The New Dreaming Podcast

Slashing Dreams: Jordan's Small Acre Niche

• David Cook

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Have you ever felt that persistent gut feeling telling you there's something more meant for you than just clocking in at a job you don't enjoy? That's exactly what led Jordan from Ocean View to establish NHQ Slashing, a business that's now thriving in its specialised niche between large commercial operations and residential lawn care.

https://bit.ly/JordansWebsite

Jordan's story isn't about an overnight success or a carefully mapped business school strategy. Instead, it's a refreshingly honest account of following intuition despite lacking formal business education or entrepreneurial family connections. "I was stuck in a job which I wasn't into for many, many years," Jordan shares, describing the gradual build-up of courage that eventually pushed him to make a change. His path to business ownership began with devouring podcasts and audiobooks, seeking wisdom from successful people while researching his industry thoroughly.

The turning point came when Jordan discovered Indigenous Business Australia (IBA), whose business courses and support made entrepreneurship feel accessible rather than intimidating. Their guidance through the business planning process and subsequent financial support proved crucial for someone without traditional business networks. As Jordan puts it, "I don't think there's a lot of banks that would be willing to invest their time into me as much as IBA has."

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of Jordan's candid conversation is his openness about the challenges—particularly burnout. His realization that "if you're just doing nothing but your business, even though you like it, you're going to get burnout" led to important lessons about maintaining connections and proper work-life balance. Now past the critical three-year mark where many businesses fail, Jordan is expanding his services and learning about contracts and tenders while never forgetting his core advice: "Life's short, give it a crack, follow your gut."

Ready to be inspired by a real entrepreneurial journey with all its ups, downs, and hard-won wisdom? Listen now and discover how Indigenous business ownership can transform not just livelihoods but lives.

David:

From business to home ownership, from culture to wellness. We're having the real conversations. This is the New Dreaming Podcast, in partnership with IBA Jordan. Welcome to the podcast. There you go. It's good to be here. Thanks for coming. You just drove from down the road, put it in neutral, rolled down the hill One way to put it yeah, nice yeah. Name where you it yeah, nice yeah. Name where you're from and your business. Let's delve right in.

Jordan:

My name's Jordan, from Ocean View, just up the road from where we're filming now, and business is NHQ Slashing.

David:

Tell us a little bit about it and maybe how it started the emergence of hey, I want to start my own business.

Jordan:

I do slashing services for rural, semi-rural acreage and small acre areas, with more of a focus on the semi-rural and small acre part, because basically where I'm situated there's not too many large, large farms left. So yeah sort of going for that smaller area, smaller market. I sort of fit in between the very large slasher guys and all of the moa men so I can do, yeah, a bit of a good little niche spot I was about to say niche now.

David:

Um, I'm sure with slashing there's machinery involved. Um, what slasher do you have? Tell us about that. I don't know much about slashing, so give us a rundown of the equipment. What's involved?

Jordan:

I run a kubota mx 5200, so that's 50 horsepower, and behind that I'm pulling a five-foot slasher. Yeah, it's not too bad, it's actually really good. Yeah, a good machine. I'm really happy with that choice.

David:

Did you do this type of work when you were young? Is this something you were exposed to? And then, as you got older, you thought, hey, maybe I'll do this for a business.

Jordan:

Not really. I've been in the gardening and lawn maintenance on and off since I was sort of working age I guess, but never as a proper career path or anything like that. Yeah, I sort of came into this business later in life.

David:

Now, when you first decided to start that business, can you take me back to that day, that month, that year, where you were floating with that idea of starting a business, and what was that first step you took to maybe registering the business name?

Jordan:

There wasn't any one specific time or point where this is it, this is what I've got to do. It was sort of a slow build-up, pretty slow build-up. I was stuck in a job which I wasn't into for many, many years, like a lot of other people, and sort of a gut feeling of wanting to try something on my own and branch out and just give it a go, basically. But yeah, there's no one specific point in time or specific reason, just lots and lots of little ones building up.

David:

I think the reason is perfect. You were stuck in something that you didn't enjoy and wanted something for yourself. For anyone that's in that position, let's say they're in a job right now. They're not quite sure they don't have anything they're drawn to, they just know that they want to do something on their own. Do you have anything for someone out there?

