JGS Group AU

19/10/2022

17 years.... I still can’t believe that it is 17 years since I first started my business. I had to live and the only way to do that was to start my own business.

Before I continue let me just say that life hasn’t been fantastic, in fact I have had to learn how to survive on many different occasions. I hated school and not because I didn’t think I could learn, it was hard because I was constantly put down, treated like I was dirt and often told how stupid I was, and I wouldn’t mount to anything. It was at that time, that I stopped learning and was often in trouble.

I remember being asked by one of my teachers what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told them I wanted to be a businessman. That teacher laughed at me.

I came from a hard life at home, having to live within a family that was abusive and when I was young, I told my mother who I loved dearly that I was heading to Australia. I needed a new life.

I arrived in Australia and lived between Sydney and Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and it was hard. I often found I had to fend for myself, living on the streets which wasn’t very ideal. It was during my stay in Brisbane that I lived in a boarding house and got myself a job. I was earning money to live on but that doesn’t mean it was easy. It wasn’t.

In my heart I still wanted to be a businessman, have my own business but I was trying to be realistic, and I understood to move forward I needed to work for someone else so I could survive in Australia.

I worked hard. I got into trouble. I had fallings out with people, and I realised I was a very angry person. But I wanted to change. I wanted to make a better life for me otherwise I wouldn’t live very long.

I knew life was hard. After some issues at work, I decided to make the move to Perth. It was far away from where I was, and it was time to start my new life. I had very little funds, but I had enough to make it to Perth. Back then I knew I didn’t want to live on welfare I wanted to be able to fend for myself and look after me and not rely on someone paying their tax for me to live.

Let me just fill you in on a little bit about me and my life because so many people are quick to judge but I want to move forward with my life and in doing so it helps if people understand where I have come from.

I moved from New Zealand over 30 years ago and I did everything I could to find work. I was working with horses. When I was working at one of the racing stables, I had an accident. I know I worked hard but this accident, nearly stopped me. I was injured quite badly, and I was taken to Liverpool Hospital. I was told I would never walk again. But I didn’t believe them. There was no way I could take that and be sent back to New Zealand. I asked to see another doctor, and he helped me walk again.

I ended up moving from Sydney to Brisbane where I lived in a boarding house and found a job at a poultry place. I worked there for 7 years.



One day I went to my boss and told him I was going to WA. I had met someone online and I wanted to go there and meet them and start a business. My boss wished me well but also told me to be careful because starting a business isn't easy and he was also concerned because I didn’t really know this other person.

I landed in Western Australia, and I lived with this person, and I also got myself a dog called Keisha. My dog was the best friend anyone could ever have but unfortunately things didn’t work out and my dog and I were out on the streets. I lived on the train station for a bit before finding a boarding house where I could live.

My dream of running my own business was never far from my mind and one day I met with a financial counsellor that helped me access some funds from my Superannuation. With those funds I was able to rent a house. I was working in the garden when I first met Ella. She helped me immensely and when I said I wanted to get roses, she gave me a lot of advice, she taught me how to prune and care for my roses and her wise words are always with me.

It was around that time that a mate suggested I get a lawn mower, and not only could I look after my own lawn, perhaps I could do other lawns for my neighbours and friends. That is what I did. I even had friends come and pick me up and take me to their place so I could do their lawns, once finished they took me home again.

One friend, Steve, would help me in his garden, and we would work together and after he would take me home and we would stop at Maccas for lunch. I never will forget his help, his words of advice as well and his friendship is very special to me.

It was easy mowing lawns for friends and my neighbours, but I wanted to be able to do more. I saw an ad on Gum Tree for this guy who made trailers that could be towed by a bicycle, so I called him, and he made one for my bike. I was then able to ride to many places without having to rely heavily on my friends all the time. Finally, I felt I had some independence.

My business John’s Gardening started. I started small and it’s taken me 17 years to be where I am, and I would love to grow it some more. I’ve gone from mowing lawns and doing edges to taking on contractors who help me incredibly.

And through the years with a lot of support from my friends, my new family, my admin person, my brother and my determination my business has grown. My customers have grown with me as well and some have stuck with me all these years. And through all this my love of roses has grown more and more.

