A 'part-time franchise plan' quickly changed when the business grew so fast.

Brock Carter grew up on the south of Brisbane and has lived there ever since. Completing grade 10 in school, he went on to become an apprentice bricklayer. After doing an engineering and construction course, he decided to search for what sparked his interest most by chasing experience in different industries.

For a while this included working in the Whitsundays where he met people from all walks of life, giving him inspiration and focus.

Starting with passion 

Brock had a dream of owning his own business and ‘...setting his family up for the rest of their lives’. 

So he went to work on finding something he was passionate about.

With that in mind, he tried engineering, hospitality, warehousing and more. It was when he had a son in 2010 that his focus changed and he started a career with Bunnings, followed by becoming a National Production Manager working for a team member he’d trained at Bunnings in their own business.

Yet, having his own business remained firmly on the radar.

Finding a franchise at Bunnings of all places! 

In 2019 Brock and his partner Jen were doing some renovations at home. One day Brock needed to cut into some plumbing lines, so he ventured to Bunnings. It was there he saw a sign for Diggermate and made a phone call that would change his life. 

That weekend, renting a machine turned into a brief conversation with the current franchise business owner that led to Brock embarking on around 4 months of due diligence to research the opportunity. 

Not long after, Brock and his partner were the new owners of Diggermate Ormeau (Northern Gold Coast).

COVID and the DIY boom

When COVID hit in early 2020, the DIY industry started to boom. People had time and motivation to make home improvements, so service-related businesses like Diggermate were ideally positioned. 

Brock saw his business grow 30-35% within the first 6 months of COVID and it only continued from there.

75% of his customers were trade and 25% were DIYers, so Brock saw an opportunity to leverage the boom of DIY projects and chase that audience.

The venture into a Diggermate business was actually never supposed to be a full time one, as the brand is well-open to side hustle, part or full-time approaches by their franchisees. 

But for Brock, over the next year things went from strength to strength, and he and Jen bought their second Diggermate.

It was then (in October of ‘21) that he made the decision to work full time in the businesses, just 2 years after buying his first franchise.

The plan to expand

Diggermate has seen massive success over the past 2-3 years. When Brock first joined there were 10 locations. There are now 43 across Australia and New Zealand.

According to Brock, “In the next 10 to 15 years Diggermate’s going to be a big family name in the home, just like Bunnings.”

Expansion is on the horizon for Brock and his franchise portfolio too.

 “In the first quarter of this year, we plan on opening up a third location at Mount Cotton. Then, in the second half of 2022, we'll be opening up our fourth location at Capalaba.”

His success and positive attitude have made Brock an ambassador for other franchisees within the Diggermate franchise group. Since December ‘21, 5 other franchisees have also decided to focus on their business full time.

Brock is an inspiring fellow with a great story of success.

His advice is this, “If you're going to get into business… do it, take the risk, but find something that really suits you because if it suits you, you automatically have the motivation and the dedication to get it done. If you've got that, you're going to succeed. If you do, go hard and jump into it with everything.”

One of the things Brock lives by is this. “Keep it simple. If you keep it simple then the motivation needed to succeed is easy to come by.”