"How Support Workers Are Using Community Events to Get More Participants | Cody Thompson

0:00Hi everyone, it's Sarah from Sarah. No support workers today. I've got Cody from disability events community. Hi, Katie, I've got you. Hi Sarah, you do. Thanks so much for having me today. My pleasure because we have got so much to unpack because it's not just the disability events community you've got, you've also got the aged care events community and you've got other things working behind the scenes. So we're just, I hope you don't mind. We're just going to get cracking into it. Absolutely.

0:25All right, you ready? You got. This Let's do it. All right, all right. So right now, what businesses do you run? Yeah. Well, you mentioned on the top, so we have two at the moment. So the Dec, which stands for the disability events community and then the ACEC, which is the aged care events community. So both of those are deliberate and sort of tailored events. Companies. So that's all we do. We don't have any side business that we're trying to to funnel clients to or anything like that. We just like to think that we put on good events, good quality sort of community events and try and get as many people there as we can.

0:58So is it just you or do you have a Co founder or do you have a team? How does it work? Yeah, no, I'm very lucky. I do have a lot of that. So we have a Co founder firstly, so Lee Hunter who's based in Perth as well. So Lee and I actually met, to be honest, I, I tell many people this, but like, we met actually at A, at a pretty average event, if I'm completely honest, many years ago. There was an old rundown location, there was about 6 people there and we were two of the six and we didn't know each other for a bar site, but that's how we met and that's how this journey started.

1:26And I guess just goes to show that it doesn't matter if there's 2 or 200 people at an event, don't know who you're going to meet. Yeah, Lee and I have been doing this for a while now and we actually have a team of six across the country. So that really helps us travel to all these different sort of remote and regional communities in Australia and try and meet so many great people. And I find that really quite intriguing that you went to an event for six people and you turned up leaving the event with a business partner. Did it happen that quickly or did it like did you have to, you know, marinate it for a couple of years before you got? There, Yeah, I think we had to marinate it. We had to get pushed a little bit and then when we even thought about, we had to get pushed again. So it was never designed to be a business. Lee and I were both working like completely independently in different.

2:07Roles in the disability sector, like I said, had it, had it met? Back then at least it was about sort of 2021, so it was still COVID times, but sort of slowly coming out of COVID. And you know, there's so many fantastic networking events in the community now. But back. Then it was a bit harder and there really wasn't many. And being Perth as well, it was even less so. Lee and I just met and just said, hey, like, there's got to be a better way to do this where you can meet quality people in the space and get to know them. And yeah, for a while there, it's just Lee and I catching up for coffee once a month in a coffee shop. And I said, I think she was getting a bit sick of me, so she started inviting a few people.

2:41And then I started inviting people, and before too long we were booking out coffee shops. And yeah, it just sort of spread and grew from there. It seems like it's quite natural. Yeah, I think in a nice way it was natural in the sense of that, that belonging and trying to build a bit of a community. So that really happened in a nice way, easily, but just because it was just. Such a need in the community to figure out who was a good support sort of provider out there and how do you sort of build that good network. And from there, it's taken time, but I think it got to a point where we started to realize like we had this fantastic network of all these fantastic providers.

3:16And early on it was just in WI, but we realized we weren't doing enough to really help the end user. Like how do we help people with a disability or their families? And that's where, like I said, a few kicks up the butt came in and before too long we started to take the plunge and, and do these sort of events and just try to do them a little bit differently to everything else that was on the market. And here we are now, like I said, travelling Australia and, you know, really exciting team and we couldn't be prouder, but also it certainly wasn't designed to be this.

3:44And we've just sort of been along for the ride so. Has Perth kind of been an advantage because a lot of people for events don't come to Perth because it's that little bit extra bar and parts of Perth are quite regional. WA is quite regional and and difficult to get to. Has that been an advantage for your business? I think definitely early on, absolutely. I think for us to sort of establish ourselves and sort of just know like little things, just like living in Perth, like knowing where to go, where people are, where you know, the community is. So all of those little things early on really helped us. It's been a challenge as well, as you know, Perth is 1,000,000 miles away from everybody.

4:19On different time zones. So as much as early on it was very advantageous in that sense, it's proved to be challenging at times. But yeah, that's why we love what we do. And you know, we, we still. As much as we're. Proud of the fact that we've grown to this national audience. Like we still do so many events in Perth, we do extra events, we do networking. So I like to think that we haven't sort of lost touch with the fact that that's our home ground and, and you know, where we probably arguably have the most support just given that's where we started. But yeah, it's it's definitely been a bumpy ride, but an exciting one.

4:48Do you know what I love about your story is that you started in Perth and you expanded your way out. I find I'm going to be a bit cheeky here. I find geographically when it comes to providers, sometimes they provide care everywhere and it's it doesn't ever feel right or the same. I like the fact that you started there and you've been able to expand your business model. Was that the idea to expand it outside of Perth? Like what was the kick out in the butt to get you out of Perth to? Yeah.

5:15Well, that's the thing. Like early on, like I said it, it still really wasn't a business idea. It was designed to be this community model. And again, it was only sort of February last year that both Lee and I started in the actual business full time. But that was from the need and and people in the community saying, hey, like you need to do this. We need. More of this. So early on we did a couple of these events across different sort of key communities in. WA and then we just started to realize that the problem that we were trying to solve is a problem that was widespread and across Australia.

5:45We sort of took a bit of a plunge. Our first sort of Interstate events were in Queensland and SA. So we thought we'd tackle some, again, smaller states that were probably a bit more, I like to think a bit closer to Perth in the sense of how they run and, you know, a bit more relaxed, a bit of that Perth vibe. And that sort of ticked some boxes. And we, we thought, you know, this is actually something and yeah, it's crazy now, like NSW and Victoria have been some of, you know, the most successful and the largest states that we've been in for events. But the first events we did were early in May 2025. So it hasn't even been a year and we've done so much and now have so much support as well.

6:18So yeah, it's it's crazy how things go and can go quite quickly at times. So how do you scope out your next location? Yeah, it's a really good question. And it's probably where a lot of the Gray hairs in my beard come from these days because it's it's very challenging. Like you'd love to be able to just walk through every single venue and take photos and walk it through and go. That's perfect. But unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as that. We do rely heavily. Obviously, I'm just reaching out, you know, photos, talking to venues, really sort of collaborating with them. I think because of the events that we run, like both disability and aged care, accessibility is a real priority for us.