With Ella’s help, with her belief in me, her support and now her family’s support, my love of roses has grown into a small business almost on its own. For the past few years, I have dedicated my time to pruning roses during the rose pruning season and this year I pruned more roses than ever before. And in my mind and my heart I know that I am making Ella proud, and I am keeping my promise to continue believing in myself and to continue growing my business. I promised Ella that I would make her proud of me. I believe I have done that.

As I move into a new year for my business, I want to continue to grow my businesses and to do that I have been teaching my brother how to prune roses and to take on some of the responsibilities when it comes to the gardening services.

To mark my 17th business anniversary, I am buying myself something special to mark the occasion. It hasn’t been easy getting here but, as I look back from where I came from, times have changed, and my business is getting stronger.

We went through a rebranding from John’s Gardening to JGS Group AU, allowing me to expand the services I now provide to my clients. Some of those businesses included JGS Roses, JGS Lawn Mowing Services, JGS High Pressure Cleaning and more.

I look forward to giving up an update when I reach my 18th Anniversary.

Please remember, if you are just starting out on a new business adventure or venture, it isn’t easy but if you have the right support, the right attitude, and the belief, you can do it. I started on my bike and have grown the business one small step at a time. And you can too.

Believe in yourself, and if you need help, ask...

13/08/2022

For the love of Roses - inspired by Ella

I have always loved roses but had never offered rose pruning to my clients. But that was about to change, and I soon found out that there was a way to care for roses and to focus on pruning them the right way was very important.

When Ella first introduced me to the right way to prune roses, that moment certainly changed my life, and I knew it would help my business. Finding the courage to move forward was going to be a challenge though. Ella cared enough to take time out of her already busy life to show me how to care about roses. At the time, I believed I would fail and told her that there was no way I could do it the same way as she showed me. But she believed in me and told me I could do it.

Before I share my love of roses with you, let me tell you a little about Ella.

Ella was a beautiful person, she treated everyone equally. She has a great family, and she may have had her favourite, but she never made it known who it was. She was always there for her family and friends if they needed her. Ella took me under her wing and helped me grow as a person. That’s right, she helped me grow just like I now help roses grow and I care for them just like she cared for me.

Ella has a special place in my heart because she believed in me. She was down to earth with me, and she didn’t let me get away with feeling sorry for myself. Instead, she encouraged me to do more.

Before I started pruning roses, I was just someone who rode around on my pushbike doing lawns and a little garden work. When I started pruning roses for clients, they put their trust in me and they trusted me to care for their roses. And I did. At first, I was extremely nervous, but my heart kept telling me I can do this. In my heart Ella’s belief in me kept me going.

Back then I was mainly providing garden services for local clients and those services included lawn mowing, whipper snipping and weeding. I set up my gardening business back in 2005 and I continue to grow my business and I am passionate about doing what I do in a positive and rewarding way.

I have expanded my business focusing every year on providing a rose pruning service to ensure everyone who has roses has beautiful roses every year. I had always loved roses, but it took a friend and neighbour to show me how to prune roses the right way. That friend was Ella.

I continue to grow my business because I made a promise to her that I would continue to grow my business and put as much love and passion into doing things right so that my clients are happy with the services I provide.

When Ella taught me how to prune roses, I watched her carefully and told her there was no way I could do that. I was sure I would screw it up, but Ella said she believed in me and trusted me to pruned roses the right way.

I was providing gardening services and still do but with her trust and belief in me, my business has grown incredibly and one of things I love specialising in is rose pruning.

Every year I look after my client’s roses and since COVID started I believe my clients enjoy seeing their roses blooming and being cared for by someone who loves roses. I have new service for people in the Perth area where I come and care for your roses every month.

As of today, I have pruned quite a few roses and it is looking like my best year ever. But I will continue to ensure I look after as many roses as I possibly can. It feels like a dream doing something I love every day. Rose Pruning is seasonal, but I also look and care for roses throughout the year.

If you have roses and want to keep them looking beautiful, disease free healthy, please contact me.

This year I also want to remember my trusty companion.
My friend and family member Porcia, my beautiful dog is now in heaven with Ella. She was my companion and I loved her dearly and I know in my heart she is in a better place with Ella looking out for her. RIP Porcia.

