People often ask me how I became a driver trainer. I guess it started during high school when I had wanted to be a school teacher. However due to the tragic death of my mother and sister in a few short years my journey in life took a different turn and I ended up in the public service. I was conscripted to the army during the Vietnam War for two years but did not serve abroad. I have always been interested in sport, in particular AFL. I played for the Sandgate Hawks and was heavily involved in harness racing whilst holding down a job in the Public Service. During this time I married Margaret, my childhood sweetheart and had three sons Haydn, Brendan and Luke.
After one too many hamstring strains I retired from playing Australian Rules but remained heavily involved through coaching and later team management and selection. Many of my skills as a trainer were developed during my sports coaching period.
I was mates with Bill Jenkins through the harness racing game. Bill was a truckie who stood at nearly two metres tall, had a booming voice, a big laugh and a big personality. I told Bill that I desperately wanted to ‘do my own thing’ but wasn’t particularly sure what that was. One thing led to another, and suddenly I decided in 1989 that I would become a truck driver and run my own business carting sand, soil and gravel. Bill said something that empowered me to go forward when I stood at the crossroads of my working life. Bill said, ‘You’ll never look back Watto.’ He was right. If I would have been making a mistake Bill would have told me in no uncertain terms. Bill was that kind of bloke. I acknowledge Bill’s wisdom and belief in me in hindsight. However at the end of the day, Bill couldn’t do it for me, I had to take responsibility for his own destiny.
Starting and managing my own small business was a major step. Bill taught me about the truck industry, how to make a quid and how to toughen up in small business. I had no prior truck driving experience, he had minimal mechanical knowledge and was renowned for being a great talker but not the handiest bloke with a spanner. I had a lot to learn.
My first truck was a Mitsubishi FM 215 single axle tipper. It came with a water tank that could be chained into the tipper body and lifted off using the hoist and standing it on detachable legs. When I went to inspect the truck with Bill, I asked, ‘What am I going to do with that water tank?’
Bill replied, ‘Don’t worry about it, that’s a bonus. Just stick it in the corner of your back yard - it’ll come in handy one day.’
Even though I figured if a person ever needed water they could just turn on the tap and out it came, he took Bill’s advice and didn’t give it much thought.
I took Bill’s advice. Pretty soon my back yard at Petrie was fast becoming a truck depot.
"Nothing is so often irretrievably missed as a daily opportunity."
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
My other great trucking mentor was Ray Crookall. Ray drove an agitator that carted concrete but like so many blokes there was so much more to Ray than simply his job title. Ray was a very calming person to be around. He had lived in the community most of his life, was a businessman, a hard worker, a good provider for his family and he went out of his way to help me in any way he could. Ray used to get great entertainment out of my mistakes and misadventures whether it be towing the truck out of the mud or helping me when he was broken down. Ray in his own quiet, supportive way quietly affirmed me as a businessman and a truck operator.
"A true friend laughs at your stories even when they're not good, and sympathises with your troubles even when they're not so bad."
Each day in the trucking game my focus of what I saw when driving down the road quickly changed. Once upon a time I would drive past a truck without giving it a second thought. Suddenly I was vitally interested in who did the best deals on tyres, where to get cheap fuel, how to find a mechanic who could get me back on the road quickly and so on.
"Opportunity is missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
One day I noticed a bloke in an old truck with a water tank set up on it with the sign on it ‘Blanchard’s Domestic Water’. That got me thinking about my water tank in the back yard. I soon discovered that I was living in a location that was on the door step of suburbs such as Whiteside, Kurwongbah and Joyner. The residents of these areas all had rain water tanks which supplied the water for their personal use. I realized that I was unknowingly brilliantly positioned to take advantage of my situation.
The turning point came whilst I was having a Christmas barbecue with friends at my homes. I got a phone call from a bloke who was a expecting as large number of people for a party and he’d run out of water. He offered me $100 and a bottle of wine to go straight over to his house with a load of water. His regular water delivery man, Blanchard, had left a notice in the man’s letterbox saying that he was shifting to Caboolture and would not be delivering any more water in the area.
I offered some of his guests a trip in my water truck to do the delivery. So we headed off for our adventure. We went to the local hydrant, filled up and delivered the load. It went like clock work. I got the $100 and the wine.