6:53So we work with the venues to make sure that those venues are accessible and really easy for people. And ultimately, I guess our, our whole business model was really built around being in the community. So I find that really exciting because it means that, you know, we're not expecting people to travel hours to go to our events. It's, it's merely minutes. But it does mean that we don't have the luxury of some other venues that, you know, potentially other event providers would have. We get really creative, you know, work with a lot of counselors, a lot of ourselves, those sorts of things to make sure we're in the right place.

7:23And then we use a lot of the data as well. I think it's probably one thing that we try really hard and sort of pride ourselves on is we use a lot of the data. So in the disability sense, it really comes across from the NDIS themselves. And in aged care, there's some Genesis data and a few other reports that come out but. They sort of tell us where participants. Are or where people on home care packages are and those sorts of things support at home and that just means that we can make sure that communities that we're going to.

7:47I know there are plenty of people out there that need that help. Do you get to geek out with the data a little? Like look at this, like this area is a bit like I haven't seen anyone turn up there, but what could we, what could we possibly do? 100%, I'm sure you saw a smirk on my face, but absolutely, that's definitely my domain and sort of, you know, seeing where we need to be again, doing this for 12 months now. Like there's still events and stuff that we're adding for the first time. Some places that we've never been before and there's just something so exciting about that. I think even just earlier this year we went to Tasmania for the first time.

8:17So it got out to Hobart, to Launceston. And there's been so many places like that, whether it's in a different state of just in a different city that even now, you know, doing this for sort of 1218 months, there's still so many places that we haven't been to and so many requests as well. I love it. I get, you know, we don't claim to be locals, you know, we know, we know Perth pretty well. We're certainly getting the hang of other states, but we urge that we get asked a lot. Are you going here?

8:40Can you go out there? There's a real need for this. And that's where it's fun, when you can sort of validate it against the data and go, yeah, you know what? I think we could do this. Is the data different from disability to age care or are they very similar? Really. Yeah. And I think, I think that's probably a, again, you know, be honest, but it was alerting for us early on. I think, you know, it's very much put on a great show from a disability point of view. Lots of people came and it's so easy to go. OK, well, that makes sense.

9:03Let's go there for aged care. But it's, it's very much not the case. And, you know, there's always exceptions to the rule, but I think sometimes what we found and, and unfortunately it's a disappointing reality, but a lot of the time that the bigger locations where the, I guess the more participants are from the disability sector are quite often in lower socioeconomic areas. And again, I say it's disappointing because that's, that's an unfortunate reality of what we see.

9:25So, you know, there's a, there's a role that we play in that and making sure that we're bringing out as much good quality local providers to those areas to get good quality education out there. And that's probably the other biggest thing that we've noticed is the further we seem to go, you know, these more remote and regional locations, just the, the varying levels of information that are out there. And I think that's the hardest part, but also probably the greatest part of what we do because it's just so rewarding when you're able to see that you've made a difference to somebody's life. And, you know, we, we play a really small part in that. It's the providers that do the heavy lifting and, and do a great job.

9:59But just knowing that we've brought them together so that, you know, a mum that's looking for an OT and has been for months or looking for this or looking for that can come to our event and actually find a quality provider that helps. And I think that again, those those sort of light bulb moments are those like sort of, you know, really exciting moments seem to come the further we travel in, you know, across this great country. And I've been to a couple of your events in the past and I they are where they are, if that makes any sense, like where they're situated within that like suburb. So how do you go make sure that the people that you've got coming from that suburb and not somebody that's, say, the other side of the city?

10:34Yeah, definitely. It. Look, it's to be honest. It's a bit of both. Like it is absolutely us as we sort of joke, but like door knocking and we we try really hard to walk the streets and get into the community and that's mainly to get the actual community to know about the event. So you know we're going to these different places to let them know, but it certainly is then what we do to make sure the providers in that area know. But at the same time with all of our marketing and the different advertisements we do in those sort of Geo. Tagged areas, it allows them to to stumble on the event and get involved.

11:02And I think the hardest thing is, you know, at times. Like a lot of our events, you know, Touchwood, we're very lucky and very, you know, appreciative of the support we've had from the community. But a lot of our events are selling out, which is a great problem to have. But sometimes we get asked, oh, you know, you can just fit one ball in, you know, you fit me and help, help me out kind of thing. And it's like this isn't, you know, we're not saying this number and we've got plenty of space. It's like this is this is the physical number that we can physically fit in, Yes.

11:29So at times we try and help people, but yeah, unfortunately, you know, when we hit capacity it's that's. Capacity. So at the beginning of your business to now, have you had to pivot like your vision or your mission, Has that ever had to change to accommodate where the business is today? Yeah, definitely. And I think one of the big pivots was in a nice way diversifying and having the two brands. So disability and aged care and that came about from Lee and I, like I said, working closely the disability sector, that's where our sort of our experience was in our alignment.

12:00And Lee in particular has some really close connection to the disability sector. And we just kept finding that people like older Australians were coming to our events and sometimes getting frustrated because there was no aged care information there. But also just not knowing the difference. And you know, the, the limit of 65 for example, on the NDIS and those sorts of things. Given that our events are more smaller tailored, sort of, you know, 30 to 40 stall holders, we felt that if we cut the room in half and said half is disability and half is aged care.

12:28Kind of wouldn't be. Useful to anyone like it's not enough information, it's not enough variety. So that's why we decided and sort of pivoted mid year last year to go no, well, we think there's actually a really healthy place to have two separate events and that's where, you know, at the aged care events now, like we have some fantastic, you know, funeral plan and we have financial services, we have lawyers, we have duelers, like all of these sorts of things that I think in a nice way would look completely out of place at a disability Expo, but feel right at home in that aged care space.

12:56So that's definitely been one of the major pivots that we've had to do and sort of really just revise where we were heading. About you were door knocking the community to get most people involved. What I noticed that was kind of really special about your event being being able to go to a few of them is that it's not just provider to provider. It is actually people that are seeking support. Is, is that something like that you guys were really passionate about doing to make sure that we had actual NDIS participants turn up? Yeah, definitely.

13:27And like I appreciate it, but like it's definitely the feedback that we get. And I think that is one of the big sort of points of difference for us. You know there's some great brands out there that do fantastic networking events and like you said that real provided a provider space. And I think often we're sort of categorized as competitors, but we certainly don't see it that way. Like we think that that's what they do and they do that really well.