In Memory of Ella – I will always prune and care for roses the way she showed me how!

04/07/2022

04/07/2022

Roses pruning last week

03/07/2022

It's July it means rose pruning times I would be happy to come out for a quote to have a look at your roses

19/10/2021

Celebrating 16 Years!

Dreams can come true…

If you had told me that over 16 years ago, I would never have believed it.

This year, 2021 I am celebrating 16 years in business, but I would be lying if I told you, it was easy, I would be lying if I told you everything just fell in my lap and everything is smooth sailing…
Life when I was growing up was tough. A child is supposed to be cared for, looked after, and loved. A child should have been encouraged to grow. One would think a teacher would help you grow, and parents would protect you and offer encouragement. But something happened and that support, love and encouragement missed me.

Instead, I lived in a world of abuse. I felt worthless. I lacked self-esteem and even my teachers reminded me that I was a failure. I hated life. I didn’t want to live in my world anymore.
I did manage to get through some schooling and growing up I hung out with the wrong crowd. I felt everything I wanted to do was going to be a challenge especially when no one had confidence in me.

When I was in school, I was put down and laughed at when I told the teacher I wanted to be a businessman. I wanted to be a successful businessman. But back then I really had no idea what sort of business I wanted to run but I wanted to prove to everyone that I could do this, I was going to succeed.

So, I gave up on so many things because I was always told I was good for nothing and if you believe it then nothing goes well, and I was often in trouble …

Thinking back on my life it didn’t help that a family member took a liking to me and abused me sending what confidence and self-respect I may have had to the deepest pit on earth. I had to get out before I hurt someone. I ended up leaving the country I was born in and came to Australia. It wasn’t easy and living the way I did was hard. I hung out with the wrong people, but I really wanted to find a job.

I needed to prove that I could do something with my life…
I needed to make a name for myself and by leaving New Zealand felt like it was the only way I could do that. The put downs and the abuse I suffered at the hands of people I trusted, increased the desire to move away from my home in New Zealand to Australia where I could start my life over.

Leaving New Zealand though meant starting from scratch. I only had a few things and a small amount of money.

I lived in a guest or boarding house for a while because I really couldn’t afford anything else. I found a job and kept working in Brisbane and I felt I kept going round and round in circles and I really my life wasn’t changing very much. I really wanted to start my own business, but not in Brisbane. I made the decision to move to Perth.

I found a place to live and discovered life was still tough and some days were much harder than others. I had my trusty push bike though and with that, I got to work. I started lawn mowing. It wasn’t much but it was a job. It was my job and my business.

I pushed my lawn mower to each job; I carried my whipper snipper and blower around the streets of Nollamara and Westminster for one year and after that I needed to do more than just mow lawns. I saw an ad for a guy that made trailers for push bikes and asked him to make me one. I was set. I continued like that for quite a few years until I met Ella.

Ella was my neighbour, and we were talking in her garden one day. She showed me how to prune roses and how to do it the right way. I told her that there was no way I could ever do that. Her response was… ‘yes you can…’

I watched her prune roses and all the while she was encouraging me to move forward and try, I have never looked back. I love to rose prune so much; it is now a passion of mine to encourage clients to look after their roses with my help.

Ella trusted and believed in me, and we became good friends, and I became close to her family also.

Life isn’t always easy. Ella taught me so many things and she also showed me how to adapt to change and how to add rose pruning to the services I could offer. But life is always built on challenges as well and I almost gave up my business because when Ella was hit with that horrible disease called cancer, I found it too hard to go on. I didn’t want to go on because Ella was the only person in my life to believe in me. She encouraged me.

I sunk into a depression that was so hard I was prepared to give up everything, but Ella’s family had other ideas. They told me that Ella would want me to continue doing what I do best. Looking after my client’s gardens and pruning roses.

They have always supported me and with Ella’s passing they are there for me when I need help.

Ella showed me how to grow as a person and how to be a person who can adapt to some changes. Her words have stuck with me today and if it wasn’t for Ella, I would never have had the confidence in myself and in my ability to grow my business.

Starting my business and growing my business has improved my life. Before she died, I made her a promise that I would build my business.