Jordan:

listening that might be in a job right now. That's like, yeah, I'm over this. If you've got a dream, or not even even a dream, if you just got like a gut feeling, really pursue it, study it, research it, I think it's probably the best thing. That's what I sort of did. I just started to devour podcasts and audio books for the business part, but for the actual job itself, just a whole heap of research, and I wasn't branching out into a completely new field or territory or anything like that. So that made things a lot easier to start. And, yeah, I think, follow your gut feeling, follow your dreams. If it's not in a job you like, get out.

David:

Life's short. That's great advice. Now you're a business owner. You mentioned podcasts. Were there any particular business podcasts you were consuming?

Jordan:

There was a few of them, business podcasts you were consuming. There was a few of them. Mark Boris, I listen to him a lot. He's got several different podcasts, not all on the same topic, which is good, so you can really get into it. And I sort of listen to people more than just business podcasts because I'd like certain people, successful people I just wanted to know what makes them tick, why did they do it, and just anything like it doesn't have to be specifically into business, but what did they do in their personal lives? And that's where the audio books and podcasts really, really of great value. Yeah, no, I love podcasts.

David:

Part of the reason why I wanted to start something was, again, you can talk to a guest. You have no idea who they are and they just share something that resonates with you, whether it's about life, business, love, pain. Now, that gut feeling you talked about that gut feeling. Was that something you lived with for a long time, or it sort of came quickly and then you addressed it?

Jordan:

Lived with for a long time, but I didn't know what to do with it. So I sort of just did what everyone else does, or what I thought everyone else does just do a job, try to make money and that's it. Look for audiobooks and the people who I wanted to listen to, to, where I've got more of an idea of this might actually be possible sort of thing, because I didn't really think it was that possible. I didn't have the best time at school. I only enrolled into uni but never actually managed to give it a go, and it wasn't in business management or anything like that anyway. So I didn't really know what to do, how to do it, and that's again where the audiobooks came in. Being able to listen to really influential people gives you more of a drive, more of a yeah, I can do this.

David:

Yeah, you more of a drive, more of a yeah, I can do this. Yeah, and you can consume it in your own time, in private, in a drive, while you're working. You know, and I think podcasts and audio books have helped shaped the way people consume. Um, high school, where did you go through high school? Maybe those first 15 years of your life, your childhood. If you mind sharing a little bit about that school, maybe sport, anything.

Jordan:

Yeah, I was born in Brisbane, rural Brisbane. We actually lived in Darra Juicy Street. Darra Juicy Street yeah, juicy Street, and it was made famous by the Netflix show recently. Not so much the street but Darra itself is like that was pretty cool to watch on TV. But the family moved us up to Oceanview. When I was one and started grade one in Daburra State School, finished there, went to Colby College in Petrie and while we were there they changed the name to Mount Maria Senior, but that school only goes to grade 10, and then you have to find another high school after that and then I went to just down the road, tuckabin State High School and that was basically it. After that I tried to do the uni thing but it just wasn't for me and sort of yeah, got into work and it's been a pretty wild ride since then.

David:

Now, when you're searching for exploring that gut feeling, do you think that gut feeling had anything to do with just your place as a man, as a business owner, in society, or uncertainty about the future? Was it just something you're still exploring now?

Jordan:

Still exploring so often. I'm learning this about myself. So often when I ignored the gut feelings. It doesn't matter in what specific way, shape or form, but a lot of times if I went against it, things didn't work out the best. I'm just realizing that. And a lot of times when I followed my gut feeling, whatever the scenario, it worked out Not all the time, but yeah, just noticing things like that. So you've got a natural intuition noticing things like that.

Jordan:

So you've got a natural intuition. I don't know, I don't know how to describe that.

David:

When you first started the business. Let's talk about how it got started. How did you first hear about?

