Episode 1: From Dinner Table to Boardroom: Our Family Business Story

Kirsten Burgess
Music. Welcome to it's family business the podcast. Join the Burgess family at our dinner table, where we explore the power of connection through stories, laughter and lessons from life and business. Together, we'll reform the way we think about relationships, success and growth. Grab a seat and join the conversation.

Adrian Burgess
This podcast is brought to you by Pilates reformers Australia. Your all in one solution for Pilates and wellness. If you're looking to invest in commercial or home Pilates equipment, you need to speak to the experts in Pilates. Visit our website, at Pilates, reformers australia.com.au, or check us out on social media.

Kirsten Burgess
Hi everyone, and welcome to our very first episode of it's family business. We're so excited to have you with us today. I'm Kirsten, and I am one of your co hosts, and I'm joined with my fellow hosts, my wonderful parents, Cheryl and Adrian. Hi everybody, hello. So I suppose we should start with discussing what this podcast is about. Because, as everyone knows, there are 1000s of different podcasts out there, and it seems like every second person is trying to start a podcast. So the question really is, why are we doing this? What is the purpose of this podcast? What are we hoping to achieve through the podcast? You know, what is the Burgess hot take that we're going to offer our listeners, and what's fresh and new? So I suppose I'll pass on to you. Mum, Cheryl, why are you starting this? What was your reasoning behind launching this podcast? 

Cheryl Burgess
Oh, I've wanted to do a podcast for many years, and it just hasn't been the right time or the right environment for us to get this together. And you know, now that I have young adults that can do all of the technology for me, we are ready to rock and roll, 

Kirsten Burgess
very true. And I suppose the whole theme behind our podcast, you know, it's family business, we obviously discussed that quite a lot. We did talk us through the meaning behind that and the perspective that we're trying to go for

Cheryl Burgess
a family business takes a lot of hard work. It requires all of the different family members to gel together in their different areas of expertise and allowing each person in their area to do what they do best, so knowing when to pull back and knowing when to shine in those moments around family, because you have to go home with them at the end of the day, and you have to fight out things all the time. Would you agree? Adrian,

Adrian Burgess
yes, I would. Cheryl, I always agree. 

Kirsten Burgess
And what about you? Adrian, what? What do you what's your purpose for this podcast? Do you think

Adrian Burgess
my point of a podcast is because you guys wanted to do it?

Kirsten Burgess
Fair enough, Fair enough. Well, yeah, I suppose our whole theme having the different generations together, at the table together, having these conversations. Obviously, we hope to have your we will have guests on as well. But yeah, I suppose that's, that's what we're here for, to give different perspectives. Because obviously I'm the child, so I'm younger than my parents, so I

Cheryl Burgess
your generation? What is it? Again? 

Kirsten Burgess
Gen X, X, right? younger? Oh, no, I'm Gen Z. That's embarrassing. I'm Gen Z, but yes, we're dear

Cheryl Burgess
because we're Gen Y,

Adrian Burgess
Yes, wouldn't have a clue, to be honest, what are we Gen X? Oh,

Kirsten Burgess
That's embarrassing. Yes, I'm a Gen Z, Gen Z, Alright, so now that we sort of covered the purpose of this podcast, and I think we can now segue into who we are and our journey to this point now, sitting at this table, behind the microphone, doing this podcast. So to give our listeners a little bit of background, we all work together in our family business, which is Pilates reformers Australia, which was founded in 2011 by Adrian and Cheryl. So over the years, PRA has since evolved into the, well, I like to call it a small empire that we've started with three out of four of your children working in the business now, along with Cheryl's dad, Adrian's mum, Cheryl's sister and the employees who we treat like family. You know, the list goes on of all the people that we have working with us. And one thing that I always find funny is how fascinated people are when they hear about Pilates Reformers Australia's origin story. So Adrian and as the co founder and CEO of Pilates Reformers Australia, I think that it's only fitting that you take us down memory lane. And while I hear it was your incredible eldest daughter, Kirsten, who was a catalyst to get you to where you are today.

