When Natarn was made redundant after nearly 12 years working in hotel maintenance in Hobart, he was faced with an uncertain future.
The building he worked in was undergoing a major renovation, bringing his long career in maintenance to an unexpected end. While redundancy can be daunting, Natarn saw it as an opportunity to pursue something he'd been thinking about for years: creating a career that gave him more flexibility, greater independence and the chance to spend every day outdoors.
"I'd reached a point where I was ready for a new challenge," Natarn said. "I wanted to move away from the Monday-to-Friday routine, the traffic and working indoors. Starting my own gardening business gave me the opportunity to create a more flexible lifestyle and take greater control of my working week."
Having always enjoyed surfing, hiking and spending time in nature, gardening felt like a natural fit. It combined his love of the outdoors with practical, hands-on work, allowing him to build a business around something he genuinely enjoyed. That business, Nat's Mowing, has since grown into a thriving garden maintenance service.
However, like many new business owners, the reality of starting from scratch proved challenging.
Although motivated and excited, Natarn admits his confidence was low in those early months.
"I didn't know exactly how the business would develop or whether it would grow," he said. "I just focused on taking things one step at a time, making sure I had the right equipment and doing the best job I could."
Despite his determination, after three to four months in business Natarn was still only completing a small number of mowing jobs each week. The business wasn't generating enough consistent work to be financially sustainable, and he was close to walking away.
"If it didn't grow, I would have had to stop and go back to finding a job."
Recognising his ambition to start a business, the Asuria team introduced him to the Self-Employment Assistance program, where he connected with Business Mentor Andrew.
Although Natarn hadn't realised support like this existed, he quickly recognised the value of having an experienced business mentor guide him through the challenges of growing a new business.
During Natarn's initial Business Advice Session, Andrew identified that the biggest barrier to growth was that potential customers simply couldn't find him online.
Although Natarn had experimented with advertising, it wasn't reaching people who were actively searching for gardening services. Together, they developed a targeted marketing strategy focused on improving Natarn's online visibility and attracting long-term clients.
Andrew helped Natarn optimise his Google Business Profile, strengthen his online presence, improve customer reviews and introduce targeted Google advertising that reached people searching for gardening services rather than relying on occasional Facebook enquiries.
The results came quickly. Within weeks, Natarn's workload had more than doubled as enquiries began flowing from customers. Instead of relying on occasional mowing jobs, he was securing high-quality, long-term clients who required ongoing garden maintenance.
"The Self-Employment Assistance program made a significant difference to the direction of the business," Natarn said. "It helped me understand which advertising methods were most effective and how to present my services online. Without the program, I may still have been experimenting with less effective advertising and wondering why the business wasn't growing as quickly—or I might not be in business at all."
Today, Nat's Mowing keeps Natarn busy between 25 and 30 hours each week and services around 12 regular clients, alongside additional seasonal and one-off work.
It has also expanded well beyond basic lawn mowing to include hedge trimming, light chainsaw work, general garden maintenance and a broader range of property services. As demand has grown, so has Natarn’s income, with revenue now more than three times what it was during the early stages of the business.
The business has continued to grow to the point where Natarn is now close to capacity and has started turning away new work. With a sustainable and profitable business firmly established, he's even beginning to explore opportunities to employ staff in the future.
Andrew says Natarn's success is a great example of what's possible when passion is combined with consistency and the right support.
"Natarn already had the skills and work ethic to make Nat's Mowing a success," Andrew said. "He just needed the right customers to find him. Once we improved his online visibility and connected him with people actively looking for gardening services, the business gained real momentum. Seeing him go from doubting if his business would work to turning away work has been incredibly rewarding."
Looking towards the future, Natarn’s priority is continuing to provide excellent service to his existing clients while steadily attracting more local customers close to home, reducing travel time and allowing him to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
"I want to grow steadily, build a strong reputation and create a sustainable business without expanding too quickly," he said.
Nat's Mowing is now thriving, giving Natarn the opportunity to build the business—and the lifestyle—he had always hoped for.
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