Jordan:

IBA and talk me through that process. I first started getting interested, getting ideas of like, when I could see it becoming a possibility that I could do it. I just went out and looked for business courses. Literally I didn't even know IBA existed. And then they came up and they had a little short course and went into Brisbane City, did it, and it was just a very short introduction, just sort of getting an understanding of what's literally the first step to do, and it was really valuable. It was only a very short little introduction but very valuable for someone like me. I don't come from a management background, I've always been just the barrow pusher, so to speak, and it was good because they made the big, unreachable ideas seem reachable, smaller, accessible, yeah, and very, very good in directing my thoughts in the right direction.

David:

Now you've gone to this course, one-day course, two-day course, a few hours.

Jordan:

I think it was just a one day course. I'm pretty sure.

David:

Yeah, you finished this course. You got to the end of the day. What happened then?

Jordan:

Sort of felt energised, to be honest, energised in thinking that I am on the right path and I've got to do it. I've got to pursue it. That purpose, yeah.

David:

And was there a point of contact there that you had to follow up? Was it a call, an email? What was the next step for you to get this business rolling?

Jordan:

That one little course was a pretty big impact. I'd sort of forgotten what happened after. That little course was pretty big impact. I sort of forgotten what happened after that. But the first step was definitely the business management plan. Like IBA's got templates for that and just literally start putting pen to paper and do that business management plan and go from there, hand it in to IBA and they'll tell you whether it's you know. This is right. Clarify this, clarify that. Are you sure about this? Where did you get this information from All that little stuff?

David:

It's very important just to be supported Definitely, definitely. I find with mob and businesses it's hard to talk to someone because I know for my family not many of us, if any, had businesses, so they had that support Once you started to fill out that management business plan and you put it all on paper. Do you remember it being a quick process before you were open for business?

Jordan:

No, no, it wasn't quick. Nothing I really do is quick anyway, but that's okay, because and if I rush things then usually things don't work out, so I'm much more suited to taking it slow. Make sure I understand what's going on.

David:

And then, when you finally got started, how did IBA support your business?

Jordan:

Well one. Actually being able to go for a loan like straight up is the most valuable thing. I don't know if it's the most valuable thing, but I don't think there's a lot of banks that would be willing to invest their time into me as much as I have, and it's them believing in us, like they've seen what I've researched, what I've done and understanding what, what I'm trying to communicate to them and making sure that I know what I'm been researching, what I'm doing in the path I'm going on to no business startup is crucial.

David:

It's life-changing for some people.

Jordan:

Yeah.

David:

And some people have the networks and the resources to just have access to businesses. Their family has started businesses. But if you're trying to jump out to something new, like you said, take that gut feeling and do something for you and you've got IBA supporting you with a startup.

Jordan:

It's everything and they've got a wealth of knowledge. Like their business is business, but they know a lot of people who have jobs in industries similar to mine, so it's they're able to pull on their knowledge of, like their past experience and how it can relate to to my business also.

David:

They have the access to the network, maybe resources, mentors, people that can guide you. And now you've taken that new knowledge, do you remember what the first six months of business was like for you?

Jordan:

Well, slow, starting off from scratch with very little clients, so very slow. Make sure you can walk before you can run. Because of the equipment I chose too. I chose a truck and a tractor and a trailer. So while I didn't have all the jobs lined up ready to go straight away, I was able to use the truck for career work. So I was still pulling in income and still learning about business, at the same time invoicing and all of that, and it helped that we went out of a drought into good rain at the time. That was at the end of 2019, started 2020.

David:

You said you move slow with things, except for slashing yeah.

Jordan:

You don't go too fast. It can be a bit dangerous at times, but yeah, let's talk about that.

David:

You get a job. How do you quote for something like that? Is it the size of the property, the terrain? If I were to go to someone's backyard, I'd just look at it and go. That'll take me an hour or so, but you've got to walk it. How does that work?

Jordan:

It would be good to view every property beforehand and literally walk the site, but it's just not feasible. You'll spend the entire day walking. You do the best. The more you do, the more you realize how much you're able to do, whether it's an acre an hour or half an acre an hour, all that sort of stuff. You try to get as much information as you can I try to do. That Depends on literally what you're saying before the terrain of the area. Is it flat? Is it steep, hilly, potholes? What sort of obstacles? Rocks, rubbish, old fences.