13:49We focus on this more Expo style where like you said there, there is providers walking through, but the vast majority are actually people on the scheme, people with a disability and their families. And again, that comes back to the, like we said, the door knocking that we do are getting out of the community a lot of the advertising that we do. And I think it just shows as well that there's a real demand in the community for these style events. You know, unfortunately, as we record this today, but there's so much happening in the world, there's so much uncertainty when it comes to even little things like fuel and that sort of stuff. So for us, we're finding that, you know, being able to do an event that's, you know, 10 minutes from someone's house is a lot more appealing than an event that's an hour away. So we're definitely saying that that local feel of being in the community is really helping to to get even more participants and providers through the doors.

14:33Do you have a like, like, I'm a sucker for a feel good story, right? Do you have a story that somebody is like a somebody looking for services turned up to one of your events and was able to hook up with a provider or a support worker and had a good outcome from attending? Yeah, I do. And we're very lucky. Like again, I think we we get these quite regularly, like genuinely. And I think again, it, it's small moments that we probably, I think we do a good job, but we could probably do an even better job of just reflecting on and going like, wow, like we actually made it difference.

15:03And as I said before, like we get a lot of credit at times that sometimes I feel like a bit of like, you know, the credit shouldn't be with us because we, yeah, we put the event together, we bring everybody there. But ultimately it's the great providers that are the ones that are actually making the meaningful difference. But yeah, look, one that always stands out for me. We did Ipswich in Queensland or it would have been August or September last year and back then we were a smaller team. So we was, I think it was still only three of us. So we were still growing and got to the point where I actually had to take my dad with me to Queensland to do an event, which was great.

15:34So we we say we're a family. Did. That. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It was one of those that's a really twist his arm to get him there. I know, right. But that's that's exactly it. So he came along. He was really, really good to his credit. And I think firstly, like he'd heard about what we do and stuff like that, but. To actually see it was, you know, I guess in a way for him, he's really proud of us, but really humbled. But there was a mum in particular, and I sort of mentioned it briefly before, but like a mum in particular that came out in tears talking to dad and then dad. Pulled me in and we spoke to her. But she'd been looking.

16:04For a specific type of OT for her son, I think she'd said it was about 5 or 6 months they'd been looking for. He hadn't had the services that he needed. And she's like, I walked away today with two potential businesses that could. Be and it was just I don't know, it's hard to like sort of put into words, but it's. Just Gen. like the genuine relief from this lady and knowing that she's been going through so much. And like I said, we played a very small part in that.

16:27We were very lucky just to have good providers in the room. But those kind of interactions and you can just see the impact that what we do has. Yeah, I could I could live off that feeling for days. And they get a tear up a bit help. But it genuinely is just like so rewarding to do something and have, you know, I guess a good story. And I've got a corporate background. Many people out there, you know, have their history and their experience and moving into the disability sector, I think I sort of knew it was going to be heartwarming, but at the same time, I probably didn't understand the gravity of it. You know, you hear some really terrible stories as well. And again, you know, I've got plenty of them where there's so many people that need good support and they're not getting it.

17:03Yeah. So that's, that's something that's probably hit home over the journey and something I didn't expect, but it's therefore meant that when you have those really great interactions, they just, I don't know, they just hit so well. And yeah, that that mom in Ipswich, like I said, I still vividly remember. Her talking to dad and. It just, yeah, it was something really powerful. Sorry, one moment hold. On Yeah. So as we're recording right now, where in Australia are you? We we joke about this all the time because there's two. Things, Wally.

17:38I do, I definitely do. And my wife is often telling people, yeah, Cody's away in Adelaide this week. I'm I'm in Melbourne. My what are you talking about? And my youngest daughter is 4 and she often tells people, the teachers. At school and stuff like that. Dad's on another holiday, so I must sound like a terrible parent that's always on these great holidays by himself. But I'm obviously working and. Travelling, but I'm currently luckily in Perth. I was in Melbourne only last week and internally we've started not so much a competition but we've just started to track how.

18:08How many flights we've done for the year and where we've been already And I think I've already done 19 flights and as I think what are we early April. So I think I'm leading the clubhouse leader at the moment and definitely sort of racking up the case across the country. But I think Lee will catch me and catch me pretty soon as well. When you so when you turn up to a site, you have to put it all together. You got to put all the like intake people in that are coming in, the providers, people looking for services. Does that take up like a whole day or a couple of hours? Like is it?

18:39Is it typing work like I? I'd assume it would be. Yeah, look, it definitely is. And we get really lucky sometimes that again the different venues that we use, certainly some of the RSL clubs and different places like that, you get a bit more support and they will often help set up which really does remove a lot of the. Burden and make it a bit easier for us. But there are certainly occasions where, you know, it's a community club or something like that and where manoeuvring tables and chairs, you know, 10 minutes before everybody arrives and they just walk up and it looks 1,000,000 bucks.

19:07I'm like, yeah. It didn't look like this 10 minutes ago, but now we're really lucky. I think that's part of, you know part of the business case for what we did was like we sort of felt a lot of the. Pain points from other events that we've been to in the past and and tried to sort of alleviate some of them. And again, I've been on, you know, many of this side of the table at previous roles at those big Expos. Again, don't get me wrong, they do a fantastic job.

19:29They they, you know, really bring so many people together. They really do serve a purpose. But what we found is, again, you know, you're normally setting up the night before takes all day, then you're doing 2 days and then you're taking time and lunics like all of a sudden it becomes the best part of a week sort of venture. So for us setting up, you know, we do it the night before or the morning of, but you know, stall holders arrive an hour before the event.

19:49They are quick to set up, but they're even quicker to pack up and the events done at one and they're out by honestly 120. It's it's amazing how fast they can do it. But it just means that, you know, the admin's not backing up. People can get back to the office or they can get back home and they haven't wasted four or five days for one event. When you go to events like this, see, I would say that you're quite a confident person and quite easy to talk to. Yep.

20:13Do you have to support providers on how best to communicate or how to get themselves out there? Because I've been to events before where I felt like a person was shut off because they were behind their table, or they were looking down, or they didn't feel really engaged. You have to like wind people up before they turn up. I look, I try. I don't know if it always works when I certainly try, but I think I think it works honestly on both sides. So like I can share, but like there's a couple of things that we've done certainly in the mornings like what we do on the event. So we have what we call the DC huddle. And that is, you know, 15 minutes before the doors open, we get all the providers together, we do sort of a group huddle on what to expect for the day, what's going on, all of those sorts of things.

20:53As part of that now, over the last three to six months, we have noticed exactly what you're talking about, which is not every providers done an Expo before. And even the ones that have sometimes it's different staff, it can be a bit of a mix. So we sort of share a couple of tips and, and that tip you just mentioned is, is exactly what we say is, you know, put your technology away. It's a 3 hour event, get in front of your table and I actively want to be talking to people.

