Member Spotlight: Tom White, Director, The Best Backyard

Tom White,  Director of The Best Backyard, shares how his business is helping Aussies create their perfect outdoor space.

What do you do? Who for? And how does it benefit them?

At The Best Backyard we are all about helping families spend more time together outside, creating special memories by helping them transform their outdoor spaces into areas for relaxation, play & entertaining.

We offer high-quality outdoor furniture, kids outdoor play equipment, and garden products for people want their backyards to be a safe, fun, and stylish space for their children and loved ones. We aim to offer everything in one place that our customers need to elevate their backyards and outdoor living spaces!

When did you know you wanted to start your own business?

I’ve started young, with my own car washing business in primary school and have started a number of small businesses throughout my working life. From buying and selling toys as a teenager, to creating and then selling other online businesses in recent years. I’ve always been drawn to entrepreneurship and have always found working for someone else to be restrictive and inflexible (which means I’m not a very good employee!)

What’s the best thing about being a soloist? And the worst thing?

I think the best thing about being a solo business owner is the freedom and flexibility. I get to design a business that fits with my life and allows me to spend time with my kids. I’m also to make decisions quickly and steer the business in a direction that feels right to me. I think the worst part is almost the flip side of this! And that is that everything is on me!  You have to juggle multiple roles, and it can be overwhelming at times without a larger team to share the load. Overall though the independence and freedom make it rewarding & worthwhile.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?

Early on a mentor told me to “Just do it!” in response to my endless procrastination and need to make things perfect before launching! Such a simple piece of advice but so true. Its easy to get stuck in dreaming, planning and analysis mode and spend time trying to make everything perfect but you’ll only really know what works, and what your customers want, when you put it out in the world. In my experience what you end up with is usually very different to what you had planned out anyway! So better to launch early and quickly, and adapt as you go.

What’s the biggest challenge you face at work?

Time! There never seems to be enough of it in a day! There are so many potential jobs I could be doing that being able to be selective and prioritise tasks, and be mindful of how I spend my hours is important. As a recovering productivity seeker myself I recently read the book 4000 weeks by Oliver Burkeman which really puts things in to perspective and has helped me get better at understanding there will never been enough time to do everything and the best you can do is to do a few important things well.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned this year?

I think it would be that whilst your business, and what you are creating is important, it is not as important as your family life. It can be easy to get consumed by your business and the exciting opportunities to grow it, but I’ve learnt this year that I need to balance that with making sure I am strict about how much time I spend on my business, and to remember that my business is a vehicle to provide me with the freedom and flexibility to spend with my loved ones.

As part of this I’ve learnt that its important to outsource to others, and let go of control a little, this allows me to focus less on the day-to-day meaning its easier to take time off and have a break!

You’ve got a free half-hour during your workday. What do you do?

A free half-hour…when does that ever happen?! When I do get those rare pockets of time I try to get on the phone and talk to a few of our recent customers. To get an understanding of their experience with our business, what we did well and what we could improve on. Its amazing the insight you can get just from talking to people who have done business with you. I’ve got more out of talking to customers than I have employing expensive business consultants!

What’s your number one way to wind down?

I’ve love to get outside in my backyard and get my hands dirty in the veggie garden. Growing organic healthy food to feed my family feels good and I love planting tiny seeds and watch them grow in a fully grown plants, and then harvesting the fruits and vegetables at the end (unless the possums, wallabies and bandicoots get there first!)

Where and when do you have your best ideas?

Definitely in nature. When I start to feel stuck or if I’ve been sitting in my office for too long I try and get outside in nature and go for a long walk. Its amazing how once you stop actively trying to solve a problem or come up with an idea the answer often comes to you. I find time in nature makes me think clearer, come up with better ideas and energises me.

What would be your advice to aspiring soloists?

I would advise an aspiring soloist that starting your own business is a journey, full of ups and downs, and good days and not so good ones, but ultimately it is well worth it. The benefits outweigh the positives, and the ability to be able to control your own future, create something of your own, and have time freedom is something that is well worth doing.

I’d also recommend surrounding yourself with people who can help support you. Whether that’s a mentor who can act as a sounding board, someone to keep you accountable and on-track, or a business. Having people who understand your business and have your back is really helpful. Communities of business owners, such as FlyingSolo, are also important and great ways to pick-up tips, strategies and useful insights from other fellow business owners.

Is your business taking part in any sustainability, diversity or ethical business initiatives?

We recently partnered with Australian organisation i=change which allows us to make a donation for every item purchased to support life changing organisations doing great work in Australia and abroad. The great thing is our customers can be a part of the process as they get to choose which projects they would like their donation to support.

Where can we find out more about your business?

Website: https://www.thebestbackyard.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebestbackyard/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.best.backyard/

Flying Solo Directory: //corestage-cdn.flyingsolo.com.au/profile/the-best-backyard/