With that confidence I got on my bike and continued visiting the customers I had and even found some new ones as well. With her belief in me I knew I could grow my business. I was terrified when I turned up for the first rose pruning job. In fact, I was shaking but I could still hear Ella telling me I could do this, and I did.

Moving on though I have never thought running a business was easy… 16 years ago I started John’s Gardening Service. It was just me. I even had a website built because that is what a business does. Having the right tools in place to run a business helps it grow.

But again, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, but I certainly learnt to overcome problems even when one web developer lost my online presence after taking over from another developer, it was just an issue that had to be dealt with. Fortunately, at that time I had already talked to Toni who made a backup copy of my website for me just in case something went wrong.

Little did I know that the other guy would delete it before he worked on a new website for me. I quickly declined his offer to assist because he had no back up at all and I realised he didn’t know what he was really doing. I called Toni and asked if she could help and knowing the urgency, she was able to get my old website back up and running very quickly and we then went on to talk about building a new one.

But I was limited to what I could do because it was still just me.
Back in 2013 I realised my business wasn’t growing so I made the decision it was time to take on people to help me and that could help make my business grow. It was at this time I decided to upgrade from my pushbike and trailer to a Ute. I needed a Ute to get around with my brother so we could travel further, and we could provide a gardening service to more people. At that time, I was only providing domestic garden service.

In 2014 my business kept growing and in 2015 when I had my first call from a commercial business. I wasn’t confident but I tried not to show it. They called me because they weren’t happy with the other business providing that service. I listened to what was being said and what they needed and put a quote together.

By 2016 another business, a real estate business called me and wanted me to go and quote a job. It was at this time that I spoke to Toni, and we started making changes to everything I was doing to cover commercial business. Toni did everything she could with the website and even though Google took a while to start showing I was providing commercial gardening services; it finally took off.

Remember I said that I never had it easy? Well back in 2017 for whatever reason businesses were struggling. I was starting to feel worried I would lose everything. And when I heard another guy talking about his business struggling, I made the decision that I had come too far to let my business fail. I called Toni and we talked about it.

It was a case that if normally waiting for someone to call didn’t work then it was time to think outside the box and try something different. I’d never seen myself as a person to drop flyers into people’s letter boxes or drop into businesses and drop my cards off. But I did. And to top it off I started another business, which didn’t quite work out, but it hasn’t stopped me. I have continued growing my business.

Through 2018 & 2019, I grew my business even more introducing high-pressure cleaning, some handy man services, some small landscaping jobs and more. And I now travel further to see clients and to work with them to improve the look of their gardens and properties.

Now one of my issues is I hate change and I really don’t like it when things go wrong and in any business things will go wrong. Through 2017 I lost my temper quite a bit because I want things to be perfect and I expected everyone to drop things and be on the same page as me. I have learnt to calm down and think before I say things. My anger issues stem back to when I was treated poorly, and I have had to learn how to deal with that.

Toni has helped me and so has Ella’s family which is good. I have also had to learn to work with others because I can’t do everything myself. My brother Robert works with me, and he gets up in the morning and does the work that I ask him to do. But I won’t say it is easy.

I have also taken on others in that time and especially when I needed help with a landscaping job. Unfortunately, I trusted the wrong person and the job was not up to scratch. My mistake was trusting him to do it properly when I discovered he really didn’t know how to work as a professional and because I was busy working on other jobs, I couldn’t be there to project managed the job.

I learnt by my mistakes and even though the rest of the job was great, I lost a customer because of this poor workmanship of this other guy. And no, I am not going to name him as I believe it is now in the past and I have moved on.

2019 was a huge year. My business continued to grow, and I was working on many different gardening projects for small business, commercial and domestic clients.
I felt on top of the world. We had introduced different ways to grow my business and made plans to push rose pruning, landscaping and other services that I was keen to improve on.

At the end of 2019, Covid happened. It was at the end of 2019, but it wasn’t here in Australia yet… and then it happened. In March 2020, the Ruby Princess sailed into Sydney with sick people on board. And someone screwed up by letting all those passengers off. They travelled everywhere taking it with them and spreading it around the country.