Adrian Burgess
Yeah, that's true. So I'm telling the whole story. I'll tell the short version. I don't know if you want Cheryl to tell the longer version, but Kirsten was born with a form of scoliosis, which is a S curve in the spine which can progress rapidly without the right kind of care and bracing and surgery and blah, blah, blah. So we tried lots of things to hold back the progression as long as possible, so Kirsten didn't have to have surgery too young. So one of the things we tried was Pilates. And not long after that, Cheryl started doing regular Pilates as well, and she used it during her next pregnancy, which helped a lot with her labour and things like that. Then I started doing Pilates to help with my Achilles tendinitis as well. And at that point, we were all going to Pilates and spending quite a lot of money on Pilates, so we decided to invest in a Reformer for home use. And that was that 14 years ago, 15 years ago, yep. There wasn't much around that was sort of cheap and affordable, other than maybe Aero Pilates, which you had to go on to the infomercial to buy it. So we decided to start importing our own Pilates Reformers, and that's how we got here.

Kirsten Burgess
Cheryl, anything you want to add to that origin story?

Cheryl Burgess
Oh, look, I remember when Adrian came to me and said, I need to take all the money that we have saved, which back then wasn't a lot, and I want to buy a pallet of Reformers and bring it out to Australia. And I was like, "Are you mad"? Why would you want to do this? And he was like, "no, no, no, no, no. Trust me. Trust me". Adrian's always the ideas person in the outfit. He said, I'm going to put them on eBay, because eBay was the big selling platform back then, and they had all sold before they landed. So for Adrian, that was like, Okay, this is a business that we can get off the ground. So then, you know, started in the garage, and from there, went to a factory, and just have continued to grow and expand our range and expand our reach and expand our employees. So each every time we go along, we bring another family member in.

Kirsten Burgess
Yeah. So obviously we now partner with Align-Pilates. That's where we are at the moment. That's the equipment that we're supplying. And how did you, obviously you started with AeroPilates, take me through the progression towards getting to Align-Pilates and how that relationship sort of started. 

Adrian Burgess
We went through a time where we were heavily reliant on Reformer sales, this was our, had become our sole income, and we went through a stage of about 10 days where we didn't take a single phone call, didn't take a single order, because we were only dealing in AeroPilates. And that's when I thought, well, we need to have a commercial range of products, so that way, if the phone stops ringing, I can at least call on somebody, because our product was only home, so I couldn't go knocking on people's doors asking if they wanted to buy Pilates Reformers. So I believe at one point of time the home Pilates stuff went quite quiet, and we realised then that we also needed to have a commercial range of products. So we got on the airplane and flew to the UK and met with Align-Pilates and have worked very closely with them ever since to help perfect their products.

Kirsten Burgess
So we've been in the Pilates industry for a very long time, which means you've seen a lot of different things and seen the industry progress. So what do you think is some struggles that you've faced within the health and fitness and Pilates industry? 

Cheryl Burgess
Look one of the big struggles is brand recognition and getting people to understand what a Reformer is and how to use it correctly, and then the education of the instructors, to educate instructors how to use the equipment, is also something that we struggle with, because everybody learns from different schools of thought and the way that they teach it is different. 

Adrian Burgess
Quite often when we did trade shows, we would have people coming up to us asking what the product was so we often found ourselves selling Pilates as an exercise, as opposed to what we were actually there for, which was to sell our equipment. Yeah, which was not ideal, but I suppose it was a bit of a long game based on that, especially in New Zealand. 

Kirsten Burgess
and I suppose to then overcome those issues in the industry, you have to build a team that supports you. So what is it that you know? How have you built that team that we have today, and what have been some of the struggles that have come with that as well?

Cheryl Burgess
We've been very fortunate with our staff. A lot of staff are recommended by other people that we know. And one of the things that I think is important when we pick our staff is that they've got the same values and morals that we do, and that means that they're all on the same page as to what we're trying to do and where we're trying to go. And that brings a lot of loyalty. We're very fortunate to have staff that are very loyal. Obviously, family members are loyal. So, yeah, those that are not actual blood related, yeah, they are very loyal employees. So we've been very fortunate in that sense, to have employees like that. 

Kirsten Burgess
But obviously there are issues that come with employees and difficulties that can come with that as well.

