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Business Coaching

With more than twenty-five years’ business experience behind them, Marcus and his business and life partner, Ariel Endean, bring a wealth of experience to Business Couples Success, a holistic business coaching service focused on empowering entrepreneurial couples to be stronger together and build thriving businesses while having fun in the process.

Marcus was just ten years old when he negotiated his way into his first business venture, making takeaway containers for the local chicken shop in his hometown of Mudgee. Averaging .50 an hour, his enthusiasm and negotiation skills at such a young age reflected a natural entrepreneurial spirit that sowed the seed for things to come. Leaving school at fifteen to pursue a career as a chef, Marcus worked in a number of locations over the next ten years, including Sydney, Adelaide, Mudgee, New Zealand and finally, the Hawkesbury, which is where he met Ariel, who worked in the same restaurant. During that time, Marcus says he felt privileged to work for a number of small business owners and observe them in action, with some later becoming his mentors.

Marcus and Ariel started their first business together, Akuna Care Pet Services, on the Central Coast in 1996. They ran this business for almost five years, with Marcus continuing to work as a chef in the early stages, often working twelve to fourteen-hour days. Having done all they could with that business, the logical next step was to run a boarding kennel. So, with the help of an investor, they purchased an old, run down dog kennel turning over 0k per annum in the lower Hunter and set to work with a series of ambitious renovation plans. Through vision, passion, strategic decision-making, determination and hard work, the couple transformed that business over the ensuing years into a 5-star pet resort for dogs and cats with a turnover of .5m per annum and a full-time staff of twelve. Their exceptional customer service, ethical standards, willingness to learn and attention to detail in the care of animals became their key points of difference in an industry known to be lacking in these areas. Marcus and Ariel were also savvy business operators, putting systems in place to ensure it ran like a well-oiled machine, reading and attending courses to learn as much as they could and reinvesting in the business.

After almost twenty years, Marcus and Ariel knew it was time to sell the pet resort and return to the Central Coast to begin their next business evolution. Reflecting on their struggles and triumphs during their twenty-five years in business together, the couple realised how much they would have benefitted from having access to a strong, supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurial business couples, however nothing like that existed. Understanding firsthand what it takes to start, build, grow, manage and successfully exit a thriving business while keeping a personal relationship intact, they knew they had a vast amount of knowledge and expertise to share with others. Their desire to help prompted them to start Business Couples Success in August 2019 and, more recently, the Business Couples Secret Sauce podcast, where they interview other successful business couples to share, warts and all, how they have managed to find the right balance between working and living together.

Marcus and Ariel use their broad business expertise to assist clients in whatever aspects of their business they need help with, from running the finances and identifying their unique brand story and points of difference, to customer service and systemisation. They assess a business holistically and have a knack for shedding light on the blind spots and bringing the pieces together. Furthermore, they know the right experts to refer clients to when assistance is needed in areas beyond the scope of their services, such as HR, accounting and digital marketing. Marcus says their ultimate goal, when working with other business couples, is to teach them the skills so they no longer need their help.

Marcus joined Wild Fig after he and Ariel attended as guests of Marc Charette, who had created a 360-degree tour of their pet resort many years ago and with whom they have maintained contact ever since. Seeking a community of like-minded professionals as opposed to a networking group, Marcus says he was impressed by the sense of camaraderie and authenticity in the group, which he felt was lacking in many other business groups, and the “great content” presented at meetings. “Everyone was welcoming from the start. Wild Fig is a great fit for us.”

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