I was scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen. I thought I would lose my business and I had some heated discussions with Toni. All I could do was see what happened. At one stage they were talking about shutting everyone down, go into lockdown and it did happen for a short time, and I had to postpone some jobs while others simply cancelled.

No one wanted to take any chances. I had to get on board and have COVID messages in my emails and on quotes that went out and I had to take precautions.

The best thing our Premier here in WA did was lockdown the state. Because I could get back to work and continue growing my business.

In 2021, I had survived and yes, we are still a state in lockdown but it’s a little different, we are working and thriving because all the hot spot states are locked out of WA. Of course, I still must abide by the rules set by the WA government, but I have not stopped working. My business has grown. I have taken on more people to help me and I now contract work out to them to help me get through to all the jobs that I have taken on.

Earlier in the year I rebranded to JGS Group AU from John’s Gardening. I have a custom-built invoice system and as this month passes, I am ready to do more. I have a private group for gardeners around Australia and a group of Facebook for people who love roses.

I am in the process of building up my rose pruning business as well and after a fantastic year of doing something that I love in a big way, my goal is to do more in 2022.

I have learnt to accept help and I am looking forward to the future and putting my new business plan into place for the next 4 – 5 years.

Today I have been in business for 16 years. I look back on where I have come and sometimes it feels like a dream. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of worries but also a lot of people who have helped me stay on track.

Like I said before, it’s not easy running your own business but I had always wanted to have one and I am not about to fail. I made a promise to my friend Ella that I would continue to grow my business and I am doing just that. Dreams can come true… and I am living in that dream!

John Kelly
Owner – JGS Group AU

13/08/2021

Trust – I Believe in You – You Can Do it – Believe in yourself
In Memory of Ella

--------------------------------------

This year, 2021 ... Ella has been gone for 11 years but she lives on in my heart, my soul and my memories.

Without Ella I wouldn’t be where I am today.

She was a powerful woman who taught me so many things including what I love doing, rose pruning. Ella taught me how to nurture them and to help them grow, just like she did to me.
When I first started out, I never had the confidence to build my business and yet, Ella gave me the strength to work on my business when she told me that she trusted me. She told me she believed in me, and I could do it … all I had to do was believe in myself.

Let me just take you back to a time before I met Ella. My life was not all that great. It had so many ups and downs in it. Life was cruel, it was hard mountainous journey; one that I never thought I would survive.

I came from New Zealand to Australia, living in Sydney, Queensland and then Perth.

I started my business almost 16 years ago. I had a lawn mower and my two hands for the hard work ahead of me I started doing small lawn mowing and gardening jobs. Eventually I had a pushbike that took me to where I needed to be. I was slowly growing my business.

I met Ella because she was a neighbour and she saw every day how I was trying to improve my life. We got to know each other very well.

Ella was different, she was kind, and she was a person not scared of hard work. She ran her own business and was dedicated to keeping her customers happy and she was always there for her family. It was a life that I had never experienced before.

Along the way, I became very good friends with Ella and her family and after the many years have passed, I am still part of her caring family.

Ella held the family together and it is amazing to now be part of a close family and I have Ella to thank for that.

Ella’s love for roses was truly amazing. She taught me how to prune roses and to prune them right so that after a good prune they would grow strong, and the roses would come back healthy the next season. I have taken everything she has taught me and turned it into a big part of my business. It may only be seasonal work, but I still check the roses through the year and deadhead them when needed and check for diseases.

My love for roses grows stronger every year and with each new challenge, I look up to the stars and thank Ella. Without her support, her trust in me, her encouragement and without her telling me that I could do this if I believed in myself, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Her support and her belief in me, keeps me strong and I know I am keeping my promise to her. I promised I would continue to grow my business and in memory of Ella I continue to do just that.
Always believe in yourself because you can grow as a person, and you can grow your business!

In memory of Ella
14/08/2010

19/10/2020

From little things, big things grow…

I am sure a lot of you have heard that song… well that is how John’s Gardening started. I started my business very slowly and with the help of a good friend, she was succeeded in getting me really interested in gardening and she taught me so much to help me get started and from there everyone has watched my business started to grow.

