of community, something that is part of our DNA. It is important that we support each other and build on the momentum of trust with corporate Australia. Good outcomes in Indigenous business around Australia are good outcomes for our Aboriginal communities and families. The real power then becomes the strength of the communities and its leaders, a lot of who are here today. Young Guns is currently engaged with a couple of organisations like White Lion, in providing employment outcomes for
Indigenous brothers and sisters. We still have a long way to go to achieve what we would consider success but employment outcomes and training is where we are looking to grow our impact. Where possible we are also looking to do more business with other Indigenous suppliers. The challenge really becomes about how you balance the resource requirements of doing good for community whilst getting on with the job of running your businesses. I believe there is need to reframe the way our people consider their life and the opportunities, instead of focusing on negatives the “I can’t”; we should be fostering the positive through conversation focusing on individuals strengths and how that enables their future. It’s really about recognising the skills, the talent, the knowledge and the passion that already exists. And that is the job of Indigenous business people and leaders to reframe the possibilities, creating a new norm. Lastly I’d like to thank everyone involved in putting today’s event together including David Williams and Leesa Watego, the first Brisbane event of National Indigenous business month, with many more to come. Just like the Murra experience today is about investing in each other; is there really any better reward? So please have solid conversations, listen intently and challenge each other, your next opportunity may just be waiting for you over breakfast. Thankyou