Tim Gentle

“It was my first business. I mean, I was kind of semi making it up as I went. And I didn't go to entrepreneur school, although I did have a business degree.

I guess, You do have to learn by fire sometimes, and I made mistakes. So when I came to sell it [the business], it was a relief. It was a definitely a relief.

And you know, and we were talking six figures.

I was only in my 30s or early 40s maybe, I was really proud of that. And I was like, Well, I got out of that one 😅 part of the sale was for me to stay on and run the company, and they ended up buying 17 other businesses along the way.

I was working for them for I think about nine months. And I remember one day, I was in the office, and I got a phone call from the head office.

I can't overly remember the phone call because it was pretty traumatic.

But the phone call was along the lines of, ‘Tim, we've got some really serious news we need to talk to you about unfortunately, the parent company has been caught for tax evasion, and that we're going to have to shut down all the businesses’

And I'm like hang on, sorry, I knew that we had a little bit of an issue on a parent level, but I didn't know that you're avoiding tax. And now you're telling me you're going to shut us all down.

I took a deep breath. And I said, Well, what about the sale of the business? Only the sale that I had negotiated was to be paid when the company floated on the stock exchange. And so they never floated away, my business and about 15 other businesses went down the gurgler and I never got paid.

So that day, that day in 2014/15 I found out that the company that I started and sold was about to be closed down. I had no way of getting back the company. All my staff had to lose their jobs.

I remember I called my number one client Bendigo tourism back then. And I said, I need to talk to you, really seriously.

And I remember them coming up and visiting me that day. And I couldn't even hold a conversation I was, I was crying like I was, I wasn't good. They were very concerned about me at that stage and all I had to say to them was, it's really f*cked up.

I think I'm gonna lose everything today. And I think you're gonna lose all your work and your website and your app and everything.

At my lowest point, I remember it was about three o'clock in the afternoon, I had to slap myself into gear. Because that night of all nights, I was asked to do a presentation in town, on how to build your business online for Australia Post.

So I had two hours to turn myself around, pull myself together, and stand up on stage in my own town. And I presented about how to build your business online, Australia Post had asked me to be the guest speaker. I got up on stage that night. And I did the best presentation I have ever done in my life.

I was fearless. I was, I was just, I was just another person.

I don't know what it was. But I just said, I have lost everything. I've got nothing to lose. I'm just going to let this audience have it.”