21:16And you'll find that people reciprocate that and they come to you. And you can definitely tell there's tools that are providing the energy are the ones that are really busy. And then I'm surprised I normally have one in front of me. I don't have one in front of me at the moment. But we also from an attendee point of view, give out a, a sheet of paper that has all the store holders that are there on the day. And we, we do surveys at the end of each of our Expos to gather feedback on where we can improve and how we can get better. There was an ex well, a couple of months ago and somebody said, I came to this first one and like I, as the attendee, didn't know what to ask people.

21:47Like, I know I need help, but like, how do I ask? What do I do? So one of the things that we've now created is we've got like a simple question guide that helps people that are attending the event also ask really good open-ended questions to get that information. And again, it just, you know, it's helping both sides of the table to make that interaction as easy as possible. Have you, by hosting these events yourself, have you been able to network with people that you're like, oh wow, I never would have thought that I could network with this person or get close or that. Yeah, definitely, definitely.

22:15I think I am terrible with names that I have been for a long period of time and I am, yes. And can be a real challenge sometimes because in a nice way. Everybody just, you know, has to remember the one of that guy or you know, the Dec guy, but it's, it's a bit different. But you've got to go to different events and meet all these providers. But yeah, we've been, we've been so lucky. I'm, I'm a firm believer. Like I'm happy to be on record and say that good people know good people.

22:38And that has only been cemented through my journey of travelling around Australia and meeting so many people. And that's why we're so lucky at these events, because, yeah, we do like, I think in a really good way there's. There's a lot. Of negativity about the NDIS at the moment. I think some of it's justified, but I think a lot of it isn't. I think a lot of it is, you know, talking about the vast minority of people. There are so many great providers out there doing so many great things and we definitely like to shed the light on that positive stuff as opposed to the negative that seems to, again have sort of reciprocated now that when we do our events, a lot of the providers that are coming are those ones that I speak of, the really great sort of ones that are in it for the right reasons, trying to help people.

23:16And yeah, I guess anytime we get to share a room with those people, it's it's certainly worthwhile. Were you a plan manager before jumping in? So have you been able to see the disability sector now on a different side of the coin? Because having a being a plan manager is very different to being a support provider to Allied Health. Has it opened up your eyes and what has taken you by surprise? Yeah, it's a good question. And I, I always say this, but I was never an actual plan manager. I, I really have a lot of respect and time for the people that actually do go through that stuff. I've worked for plan management companies. So therefore as much as I fronted up to to be there, I definitely never claimed to be an expert. Because there is so much to learn in that space. But you're absolutely right, from being in those roles and now sort of doing what I do, I absolutely see the the NDIS world very differently.

24:03I think it's funny, some of the pain points, it's that you, you know, again, when you work for a plan manager, you're like, oh, these simple things or why can't you do that? Why is this a problem? You know, all this sort of stuff. And then you step out of that bubble and you step into the actual industry and you go, I kind of get it now. You know, I understand the other side, so there's definitely been a lot. Of that as well, but now it's definitely sort of allows you to see see perspective from a different place, that's for sure. So your past roles have like helped you get to this point here.

24:31If you didn't have any of that, you probably wouldn't be in the sector. Yeah, I think to a degree, absolutely. I think like I said early on, working for those plan managers, the goal was always just to build my network and get to know good people. And that's why we started this networking stuff on the side. And again, it wasn't. Was certainly not designed to be a business. It was just purely just to get the name out there and and again, sort of make quality providers that we could lean on. But that was the the kick up the bum to go, well, there's a different way to do things and there's there's definitely a need to do what we do now.

25:01Had I not had that time and again established some really good quality connections early on that encouraged both Lee and I to take it more seriously, then yeah, definitely we wouldn't be here today. I'm oh, you're ready for this one. You know I'm nosy, right, And I am I I admit it. I will admit it. The way that you guys set up and you like you from the set to the pack up. Is that because you have experience working from Amazon or was that because you were just I had to ask it? Is it because they're really quite structured and the way that you guys work is quite structured and to the point like this, It's like you you've got it all figured out. The twos and the from's of a day is it? Is it doesn't come from that or is it something else? That's a very good question.

25:45You've done your research, which I like, but no, I'd love to give the guys at Amazon credit, but I've cut. I'm sure there's a bit of it in there. I don't know if it's that, but I think to be honest, actually my background was a long time at Samsung. So I worked for Samsung for eight years and I didn't know. I did a lot of events through Samsung, ran a lot of events and. Worked out very quickly, you know, what makes a good event and what doesn't make a good event. And I can, I can tell you that the GEC has a lot less budget than the great people at Samsung. There's definitely a few less EUR on our bank account than theirs.

26:14But it just means it just sort of taught you to be creative with what you had And, and also like I said, just sort of understand what makes it work. So I appreciate it, but I think that's probably where the background has really helped. Yeah, I think putting on a good show, like I said at the top, like we only do events, like we don't do anything else, so we need to do a good event, otherwise, you know, what's the point? So we focus really hard on just making sure it all flows and well, like I said, we put on a good show and if we do that part then hopefully people will keep coming back. I've got a question because I've been you got in this sector, I've been to so many, right?

26:50And I have heard advice that you should work on your pitch before turning up about what you talk about and all that stuff. Does pitching work at your event or is it natural conversation that gets you there? Have you got any advice for anyone? Yeah, that's a good question. Yeah. I mean, look, I I like to do things a bit. Differently so my take is probably not everybody's take, but I genuinely think the people that are going straight away for referrals and to build those connections and the people that are just going to get left behind, like, you know, as well as much as one conversation can open a door. And again, the the Lee story with me is, you know, great. We met at about Expo and we turned it into this like, that's awesome, but we didn't go to that, that catch up with that intent and it was follow up conversation and building trust and credibility from 2 strangers that sort of met off the street effectively that that got us theirs. I think sometimes, and again, I, I get introduced to providers all the time, but there are some people that are very upfront, the fact that they're there for

27:42referrals, they're there to try and build their client base. And to me that's a, a massive red flag and a bit of a, you know, turn it off when it comes to that sort of stuff. So you're absolutely right. I think it's about building authentic connection. I also find and, and we do a bit of this ourselves. We sort of joke and say policing, but you know, we, we have still holders that pay to be at our events. We still think there's a really healthy place for networking. So we encourage providers to come along for free and network. But we say bring a business card to build it, you know, build that connection, but don't bring any Flyers because, you know, respectfully, you haven't paid to be there. You have.

