From Tools to Triumph

Client Story · Case Study

4 min read

How a third-generation pest controller and his right-hand admin built a business that came second in a national awards ceremony…. and why that felt like winning.

A Business Running on Fumes

Keith had been doing this his whole life. Third-generation pest controller. A decade of hands-on experience. A business built from scratch. But somewhere between the early morning starts and the one-in-the-morning paperwork sessions, something had to give.

The moment that crystallised it? Spraying his eyes at a job site. A small accident. A loud message. He needed help and what he found was a business partner who would change the entire shape of his company.

Meeting Mariah ….and Learning to Let Go

Mariah came into the picture the way the best things tend to,  without being planned. She stepped in as Keith’s administrator and executive assistant, working remotely while he remained on the road.

In practice, the setup required something Keith hadn’t expected to work at: trust. He was, by his own admission, “a bit of a control freak.” Handing over the reins, even to someone capable, wasn’t a flip of a switch. For Mariah, working remotely meant navigating client calls without backup and building confidence in a role she was still growing into. Early on, answering the phone felt genuinely confronting. By the end of their first year, it had become second nature.

Why They Brought in a Consultant

What Keith saw wasn’t just admin support; it was potential in Mariah he didn’t yet know how to unlock, and a business that needed structure and direction. That first session was less a business meeting and more a counselling session. Emotions surfaced. Vulnerabilities were shared. And that’s exactly why everything that followed worked.

What I do isn’t about sitting in someone’s office pulling strings. I walk in once a month, we hold a board-style meeting, and I help make decisions; on strategy, on people, on direction. I’m a sounding board when the overwhelm hits, and I tell it like it is.

We worked on Extended DISC profiling, leadership development, confidence coaching, revenue diversification, goal setting, and accountability frameworks. We also navigated a failed hire; recognised early and course-corrected cleanly. That kind of responsiveness is only possible when there’s genuine accountability built into the relationship.

Knowing Yourself Changes Everything

The Extended DISC assessment revealed something Mariah hadn’t consciously recognised: despite working contentedly at home, she is fundamentally a social person who needs connection to perform at her best. Once understood, the daily check-ins with Keith became a deliberate part of how the business ran; not a distraction, but a foundation.

For Keith, DISC gave him a language for leadership. He learned how to raise difficult issues in ways that got results, and started thinking less like a sole trader and more like the leader of a team.

Back Yourself

One concept took root in this business and genuinely changed how they operate: what we call boss bitch energy. The idea is simple; you don’t need every client, you’re allowed to hold the line, and when you operate from confidence rather than anxiety, you build a business you actually respect.

For Keith, this changed how he handled price pushback, ended relationships that weren’t working, and approached difficult conversations. For Mariah, her version of the same shift was picking up the phone. What had once been a source of genuine anxiety became, through coaching and reframing, a simple act of customer care. That change alone transformed the energy at the end of every month.

Now, when they face a tough situation and I’m not in the room, they ask themselves: “What would Jen say?” That’s not dependency; that’s internalised values. That’s growth.

A Second Place That Felt Like a Win

Twelve months of work led to an application for the Australian Pest Managers Awards; not necessarily to take home the trophy, but to benchmark. They came second. Keith was gutted. But the feedback was implemented immediately, and there’s something significant about a small Brisbane business, rebuilt from the inside over eighteen months, standing up to national scrutiny and landing second. That’s not a consolation prize. That’s a benchmark.

It was a defining moment. It confirmed that we’re on the right track.  That we are the real deal.

Mariah, Brisbane City Pest Control

The Road Ahead

A rebrand is underway. New services are being developed. A tender with a significant organisation is on the table. Recruitment will return in time; deliberately, with better systems in place. And Mariah has her eye on a team leader role that, a year ago, might have felt out of reach.

What Brisbane City Pest Control has built isn’t just a tidier business. It’s a resilient one; with people who know how to communicate, lead, hold the line, and grow without losing themselves in the process.

That, in the end, is what this work is about.

Ready for your business’s next chapter?  I work with business owners who are ready to stop surviving and start leading. Let’s have a conversation; book some time with me.

Read the full story

Book Online (virtual or in person)

Phone:   0413 012 704

Postal Address: PO Box 83,
Scarborough QLD 4020