Shortly after I got a heap of fliers printed off:
YOUR LOCAL BLOKE - IAN WATSON
PINE RIVER DOMESTIC WATER
PROMPT DELIVERY AND A FAIR PRICE
I got his sons in the back of my ute, plus a few other kids from the neighbourhood and did a letterbox drop. The response was immediate. As the water business grew I was having more difficulty keeping up with demand. People relying on tank water would often hold out for rain as long as possible, so often when the order for water was made, they needed it immediately.
I realized that the water delivery business was more lucrative and convenient for me being so close to home so I started to phase out the sand, soil and gravel delivery and focused more and more on the water business.
The time came when I needed a second water truck. I went to the auctions to find a suitable truck. I didn’t have Bill or Ray with him this time, but Ray’s son Luke was by my side. Luke knew his stuff when it came to trucks having been raised under the guidance of Ray. However it was almost comical when we walked into the auctions, with Luke dressed in his school uniform. Luke was only fifteen years old. However the adage rings true, not to judge a book by it’s cover. I respected and valued Luke’s opinion, and after a quick once over of the vehicle Luke gave it the thumbs up.
The truck that was purchased was an old yellow Bedford ex Brisbane City Council truck. I bought it for $4000. The old Bedford was like riding a wild brumby, but it did the job. My oldest son, Haydn had finished university and due to lean economic times it took him seven months to find a job as a civil engineer. In the interim he drove the Bedford as the most overly qualified truckie in town.
As time passed, I branched out to the other areas of water delivery services to landscapers, plumbers and so on and at one point had 5 water trucks operating. However after a while Ian trimmed the fleet back to 3 because it was a more manageable number of trucks to have in the fleet especially due to the variations in the weather.
Over the years there were periods when it was dry for long periods at a time, and it was wet. Wet days were the days you learnt to do your maintenance and go and have a coffee with your wife.
The water business showed me that if you have a business that provides something that people cannot do with out, then you will survive even if economic times are tough. Every body needs water. And a lot of the people living in the areas that I supplied water too, had horses and cows which also require large amount of water.
The old yellow Bedford which I purchased for $4000, was later sold for $5000! I also sold the two Mitsubishi water trucks for the same price that he purchased them.
One of my favourite sayings is, "Never give a sucker a break." I can personally relate to it in my business life. There are opportunities everywhere, and the key is to listen, look and assess what is going on around you.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)
Don Lewis is another bloke I owe a lot too in my business life. He was a total stranger who took the time to give me the gift of a great idea. He approached me one day when I was at the Petrie Police Station seeing off one of my son’s friends on a truck driving test in one of my water trucks. He said that the Pine Shire did not have a truck driving school and that there could be an opportunity for me.
Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
I went home and thought about what Don had said. I still had that part of me that had always wanted to be a school teacher and as a small businessman I was constantly on the look out for new opportunities. Don was a great mentor for me as I took the necessary steps to qualify as a driver trainer and start Ian Watson’s Truck Driving School. Don showed me through his actions that it wasn’t worth getting uptight or hot headed. Don has since regularly called in to see me every week to drop in the Melbourne paper so that I can keep up with all the latest in the footy. These days it’s more about mate ship, than business. We are both mad AFL supporters – Don a Swan’s supporter and I’m a Blue’s supporter. Don showed a confidence in me from the first bounce that still amazes me to this day.
Don didn’t have to give me that great idea, he could have kept the idea to himself or given it to someone else. But he chose to give the idea to me and I will forever be grateful to him. When someone tells you something, it costs nothing to listen and show the person respect for their suggestion. Giving people the time of day is one of the greatest compliments you can give them, and of course that doesn’t mean don’t value your time and have boundaries, but in balance it can be an energizing and creative process.
Don’s idea gave me a whole new revenue stream. The set up costs for the driving school were minimal. I was already driving trucks, I was in the industry, so I was on the front foot more so this time as opposed to my position when I first started in the trucking game.
On top of that it, I had done a lot of footy coaching which served as a good foundation to be a driver trainer. I was often referred to as the ‘Darryl Eastlake” of driver training due to my passion and enthusiasm on the job.
I have strived to instill in my staff a pride in their work and to give the customer great service. I have experienced some fantastic customer loyalty over the years which I do not take for granted.
I am still passionate about investing into the lives of people. I am a people person at heart. Teaching people to drive trucks has been an extremely fulfilling vocation. I have met thousands of men and many women with the goal of getting a driver’s licence. There have been people of all shapes and sizes, from a variety of backgrounds, and each with a story to tell. The staff who have worked with me in the water delivery business and the driving school have been a delight to work with. I have benefited from a number of business mentors, friends and family to help build a business which aims to treat people like champions.
