Today we are introducing you to Mark who is the small business owner of South Coast Mobile Butcher, allowing local farmers to enjoy their own meat.
Mark is passionate about giving local livestock farmers the opportunity to process one of their own animals for personal consumption without transporting it. This is how he came up with the business idea for South Coast Mobile Butcher. Mark purchased an automatic pig squatting machine which makes him the second mobile butcher in Australia to be equipped with one. It helps him process animals on the farmer’s property.
Having his own business has meant more time for family. Mark often brings his 2 year old son to work with him and has recently hired his younger sister as an apprentice.
“Going into business has been a lifelong dream of mine. With Many Rivers contribution I was able to succeed in the path that I wanted to go down.”
Read more about Mark’s business journey.
Meet Mark
My business is the South Coast Mobile Butchers. It has been operating since November 2020.
When I started, I was trading slowly but working with Many Rivers has enabled me to expand a lot quicker than what I had initially planned.
I was home schooled from 12 years old and I left school when I was 14. I started working at a local abattoir to help support my family. When I was 18 I moved to Griffiths to gain a little bit more industry knowledge. It was 2017 when I moved to the South Coast NSW and given the opportunity to grow my knowledge in the butcher industry.
The local NEIS agency put me in contact with a mentor who suggested Many Rivers to me.
Going into business has been a lifelong dream of mine. With Many Rivers contribution I was able to succeed in the path that I wanted to go down.
Back in the day, butchers used to rely on local jobs for income but now if a farmer approaches a butcher, they see it as an extra job and they don’t put in the love and care that is needed. I have heard of instances when the butcher has a body that is not as good quality as the one the farmer brings in, so they swap it over.
Working with Many Rivers
I got a loan through Many Rivers and I found that this was a really quick process. Shelley was really helpful even though she lives about an hour away. If I needed to sign something to get the loan moving, she was happy to drive down at a time that suited me and get the loan sorted out for me. I’m about to employ my first apprentice and Shelley has supported me to work with local TAFEs.
Biggest Challenge
Biggest ChallengeSecuring the automatic pug squatting machine that I have been able to purchase with Many Rivers support. My dad and I drove to Melbourne a few weeks ago to pick it up. I am the second person in Australia to own on
e. I will be the first mobile butcher in Australia who is equipped with this – an automatic pig squatting machine.
It is becoming hard for livestock owners who would like to eat their own produce to process their own pigs. There is a big process they need to go through to register this. I can shorten this process for them while staying within the laws because any meat that I produce is for the consumption of the farmer and their family, rather than for public sale.
Biggest Success
To get to the point I am at now with the equipment. At first the job used to take me 9 hours to process a cow whereas now it takes me about 4 hours. I have also met a lot of contacts through my clients.
Biggest Change
Being able to spend more time with my family. I take my 2-year-old son out with me and I can give him a good upbringing and lifestyle. My apprentice is my little sister. I am able to give her an opportunity for a career path.
Future Goals for South Coast Mobile Butcher
My biggest goal in the future is to enable anyone in the general public to approach a local farmer and buy local livestock off a farmer. Or, if you w
anted local livestock, you could approach me and I would get you in contact with a local farmer who can sell you a whole cow and then I could process if for you in its environment instead of having to transport it or find a butcher.
I had a client the other day who approached me to process one of their cows ahead of their wedding. When their wedding comes around, they will have one of their own cows to cook up.
Thank You Mark
Thanks Mark for sharing your business journey. We know that there are many other people out there looking to take the next step towards setting up their own business. Your story will inspire them on the next stage of their business creation. If you want to stay updated with Mark’s business journey, follow him on Facebook.
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