Jordan:

Any information that the client can give you is really valuable. Also depends on what it is that you're slashing. Is it just grass? Is it weeds? If it's just grass, what type of grass? What type of weeds? Because they're not all the same. There's a lot of plants stronger than others which just hate being cut, which is going to push back your time frame of how quickly you can do the job. But equally, if it's really short growth of whatever you're cutting, it's going to be much quicker. So I try to ask as much information from the clients as I can and in return, give them as much information as I can. Tell them what's there will impact on how quick the job's going to be. I tend to try to do that as much as I can and I find clients appreciate that too rather than just giving them a number out of thin air Wouldn't even think of that.

David:

Different weeds, different grass. So you know everyone.

Jordan:

Most people have a property or a place or yeah, a lot of times, not a lot of times. Sometimes you get properties which are just completely overgrown and you just you can't do, like not even a hundred and something plus horsepower tractor can do it. That's when you've got to get forestry mulchers in and things like that.

David:

Has learning more about business through the process of you know when you went to start your business and you're developing all the planning, has learning about business helped you learn more about yourself?

Jordan:

Definitely, definitely. Not just about the business, but as the podcast and audiobooks as well, it all feeds into one. I've found I'm not the best at talking, so that's one thing I had to. I found out I've got to improve that.

David:

Now, if we talk about, maybe, some highlights from the business, is there any sort of milestones that you've reached? Are there any places in the future you want the business to go?

Jordan:

The biggest milestone so far for me has been the length of time I'm in business full, because before starting I learned at least I think it's a little bit over 60 percent of businesses fail within the first three years and being over three year mark that's. That's been the milestone for me. So that's been really, really reass, really reassuring that I am doing the right thing and continue, follow the gut, continue Well done?

David:

No, it is. And the cost of living now, and you know, the discussion of the cost of living has been going on for a long time, but the last year or two, fuel and basic groceries is ridiculous. And I'm thinking that slasher is very thirsty, exactly.

Jordan:

I was just about to say that With the fuel, the diesel on the truck and the tractors gets pretty insane sometimes, especially when the prices are just fluctuating all the time. It's hard to budget around that aspect really hard. Just got to do the best you can really, and there's some jobs.

David:

You come in you budget right, there's hiccups and then you do a lot more work to get the job done. You've already quoted a certain price, so then you do a lot more work to get the job done. You've already quoted a certain price, so then you're emotionally putting more of yourself into the work. So did you notice any? We've talked about a highlight. What are some of the hardest things about running a business?

Jordan:

Trying to get the balance of business and personal life. That's something I didn't even consider starting, because you're a sole trader, it's just me, there's no other employees, so I have to do everything, including the job. Work on site Makes things very difficult, and I didn't realise you need a personal life. Stay healthy, not just physically, but mentally too, because if you're just doing nothing but your business, even though you like it, you're going to get a burnout, which happened to me. I was able to rectify that, though luckily.

David:

What tools did you use to help with that burnout?

Jordan:

Mates, mates and reading, yeah, and it all just flows on from literally what I was saying before about the audio boxing podcast. The people you look up to what do they do? A lot of them, it's not a big thing, just copy what they do. If they say they read this particular book, it really helped them. I'm reading that book.

David:

That's good. So you consume audio books, podcasts and you read as well. Try to.

Jordan:

Audio books or listening to it is far easier for me and more enjoyable.

David:

Yeah, and that burnout phase was that a couple of weeks, couple of months, couple of years? Because I know that burnout is something that can take years to recover from Up here as well, how long was that process?

Jordan:

Months. Months and months, and months, continue, just continue, keep on. It's something to improve yourself and, in that regards, you never stop. I've found Always trying to learn new things, new ways of things. I don't think there is a stop point for that.

David:

I definitely agree. When you're young, you think by the time I'm 30, I'm going to have my life sorted. Yeah, ooh, was I wrong? Yeah, let's say there's some mob out there, they've got a business, they're going hard, they get close to, or they have just hit burnout. What's a piece of advice, the first thing you'd give them? Because right now they're probably thinking I don't want to read, I don't want to go outside, I'm just exhausted. What's the first piece of advice you'd give them?

Jordan:

Seek connection, Connect with anyone your mates. If you've really got no one, go to your GP. Great advice Reach out yeah. You're not alone, basically.

