Animal Carpentry
A premium carpentry labour-hire business that outsources what it doesn’t do best.
Animal Carpentry is a Melbourne carpentry labour-hire business run by directors Mick Gunn, Dylan Gunn and Mike Sanders, hiring Carpentry Australia certified carpenters exclusively. It is a Future Advisory client, and Mike’s advice for growing a carpentry business is to know what you’re good at and outsource the rest.
Who they are
Mick Gunn started Animal Carpentry in Melbourne with his brother Dylan. In 2014, Mick caught up with Mike Sanders, who owned a small carpentry business, and the three saw value in working together. The Gunn brothers signed Mike up as the third director to take over operations. At the time of the profile, the business had more than 50 team members working across Melbourne.
What they do
Premium carpentry labour hire, offering short and long term carpentry solutions. Animal Carpentry hires Carpentry Australia certified carpenters exclusively, so it can guarantee the quality of its carpenters’ work and stand by it. Most of its work is in metropolitan Melbourne, Bayside, the East and the North.
Roadblocks
- Standing out in a saturated industry that rarely challenges the status quo
- Cash flow, which Mike calls a huge issue in the industry
- Finding a payment structure that supports the business and its growth
How Future Advisory helped
- Animal Carpentry is a Future Advisory client. The profile does not detail the specific work Future Advisory does for the business.
- Mike’s advice is to outsource what you need help with, and never do something you can pay someone else to do twice as well and twice as quick. Future Advisory notes that this is where it comes in.
Impact
The profile does not attribute specific results to Future Advisory. Mike’s tips for growing a carpentry business include creating a good culture, understanding your figures, keeping cash in the bank until you know what to do with it, and embracing technology. The team’s goal is to double in size and expand to more regions, including the Mornington Peninsula, and eventually branch into other trades.
Know what you’re good at and outsource what you need help with.
Mike Sanders, director, Animal Carpentry
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