28:14But it's crazy how many times we have to sort of tell people to put their Flyers away. And you know, people go to these events and think they're doing the best thing by going to listen to my business, this is what I do, yada, yada, yada. But in actual fact, you've just turned that person completely off your business and they have no intent of ever talking to you. So now I totally agree. I think it's it's building that genuine connection. And I think just listening, I think listing's a bit of a lost art at the moment. Again, I do you know networking?

28:39Events all the time. Everybody wants to talk about what they do and I know I'm doing that now. You know, it's hard not to be passionate about what you do, but if everybody's just yelling at each other and say this is what we do, we're better. No, we're better. We're there's no one actually listening and taking it in. So I guess my key advice would just be just listen to the providers that you're meeting, hear about their why, why they do what they do. And if you can build some common ground from that and I guess have that expectation, it's gonna take a bit of time. That's really where genuine connection sort of fosters. I'm that silly sausage always forgets to bring the business card with me.

29:13I do, I do. And then, then I do that panic like, oh God, what was their name again? I will find them on LinkedIn. And then what happens? It's kind of like every event that I go to now, it's kind of like I'm, I'm sitting like a school reunion, like, oh, I really do So and so. And yeah, yeah. And all of a sudden you, you develop all these connections. I'm like, and I haven't met like, it's like a challenge now. Like I haven't met you and I'm going to, I'm going to meet you and I'm going to Tower Brown you with my 60 questions because I want to know what you do because I get excited about that type of stuff. Do you feel like you're like, it doesn't even feel like work for you, like all that networking and all that talking because you do build a base of a community.

29:48How does it feel like a job? No, it doesn't, and I reckon the day that it does. Don't tell your wife. Yeah, absolutely. Why? Hopefully she's not listening to this, but no, I, I, I don't think it does. And like I said, the day that it does is probably the day I need to do something else because it doesn't like, again, we mentioned all the travel and stuff and it's a part of the job. It can be draining at times, but I do it because I love it and I.

30:09Lee would say the exact same thing, and it doesn't feel like work. It still feels like a bit of a, like a bit of a dream, to be honest, that we are lucky enough to, to support our families and travel Australia and make just so many good people and, and have that impact we're talking about before. So now it's, it's definitely still remains like dawned on us the fact that we're so lucky to be able to do what we do. And part of that is then meeting all these great people and starting these conversations now. It's been it's been a wild journey and we've loved it. Is it pretty cool now because you would develop quite a big black book of contacts that you'd be like, well, in Rockhampton you can use or like, you know, in Glenelg I would go like, does it feel like that you can now like refer people to yourself within the network because you've met so many different people?

30:53Yeah, it definitely does. And I think we get asked a lot as well. And again, we're really mindful of putting our name next to brands that we can trust. Or more importantly, it's not even brands, it's people you know, It's the people. That we can trust. It is really difficult because you always assume that people will do the right thing and as because you're external, you don't, you're not in their business, you don't know what they're doing within their business, not until a bit afterwards. So I think sometimes the messaging in our sector gets a little bit lost because like go out and network, but don't network with AB and C&D, who can I talk to? Like it makes it really difficult. I get the same thing for podcasting. Absolutely.

31:33And that's the thing, you know, I wrote a podcast as well. You don't want to have the wrong guess or the wrong people coming along. So it can be really challenging and we're very lucky. This is going to sound like a plug, but I promise it's not. But like we're, we're very lucky. Because we have. But we we do genuinely have some really fantastic sponsors. And as part of those sponsorship agreements that we've been able to work through, we've done a bit more peering behind the curtain. And both ways they've sort of filled us out and made sure we're about the right stuff.

31:55And likewise we do with them. And we've deliberately tried to make sure that we have a good variety of those sponsors. As well and. That does mean that we pretty much have like one key brand that we can put our names to across different States and across the country. So that's helped because you're right. At the end of the day, everyone else that you meet, it's kind of a surface level conversation now. We're lucky in that sense. We've got some really great operators all around the country and that's that's definitely been a bit of a blessing. So anybody listening to this podcast, how do they become a sponsor?

32:22Like is it something that I have to submit like to you? Do I just put a form in? Do I just see you at the next local and say I'm Keating? And because. Sponsorships is also like. There's also different levels of sponsorship as well. There is, yeah. Look again, it's a good question and there's so many. In ways that people reach out to us, whether it's the website, the emails, the socials, like you said, there's there's no right or wrong, right way to do it.

32:43We just get sort of hit up all the time. But. Look, a lot of a lot of the. Sponsorships now again, we're very lucky. A lot of them are sort of sewn up and across the country. We have some really great state sponsors and national sponsors that have done a lot of that stuff so. I think at the moment. Off the top of my head, I think Queensland is, is probably one of the only states along with SA where we are sort of looking for a key sponsor in those areas.

33:02Everything else for the rest of the year is tidied up. But again, I think the the biggest thing is anyone that wants to reach out, whatever capacity, whether it's sponsorship, whether it's as a stall holder, whether it's just to come along and network. I think, you know, our website sort of houses all the critical information what events are coming up and when they're coming up. And as our team grows, I think the goal is for me to sort of do a bit more of that event planning further ahead because it's probably one of the biggest bits of feedback we get.

33:26We're we're very proud and very fortunate that sometimes we finish an Expo, we get emails saying can you make sure we're included in the next one, which isn't for another 12 months. Yeah. So it shows that the impact it can have. But I think that the more of a runway that I can help build this. This sort of business. For us to have it just means that providers have an oversight on, you know, what key areas they want to be a part of. So that's hopefully something that we'll start to do over the next 6 to 12 months is have even more events. Ready to go so people can.

33:52Plan and and make sure they're at the right ones. So if I was an independent support worker, could I turn up and have a store? Absolutely. And we, we do a lot of different things. We have a lot of different support workers come along to our events as well. So again, whether it's as an attendee, firstly, either bringing along participants or sort of coming along to see what companies are out there, see what work is out there and just sort of get a bit of a test of of what's going on in the industry in that area.

34:16I think that's definitely something we. Welcome. And likewise absolutely from a still holder point of view, one of the. Things and again Lee's probably really big on this, I don't think we probably talk about this enough, but it's something that she's very good at doing and something we've helped true is for each of our events that we run, we give away sort of one or two free tables to local community groups, non for profits in addition to the non for profit discount that we offer to different people as well.