David:

Now you've got a business, you've got burnout. I'm sure that had a huge effect on business. Ceased business for a while. Could have stopped, could have put it on hold. Did you manage to get any support through that process for the business?

Jordan:

Yeah, iba was definitely there, definitely there to help. They allowed me time, time to step back, take a proper step back for only a short amount of time. Take a proper step back for only a short amount of time. But that was so valuable to be able to just literally take a step back, because I needed to have a lot of attention on fixing the problems. Basically and you can't do that trying to do the business at the same time, it's just being a sole trader your personal life bleeds into your business life. Business life bleeds into personal life. Yeah, so it's very difficult, but it's doable.

David:

Just got to reach out and, apart from reading, were there any other activities that helped you through that burnout?

Jordan:

Literally just getting up and walking. Start moving. Get off the couch. Don't get stuck in doom scrolling on your phone. Get out into the fresh air. Yeah, spend time with your friends.

David:

Just that movement and walking. You know that, as cliche as it sounds, one step in front of the other getting through. I think that's really important because suffering from burnout, all sorts of depression myself, all sorts of things over the years that I feel people need to talk about more. I remember one moment where I just went outside and stood in the sun, just looked up for a while it was two weeks I didn't see the sun. Yeah, so really great advice. Now you've got that support through that process. How was re-entering business then? When you sort of I'm not going to use the word recovered, let's just say you managed that time, how was it re-entering?

Jordan:

I really wasn't too sure what to expect, because the time I took off was in the middle of summer and with my job the go time is summer, so I was understanding that I'm going to have to start from scratch again. All new clients start advertising again, but I was quite fortunate that the vast majority of my clients all came back to us. I wasn't expecting that. It must mean I'm doing something right. Very fortunate for them. It was good, though, because I had a bit of time off and able to recalibrate. Recalibrate the thinking what am I doing? Alright, recalibrate the thinking. What am I doing? Get a few things in place to be able to deal with certain situations, things like that.

David:

That's important. This business, the physical toll, emotional, spiritual toll, just having energy to give, outside of work as well, to your loved ones, friends and family. Now, if there's some young aspiring entrepreneurs, business people, out there, they're in the grind. We've talked about advice for them if they're in burnout, but they think they're unstoppable right now, as we all do at that stage. So what's some advice now, forecasting that burnout is a real thing and you have to take care of your emotional health? What would you say to someone out there watching? And it needs to be one person that this resonates with.

Jordan:

Stay connected to people.

David:

Don't do it all by yourself, everything all the time. That is like straight facts, what you just drove right there. It's so simple. But it's just that in those times you can feel like you're alone.

Jordan:

You're just doing it by yourself particularly if you're a soul trader and it is literally just you and the business. I'd imagine it'd be far easier for people doing it as a joint venture.

David:

But when do you see the business going in the next 12 months, three years, five years?

Jordan:

Definitely growing. I've never stopped trying to learn new things here and there. Next step I'm currently learning about tenders, so the next step is to literally get a contract, and that's new territory for me. Like I was saying, I've never been in management, so I don't know what's the pathway for it, and that's the other thing that IBA's come in to help with. They can helping us teach me. You know what is the pathway, what, what, what to do, and making a big thing seem much smaller and achievable. Well and truly. So that'll be the first. Next step will be actually actively sourcing and tenders, seeing what's out there, what can I do realistically, and just keep an eye out, looking and learning.

David:

And in your toys you find yourself Googling any beasts machines that live in the landscape of landscaping. I didn't mean to do that, it just came out.

Jordan:

Definitely more attachments. I'd like to diversify the list of services I offer. There's other things than just slashing that a lot of people want on the sites. So, whether it's a wood chipper to clean up the bush areas, a lot of it's ex-farmland too, and so it really helped with getting paddocks back to good. You sort of got to intervene, do a little bit more than just slashing. So that's where, if it's super compacted ground, you've got to get a ripper into it and literally rip up the ground, loosen it up. If it's not too bad, then a bit of aeration in the soil.