Ella was a good friend who taught me how to prune roses and I have never looked back. Ella is my guiding light and if that light keeps burning bright, I will continue to build up my business.
When I was in school, I was put down and laughed at when I told the teacher I wanted to be a businessman. I wanted to be a successful businessman. But back then I really had no idea what sort of business I wanted to run but I wanted to prove to everyone that I could do this, I was going to succeed.

I needed to make a name for myself and by leaving New Zealand felt like it was the only way I could do that. The put downs and the abuse I suffered at the hands of people I trusted, increased the desire to move away from my home in New Zealand to Australia where I could start my life over.

I worked in various jobs in Brisbane before moving to Western Australia. Moving to Perth was my chance to run my own business. I did not want to live on welfare, I needed to make my own way in the world and meeting Ella was incredible experience that I will never forget.

Watching her prune roses and then encouraging me to move forward and try, I have never looked back. She trusted and believed in me and we became good friends, and I became close to her family also. They have always supported me and with Ella’s passing they are there for me when I need help.

Before I continue let me just say that Ella showed me how to grow as a person. Her telling me she trusted me and believed in me was truly what I needed to start having the confidence in myself to not only start my own business but to improve my life.

With that confidence I got on my bike and visited the customers I had and some new ones as well. I started to believe in myself and knew I could grow my little business a little more by offering rose pruning. I was terrified the first time when I turned up to do a rose pruning job. But in the back of my mind Ella was telling me, I can do this… and I did.

15 years ago, today, I started John’s Gardening Service providing a small garden service to customers in my local area.
15 years on and I have come so far. I am not trying to brag; it is just that I cannot believe sometimes how far I have come. 15 years on and I have my business running under JGS Group AU and John’s Gardening is still with me every step of the way.

I am not going to say that those 15 years have been easy because they weren’t, it has been a lot of hard work to get to where I am today. And fortunately, I have had some great people helping me along the way. No business can grow on its own, mine included.

When Ella developed cancer, it devastated me, and I kept hoping it would go away. But it didn’t. I was fortunate enough to have been able to have some time with her before her passing. And now all my achievements I dedicate to Ella. I made her a promise that I would continue to grow my business and I have reached the 15-year milestone and I am still growing my business.

I am continuing to grow my business every day. 15 years on, I provide numerous services including; garden services – a huge range of garden services including garden maintenance, rose pruning, some small landscaping jobs including laying new lawns, and with the help of a great guy Pete new sprinkler systems that work perfectly are installed, garden bond services, window cleaning, high pressure cleaning and so much more…

To top that off the list of areas that we service has grown incredibly. I am no longer providing that service on my bike, I have a ute and trailer and we can now travel to more places.

We have invoicing systems in place to take us through to the next 5 – 10 years unless of course I decide to do things a little differently but at the moment everything is working well and we can keep working with that for the next many years.

There are several people who I need to thank for the help and support they have shown and provided over that 15 years. Ella and her wonderful family for being there for me regardless of the situation. I feel I am treated like family and I appreciate that so much. That support helps me grow more and more every day. Ella’s memory lives on inside me and I will continue to take on board her encouragement, support and her trust and her belief in me.
Steve, my good friend who believe me and is always there when I need advice.

My brother Robert, who drives me nuts sometimes but every day he works beside me. He works with me every day and I really do appreciate that. And to the guys who help me when I need the help providing a great service to my customers... thank you.

And Toni, who resurrected my website when someone lost it many years ago and continues to support me by providing the admin service and support that I need to help my business function. She keeps me in line and has finally been able to convince me to think things through before jumping up and down about things that aren’t going right.

To all my customers who support me by calling me up and allowing me to provide the services you require to keep your property looking great. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today… thank you.

Moving forward, my goal is to focus on the next 10 years… remember from little things, big things grow, and I want to continue growing my business.

I am already in talks to improve my business more. Changes to my websites, more ways to help my customers and how to expand into different areas so I can service more clients. My goal is to provide more small landscaping jobs, to increase the number of roses I prune every year and to continue providing a high-quality service to all my customers.

15 years on… and I am looking forward to growing my business for another 10 years.

I have come a long way from when I was told I would not succeed and even though I keep reflecting on the past, my focus is on how far I can go into the future. I am the businessman they told me I would never be.

John Kelly
JGS Group AU
Johns Gardening