Cheryl Burgess
Oh my gosh. There's many difficulties. You know, the text message at seven o'clock in the morning from an employee that hasn't really been turning up on time. Or there's the employee that doesn't want to do the work that they've been designated and they just refuse. Or there's the employee that just doesn't turn up for work on any particular given day, then they've rostered to turn up. So there are many trials and tribulations as an employer trying to get the right employees. But as I said, you know, for us, that's been very far and few between, and like I said, we have been very lucky with the loyal employees that we've got. 

Adrian Burgess
It is always difficult when you run a small business, because you are basically an extension of the family group, their family group, our family group, because you actually spend more time with these people than you do with your own family in many cases. So you do have those kind of conflicts. You know? I think someone said to me once that after three days, friends are like fish, they become a bit smelly. So when you're working five days a week with people, it can be a bit testing at times. So yeah, we drink lots of coffee and sometimes drink too much wine.

Kirsten Burgess
And I suppose, what sort of initiatives and things like that do you think that you put into the business to, you know, keep up the morale and keep people, you know, loyal and hard working.

Cheryl Burgess
I think we're very generous in things like when it's their birthdays, we have, like, morning teas. We have team building, like twice a year. We do team building. Take them on a Christmas party. We've some days, we've just, sometimes we've just been on a what was it? The yacht thing that we took them on once, just as a thank you for all of the hard catamarans. The catamaran, no, wasn't it? The Pacific boating thing, wasn't it? Catamaran? 

Adrian Burgess
Oh, no, it wasn't a catamaran. It's just a boat. All right? Sea Ray, right? 44 foot Sea Ray.

Cheryl Burgess
There we go. I knew you knew, what it was going to be called. They get bonuses, Christmas presents. You know, when their parents have passed away, we've been to their funerals. We've been to, you know, all sorts of things. So, yeah.

Kirsten Burgess
Which really helps to create that whole family environment and feeling within the business as well, definitely. And so, what do you think it is that brings joy or encourages you to keep going when things in the business are a bit tough, because it is tough, and there are highs and lows, and sometimes you feel like you're doing something and it's not really reaping the rewards that you'd want it to reap. And you know, what is it that you do to keep you going?

Adrian Burgess
Wine?

Cheryl Burgess
Paying the bills. You know, we've got children to educate. We've got a mortgage to pay, so it's like, well, that's not going to happen if we don't make the sales, or we don't, you know, put more effort in in other areas, which can help to build a business. So, and not only that, we've got staff members that we've got to support. So they've also got mortgages and children that they've got to look after. So you know, the buck stops with us to make sure that we're driving the company in the right direction to provide for all of them. 

Kirsten Burgess
But there are little wins, I suppose that. You know, when you get that little win, you kind of...

Cheryl Burgess
Oh, look, winning the Best Equipment Supplier 2024 The National Award, just recently with the AUSActive was like one of the biggest rewards that we could have ever gotten.

Adrian Burgess
It's always good when a studio puts their trust in you to supply their equipment, and that's that's an honour to us to supply their equipment and be their partner in their business. And then when they open a new studio. When they come back to us, it's also rewarding. But then on the odd occasion, you know, when they don't want to come back to us for the second one because they got a cheaper price or whatever, then it's a bit of a downer. But that's the ups and downs you have to deal with that.

Cheryl Burgess
I don't know from you, Kirsten, you're also an employee of the business. How do you deal with the wins and the losses?

Kirsten Burgess
I think the wins for me is when I, you know, get just the the odd, "Oh that was good, Kirsten, that's good," you know, that's for me, is a, "Oh, excellent." Especially, when your bosses are your parents, you can cop it pretty bad if you're not doing going above and beyond, or performing at 100% rather than just the odd slap on the wrist. It's a bit more than that. So when you get something and it's like, oh, that was a good job, for me, it's when I know my because I do the social media and things, when I know that an AD's performed really well, and we've generated a couple sales from that, and I get the, "oh, that's very good Kirsten" from dad, I'm thinking, oh. Yes, I am the best. 

