If you’re a fan of eating out in Mullaloo chances are you’ve dined in a St Stephen’s School alumni venue!
Hadley Swan, Carramar Class of 2008 is the proud owner of three incredibly successful local businesses – Dropinz Coffee, Woodfire Pizza Mullaloo and Lazyday Burgers . This success comes as no surprise, though, given that it’s grounded in Hadley’s passion for small business coupled with careful financial management.
Owning a small business has always been Hadley’s ambition, but it wasn’t his first step after graduating.
“When I first left school, I studied a Cert III in Mining exploration and went and worked for BHP as a geological technician,” said Hadley.
“While working in the mines I realised I was limited to what I could achieve with the level of education I had and the job opportunities that came with it. I was glad I did ATAR because it made it easier for me to gain entry to university,” he continued.
“I went on to complete a Bachelor of Business majoring in accounting, and worked as an external auditor for Crowe Horwath, a global accounting advisory firm. From there I went on to complete my qualification as a Chartered Accountant.”
With these qualifications under his belt, Hadley was well-placed to realise his goal of small-business ownership. He purchased a superfood franchise in Whitfords which was a powerful learning experience.
“I thought partnering with a franchise would be an easier transition into business ownership. The franchise model seemed appealing as the franchisee is meant to be purchasing a proven working business model. This wasn’t the case for the superfood franchise I purchased, though,” said Hadley.
He eventually made the difficult decision to close this business, but Hadley’s next step has clearly been his making.
“There are many factors that need to be considered to help understand why the business failed but my experiences led me to opening my own café – Dropinz Coffee – as a way to hedge against the losses due to the closure of the business.”
After the success of Dropinz Coffee, Hadley then made the decision to expand to two new ventures – Woodfire Pizza Mullaloo and Lazyday Burgers – and has since built a large and very dedicated following in the northern suburbs.
Today Hadley’s role is all about building and managing great people and excellent suppliers, as well as process management, cost performance and the usual accounting and taxation responsibilities that are part of running any business.
“I have found that accounting, in particular management accounting and cost reflection, has been a foundation for the current success of the three businesses in Mullaloo,” said Hedley.
“I’m passionate about accounting as it provides me with a true reflection of how the business are currently operating and allows for a more accurate prediction when making future decisions.”
For Hadley, this is role is a creative one – not just about crunching numbers.
“I love watching something I have created and developed succeed. I enjoy watching all the processes that have been implemented work to produce a high-quality product for our customers,” he said.
Hadley is justifiably proud of his achievements to date and is one of those lucky people who have turned their hobby into their profession.
“Developing the businesses is my hobby. The more I am involved in the businesses the more I can pick up on trends which allows me to make more informed decisions for the future.”
Hadley’s advice to current secondary students?
“It is never too late to further your education – age must not be a determining factor. Life does not have a clear road map so I really encourage you to be open to change.”