34:40And again, we're just really mindful of the fact there are some amazing people out there. Some of them obviously have a disability, but really trying to. Sort of crack their teeth and get their business set up and do different things. So we've had a a variety of different people come over the journey and they said we don't actively sort of, you know, tell people and sing. It from the rooftops, but there's even a place for that sort of stuff as well, because we really believe that.

35:01You know the. Community is everything. So it's not just these small micro enterprise businesses. It's even, you know, we, we often work with the council, get the council involved, get MNR events, providers like you name it, like we really want a good subsection of everything that's happening in that community. Well, we all start with 0, don't we? We all got to start from that. And the fact like, you know, to help somebody and to give back I think is really important because at the like, As for some people going to an event, being a stall holder for the first time, it's quite scary. And you know, a bit of anxiety around it because it's something you've never done before.

35:33So the idea that you guys get to nurture that relationship is, and it's nice. Yeah, no, I appreciate it, but it definitely is. It's one of the, again, one of the great things that we're able to do. And again, there's just so many good quality people. Out there that are. Doing the hard yards and like I said setting up their micro enterprise businesses and if we if we can play our little part in. Giving them a bit of a head start, then we'd be crazy not to. And yeah, it's nice again, you know, working for such big companies you mentioned before by like Amazon and Samsung and stuff like you and they're great and they provide so much opportunity, but there's so much red tape sometimes. And you know, when you're in a business that is led by two Co founders, you can instantly go, yeah, let's let's do that, let's write that off.

36:09Let's let's give that person that chance. So it's really refreshing when you're able to be in the driver seat and make those decisions and make a quick impact that's gonna help someone. And it's a small sector and people do move. So it's you're more worth being kind then then you think because one week they might be working for one provider and then they're going out and doing their own thing. So there's like there's no point having that type of nastiness behind it because you just don't know where they're going. You might see them being at one planning manager and then the next.

36:37The churn over rate of in BDMS is so high. It's ridiculous in, you know, we say it again in different States and we send out emails and, you know, we get bounced backs. I'm like, oh, jeez, I didn't know this person's left or they've moved on. And there is there is so much change and. All the gossip, you're like, Oh my God, this person's e-mail has bounced back. And then I'd be like, on LinkedIn going, where did they go? Because it's such an asset.

37:01You know, we're wow, I want to follow this person's career because they're good at what they do. Big time and that's the thing I think we're always on the lookout for good people as well. So if we can sort of go, oh, hey, we remember that person, they were fantastic from this event. Now let's let's knock on their door. I'm a firm believer. Like I said at the top, good people, no good people. So yeah, look, it's, it's a lot of change happening at the moment and we mentioned it, but obviously having the aged care business as well, we're seeing a lot of people drifting away from disability and drifting into aged care.

37:28A couple going the other way, but I think majority is starting to drift from disability and into aged care. So again, that you know, has a lot of positives. I think that's really good. For the aged care sector, but ultimately means you absolutely. It's it's so small and you just don't know who's going to pop up and and what shirt they're going to be wearing the next time you see them. Yeah, but also anyone like a support worker supporting somebody to attend an event, it's actually a really good thing for support workers to support that.

37:52And the reason why I put that out there is because you know, knowledge is key and to be able to support somebody to say, oh, actually, you know, they there are the closest allied health they they over here, you know, they provide group support. There's nothing wrong with doing any of that. Sometimes I think that the stopper comes because we're worried about losing somebody. But it's if you're the person like supporting information, how can you lose?

38:15Like it's they the person that we support gains the most. At the end of the day, the aim of the NDIS and a age care is for that person to win. Absolutely. Now well said. I could not agree more. And I think that's why there is such a healthy place for it. And again, ultimately the participant is the only one that benefits in that scenario. I think when it comes to our events as well, again, because the community, they're smaller, they are more affordable. So for all those reasons we find, don't get me wrong, we get, we get some great really.

38:40Large brands that have strong presence around the country and they follow us a lot, but I think we see even more smaller community style companies which sometimes can be some of the best, but at our events and they're the ones that you know. You, you can't Google, you don't know what you don't know. So if you're not coming to those events, you may never see them, you may never hear, but it might be the exact community group or. Support group that you're looking for as well.

39:03So I think that's where a lot of people have started to really enjoy our events is because it's not the same. We make sure we cap how many stallholders we have that are plan managers or our allied health or whatever it is to make sure that there's good variety. And that's what we sort of see on the day. And yeah, that's exactly why we get so many support workers going. I didn't even know these guys. Existed. I love that type of stuff because. Also, because the the small ones, you get to meet the person, actually the founder or the director, you actually get to understand the values of that business.

39:32And that's not something that you can find on a website or on a LinkedIn or, or, you know, Instagram or something like that. That's something that is face to face and that is very human. The passions of why they do what they do. Big time. And I think what we found like hearing from the stallholders that come to our events versus the other ones. And again, this is by no means me me saying anything bad about the other ones is I just think it's a difference but because our events. Are smaller, like you're talking a few 100 people, not a few thousand people, means the conversation can be deeper because it's not just a quick, you know, probably grab the free stuff and move to the next one and keep going. Like you actually can spend sort of that 2 to 5 minutes. Even if it's still a surface level conversation, but like you said, getting to know the person on the other side, asking some questions about the services they offer and still walking away with information, but having a bit more of a gut feel around, yes, that's the right thing or not. So I think that that's really helped. And again, the feedback that we

40:20hear probably most from stallholders is they're actually able to have a bit more of a deeper conversation with participants and family members because of that reason. Yeah. I'm all for it. I love it. I do like this is kind of like this. Doesn't anyone listening right now? This is how I find some of my guests, by turning up to events. Yeah. And I actually, I, I did really well at an event I think you had at Burn Bank. That was where I picked up some podcast guests that way because then I, it's like they know it at the time, but I was interviewing them to figure out whether we would be awkward, that there's only one way to find out. And that because podcasting is like all relationships is human. And I want to make sure that, you know, whatever I deliver, it's going to be a bit of fun to listen to. 100% yeah. And I think that's the thing again, you can't put a price on it.

41:07Just that that face to face interaction again, you know, being from Perth, I do a lot of video calls and stuff like that and you, you. Learn to make them work. But nothing replaces just truly sort of looking someone in the eyes and we have to have a conversation. Again when it all sends. Us back to like the person that you're looking after or the OR the care that you're trying to get like you're crazy not to try and put that extra effort in to actually go and meet these people and actually have a full conversation to to see if it's the right for you.