Jordan:

Also, spraying is a big one. Depends on whether or not you're comfortable with chemicals being used on your property, but it's literally been used everywhere. Not the only option, though, for control of weeds. There's a lot of direction, a lot of directions I can go in, and I'm currently asking property owners out there what's the need of yours, sort of doing a bit of research in that sense, literally asking them, and that will heavily determine what I go for next In return in terms of contracts and tenders. It's likely I'm going to have to get a much larger machine to really be able to compete with the big boys, the big companies, which is cool too and I'd like to get to that point where I can hire actually hire someone to really make, make a go of the business and grow it properly, because there's only so far I can get, just as a sole trader it's a perfect plan.

David:

some tenders, grant, grant writing, contracts, infrastructure with the machinery. Yeah, you know, staff could be a part-time capacity and then full-time and outside of work. What does Jordan?

Jordan:

like to do. Well, literally last night had a date night with the missus, went to a candlelight concert in Brisbane. It's always good to make time for your partner. That's the whole thing, the struggle of finding time. Making time outside of work for your life, but definitely going on road trips with the missus, seeing Brisbane get out and about, go for a walk here and there. That's basically it. I'd like to get time for hobbies, particularly cars, but it'll come eventually.

David:

What sort of cars are you into? I'm genuinely curious.

Jordan:

Old Holden and Fords. My last proper daily driver before starting a business was a 1984 Holden WB one tonneau. Really cool driving that as a daily driver in this day and age. It was cool.

David:

I am a fan of the old Fords. Love an old F truck. Yeah, there's a couple around here. I see Narangba, there's one that floats around. I actually pulled up one day, saw him at a servo and asked for a business card so that we could call him one day to hire it for a film. Yeah, you know what I mean those cool old cars. Now you've got a website. New website, is that right? New website yep, when did that go live? Where can people check it out? Google?

David:

uh wwwnhq slashing and hq slashingcomcom, and how has it been since you've got the new website, now that it's been professionally done? Has it impacted your business?

Jordan:

I want to be a proper business, so all proper business have website. All right, I'll do that. But it also helped too with going for contracts and tenders. So the big businesses or governments, whether it's local state, they've got a really good point of reference. If you've got a website, they can just go straight to it and literally all information's there for them easily. They don't have to scroll through Facebook and get lost in that world. It helps in that regard that credibility for the business.

David:

It helps in that regard that credibility for the business Now moving forward 2025 and beyond. We've talked about some of the goals for the business. We've talked about a milestone with the business and the importance of reaching out, connection, loved ones time with the people you care about. What does balance look like moving into later 2025? And talk me through your mind map of how you're going to navigate work-life balance.

Jordan:

Really make sure you take time off, focus on something else other than work. I think that's the best answer I can give for that one. I don't know how else to describe it.

David:

You give great answers, because sometimes people can talk about three minutes about something where what you actually say is quite concise. It's very important to take time off, separate yourself from work, even though, like you said, you can love what you do. I struggle to do that, to pull myself away, because I genuinely love what I do, but very, very good advice. So you're dropping gems of knowledge. The end of the year, business is going great. We talked about separating ourselves. What are you going to do to reward yourself from practicing what you're preaching? It seems like you're very aware and you take the time to read, to look for knowledge and inspiration for self-improvement, self-powerment, which we all need. What are you going to do on Christmas to celebrate self-powerment?

Jordan:

which we all need. What are you going to do on Christmas? To celebrate Christmas is a hard one, because middle of summer that's the growing season, that's when all gears are going. I'd like to do a bit of a road trip with the missus.

David:

Where do you want to go?

Jordan:

North Queensland yeah, there's nothing. I love a good road trip up north, I agree.

David:

Now I just want to close with a little bit of, maybe an inspirational quote. It could be a song or a movie or something that gives you inspiration. Life's short, give it a crack, follow your short, give it a crack, follow your gut.

David:

Just have a go. I love it. Jordan, thank you for coming. Thank you for putting it in neutral, rolling down to see us. I would love to chat to you next year, follow up, see how the business is going, and would love to have you back. It'd be great. Beautiful, be bigger than Jimim's. That's it. Thanks, brother. Cheers, thank you for tuning in to the new dreaming podcast in partnership with iba. Stay inspired, stay connected and we'll see you next time.