The McGraths on Business. Join us for our first blog!

The McGraths on Business: Our Journey and Why We're Starting This Series By Kathy & Mick McGrath When Matt from Signarama recommended us to speak at the FCA National Franchise Convention, he said, "The McGraths can help." That simple phrase stuck with us. After three decades in business together, we've learned that running a successful enterprise, especially with your spouse, isn't just about strategy and systems. It's about the real, messy, rewarding reality of building something together. We've had several mentors over the years and many others who have been forthcoming with their business knowledge and advice. We're now in the position where we can pay that forward, and that's exactly why we're starting this series. We both firmly believe you should never stop asking for and accepting advice from others. No one can ever know everything. A Summary of Our Journey Kathy's Path I completed Year 12 and went to secretarial college, but I hated my first job due to the work culture. The 1990-1991 recession hit hard, and I couldn't find another position, so I did limited temp work before moving into accounts payable, which laid the foundation for everything that came later in our business ventures. After having two wonderful children, I completed a Remedial Massage course and started my own business in 2004. I achieved 20 years of massaging in 2025, which I still love. Throughout all of this, I've always done bookkeeping for our businesses. In 2021, I shifted from four days of massage work to two, dedicating three days to helping Mick with the admin side of our Signarama businesses. Mick's Path I completed Year 11 and did a plumbing apprenticeship, but was retrenched during the 1990-1991 recession. After working for a couple of different companies, I started my own plumbing business in 1992 and had up to four tradesmen/apprentices working for me. In 2004, we closed the plumbing business to go travelling around Australia in our 4WD for six months with a tent, Kathy, me, Eamon (aged 5), and Shirvaun (who turned 4 on the trip). When we returned, we bought the Upper Beaconsfield Post Office in 2005, built up the business, and expanded into gifts before selling in 2015. We then bought Signarama Footscray in 2016 and Signarama Melbourne CBD in 2019. Our Scouting Background We both have strong Scouting backgrounds that shaped how we approach business, particularly around teamwork, leadership, and preparing people for challenges. We both achieved our Queen's Scout in Venturers and were awarded W.F Waters awards in Rovers. We held positions on several Scouting committees during our Venturer and Rover years. One of Kathy's highlights was leading 84 Australian Rovers (18 to 26 year-olds) to the Toronto Rover Moot in Canada in 1994. One of Mick's highlights was being elected Branch Rover Council Chairman for Victoria and being elected by his peers for a second term. Later, Mick became a Scout Leader around 2006, eventually moving into the State Commissioner Scouts Role for the Bays Region. Kathy was a Cub Leader for a few years. These experiences taught us invaluable lessons about leadership, culture-building, and developing people, which are topics we'll explore more in future posts. Our Partnership We work as a true partnership. Kathy handles admin, marketing, and accounting. Mick manages sales, customer relationships, national branding, production, installation, and general operations. We both tackle staff management together because, let's be honest, that's where the real work happens. Our different strengths have been our greatest asset, and we want to share what we've learned about working together, building great teams, creating strong culture, and growing sustainably. Our Approach to Advice Many years ago, a friend gave me advice after having her first baby. Although she was talking about parenting, it's become a principle I apply to everything: Listen to everybody. Keep the advice you like and can relate to. Disregard the advice that doesn't resonate. What's left over? Keep it in your storage box to revisit later when circumstances change, or you've gained a new perspective. This philosophy from my friend has served us well through every business venture, every challenge, and every transition. We're excited to share our experiences with you, not as the only way to do things, but as one perspective shaped by three decades of learning, failing, succeeding, and growing together. What's Coming Next On Tuesday, we'll dive into our first business topic: the reality of running multiple franchise locations. From our experience purchasing and operating two Signarama locations, we'll share what nobody tells you about going multi-unit: the benefits, the challenges, and the hard-won lessons we learnt along the way. In later editions, we will cover topics like: finding hidden gems, building a work culture and signage tips, to name a few. We hope you'll join us on this journey. Take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and maybe keep a few ideas in your storage box for later. Want to connect? Find us at Signarama Footscray and Signarama Melbourne CBD, or follow along with our business journey on LinkedIn. We would love to hear your stories, and happy to answer any questions.