41:31So, oh, we haven't done that. You've got a podcast. What's gonna be a podcast for anyone listening? Thank you. Yes, I don't think it's quite to the level of your podcast, but it's it's been very silly. Information is information, and that's regardless of whether it is. And that's why I, I don't, I'm doesn't trust me interviewing other podcast hosts because it's about making sure that the information is out there for people to seek. And the you've interviewed some really cool people and I've listened to them because I've geeked out. Yeah, I've done my homework.

42:01Look, you definitely have and I appreciate that. And it's it's been so nice being on the other side of the interview. For a little bit, it's it's definitely. Definitely different, so not what I'm used to. But our podcast is called Community. And that's because it might sound a bit, I'm gonna say lame, but like the whole reason we came about was, you know, community for us is it takes you and I to build a community. And those letters do exist in community. But more importantly, like it is a team effort. It really takes, you know, people on both sides to bring that together.

42:27And that's what the whole podcast is about. I touched on it before, but I think there's a lot of negativity around the NDIS at the moment. And again, absolutely, some of it is is completely justified and people that are doing the wrong thing should not be allowed to do anything in the space and they should be banned and probably worse than banned for a lot of them. But I still strongly believe that that represents a small subset of what is the industry. I think there are so many thousands of providers that are absolutely in it for the right reasons and doing the right thing.

42:56And that's what that podcast is about. It's really about shining the light on the positive stuff. So we have definitely some providers on there, but I, I really enjoy getting actual people with disabilities or their families to come on. And so we've interviewed, you know, moms, we've interviewed again, people with disability to. Tell their journey and their story and give themselves a bit of a platform. It's been really refreshing to to hear some of these things.

43:17And again, here's some of the good that is out there and. Yeah, it's been a nice change. So yeah, if people want to check it out, it's called Community. But yeah, it's it's definitely been a lot of fun so far. Available on YouTube and. Spotify, iTunes, I was gonna say Apple Music. I am again a big Samsung man, so it goes against everything I stand for. But these days, yeah, I. Understand. Absolutely. Yeah, haha. Steve Jobs, you weren't going to get me. No, when you tell people that you're an Android person, person, they're like, oh, but like, I feel like the the market has shifted.

43:54I don't feel like everyone's just appling like they used to. Yeah, look, it's hard. I get it still in my DNA to try and swap people and it's caused a bit of friction even in our little office. I have put my foot down in the last couple of weeks and and decided to get everybody off their iPhones and onto the Samsungs. And purely because we we take one of the things that we do in our events, but we take so many photos and. We challenge ourselves, but we we have a commitment that we'll get all of the store holders the photos before 5:00 of the day.

44:20And that way they can share them on LinkedIn and you share them with the business, all those sort of great things. And Lee's gonna fucking love it, I should swear. But she's gonna love me saying this. But. It's it's been a real challenge, it's been a real pain point for her. But she's loved her iPhone. But every day she's the last one to upload. It takes so long. So we've had to do the big swap and we haven't looked back since. So if all else fails at the event and you've got a Samsung, you'll be able to fix it.

44:44Yeah, come see me. I I still play, I play a lot of tech support for family members, Certainly had some aged care Expos as well. I help a few people, you know, remove some apps and do some different things. So yeah, if you need help myself and certainly my lovely wife who works for us X Telstra employees. Should be happy to help as well. You've, you've really got the tech down pat, I can see. Yeah, definitely, definitely. So what Expos are coming up in the next couple of weeks?

45:09Yeah. Hey, good question. There's, as always, a lot as we are. Recording today is I think what, Monday, the 13th of April. And the next one that we have coming up is actually a home ground 1. So it's here in Perth, it's Rockingham and it's an aged care Expo. So that's super exciting. I live close by to Rockingham, so it's sort of a close place to my heart and that that's really exciting. So that'll be a big one. We've had I think over 550 registered for that one, so we should see a really big turn out.

45:34And then over the couple next couple of weeks, we've got some really good ones, like Adelaide is next week, we're going to Victor Harbour, which we've done before, but again, a place that's beautiful, often sort of left, left to itself a little bit. But we're getting out to Victor Harbour and that'll be fantastic. And then we're even going to Mount Barker, which I haven't been to, but I'm told is even more beautiful than Victor Harbour. I don't know if that's possible, but that'll be a great one. It's our first time out to Mount Barker and that'll be exciting. So again, they're just some of the ones that we've got coming up.

46:00I think we've already done. I think we're doing the math. Before we've already done 27 Expos. To date 2026. And we've got about 25 on the go at the moment as well with more to come. So we're on track to get around that 100 number, which would be pretty exciting do. You rate your Expos by the time there or the council meal at the RSL afterwards. It's a great question. I do often joke with people. The reason I use so many RSLS is so it's so easy to get a beer after because after all the conversations and and all.

46:28The chatting, it can be really daunting and like if we keep. Exhausting. Yeah, like, yeah. So is there a? Way that you charge your batteries up again because it is exhausting talking to people. Like, do you, after an X-ray, do you just go to your hotel room and just like die for an hour or two? A little bit. Unfortunately the emails don't stop. So there's, there's always a bit of work to be done. But I, I don't mind saying, but like Lee and I, we did the first ever Expo.

46:52It was in Rockingham. So it was a disability expert though, but it was the first. One we ever did. And I remember we did it and we went to the cafe next door and we sat down and. Was that was a lot. And we were like, jeez, Can you imagine? If we had to do this twice in a week, like that'd be crazy and. You know, four months later we were doing it twice a week all over Australia and then we sat down and we said, mate, we, we are so crazy for doing too. There's no, no, no way in the world we could do three in a week and then Fast forward a couple of months later and we've done a few weeks where we've done three in a row and I can tell you that.

47:21Really does stretch you out and. I did float the idea of doing 4 in a week recently and that got shut down very quickly. But yes, so it is it is really draining and I I mean that's still in a really positive sense. It's just. Mentally is a lot to be so switched on and to be talking to people for an extended. But also happy and content and willing to network because some days like you get tired. Like it. It's exhausting talking the people sometimes.

47:45Yeah, and you're living in a suitcase, you're living in a hotel, you move to the next one and you you sort of read some repeat. But like I said before, it doesn't feel like work. And the day that it does, I think we've got we've got bigger issues. And we'll have to move on to something else. But at the moment now it's just, it's getting back to the hotel. Definitely having a few beers or a few wines. And I'd like to try and go for a run or at least tell myself I can go for a run. But that doesn't normally happen. But just, yeah, finding different ways. And then when I get home, the the kids definitely help sort of ground me and you know, my wife does a fantastic job. To to help with that and allow.