Adrian Burgess
See, you can't, you can't praise too much, because otherwise they don't work as hard as you want them to work. You got to keep the praises down, you know, keep the criticism there as well, and that way, you know, I get the best out of you and the rest of the staff 

Kirsten Burgess
That is for sure, but yeah, I suppose those little wins, like you said, that award that we won was definitely, I think that'll be one of our highlights of 2024 because we went in there just totally not expecting it, thinking, Oh, we're just lucky to be here. And as soon as they said, and the winner is, and they said, "Pilates..." I just, I think I just My jaw dropped, and Adrian sat there with this stunned look on his face, and I was just like,

Adrian Burgess
I think I was the only one who actually expected to win. To be honest, most of those competitions are rigged, as we know, and this one just wasn't, because we won.

Kirsten Burgess
But, yeah, so those are the things that keep you going, I suppose. But also, there are the trials and triumphs of family business, and sometimes there are trials, especially when you're working with family it can be difficult. You know, one thing I always say is everyone else that doesn't work in a family business, you might get to go home at the end of the day and and that's it for you. But I come home at the end of the day and we continue to talk about that customer that emailed and wasn't happy, or how we're going to fix this Reformer that's not working and...

Adrian Burgess
...not that that happens very often. 

Kirsten Burgess
Oh no, not at all. So what are your perspectives on some of the difficulties, but also benefits of the family aspect of our small business?

Cheryl Burgess
We talk about business a lot at the family dinner table, that is for sure. But one of the things I think we benefit from is because there's quite a big age gap between Kirsten, you the eldest, and also Celine, who is the youngest, and then, you know, there's the three girls and the one boy. So we get different perspectives from you guys about different things that we talk about at the dinner table. And then I can take that away and I mull that over, or I do a bit of research. Or, you know, your generation have, you know, used chat, GPT and AI and social media and all those sort of things. And, you know, we can't keep taking all of those things on board. So it's been good to pass all those things on to you guys who, or get ideas from you guys who, you know, allow us to keep fresh and keep and happening. 

Kirsten Burgess
Adrian,  what are some of the difficulties that also come with and also the good things that come with working with the family in your small business,

Adrian Burgess
If I get a bit cranky over something, which I don't normally do, at least I can get cranky at you guys and you just go, Yeah, whatever. But I can't really do that to the staff, because they might want to quit, and we don't want them to quit, so, yeah, that's good. So, you know, sometimes Dylan, for example, if he's making some sitting boxes or whatever, and you know, he's, not making them quite to my standards, and he's lacking, then I can come down on him pretty hard, and I use him as a bit of an example, so the other staff kind of go, "oh, geez, we're not doing that". And then later on, I'm driving Dylan home, I'll say, "yeah, sorry about that, bro, I had to make an example of you," right? So that's good. Downside, as you say, is, you know, being in a family business is, it's 24/7 so it is hard to get out of it. You know, sometimes, as you know, Cheryl comes to me at 10:30pm at night wanting to do a bank rec and ask me what I spent this money on. And from, like, six weeks ago, I'm like, "I'm watching The Block here" or something, you know, like, I can't concentrate. At 10:30pm at night, my day is clocked off. So, yeah, that's a bit of a problem. 

Kirsten Burgess:
There is no clock off, is there?

Adrian Burgess: 
There's no clock off. It's always on, yeah. But that's sort of also just being in your own business, not just being in a family business, that it is. You know, if you're going to be successful, then it's going to be 24/7

Kirsten Burgess
Definitely. But I think when it's your family as well that is affected by what's the success or the downfall of the business, then you are all on it. 24/7 invested, you know, because it's like, well, if this goes down, it's not just me, it's my mum and my dad and my brother and my sister and my Auntie and you know, people that you care about. Yep. 

Adrian Burgess
So last one in, first one out.

Kirsten Burgess
Very true. All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us on this first episode of 'It's Family Business'. We are really looking forward to growing this community with you and offering a space where you can take time to rest and reflect. We hope that each episode leaves you feeling inspired and ready to ignite a dream, or just to simply feel a little bit lighter than before when you sat down with us if you want to learn more about our story, or you're interested in some Pilates equipment or Reformers, you can visit our website; pilatesreformersaustralia.com.au.

Cheryl Burgess
Thanks for hanging out with us today. We're excited for what's to come, and we can't wait to share more with you. We'll see you next time.

Adrian Burgess
Bye.