48:16You know, sort of my travel plans to happen. So I'm very sort of fortunate to be in that space. And yeah, they they definitely keep me busy when I get home, that's for sure. Have you ever had an Expo fail? Like just everything just went really quickly? Yeah. Like, does it, does it happen? I know you. I know you're a very well planned man, but hasn't happened. Well it hasn't. I laughed funny because it was quite recently actually, so I can tell you this, but it it did, the Expo never happened actually.

48:41So it was the the Manly Community Aged Care Expo in Sydney. So that was only supposed to be about 3 weeks ago. We had done an event in Bankstown for disability that day. It was fantastic. The event was really, really good. Our events run. From 12:50 I got a call at about 11:30 from the the manly function. I said Sarah basically called up and said hey. With all the rain and all the storms last night, our ceiling has collapsed. So yeah, the night before or the day before, which isn't ideal.

49:08So they were trying their best to frantically sort of fix it and make it worthwhile. I did a fantastic job of trying their best, but we finished an Expo. So all of that sort of exhaustion we just talked about got to the next one, realized really quickly it wasn't safe. And by this time it was about 4:00 the night before the Expo. So Leigh and I did as we do best. We got to be out, we got a gym, and we called every single stall holder to tell them that the event was cancelled and we've now postponed it to to later of the year, which is good.

49:34So we're going back. But yeah, Manly's gonna live on in our memory bags for a while as the Expo that never got off the ground. And you know, it wasn't our fault. You can't control it wasn't the venue's fault. It's just one of those things that happened. But you know, we're probably. Better for it now knowing that these things can happen and what we need to put into place, but at the time it it was certainly pretty stressful. Have you guys got anything coming up or any surprises that you guys are working on that we haven't mentioned or talked about or are we allowed to talk about? I don't.

50:01Know, I don't know. Well, I mean, we definitely do have some things in the in the background. I might get tell. Off here for. Sure, all right. Well, you can work in code now because I don't know what it is. That's all right. That's all right. Well, I think there's probably two things I can probably talk briefly about. But I think for us, like I said, having the two brands, so disability events community and aged care events community, it's that events community. Part that really sort of rings true for us so I think the evolution for us is the problem that we're trying to solve is you know making events more local more community based we understand that people can't drive hours upon hours to to get.

50:35Information and in particular in those two sectors, you know, we're talking about some of the most. Vulnerable people in the community and expecting them to. Drive and fight for parking and, you know, fight through the crowds and the loud noises to get information. So that's the problem that we think we're doing a really good job of solving a disability and aged care. And I think there's probably a few other industries where that same problem exists and and we hope to solve part of our expansion plans. There's certainly been that, you know, as our team develops and we get a really good sort of, I guess understanding across the country when it comes to travel and where we need to go. I think you'll hopefully start to see probably in the next 6 to 12 months.

51:11But some other sort of industries where we pop up and again, think we can do some things a little bit differently. You know, it's, it's always nice being the disruptor in a way and doing something a bit differently. I think there's, there's always room for it. Competition is always healthy for everybody involved. Yeah, Amen. Definitely a few things on the horizon. Is there any topics that I haven't brought up or spoke about in this podcast that you'd love to just tell us or say? No, look, I think I think it's been a great chat. I've really enjoyed it.

51:39We said it at the top, but we're going to be just authentic and have a conversation. And I think that's how how the best conversations happen now. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. And I think like I said, we're really lucky to do what we do at the moment. So we appreciate the platform to talk to you today. So again, get the word out there. I think anyone that's looking to come along to our events, we absolutely encourage it. And in particular, even if it's just, as I say, just as an attendee, but come along, check, check them out, see what they're about and see how we're doing those things a little bit differently. Yeah, hopefully they'll they'll start to understand why we do what we do and I guess why we have so much fun doing it. Thank you for letting me be nosy. Absolutely.

52:17So for anyone to find you to look up online disability events community or aged care events community, you can be found on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram. Do you TikTok? We are everywhere. I think we are a TikTok as well, so we have a bit of everything which is great. And if you got time in the car to listen to your podcast as you're travelling to your next Expo that you're attending? Yeah, I don't like to see out of my own voice, which is probably gonna surprise some people because I think some people think I'll probably love it. But no.

52:47So I, I don't. I mean, there's a bit of few. And if I can do like a couple of shouts really quickly, but occasionally you just have some really, really great podcast conversations that I think they're the ones that I listen to. And again, it's not to listen to myself, I'm sure you'd be the same. It's to listen to the guest. And recently I had a gentleman called Lachlan. He's around my age now, so low 30s. It's probably offensive to Loughlin actually, he's younger than me, but.

53:10He. Is a paraplegic, he won't might be sharing, but he. Was on his last day of high. School went out for instead of going to school went went for a swim at the beach, jumped in sort of head 1st and and. The rest of his history for him, and you know, it's changed his life in a lot of ways, made it a lot more challenging. But he's such just a genuine dude. He's such a cool guy. He's now created his own clothing business called Convy Clothing. And he seen him, yes. Yes, yeah, he's really, really cool doing some great things in the space and, you know, making accessible clothing for people that are in wheelchairs and all.

53:43I said to him, I think in my podcast, but I can't pair a buy a pair of jeans, you know, I've got to make sure it fits around my my dad bought and a few other things, but. And that's pretty straightforward where, you know, if someone in a wheelchair, there's a lot of things that you don't consider like the where the pockets are, how it sits, how it feels for him to have created this and, and turn what is a really terrible situation into something so positive that has such an impact. That's been a really enjoyable 1. So I have caught myself listening to that one a few times and a few others.

54:10But that's the thing, it's. You know, there are so many great people out there doing such amazing work in this space and I think any any of us can can. Lift them up a little bit and give them a bit. Of a spotlight, I think it's only for the betterment of. The entire spotlight Educate. Yeah, I love that, Love that. Yeah, I love doing these podcasts to educate who's out there and what's going on because there's a really good story behind everyone. Big time.

54:33I definitely so now that that's been really good. But otherwise, it's like I said, like you, it's just finding good quality people in the sector to get behind the microphone and. Have a bit of a conversation so we'll see how that goes. Too easy. Thank you so much for joining me. I've had a great time Sarah, thank you so much. How you said it feels so weird not asking the questions, so hopefully I've done OK. But I've loved it, I loved it and I would love to return the favour next time you're in Perth and I'll get you on the community. Podcast as well.

54:59Until then. Why? Yeah, absolutely. See ya. Awesome. See you, Sarah.